Interview: Jason Reading on Winning the Australian Small Business Solutions Partner of the Year in 2009

With only two days left to submit your Partner of the Year award entry, I thought it a great opportunity to inspire you by asking last year's Small Business Solutions Partner of the Year winner about his experience...

PARTNER: Jason Reading of Comcity Technology (shown second from left, accepting the award at last year's Australian Partner Conference)

CM: Hi Jason, did you feel winning the award last year gave Comcity a tangible point of difference versus your competitors?

JR: Hi Clayton. Having been a finalist in the year prior to winning, Comcity Technology was aware that there was an increase in activity associated with the status of Partner of the Year. What we were not prepared for, but absolutely delighted with, was the positive response from Clients and Prospects alike. We always ask prospects why they chose to engage Comcity and, over the past year, have definitely won a significant amount of business over our competitors due to this differentiation.

CM: That's great! So did you actively promote the fact you won the award to existing and prospetive clients, and would you honestly say it's resulted in winning new business?

JR: Yes. From the day we won, we’ve been actively promoting our win to both new and existing clients. We have absolutely no doubt that this has been a significant contributor to our high success rate (when pitching for new business or projects).

CM: And what about from an industry perspective - do you think the award helped "put you on the map" with not only Microsoft but other industry vendors and partners?

JR: There has certainly been a higher level of visibility for Comcity. Within Microsoft, we have engaged on a variety of programs which we may not have been a part of otherwise. This has also flowed through to partners outside of Microsoft where they have acknowledged our status as Partner of the Year and been interested to find out more about our business and success.

CM: Last question for you Jason; Did winning the award add value to Comcity from your staff's perspective - was there a sense of achievement and pride from your team?

JR: We certainly celebrated our success with our staff! The whole team was very excited to have won and definitely identified it as recognition of their hard work, particularly coming off the back of some challenging times with the GFC. It was a particular thrill for the team directly involved with the solution which was submitted.

CM: Thank you very much for your time, and I hope to see you up in the Gold Coast in September!

JR: Absolutely, we'll be there.

Clayton Moulynox
Microsoft Australia | Channel Development Manager – SMB
Twitter: @claytonhm | Blog: Microsoft Australia Partner Blog (SMB Feed, Top VAR Feed)