“I hate proposals.” That’s where Episode 5 starts, and the pushback comes quickly.

The Disconnect crew debates when a telecom sales proposal earns its keep and when discovery, a demo, and a clear contract should be enough. Selling UCaaS to a small MSP or CSP can look very different from helping a larger buying team justify a purchase.

We get into bloated templates, missing decision-makers, useful executive summaries, and the value of spelling out deployment, support, and scope. Then the conversation turns to commoditization, selling beyond price, and buyers using AI to compare vendors before they ever speak to sales.

If you’ve written a proposal nobody read, or watched a quote circulate without the context needed to win the deal, this conversation will sound familiar.

Proposal, contract, or it depends? Listen and pick your side.

Website: ⁠https://thedisconnect.net⁠YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheDisconnectPod⁠Contact: ⁠[email protected]

Trade-show success isn’t determined when the doors open. It is usually decided months earlier.

In this episode of The Disconnect, Ken Adams, Peter Radizeski, John Wigboldus, and Geoff Hultin revisit their trade-show strategy—this time with real-world results from Alianza Navigate 2026.

John and Geoff explain how Datagate prepared by studying the agenda, identifying the event’s major themes, aligning its messaging, scheduling meetings in advance, and creating collateral specifically for the audience. The result was meaningful conversations, new opportunities, and a much stronger return from the show.

The conversation then turns to Alianza Crux, AI orchestration, specialized voice agents, and the opportunity for CSPs and MSPs to connect emerging AI experiences with telecom infrastructure.

In this episode:

• Why successful trade shows begin months before the event
• How to align your messaging with the conference agenda
• Why pre-booked meetings make such a difference
• What unprepared exhibitors consistently get wrong
• How Alianza managed the Crux product announcement
• The opportunity around AI orchestration and specialized voice agents
• Why commercialization, billing, compliance, and channel compensation still matter

CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS

Ken Adams:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/xaasken/

Peter Radizeski:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/radinfo/

John Wigboldus:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwigboldus/

Geoff Hultin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ghultin/

FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE

Follow Alianza:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/alianza/

Learn more about Alianza Crux:
https://www.alianza.com/products/alianza-crux/

THE DISCONNECT

Website and host bios:
https://thedisconnect.net

Watch on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@TheDisconnectPod/podcasts

Questions, comments, or topic ideas:
[email protected]

Everyone says companies should listen to their customers. Far fewer actually do it—and even fewer know what they’re trying to learn.

In Episode 3 of The Disconnect, Ken Adams, Peter Radizeski, John Wigboldus, and Geoff Hultin discuss why customer conversations are one of the most overlooked sources of business intelligence.

The conversation covers:

• Why companies avoid talking to dissatisfied customers
• The danger of chasing new logos while ignoring existing accounts
• How customer interviews can expose a flawed business strategy
• Customer advisory groups versus one-on-one conversations
• Why checkbox QBRs produce weak feedback
• Whether every customer conversation needs a defined purpose
• Turning customer insight into retention, growth, and better decisions

The hosts don’t completely agree on how structured these conversations should be—but they agree on one thing: if you aren’t regularly talking to your customers, you’re probably missing problems and opportunities hiding in plain sight.

The Disconnect is a candid conversation about MSPs, CSPs, telecom, technology, sales, marketing, AI, M&A, and the corporate decisions that leave operators asking, “How did that get approved?”

Website: https://thedisconnect.net
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDisconnectPod
Contact: [email protected]

Trade shows can generate real pipeline—or become very expensive networking trips.

In Episode 2 of The Disconnect, ⁠Ken Adams⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Peter Radizeski⁠⁠, ⁠⁠John Wigboldus⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Geoff Hultin ⁠⁠ discuss how CSPs, MSPs, technology vendors, and channel partners can get meaningful results from industry events.

Topics include:

• Why trade-show planning should begin months in advance

• Booking customer and partner meetings before the event

• Preparing booth staff with focused messaging

• Measuring results beyond badge scans

• Creating personalized follow-up that leads somewhere

• Using panels, sessions, dinners, and vendor relationships effectively

• Why standing behind a booth and staring at your phone doesn’t work

The central lesson: showing up isn’t a strategy. Successful trade shows require clear goals, preparation, participation, and disciplined follow-through.

Subscribe to The Disconnect for candid conversations about CSP and MSP operations, sales, marketing, M&A, channel strategy, and the business of technology.

In the first episode of The Disconnect, Ken Adams, Peter Radizeski, John Wigboldus, and Geoff Hultin examine the backlash surrounding Good Good Golf—and what it reveals about modern marketing.

What happens when companies outsource their voice, content, and customer engagement without keeping an experienced human in the loop? The group discusses authenticity, audience trust, brand ownership, AI, outsourced marketing, and the operational disconnect that appears when efficiency replaces judgment.

It’s a candid conversation about who should control a company’s message—and what can happen when nobody does.