The Dynamics GP consultant is the most important person in any Dynamics GP VAR. But they never get to have fun. Consultants are overworked, pushed to hit 90% utilization day in day out. That’s makes them sad. 
 
There are many events that are geared at sales people and Executives – but the consultants are billing machines that always have to stay home. Like any productive machine  – consultants needs to be looked after, have their oil changed and given a chance to refresh and renew. If you do not give your number one employees a break and a chance to get out and mingle they end up looking like a very tired old consultant that can scare customers away. 
So – reIMAGINE 2014 provides a chance for every Dynamics GP VAR and every Professional Services manager to correct many years of unspeakable wrongs against consultants. There is nothing a consultant loves to do more than learn new technologies, talk to other like minded consultants and drink alcohol. In fact learning and drinking goes hand in hand, with the later improving the former.

Every consultant can add serious improvements in revenue by learning more about products, tools and technologies. After all – you have to admit that it is a consultant that sells a new tool to a customer – not the sales person. In fact it is impossible to sell any software unless your consultant knows how to make it all work. So regardless if you are coming to learn more about GP 2015, more about Sharepoint and other Microsoft tools or to brush up on all the ISV products – there is no better place than reIMAGINE 2014. Your consultant will bring back all this new knowledge that will lead to MORE software sales into prospects and your existing base. Last time I checked more revenue is a good thing.
Presales is where it is at. If you want to sell, you have to know how to build a solution and show it off in all its software sexiness. Consultants do NOT know how to do this. Consultants are awesome at training and by nature are bad at demonstrations. reIMAGINE 2014 is a great chance to reinvent your consultant into a Presales Gun. Both Microsoft and eOne will be running session on how to turn those demos sexy with hands on examples and experience. IF you want to BRING SEXY back to your software demonstrations – then get to reIMAGINE 2014.
Now back to beer and drinking in general. There is no better place on earth than Fargo in November for drinking. It is simply too cold to do anything else. Having lived here for 18 months I am familiar with all the best places to consume golden liquid. Here is the deal – if you are a GP consultant and you come and give me your business card and introduce yourself – I will buy you a beer. No questions asked. The only caveat will be that you might have to drink it with me. 

Training the Mind. There will be Microsoft training, other ISV training and most importantly eOne is running training on the two days before reIMAGINE 2014. Come and hang with the product gurus at eOne and we will teach you everything you need to know about our products. We will be hosting Certification training for SmartConnect, SmartList Builder refreshers and a deep dig into eXtender. 

 
Now back to drinking for a minute – we are going to have one big eOne party during reIMAGINE 2014. This is our home town and we want to show everyone some home town hospitality. When we party we know how to do it properly. We see this as a chance to ‘give back’ to all our partners for helping us through the days when SLB and Extender came home. We know there were some tricky moments as those products extracted themselves from Microsoft – but we all made it and it has worked out great for everyone. So details are to come – but this is going to be a GP party to remember. 

So to summarize:
     1. Consultants need a break and need to be appreciated.

     2. Send your consultants to #reIMAGINE2014. Tell them it’s a break and they’ll come home smarter.

     3. Microsoft is doing some great things with GP – get on board.

     4. You get to party with eOne – who doesn’t want to do that?

     5. You get to learn with and from the smartest and brightest people in the GP community. (They all live in Fargo)

See you here in Fargo in November.