Posted by Ashley J. Martinez on May 12, 2021
Editor’s Note: This post was originally posted in April 2020 and has been updated to include the full catalogue of “On the Clock (with Tech Data Coach),” podcasts featured in the Coaches series.
According to Forbes, “I need a business coach” is a common phrase among business leaders today.
With the trend in professional mentorships on the rise, today’s business climate is ripe for experts to help with counsel, out-of-the-box thinking and alternative approaches.
According to the American Society for Training and Development, managerial productivity increased 88 percent with mentorship compared to 24 percent with training alone. It appears colleagues do better with mentors and coaches!
Based on this growing need, Tech Data launched “Tech Data Coaches,” an exclusive, free online mentoring service for resellers, providing access to a comprehensive team of subject matter experts (SMEs) from Tech Data to advise and coach on business-related matters through an online community. Check out this story in Channel Futures on the platform launch in April, 2020.
The Tech Data Coaches platform is available to partners in North America. It includes more than 70 coaches who provide expertise via live content feeds and through one-on-one sessions offered exclusively to Tech Data partners. The coaches advise on a wide and varied range of business topics – from building a practice around next-generation technologies, to helping individuals nurture and refine their personal and professional skills in marketing, sales, organizational enablement and more. In addition, many coaches have vertical industry expertise in public sector, healthcare, retail and smart cities.
The Tech Data Coaches online community is powered by a B2B social networking platform with features and functionality modeling other find-an-expert platforms (think TaskRabbit for the home improvement industry) with “match features” to locate coaches who have the “superpowers” to meet a wide range of needs.
“Tech Data Coaches is enhancing the way we engage with our partners,” said Stacy Nethercoat, senior vice president, Advanced Solutions. “This offering creates interactive environment that allows individuals within our partners’ organizations – each of whom represent an important role within their company – to innovate collaboratively, enhance their professional skillsets and accelerate business growth. We are excited to bring Tech Data Coaches to market after seeing the incredible results and responses we’ve received from our partners who participated in the beta phase of this offering.”
This service, Nethercoat further explained, is aimed at helping Tech Data partners readily develop skills and competencies needed to enhance their businesses and practices and enables them to create and deliver the best technology solutions possible for their end-user customers.
Begin by building a user “Smart Profile.” Users can access their personalized Tech Data Coaches homepage and receive recommendations on additional coach connections that fit their interests and needs, as well as search and browse resources and experts on-demand within the online community. Members can view coach profiles and see coach meeting availability to request personal one-on-one sessions, as well as mark their favorite coaches and opt-in to receive coach notifications and content on personalized content feeds.
Image 1: Coach profile. Users can browse coaches by business, technology, skills and competencies, view meeting availability and thought leadership on their activity feed, as well as read up on their professional and educational backgrounds.
Image 2: Tech Data partners using the system are matched with recommended coaches whose skills align with the user’s professional interests.
Image 3: When a coach is marked as a “favorite,” the user begins to see posts shared within the community from those coaches.
“As a managed service provider (MSP), Tech Data Coaches is a valuable resource, providing guidance and support when we need it most,” said Juan Fernandez, vice president of Managed IT Services at ImageNet Consulting. “After building a profile on the platform, I was able to share my interests. Within minutes, I was connected with experts who could help me grow my skills in sales leadership and building strategic partnerships. What I find most impressive is that it’s not just for executives – it’s a great go-to reference for people at all levels who seek mentorship or seek input on how to grow their skills. I plan to have my entire team – including our marketing department – sign up to use this online coaching platform.”
The new online community also launches with a podcast series, “On the Clock (with Tech Data Coach),” featuring short informative audio segments covering each coach’s specific “superpower” specialty area. The first three podcasts are available (click images below) and future podcasts will be shared regularly on the Authority Blog.
In our first Coaches podcast, Jade Witte, Strategic Enterprise Consultant, discusses his superpower: Cybersecurity. Listen now.
Listen to Derek Eling, Business Development Manager, as he covers the details of his superpower: Technology as a Service (TaaS).
In this podcast, Jeremy Singh, Marketing Strategist, covers his superpower: Brand Marketing.
In this “snackable” 20-minute podcast, Tech Data Coach, Adrienne Ambrose, discusses account management.
Tech Data Coach, Mark Shaffer, shares his insights on how cities are quickly becoming ‘smart’. Listen to what Mark has to say in this informative podcast.
Listen as Tech Data Coach Diana Weber, shares how agile inspires and transforms teams.
Tech Data Coach, Scott Manicke, Shares How to Maximize Your Cloud Opportunities through Service Delivery.
Tech Data plans to expand its Coaches platform, fortifying connections within the Tech Data ecosystem among resellers, vendors and other industry partners, including availability beyond the U.S. and Canada.
Get started today by building your Smart Profile in minutes here.
