Networking vs Working the Room

I have been thinking a lot lately about Networking. I have been attending networking events, have gone to events specifically on Networking education, and am reading a few books right now on the subject. It finally dawned on me that Networking is extremely different than Working the Room. Yes, it took all that but I finally get it.

I went into my quest for knowledge on networking specifically looking for information on how to approach and build rapport with strangers. I have always been shy to walk into a room full of people already grouped together in discussion when I know no one. But after some introspection this perceived idfficulty I now have the confidence to hold my head up when walking into a room and engaging with a person standing by himself or can walk up to a group and join their conversation (which is more difficult). However, I didn’t realize that the follow-up and relationship building is the more important part of networking. And that you can’t just follow up once, you have to put it on your calendar to follow up again and establish yourself as a resource based on a rapport-building topic or something you have in common. And that has been harder for me – to uncover something in an initial conversation that gives me a good reason to follow up and be a true resource, friend, partner, supplier, etc. Does anyone have any good books on that topic?

The Compliment Guys Making a Stop in Atlanta

Just reading this AJC article made me happier. Two Purdue University students have become famous for giving out compliments. Yes, you heard me right.

They used to stand outside one of their buildings on campus and just say nice things to fellow students going to class. Kodak now sponsors them and they are traveling on a 10-city tour, encouraging people to look on the bright side of life. Recently they were in Centennial Olympic Park calling out compliments and high-fiving people walking by. I have had a lot on my mind in general trying to acclimate to being a working mom and family/life balance. If I saw these guys I probably would’ve walked the long way around the park to avoid them and most likely would’ve thrown a dirty look their way.

I think what these guys are doing is very cool. I can definitely use a little more positivty in my life and sure many others could too. I wonder if we can hire them for our clients’ conferences and meetings? I think they’d definitely generate buzz!

What the Future Holds for Sales and Marketing in 2012

This morning I attended a TAG Marketing presentation on “What the Future Holds: Marketing and Sales in 2012.” It was very interesting and more than a little scary at the pace of technology, where we are, and where we will be in a few short years. As I’ve been hearing over and over again, adaptability and innovation are the two most important traits for companies to survive and thrive. Change happens very quickly these days. Here are a few items I compiled from the meeting:

Antiquated -> Present and Future

Ranking Reports -> Traffic
Leads -> Conversions
Homepage -> Custom landing page
Search Engines like Google -> Searching on Twitter
Search Engines -> Decision Engines
Googling to find a plumber in your area -> Reaching out to FB friends or LI contacts to find a plumber
TV ->YouTube
User experience ->Does this convert to sales?
Laptop ->Cellphone
Generic, broad-based marketing and sales ->Niche and Personal

-more credibility in marketing and sales is necessary
-integration (of social media) with traditional media
-increased focus on usability, user experience
-social media marketing is past its experimental phase. The question is, are we participating in the conversation or not? You can’t control what’s being said about you, but you can participate in the dialogue
-single source: clients are increasingly wanting a company who can do it all
-all marketing will become interactive
-keyboards will become obsolete
-88% of the revenue comes from the top 16% of salespeople
-in sales, you must show value and solve clients problem before or by the first call
-lead with value

My Initial Twitter Experience

I REALLY didn’t want to begin twittering and have resisted for a long time. I am already feeling the time-suck of social media by writing two different blogs based on two completely different interests, trying to beef up my LinkedIn account and navigate all its capabilities, maintaining a personal FaceBook page where I post pics of my baby, and helping my company utilize our corporate Delicious and FaceBook pages.

I decided to start VERY slowly with Twitter. I created an account and then sat on it for days. Then I gradually searched and followed experts and thought leaders to see what they were doing. I have changed my profile about 10 times and will probably keep changing it until I decide what my objective and strategy is for Twitter so that when I finally narrow my focus I will already be up and running. Three of my observations:

-I am not tweeting with my best friends and I don’t necessarily want to. I am on Twitter to follow the experts in a field and soon hope to establish my own niche and develop an expertise. This is not my FaceBook account and the two audiences are very different.
-Again, it’s not so much the tool. Twitter is just another medium in which experts get their message across.
-I really like that I can access Twitter from my BlackBerry. While the application is a little slow, it gets the job done.
-Writing a compelling message in 140 characters is actually pretty difficult

Social media will dominate you and your time unless you proactively take control, know your purpose and objectives, and set aside time in your schedule. Most importantly ABIDE by that time. If you have a Twitter account, follow me here: @jennymunn

Event: TAG Enterprise 2.0 - Selling Social Media Within Your Organization

This morning I was getting ready to leave for my first TAG (Technology Association of Georgia) meeting and my car wouldn't start. So I yelled at my husband to come help me because I was going to be late and there were specific people at the meeting who I wanted to introduce myself to. I caught him just before he jumped in the shower and so he came running down in his towel and showed me how to jumpstart my car. Thankfully I was still a few minutes early for my meeting so I was able to network a bit. I took a picture of the speakers (it's very close because I like to sit in the front row) - from left to right, Sherry Heyl with Concept Hub, Jeannie Ericson with PBA's Lens on Atlanta, and Andrew Wilson with the ACVB. Not pictured on the panel were Sue Klumpp with nuBridges and Lisa Aloisio with Brandware.

The content of the meeting was very good. The topic was "Selling Social Media Within Your Organization." Personally, I run into a lot of resistance when I encourage people to implement a social media component to a meeting or conference, so I was eager to hear what the panelists had to say. And I was surprised to find that my friend Sherry Heyl was moderating the panel as she is chair of this group and I didn't know that. Here are my top takeaways:

-what companies need to know nowadays is that you can't control the conversation. It's happening, like it or not.

-social media has turned into a sexy buzzword, which it is not. It is business as normal and should be treated so accordingly.

-time management should be a non-issue if you are using social media to fit with company strategies and objectives.

-to introduce social media to your organization, you need to justify either the cost-savings or explain how it will bring new business and drive leads.

-know who are your customers and how can you connect.

-introducing social media in your organization: you have to do it to prove it, but there is a huge risk associated with that and a lot of resistance. Be careful.

An objective I encounter pretty frequently is that no one is sure which department should spearhead the effort. My brilliant idea is that a committee should be created, comprised of one member to represent each department in IT, Marketing, Communications, and Sales. Although someone does need to do the initial work to begin encouraging a social media program, it definitely needs to be a very collaborative, engaged, and controlled process with parameters. Overall, great meeting!