InteliWINE … ahem, Inteligolf

Guest blog by Assistant Editor Cara Sievers

Wow. Okay, let me say it again ... WOW! Intelisys really knows how to throw a party, I mean, meeting. The Eighth Annual Inteligolf Wine & Business Fair, held Oct. 4-5, in Santa Rosa, Calif., brought together the master agent’s subagents and vendors for pow-wows and playtime.

“We bring this community together because they love each other,” said Jay Bradley, president of telecom services at Intelisys. “After eight years of doing this, our partners tell us this is by far their favorite event because of the camaraderie. This event has a lot less to do with Intelisys than it has to do with our partners.”

The event kicked off on Thursday with breakfast and a partner roundtable, followed by a day full of premier supplier sponsor presentations.

First, we heard from TNCI about the TNCINet platform and how the company aims to provide the highest-quality, most reliable VoIP network to serve a national customer base. They also awarded one lucky attendee a Robert Mondavi wine basket.

TNCI Master Agent Manager Mara Nursement (right) congratulates wine basket winner Katrina Johnson, network services project manager with Telecom Labs.

In the next session, Intelisys’ director of partner sales, Mike McKenney made a joke that the sequential 20-minute presentations were a lot like power dating. He spent his 20 minutes discussing Audex, formerly Resource CRM, which is a Web-based collaborative tool that agents can use to provide their customers a single view of their telecom inventory. “Sales partners are getting into more doors,” said McKenney. “They’re getting into finance. They’re getting into marketing. And they’re closing more customers with this tool.”

Intelisys’ Mike McKenney discusses Audex.

Next, Craig Schlagbaum, vice president of indirect channel sales with Level 3 Communications, discussed the direction of the industry. “Everybody knows that voice, data and video are migrating to IP, and that’s the forte of Level 3,” he said. “We want to lease on-net. Why? We don’t want to lease lines from the bells. We don’t feel that’s a recipe for success,” he continued.

Level 3’s Craig Schlagbaum shares the company’s partner program goals.

The attendees then ate lunch during the next two presentations from Qwest and Covad. Qwest collected business cards to give away a Garmin, and then discussed with the audience its promotions, SPIFs and the Qwest Referral Program, which will help partners with orders and opportunities. “Think of the referral desk as a group of people who come to work every day to help you,” said Qwest’s Eric Erickson.

Regional vice president of sales for the Qwest Business Partner Program, Sandy Spencer, said, “My company really needs to focus on working more closely with our subs, so that’s going to be the focus of my organization [for the next year].”

Next, the audience heard from Covad’s Andrew Pryfogle, Lisa Graham and Janeen Fisher. Covad discussed specific services and solutions, including bonded T1, NextWeb Super-T from Covad Wireless, the ClearEdge Integrated Access Solution and the Covad Alliance Center, an online resource for agents. Covad was also very generous with the prizes, giving away a PlayStation Portable, binoculars, golf balls, USB ports and so on.

Andrew Pryfogle of Covad channel sales tells partners about its solutions.

After lunch, PAETEC answered questions about the McLeodUSA merger and addressed the audience’s questions about the company’s goals. The company also spotlighted its equipment for services program, which entails PAETEC subsidizing a customer’s new equipment in exchange for purchasing PAETEC services.

Following PAETEC’s session, we heard from XO Communications’ marketing manager Jon Skinner. He discussed XO’s relaunch of its business partner program in early 2006 and told us about the tenets of that program.

Jon Skinner tells partners about new marketing resources available from XO.

Next, we heard from New Edge Networks. Bruce Barnes, director of channel programs, told attendees about New Edge’s sweet spot in multilocation DSL, T1s and MPLS in the smaller and midsized markets. New Edge also gave everyone in the session a handy memory stick.

New Edge Networks’ Bruce Barnes discusses the company’s new promotions.

As the day started to wind down, we heard from Global Crossing. The company told agents about its uCommand Web-based portal, free for customers. The portal can monitor services, create and track trouble tickets, manage SLAs and more.

Then Intelisys was back up to discuss mobility solutions and Sprint. Natasha Royer Coons of TeraNova was brought on to Intelisys to create wireless solutions geared aptly for the current market. She discussed how to diversify wireless revenue and explained a bit of wireless policy management to the session attendees.

Next in line was Verizon’s Kristen McCarthy, sales director of Verizon’s solutions provider program. McCarthy reported that Intelisys was Verizon’s fifth-largest partner, and all combined, the partner entities had generated $144.6 million in revenue for Verizon so far this year. McCarthy also told partners about their newly granted access to Verizon’s OneSource tool for pricing, promos and other information.

Finally, InterCall Channel Manager JoAnn Kendricken brought the day’s educational sessions to a close. Kendricken reported that InterCall was the largest conferencing provider in the world based on revenue. “The reason you should sell conferencing is everybody uses it,” she affirmed. Kendricken told the audience about InterCall’s partner extranet, where they can easily obtain access to product information and sales tools.

