December 2012 recommendations

Each month, your first-Friday delivery of the U.S. partner newsletter, emailed to you as a benefit of your Microsoft Partner Network membership, contains a list of our recommendations for U.S. SMB partners located in the Central Region. We also use this list to update our Central Region page on the U.S. partner portal.

These recommendations are in the U.S. partner newsletter delivered Friday, December 7. This week’s role-based training recommendations are about earning technical certifications and sales accreditations.

With the end of 2012 rapidly approaching, our focus this month is on resources that can help you close business and take advantage of offers that will expire on December 31.

• Join our Central Region Partner Call on December 14 at 10:00AM Central Time to learn how to get ready for new business deals and opportunities.
• Download your software benefits (if eligible): Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013, and other new products are now part of internal-use licenses for Action Pack subscribers and competency partners.
• Earn up to 20 percent in rebates when you sell annuity agreements. You must sign up prior to December 14 to participate in the current U.S. VAR Rebate program. Terms and conditions.
• Offer your customers flexible payment solutions that meet their IT needs.
• Use Volume Licensing promotions, like the Windows 8 offer, Windows Server 2012 Datacenter upgrade promotion, and the Big Easy Offer 9 to close business. Several offers expire on December 31.
• Strengthen your sales skills and achieve your sales goals by earning a Sales Specialist or Pre-Sales Technical Specialist accreditation aligned to your company’s business.
• Attend the Voices for Innovation briefing about the Microsoft proposal for a National Talent Strategy on Wednesday, December 12.

You can read all the content delivered in each issue of the U.S. partner newsletter on the U.S. Partner Team blog. The next newsletter will be online only, published on December 21.

Find out how to stay informed as a U.S. partner at http://aka.ms/uspstayinformed and how to prepare for the latest product releases at http://aka.ms/usproductlaunch.