By Khali Henderson

The Channel Partners Conference & Expo is reprising with a few twists its popular Peer-to-Peer Networking Mixer of Independent Agents and Subagents at its upcoming show, Sept. 20-22, at the Gaylord National Resort in Washington, D.C.

Sponsored by master agency PlanetOne Communications, the event is being moved from its day two, evening timeslot to the beginning of the conference program during the lunch hour at 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 20.

Agent members of the organizing committee, prompted by feedback from past attendees, felt that having conversations with peers first thing would set the tone and shape their personal agendas for the rest of the conference. (Plus, they said, that its great to have a meal on Ted Schuman.)

Another twist is that the speed networking a brisk meet-and-greet session will be replaced by a more casual cocktail environment where agents can mingle and enjoy conversations at their leisure.  

What isnt changing are the hallmarks of the event: the vendor-neutral environment (no master agents or vendors are allowed to attend) and the roundtable discussions. This time the topics include emerging opportunities (cloud, managed and VoIP services), suppliers, sales and marketing, growth/transformation and contracts. There will also be a discussion table where anything goes. The tables will be moderated by agent peers and also subject matter experts, including Heather Margolis, founder & president, Channel Maven Consulting; Ralph Widmar, CEO, Network Intelligence; and Ben Bronston, attorney, Nowalsky, Bronston & Gothard.

Conference organizers expect between 50-100 agents to attend, share information about vendors, discuss common business concerns, find potential partners based on skill, product or geography, and begin friendships that can grow in 2010 and beyond.

Peer-to-Peer Mixer committee members include Cary Bush, sales director for Voice Services, Logista; Cameron Larson, principal, Astound Communications; William Leutzinger, president, TelecomMedic; James Lockhart, president, Telecom Management Inc.; Dan Vidal, co-founder & managing director, Telecom Advisors Inc.