Last week was a fairly important one for me. I had the privilege of conducting a workshop at Meridian Business Day and next Wednesday we will have a table at the Ultra Clean Smoke Out. While preparations for all of these were going on, another opportunity presented itself and then rapidly became a reality. I had looked at Meridian Business Day as a chance to perhaps re-wet my feet in an arena that I was successful in some 20 years ago …. workshops and seminars. Instead, it became a vehicle for the soft announcement of those services as well as my recent designation as Idaho’s first authorized “Nimble SCRM Solutions Partner” which is a venture that I will team with SEN Technologies. Somehow, somewhere, the memo I wrote myself about slowing down got lost.
So where does networking come into this? Everywhere! I’d like to think that I have been a fairly strong face-to-face networker my entire life. I started my first leads group in 1993 which, I might add, is still running today albeit without me. Instead, I now own and operate three NetWorks! Boise Valley groups. My last five years in the electric sign industry were spent working out of my home and working 100% with referrals who all came about one way or another as a result of networking. Our groups? Networking. It’s all about effectively networking with others.
Two short years ago the extent of my computer expertise was the ability to send email. I’d played with LinkedIn and it held some interest. I viewed FaceBook and Twitter as nothing more than distracting amusements for those who had nothing better to do with their time. Then I read an article about these social media applications and, to my amazement, they were mentioned along with the term “networking”. Hmmmm. Now I was interested. I think my very first activity on any social site may have been posting a question on LinkedIn practically begging for someone to help me understand this new world order. And, someone responded. And, she was willing to help. And, turns out she was local. And, she was even quoted in the article I read that got all of this started! Sweet! Jennifer Harris (@jenharris09) took the time to introduce and explain to me the steps needed to get involved in Social Media and even more importantly why I needed to do so. I still did not understand the why but even a trained monkey like me can follow the steps.
Among the many things that Jen advised me of was the importance of starting a blog. A what!? What will I write about? Jen took care of that too by suggesting “A traditional networker’s journey into social media”. Hence, you find yourself here. Over the past 19 months I have studied hard practically to the point of obsession. Even worse, I’ve had fun doing it! I’ve learned a great many things and have developed relationships with a great many folks who never, and I mean never, would have been found in my traditional social or business circles. In an economy the likes that few of us have even seen, I found myself presented with too many opportunities. Yes, today is a target rich environment for those who network effectively. So many wonderful people and so many awe inspiring ideas! I have been truly blessed to be associated with all of them!
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) has long been a particular area of interest for me. I have written about it quite a bit on this site. I have also struggled to find an application in this category that will effectively integrate social media with those features and functions that are common for this type of software. While my searches yielded some promising technologies, none were that which I had envisioned in my mind. I never did find my vision, instead it found me via a comment left on one of my posts which in turn led me to Nimble and has placed me on the path where I find myself today. It is my pleasure to announce that Sales Results LLC will now offer three major business related services:
- NetWorks Boise Valley B2B Leads Groups
- SCRM and CRM needs assessment, recommendations, and implementation
- Web-based and in-person training, workshops, and seminars
Behold the power of networking! I may fall flat on my face in all of these areas but without networking there are no opportunities to either sink of swim. Tough to hit a home run if you never even get to swing the bat 🙂
Thanks for visiting!
Craig