After a day of speed-dating with supplier sponsors (as Intelisys’ McKenney called it), attendees scooted over to the Supplier Fair, complete with hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. Partners were invited to network with representatives from more than 25 of the suppliers in Intelisys’ portfolio.

Attendees seemed to be quite pleased with their day of education. “I’m hoping to learn some marketing skills and techniques here and learn what other partners are doing to increase business ... so far, so good,” said Lonnie Domnitz, president of LANgineers Inc.

Christina Dumlao of Dumlao & Associates was a consultant coming to check Intelisys out. “I’ve heard a lot about Intelisys so I came to see what they had to offer,” she said. “So far, I’m impressed. Their shopping bag is very full. They have a nice variety of products and services.”

Julie Hobson, co-founder of Windward Communications, said: “To be honest, for me, it’s a reunion. I used to work at Cable & Wireless ... it’s a small industry and it’s nice to see everyone again.” Hobson also said she believes it’s impossible for companies to get every single piece of information out to the agents, and therefore, this is a good forum for everybody to share what’s new.

Inteligolf attendees pack the supplier fair show floor.

PHONE+ Group Publisher Mike Saxby (left) and Jay Bradley, president of telecom services for Intelisys (right), pose for a photo opp with me. (What a good-looking crew!)

After the supplier fair closed, Mike Saxby and I attended a yummy dinner with the folks from Access One at Joseph’s Restaurant in downtown Santa Rosa.

Can someone say nightcap? After dinner, crowds flocked to the Brasserie next to the hotel and conference center.

Since I was still operating on Central Time, I called it a night around 11:30 p.m. and went to bed. I knew I needed to get lots of sleep for the next day’s events.

I know you are probably familiar with the saying, “Business up front, party in the back.” And although that saying usually applies to the ever-popular hairstyle, the mullet, I think it applies to the Inteligolf event as well. This is not to say that the first day wasn’t fun ... or that the second day saw no business networking going on ... but there was a definite distinction between my purpose when I awoke Thursday and my plans when I awoke Friday!

Attendees had five leisurely choices for Friday’s agenda: a golf tournament at the Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club; a day at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Spa; or one of three different winery tours.

I pine for the vine, so I opted for one of the winery tours. And to shake things up a bit, I chose Tour No. 3, which included a visit to a brewery as well.

Bus No. 3 departs for a day of wine-tasting.

The crowd gathers at Passalacqua Winery to learn about appellations and how to read labels from Toney, our host. And, of course, we had a little wine.

Two of the buses met at the next winery, Michel-Schlumberger, for lunch under majestic trees on a hill bordering the vineyards and herb gardens. Lunch was magnificent! Just to give you an idea, we had braised organic chicken with garlic confit, roasted heirloom tomato and sweet pepper ragout. And after the cheese course, we experienced an apple crumb tart with spiced molasses Chantilly. Yum! And, of course, let’s not forget the wine – unbelievable.


Inteligolf participants enjoy the beautiful weather at Michel-Schlumberger Wines in Healdsburg.

I take a moment to thank Mike, the winemaker at Michel-Schlumberger, for making the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, some of the best wine I’ve ever tasted!

 
Everyone at the event knew Bus No. 3 was the party bus!

Our last stop of the day was the Bear Republic Brewery, complete with a brewery tour. I’m not much of a beer-drinker, but the Heritage Ale was delicious. Publisher Mike Saxby was swooning over the brewery’s signature Racer 5.

When we returned to the hotel, we knew the day was far from over. We all got a complimentary paraffin wax treatment on our hands, thanks to the hotel spa. (Here’s Mike sporting his manly mitts!) We relaxed on the lobby couches and sampled more wine and passed hors d’ oeuvres.

I’m sure the other winery tours were just as fun ... and we got our own little taste of spa day as well!

Inteligolf participants listen intently at Duckhorn Wineries' Paraduxx Wines in Napa.

The weather was absolutely beautiful all day – and I know the golfers especially appreciated it! Congratulations to the winning team: Brian Read, local channel manager, XO; Rob McCarthy, general manager and vice president, XO; Mike Reardon, Intelisys sales partner from ProVision Communications; and Jordan Regallo, partner sales manager for business markets, Level 3.


From left to right: Rick Dellar, Intelisys co-founder; Andrew Davis of Covad; and Gary Keswick and Adam Myers, Intelisys sales partners, compare drivers.

From left to right: Eric Erickson of Qwest; Ira Globerson, an Intelisys sales partner; and Cody Calhoun of McGraw Communications all concentrate on Ira’s putt.

The audience enjoys a magic show from Jay Alexander.

At the end of the day, it was time for the 19th Hole Cocktail Party, dinner and a magic show from Jay Alexander. (Be sure to ask Level 3’s Craig Schlagbaum if he ever got that $100 bill back!) Following the magic show, we were treated to a night of dancing with 80s cover band, Tainted Love.

Overall, I’d say the Inteligolf event was unquestionably a success, but it was over way too quickly. Don’t get me wrong ... I was very tired and glad to be home to my husband and my dog; but I wish every Thursday and Friday could be that fun! Thanks, Intelisys! I hope to see you next year!