If You're Not Getting SBSC Newsletter, Start NOW

First: Holy Smokes, Batman!

I was very impressed with the Small Business Specialist Community newsletter I received yesterday.

Here are some snippets:

You receive this communication as a benefit of your Microsoft Small Business Specialist Community membership.
Welcome to the July 2009 SBSC Program News. This newsletter is designed to present the most current and relevant information about Microsoft incentives, promotions, and opportunities available for SBSC members.

New SBSC Advisory Board Announced: A Strong Resource for All SBSC Members
The SBSC Program Team has selected new SBSC Advisory Board members for the new Microsoft fiscal year starting July 1, 2009. The role of the SBSC Advisory Board is to provide Microsoft with real-life feedback and ground-level intelligence about what is important for SBSCs. This year there is one SBSC Advisory Board member in each of the 10 Microsoft U.S. Sales Areas. SBSC Advisory Board members are committed and eager to be the local partner liaison between you and Microsoft. If you want to find the SBSC Advisory Board member in your region, and share the good and the not-so-good about being an SBSC member, click here.

Congratulations to the Winners of This Year's SBSC "Driving Small Business Success" Contest!

GRAND PRIZE Winner: Carl Mazzanti-eMazzanti Technologies-Hoboken, NJ
smart fortwo passion coupe plus a VIP trip to a Talladega Superspeedway NASCAR Race and SBSC Team jackets

First Place Winner (A) Stephen Hall-District Computers, LLC . . .

First Place Winner (B) Rutledge-CCS Business Solutions, Inc. . . .

Second Place Winner: Wade DeVore-Netvision Consulting, Inc. . . .

Third Place Winner: Matt Scherocman-PCMS Datafit, Inc. . . .

Fourth Place Winner: Christopher Rue-Black Warrior Technology, . . .

Fifth Place Winner: Perry-Soaring Eagle Computer Services, Inc. . . .

SBSC Partner Finder: Fixed!
We heard you loud and clear when you said that the SBSC Partner Finder from the Microsoft Small Business Center could be better-some of you couldn't even find yourselves. Significant improvements have been made to the back end of the Partner Finder, and we hope that it will get you good leads. As a reminder, only SBSCs are prompted in this engine, so this is a competitive advantage that you have over your local non-SBSC competition. Please take a look, and if you still have issues, shoot us an e-mail message to [email protected] with a precise description of the problem.

New-SBSC Exclusive Resources Web Site
Want to see a list of the Top 10 SBSC Benefits? You will find it here. You will also find a list of SBSC Recommended Resources and Training links . . .

Windows 7 in the Microsoft Action Pack
Registered-level members of the Small Business Specialist community, did you know that upon RTM the Microsoft Action Pack (MAPS) is scheduled to include Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate. . . .

Launch of Digital Distribution Software Benefits
We are proud to announce that since June you can have faster and more convenient access to your software benefits including your Microsoft Action Pack benefits, through digital distribution. By directly downloading your internal-use software, you can access software and updates the moment they're made available-no need to wait for your Microsoft Action Pack Subscription or Microsoft Gold Certified or Certified Partner box shipment. Check here for the latest details and . . .

SBSC Learning Spotlight: Handpicked Training Opportunities for the SBSC Community
For the second installation of the Learning Spotlight, the Microsoft U.S. Partner team has hand-picked the following trainings. Enjoy!
" An 8-minute Partnercast: How to Sell SQL 2008 to Small and Medium Business Customers
" 5W/50 Series-Migration Concepts with SBS 2008. Learn from the Swing Migration expert Jeff Middleton.
" 5W/50 Series-The Network Is Slow: Troubleshooting and Tools with No Budget: Troubleshoot faster and more effectively, plus get free tools.

Other Useful Information
For those of you going to the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans (July 13-16), we have an opportunity to meet in person during the "Build Your Own Business" open table session on Thursday afternoon, July 16. . . .

(. . . means I cut something. This is not one of those newsletters that makes you click on stories to go to the web site and read the real thing.)

Second,
If you want me to forward the entire SBSC email to you, please send an email to [email protected]

And if you are a Small Business Specialist but don't get this newsletter for some reason, Contact the SBSC Partner Team and ask for it.

Like you, I get endless emails from Microsoft. Even the ones that try to consolidate all the juicy information are overwhelming.

But I consider this little newsletter lean and to the point.

Note also that there's quite a bit of news in the SBSC space.

In particular, Congratulations to the contest winners! To be honest, I was looking forward to owning a smart car. Oh well, maybe next time.

Also, Congratulations to the SBSC Advisory Board members. I have enjoyed my time on this board. With luck, they'll have an opportunity to be more active than the first board was!

:-)