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Strategic Guidance to Build Your Business
Volume 4, Issue 2, November 2009

"The Business Builder" is brought to you by VSA, Inc. in collaboration with Rink Consulting. VSA, Inc., founded by Valerie Schlitt, builds and implements B2B prospecting programs for businesses and professional service firms. VSA has a team of professional telephone callers who open doors to new business opportunities for VSA clients. Linda Rink, president of Rink Consulting, specializes in B2B and consumer marketing and research. Both Wharton MBA graduates, Valerie and Linda often team together to help clients identify and reach new customers. In this newsletter, they share some of their business development insights.
Use the Telephone to Boost Networking
by Valerie Schlitt, President of VSA, Inc.
Valerie Schlitt photo

How many times have you heard?

"I have a referral based business."

"I get my business only through networking."

"I've never made a cold call."

It's as though using the telephone to help your business is a bad thing.

That's plain wrong. In fact, the telephone can make your networking more successful and increase client referrals.

This article is all about clearing the telephone from its misunderstood reputation, especially when used to boost networking.

Fundamentals

There are three fundamentals of marketing that are true whether you are networking, using the phone, or running an advertising campaign. We all know them by heart.

  • It takes on average 6 - 15 times of seeing an advertisement, meeting a person, or hearing about a brand before you'll think of doing business or referring.
  • People do business with people they like.
  • It's never about YOU. It's always about THEM - your customer, your referral partner.
The telephone can be such a great tool to support these principles.

Tips

Call a few people after every networking meeting. When you call, don't talk about yourself. Ask about your networking partners. Compliment them.

Warm up a bit by talking about something personal before you talk about business.

Try simply saying: "Hi Jane, this is Valerie. I really liked talking to you at the meeting last week. I loved the restaurant you recommended."

Or "How about getting together for lunch."

Fear of Calling?

Calling someone in your networking groups is a warm call. Most people will consider you a "friend" and will want to talk to you.

Still, some people feel intimidated and won't make the call. They fear that others will be busy and won't want to talk. They feel odd just calling without a purpose.

Consider this the next time someone doesn't take or return your call. They might really want to talk to you. They might have truly enjoyed meeting you at the event. Because you called, they might remember your name and think positively about you in the future.

And, if somehow they never return your call, it's their loss! They may miss out on a great conversation, or an opportunity to do business.

It is no reflection on you. Always remember that.

A Final, Personal Story

I was introduced to a woman at a networking meeting in 2002. I called her after the luncheon.

She then introduced me to a whole group of entrepreneurs. We had a lot in common and for a few years this group of entrepreneurs met every month.

One of these entrepreneurs invited me to a women--only monthly networking group.

So many great things happened. I gained several clients, was featured in the Business Journal, and was asked to be a speaker multiple times.

Most importantly, I met Linda Rink, my partner in this newsletter!

All of this would never have happened without that first phone call in 2002 after the networking event! To this day, I am a huge advocate of combining networking and the telephone.
Is It Web 3.0 Already?
by Linda Rink, President of RINK Consulting
Linda Rink Photo

It seems like every week I receive an invitation to a webinar or seminar on Web 2.0 and/or social networking. That must mean that there are a lot of people who are still trying to figure out how to make Web 2.0 work for them and their business.

Well, I am here to tell you that the world is already moving beyond Web 2.0, and on to Web 3.0! The mind races!!

Let's stop for a moment and calm down with some definitions:

Web 1.0. Back to the basics. With Web 1.0, content is posted to a website by the owner; viewers read it but can't change it. Classic example: my website (www.LindaRink.com), which functions primarily as an online brochure.

Web 2.0. Now the information highway becomes a two-way street: web content is interactive. Both the author and the reader can make changes; the line between them is blurred. Examples of interactive content are:

  • Reviews on Amazon, Epinions
  • Wiki's (the most well-known is Wikipedia)
  • Social networking sites (Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter)
Web 3.0. This is where things get fuzzy. Web 3.0 is still evolving, and there is yet no accepted definition. But there are some key elements which are associated with most Web 3.0 descriptions:
  • "Intelligent" web application. Or perhaps more clearly: "individualized applications." Guided by artificial intelligence, web usage will be automatically customized by individual, based on that individual's usage patterns and preferences.
  • Open access. Web 3.0 applications will run on any device, computer, or mobile phone. Users can move freely from one device to the other - and from one application to another, taking their own identity with them.
  • A global database. Others envision Web 3.0 to be one large database, eliminating silos of separate data sources.
Information Overload

Web 2.0 has opened up a vast space of published current information and opinion about almost anything. With so much content being added constantly, information overload is a very real problem. And with social networking sites, even more so, because there are few checks and balances.

The challenge is to determine which information is credible and usable.

If you are making business decisions based on published data and "expert" opinions, you must be reasonably certain that your information is reliable, current, and relatively complete and/or representative.

One of the most important tasks for business researchers is to sift through the data, dig deeper, if possible, and judge what to do with it. This can be time-consuming and challenging, but obviously necessary.

Is It Web 3.0 Yet?

So it's not surprising that crystal ball-gazers envision a future Web 3.0 that eliminates information overload and duplication by bringing the data together into one large database that can be accessed in multiple ways. And that recognizes me wherever I am, and provides me with exactly the information I want.

Quite a scenario!

Of course, Web 3.0 is not here yet. When it arrives, it may be called something else, and it may look and act differently from the scenario I just outlined. But I predict it will be exciting - and it will come sooner than you think!

Warp speed for the information superhighway?

RINK Consulting
1420 Locust Street, Suite 31N
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-546-5863
lrink@lindarink.com
www.lindarink.com
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