News:

The ins and outs of social media, as well as new takes on conventional networking were on tap at our first annual wine tasting event held the evening of April 29th at WineStyles.

Matt Rosenhaft of Grand Central Solutions stressed the importance of having a marketing strategy with clearly defined goals before diving into social media. Simply throwing technology at a problem is an invitation to failure.

Properly done, social media:

• provides a more interactive website with repeat visitors, dialogue, personalization and human touch that creates a large amount of user-generated content
• provides a single point to manage inbound lead management, qualification and referrals
• supports a new buying model with buyers doing internet research before engagement
• creates a central repository or all customer interaction; documentation, collateral, video, demos, testimonials, referrals, qualification, solutions, partners and support

The finer points of establishing relationships through face-to-face contact were discussed by Wendy Kinney of Powercore. Attendees were given tips and taken through a series of exercises they can use to help establish a rapport with someone they’ve just met at a business function:

• Begin by offering a confidant handshake - not limp but not too strong.
• When meeting a new prospect, give them a clue to help remember your name such as “Shawn Stroud—rhymes with Proud”
• See if you can find something in common such as places you’ve visited, interests, etc.
• Offer an example of what you do well business-wise and be able to cite a specific example.

The bottom line is people like doing business with people they like. By first establishing a personal connection, you’re more likely to be able to establish a business connection.