DAY 1 REGISTRATION: MAY 15

WELCOME

BREAKOUT #1: 3 for 3

Best-selling Author and SMB Influencer, Ramon Ray, will lead us as we breakout in small groups of just 3 attendees each. The assignment? Collaborate to identify the top 3 Small Business marketplace changes that impact our collective ability to successfully sell to the new SMB.

KEYNOTE

As the Global VP/GM for SMB/Mid-Market, Maciek “Magic” Szczesniak has for years led a $2Bil+ unit of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. His perspective on Small/Medium Businesses is expansive, deep and grounded in years of growth in the highly competive tech sector. With thousands of B2SMB enterprise followers (he is a “Top Voice” on LinkedIn), “Magic” will kick our event off detailing 3 massive changes and challenges that SMBs now face in 2024. He’ll then talk how B2SMB Leaders can navigate those changes and challenges in a successful “New Sell.”

KEYNOTE

Carlos Horn has toured the globe in the past year, and has spoken directly to over 150 B2SMBI Enterprise Leaders – from Google and Apple to Microsoft and Meta. He’s also spoken directly to over 500 SMBs along the road. The dialogues have both informed and inspired. In a keynote that complements what “Magic” Szczeniak has offered us, Carlos will tour the challenges we face in “The New Sell” with provocative solutions brought about by AI.

C-SUITE PANEL

We open our series of panels with a view from the top. Led by Silver Lining CEO, Carissa Reiniger, 3 of our C-Suite Leaders from Alignable, Wave, and Boostability will address the 3 key changes in the Small Business marketplace that they each believe are most impactful to selling to SMBs successfully.

SALES LEADERSHIP PANEL

Led by Rich Hargrave, Senior Channel Sales Director for vCita, our panel of seasoned Sales Leadership Execs from Verizon Business and Turbify join Rich to lay out the realities they face on the front lines of SMB sales: what’s working, what’s not, and where are SMB customers taking us.

BREAK

POWER HOUR: SALES STRATEGY BREAKTHROUGHS FOR THE NEW SELL

Is it new-new or old-new? That is the question that confronts every Leader facing down their own Go-to-Market Strategy. The challenge requires creativity, perserverance, and leaps of faith. We have just the Leaders to talk how they are breaking through.

THE CUSTOMER AS A SALES CHANNEL

In the middle of summer 2023, Intuit launched something hot: a media “channel” built from their 30Mil+ SMB Customers. The mechanics of marketing successfully to their own customers was well in-hand, lending courage to the core SMB MediaLabs concept: outside B2SMB enterprises can now leverage Intuit’s extensive SMB communication methods to target prospects. Dave Raggio runs this break-out new option for B2SMB marketers (just in time for the demise of cookies). He takes us through the program.

AI AS A SALES TOOL

Jordan Ritter “builds deep tech, products users love and high-performing teams that make both possible.” He has the history to back-up his claim. Remember Napster? He founded it. Same for Cloudmark, Servio, Ivy Softworks, Atlas Informatics. His latest venture, Augment AI, might just surpass them all. The Augment tool is a self-described “ear-whisperer,” a powerful virtual assistant that recalls, synthesizes and applies what gets said and written between people. The application for Sales Teams is more than powerful, and Jordan will explain how.

COMMUNITY AS A SALES PLATFORM

When Kush Shrivastava builds, big things happen. 15 years ago, he started building big things at Google. He then helped build Kosei (acquired by Pinterest), then Yahoo’s SMB Platforms (acquired by Verizon Business), then FalconX (an $8Bil valuation crypto platform.) Today he’s building big again. Using the community of Xoogler – a group of 45K+ ex-Google employees that he founded – as a lab, Kush is building a community platform united by shared ambition – Key.ai. His next stop? The community of SMBs. An added bonus? B2SMBI’s community is a Key.ai beta partner.

BREAKOUT 3 for 3

Raymond Ray leads us once more as we breakout in small groups of just 3 attendees each. The new assignment? Collaborate to identify the top 3 Small Business marketplace opportunities discovered from our afternoon of Panels.

SMB PANEL

Time to hear from the Customer! Member Cargo Agency will moderate a live panel of SMB decision makers on what it takes to win their business. This highly interactive session allows all of us to hear directly, without filters, what moves a SMB to “Yes.”

VIANSA WINE TASTING & CHARCUTERIE

PARTNERSHIPS CIRCLE BRUNCH: Sponsored by Intuit Small Business MediaLabs

A very good reason to stick around for Day 2, and hopefully a great new tradition. We invite all attendees to join us for a classic Sonoma brunch from Season 3 Chopped Winner, Daniel Gomez Sanchez. The menu includes great combinations: from Wild Mushroom and Feta Quiche to Smoked Mt. Lassen Trout Roe with crispy Sourdough and fresh local Cherries with Creme Fraiche. Plus breads and pastries from Oprah fav Model & Monday Bakeries, and a Bagel Bar from Paulie’s. Another great opportunity to sit with new friends and partners as we kick off our day devoted to collaboration.

WELCOME

Kelly Benish
Chair of the B2SMBI Partnerships Circle

FOCUS ON PARTNERSHIP KPIs

The KPIs of Partnerships Success: What metrics define your Partnerships’ success? We’ll ask leaders in the house how they measure their efforts, kicking off with Data Science Leader Sagar Ganapaneni of Intuit. We’ll l talk about different KPIs used, with attention to what’s common, what’s different, and most importantly, what can improve your overall Partnership performance.

PARTNERSHIP SUCCESS STORIES PANEL

We often ask of a Partnership, “What does success look like?” Chris Shank of Verizon Business and Mitchell Groves of Alignable talk us through their partnership, with a special emphasis on how their collaboration took shape and got delivered.

PARTNER SHOWCASES

We’re dedicating time to hear from “Newbies” to B2SMBI, each with powerful offerings. Kelly Benish asks each of them to give a brief overview of their business, and what they need from our Partnerships Circle. Qs welcome!

PITCH FOR PARTNERS

Back by popular demand: we’ll invite attendees to stand and introduce their company, their partnership opportunities and what they’re looking for. 3-Minute time limit per Pitch!

WALKABOUT

Steps Towards Partnership:
The Viansa grounds afford us a number of walking paths around the grounds – perfect places to csually engage in small group walkabouts. It’s an opportunity to meet and greet more of your Partnerships Circle attendees.

RECAP OF PARTNERSHIPS CIRCLE MEET-UP

We’ll end Day 2 with summary take-aways and a commitment to meet within 14-days with prospective partners we’ve identified during the time together.

PARTNERSHIPS CIRCLE LUNCH

For those with a more leisurely departure, we’ll head to downtown Napa for lunch and more wine. And stay tuned for our first-ever Golf Scramble at one of Napa’s many amazing club courses on Thursday afternoon!