By Lenovo Guest Blog 2

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At the party, you could all sit together and share in one experience. And when all the presents were opened, the candles were blown out and everyone went home, there was something energizing about having had the opportunity to be there together. The next day at school your friendships were deeper, you wanted to hear more about their weekend and you were more engaged with everyone that shared a Kid’s Meal with you just days before. Fast forward to the business world, and it is still this magic that makes events so important for companies, especially Lenovo.

While Lenovo doesn’t always provide burgers, fries and a crown for partners we see at Lenovo Lives and trade shows, the time spent interacting with partners at each event is royal to us. At each event we are given the rare opportunity to share information about our technologies and programs that can help drive success for our partners. Most importantly, however, we are able to ask questions and engage in personal conversations with our partners to hear what is working well and what we can do better.

From webinars to tradeshows to Lenovo Lives and road shows, we are constantly looking at more ways to get in front of our partners to hear what you have to say and share the latest from Lenovo. If you have participated in one of our events before then you have an idea of what to expect, but for those of you who haven’t yet, here is a brief overview of what you can expect and where you can plan to see Lenovo:

Lenovo Live Webinars: If you don’t have time to attend an industry trade show or Lenovo Live event, our webinar series is a great way for you to stay up-to-date on the latest product and programs news from Lenovo. Open to partners, distys, DRCs and those interested in knowing more about Lenovo, our webinar series is scheduled for the second Wednesday of each month for our U.S. partners and third Wednesday for our Canadian partners. Each webinar is typically one hour and gives you the chance to hear more about our products and programs and ask questions directly to Lenovo experts. For those who are not able to attend, slides are posted on Lenovo Partner Network after each call. For more information, visit http://www.partnerinfo.lenovo.com/partners/us/resources/live.shtml.

Lenovo Live Events: Each quarter we visit about 15 cities around the country for half-day sessions with partners to showcase our products, channel programs and share Lenovo’s strategic direction. These sessions bring together 15 to 20 partners for a face-to-face meeting with Lenovo Channel executives and product experts. We encourage open discussion, which we use to help shape our channel programs and partner resources for the future. Not only do attendees get to engage with Lenovo executives, but they also get hands-on time with our latest products. For more information, you can contact your Lenovo channel rep.

Industry Trade Shows: Industry associations such as ASCII, UBM Channel, IT Nation and others provide a range of great resources to channel partners, including industry tradeshows and events where partners can network with one another, receive additional training and hear from industry experts. Not only do these events give Lenovo the opportunity to showcase our latest products and answer questions, but we often have the chance for one-on-one meetings with partners we don’t regularly see or those not yet registered as an authorized Lenovo reseller. Through keynotes, small group presentations and one-on-one meetings we always look forward to and value the time we have with resellers in these unique settings. This quarter, you can find Lenovo at XChange 2012 in booth #220 and at the ASCII Success Summit in Chicago. For a complete listing of all future event locations and dates, be sure to check our Channel newsletter.

Product Refresh Tours: New this quarter is our Product Refresh Tour, where we are putting the newest Lenovo products in the hands of our customers and partners. In these half-day sessions, attendees hear about product roadmaps from Lenovo experts, see the latest products in our Idea product line and have hands-on time with the latest Think products including X1 Carbon, M92p Tiny and the new ThinkPad Tablet. Cities on this quarter’s tour include San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Boston and Toronto. To learn more or to register to attend, contact your Lenovo channel rep.

We look forward to our time with you at each of our events to find out how we can better provide the resources resellers need to be successful. We encourage you to let us know how we are doing and how we can improve your event experience with Lenovo, whether it’s online or in person. We look forward to having you on a future webinar, seeing you at a future tradeshow or hosting you at an upcoming Lenovo Live.

Thank you for your continued partnership. Our crown is off to you.

Monthly guest blogs such as this are part of The VAR Guy’s annual platinum sponsorship. Read all of Lenovo’s guest blogs here.