AI Partner Executive Podcast: Neural Impact’s Joe DeHaai on 3 Things Every Partner Should Know to Scale

In this episode of the AI Partner Executive Podcast, Joe Corigliano, Director, Biz Apps Partner, Dynamic Communities, hosts Joe DeHaai, Chief Business Impact Officer, Neural Impact, for a discussion on three things every partner should know about scaling. Neural Impact focuses on the Microsoft ecosystem and Microsoft partners, rooting their work in neuroscience.

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Key Takeaways

• Partner Enablement Workshop: The Partner Enablement Workshop is being held on Sunday, October 19, at Community Summit North America. This full-day workshop aims to help partners become frontier firms through speakers from Microsoft and the community. It’s intended for sales, marketing, and alliance leaders of firms that want to get a step ahead on what it means to be a frontier firm.
• Biz apps shift: While DeHaii doesn’t consider himself to be on the full “biz apps is dead” paradigm, he does believe there is a huge shift. “I think companies are still going to need that foundational system of record that biz apps, ERP, and CRM provide. However, what are customers are going to need from us out of those systems is dramatically changing,” he notes. The shift involves transforming the business, not just about implementation.
• Understand the strategy: From a customer perspective, the science of selling starts at the top. Organizations have to understand the strategic decisions of customers and where they’re going with their business. “You have to understand where they want to take it, what they want to do, what their strategy is, and you have to do that early in a sales cycle so that you can tailor the messaging not only around ERP and CRM, but also around what’s their AI transformation path.”
• Expanding portfolio services: The second key element is that you have the opportunity to expand the portfolio of services that you offer. Customers are expecting a long-term partnership, which will be a big shift.
• Maintaining engagement: The third element to the major shift for partners is that this is no longer a situation where you implement, and then you have a reactive support model. “You actually have to continue to stay engaged with your customers, understand the direction they’re going with their business, and help them continuously innovate.”
• Partner expectations: During the Partner Enablement Workshop, attendees can expect to learn about frameworks, tools, and skillsets from Neural Impact that allow partners to have a more strategic conversation with their customers, focusing on the AI transformation point of view. They will also talk about key tips and techniques for engaging with customers long-term, considering the customer lifetime value, engagement, and continuous innovation.