Recently, I’ve been posting about Twitter and I also have been active in other social media networks.  The BIG question remains to be answered and is asked of me several times:  Is Social Media a time waster or can you grow your business using it.

Well, it does depend on who is your target audience.  I know that is vague but let me try to take a stab at it here to explain it.

Previously, I wrote about an article in The Boston Globe of a new restaurant (B2C) that was trying to create buzz about themselves before they opened.  They posted items about building the restaurant, the menu offerings and built up an anticipation about the grand opening.  They had a successful opening week.

I have also observed where a company that sells B2B uses Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to let everyone know of their new products they developed and are now selling.

So what is the right mix for your business?

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Recently I read an article in The Boston Globe about Xobni Software.

Xobni (inbox spelled backwards) was originally designed as a plug-in for Outlook that makes searching your email easier. After frustrating searches for a particular email I practically gave up searching all together because Outlook lacks any kind of logic for searching.

Xobni really shines as a search engine for Outlook. I’ve tried others but found them clunky and not efficient. After the initial indexing it runs in the background and doesn’t hamper my Outlook performance.

Using the search box will give you surprising results. As the creators would tell you it adds an “intelligent filter” that not only searches more efficiently but can display the sender’s telephone number if it’s in their signature of the email. It also shows you all the correspondence between you and that person and any attachments are listed separately.

Since I have been using it, I have also found that it creates a social network within Outlook of related contacts from emails received.

For example: Bob, Mary, Jack, Carole and Isaac all know me and know each other. As email correspondence is captured and indexed for future search by Xobni it relates the contacts together by reviewing how emails are addressed between each other. It looks for multiple To:’s , CC:’s and Fwd’s to relate people to one another.

When you search for one of the emails of the people you know it shows you who that person is networked with in your Outlook.

But here is how it becomes a sales tool as well!

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As the book states on it’s cover
“A Little Story About A Powerful Business Idea”.

The Go-Giver is a parable about a salesman named Joe who is struggling to make his sales quota. 
 
Joe hears about a legendary consultant called the Chairman who has made millions and is retired.  Seeking this consultant Joe hopes to use him to assist in closing a BIG DEAL.

However, Joe agrees to spend a week with the Chairman who introduces him to go-givers and at the end of the week the connector who puts them all together.  The Chairman teaches Joe “The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success”,

Bob Burg and John David Mann have written only 133 pages but don’t be fooled by the small number of pages.  As it has been said great things come in small packages.

The writing style of a parable made it not only easy to read but easy to understand and assist in envisioning how I can use what I learned immediately.  I highly encourage you to read it soon and take action to become a go-giver and meet your connector.  You will see how giving will lead to many returns in your business.

What happens when you go to lunch and an employee receives a call from the BIG DEAL you have been trying to close this month.

They may write down a message and forget to hand it to you because the employee doesn’t know it’s the BIG DEAL!

You come back from lunch and proceed with your day while the BIG DEAL gets impatient waiting for your call and closes the sale with your competitor!!

So it’s all in your head which now is frustrated because…

YOU LOST THE BIG DEAL OF THE MONTH!!

This example may be a simple one but it illustrates why you need to have a contact management system in place.

If your business was using a contact management system your assisant could have assigned a high priority alarm to call the BIG DEAL when you came back from lunch. You would have made the call and closed the BIG DEAL!! That’s a great ending to the story!!

Why is a contact management system
better than having it all in my head??
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