On Growth

Got a Growth Story? We Have an Award for That

The RCP/Rocket award honors IT services companies whose unique business strategies have led to growth. The May 1 deadline for submissions is fast approaching.

• By Mike Harvath
• April 17, 2013

Revenue Rocket has teamed up with Redmond Channel Partner (RCP) magazine to create the RCP/Rocket Excellence in Growth Award. You might have read about this award in the January 2013 issue of the magazine in a Channel Watch column by Scott Bekker.

The award will recognize and honor excellence in growth, and it will be awarded to up to three IT services companies whose innovative business strategies have resulted in sustained growth over a three-year period.

The award is open to all U.S.-based IT services companies with annual revenues between $5 million and $75 million that provide a one- to two-page case study describing their business strategies, and how those strategies have resulted in growth over the past three years. The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2013.

RCP and Revenue Rocket, each in their own way, have dedicated themselves to helping IT services companies become more successful. RCP is an independent advocate for its readers, offering advice on how to expand partner business, develop fruitful partnerships, build service-oriented business, work more closely with Microsoft, develop and market unique areas of expertise, and satisfy customers. Revenue Rocket is an IT services growth consultancy, working with companies looking to grow their business with some combination of organic growth strategies, mergers and acquisitions, and partner expansion strategies.

All entries will be evaluated by a panel that includes me; Scott Bekker, editor in chief of RCP; and three other distinguished guests with hands-on experience in growing an IT services business.

The award will be evaluated on two key criteria.

First, the strategies: What unique combination of strategies did you employ to generate the results you achieved? This section will constitute three-quarters of the evaluation, as we're most interested in understanding which various strategies drove success, and how.

Second, the results: What did your company achieve over a three-year period in terms of revenue, profit and other relevant metrics you deem appropriate? This will account for one-quarter of the evaluation.

To be considered for the 2013 RCP/Rocket Excellence in Growth Award, companies must submit an essay, in case study format, that documents and supports the company's growth over the last three years: 2010, 2011 and 2012.

The format of the case study should include:

• Company Background: Describe how you're positioned and differentiated in the market in terms of vendor alignment, technology focus, geographic reach, vertical emphasis and so on.
  
  
• Strategic Initiatives: Identify the key strategic initiatives that your company implemented and how they drove your business over this period. This could include mergers and acquisitions, geographic expansion, new service line offerings, sales and marketing programs, and key hires.
  
  
• Performance: Describe your company's performance over this period, including revenue, profit and any other metric that makes your case.
  
  
• Lessons Learned: What have you learned as a result of this effort? In addition to an award plaque, winners will also be the focus of an article in a future issue of RCP magazine and have a donation made in their name to a charity of their choice.

The submission period is open, so please send your entries to [email protected].

More Columns by Mike Harvath:

• Seller Beware: Customers Want Vertical Partners, Not 'Generalists'
• To Get in Good with Microsoft, Find the Right Salesperson
• Column Archive