COVER STORY Special Report: Going Vertical. The benefits of building vertical expertise. 20 Go Vertical or Go Home by Megan Santosus It's back to school if you're interested in broadening your horizons for new markets of the vertical kind, in which granular knowledge of an industry and its needs will help carry the day. 22 IT Doctoring for MDs by Alison Diana Physician, heal thyself. Although many practitioners use technology to treat everything from colds to cancer, they're laggards when it comes to IT spending. Here's how to entice them. 28 Professional Services Calling by Carol Hildebrand Time is money in the $460 billion professional services market. To get lawyers, accountants, and consultants to give you the time of day, sell productivity, productivity, productivity. 32 Retail Pays Off by Lauren Gibbons Paul The opportunities to sell into this sector are the best they've ever been, with more than 2 million SMB retailers ready to go beyond basic POS systems. FEATURES 36 References Available upon Request by Martin Middlewood Sales rule #1 for SMB channel partners: When your customers speak, potential customers listen. 38 Peer to Peer: The Power of Networking by Amy Luby From best practices to business models, the SMB community is generous with advice. Channel pro Amy Luby tells where to get it. DEPARTMENTS 6 From the Editor by Cecilia Galvin 8 Quick Hits Green IT for resellers; blogs to cure HR ills; SMB CEOs predict economic growth; the merits of certifications; and more. 14 Takeaways An executive summary highlights this month's top stories. 17 Analyst Q&A Charles Golvin of Forrester Research speaks on the convergence of business and consumer technologies and its impact on SMB channel partners. by William Kozel 18 MYOB: Capitalizing on Cash Flow If growth is costing you money and you're robbing Peter to pay Paul, it's time to nurse your balance sheet back to health. Here's how. by Samuel Greengard 40 ChannelWise Vendors and distributors have the cure for what ails the channel. So why won't they administer it? by Larry Kesslin 42 ChannelBeat Noteworthy news from the channel partner program world. by David Geer 44 Reader Survey Help us help you. By giving us As to our Qs, you'll help make ChannelPro the magazine you can't wait to read - and put yourself in the drawing for a free navigation system. 46 POV: Cisco's Wendy Bahr A measured approach helps VARs best position themselves to exploit the demand for IT solutions among SMBs. 48 One Last Thing: Road Trippin' Take a vacation from the daily grind and indulge your passion for summer sports. by John Danielowich
