In addition to the blogs listed to the right under the Inquisix blog roll, there are many other really interesting blogs that I read on a regular basis. Posts at these blogs that I recently found interesting enough to star and comment on are below:

• 10 Tough Questions To Ask Prospects – Sometimes it’s the commenters that really make me think about what’s being written here. This is one of those posts because the first commenter disagrees with these 10 questions. He claims to be a buyer so the credibility should be there.
• 10 Ways to Get More Clicks in Your Email Campaigns – Our VP Marketing, Betsy, has been sending out regular InquisixCONNECT newsletters to all our members. I’ve found this post to be a great checklist for me to quickly review her newsletter to ensure we’re getting the attention we want. I especially like these tips:
  #2 Link Headlines
  #3 Link Images
  #5 Tease them
  #10 Personalize
• How to Gently Remind a Customer… – It’s end of quarter and you (or your salespeople) have a few deals left in the forecast. Are they going to happen or not? It’s the time for wondering how many times you can call the customer in a week just to get their update. You’ve already asked for the order. A “Yes” is a great response. “No” is not great if it’s because your competitor is winning but bearable if it’s just pushed out a few weeks. But it’s the no response at all that drive salespeople (and their managers) CRAZY. The stress of not knowing is almost worse than knowing it’s a “No”Geoffrey James has a few ideas on how to get the customer to respond. Better yet, the first commenter shared an email that made him respond to the salesrep asking him for the update.

How do you treat long-time customers when the economy is this challenging?  Are you tightening the rules to manage costs or are you more liberal in your policies?

I went to a business that I had purchased from for many years but not over the last year.  They greeted me warmly as if I had just talked with them yesterday, with no hint of criticism or complaint in their voice.

Later that day, I went to another business that I also frequent often.  They know me well enough to recommend new products they think I’d like.  And they know I’ve referred other customers to them. I was 90 minutes late in returning an item I had rented and they wanted to charge me another full day.  It’s their policy and it’s posted.  When I asked for leniency, the owner’s reply was, “It’s our policy and you need to pay.”

The next day I received a rather large bill.  I had made a mistake in understanding the rules so the bill was correct if unwelcome.  When I asked the Accounts Payable person for some flexibility, I was flatly turned down.  When I asked to speak to the owner, I was told that he refused to discuss these issues with anyone.  “Even customers who’ve purchased from him for 20 years?” I asked.  The answer was, “Yes.”

The economy is going to get better.  I will spend more money.  I will continue to make referrals to my vendors.  Which vendor mentioned above will continue getting my business and my referrals?

According to the Boston Globe, June is shaping up to be the gloomiest month in Boston since 1903. Perhaps a joke is in order, this one from “Advanced Sales Skills Guidebook” by Daniel Farb and Bruce Gordon. Thanks to my buddy Mark for telling it to me yesterday.

A keen sportsman spent the weekend at a hunting lodge and bagged a record number of birds with the help of a dog named “Salesman.” The man was so impressed that when making his reservations for the following year, he specifically requested the services of the same dog.

“Too bad,” said the lodge manager. “Six months ago, some jerk who was here kept calling the dog “Sales Manager” by mistake. Now all he does is sit on his tail and bark.”

Like many other road warriors, I’m often using my cell phone when driving in the car. Especially when it’s a long ride on the highway. Or a long wait at the airport. I definitely prefer a handsfree headset, not because it’s the law in many states, but because I am more comfortable when I don’t have to hold the phone up to my ear. More comfortable means better communicating.

I recently found a great Bluetooth wireless headset. I don’t choose my headset as a fashion accessory. I always chuckle when I see people having a face-to-face conversation but leave their Bluetooth headset in their ear. Did they forget to take it out? Do they really think it’s a geek fashion accessory? Well, the headset I chose is not a fashion accessory. Form over function.

I wanted the following features:

• Bluetooth to work with my cell phone and PC (for Skype)
• Long battery life
• Great noise cancellation so that the person I’m speaking to doesn’t think I’m driving in the car
• Comfortable

I could only find 1 manufacturer that made a Bluetooth headset with a boom microphone. Turns out the VXI BlueParrott B250-XT is made for truckers to talk over the sounds of their big rigs.   Well, it’s GREAT for my uses, too. Even comes with power chargers for work and car. And I had one problem (caused by not reading directions) that the toll-free tech support remedied in no time at all.

So if you are looking to actually USE a headset when talking to customers and prospects from the car, then buy this headset.

You can find details about the headset on VXI’s website.

I bought the headset online at less-than-suggested-retail-price from GeekBro and their price, service and delivery were excellent. (Maybe this headset is a geek fashion accessory after all!)

Inquisix’s own Betsy MacKinnon was interviewed on blogtalkradio recently. The topic for the show was “Has Blogging Crossed the Threshold of Legitimacy?”

If the above does not work, please click Has Blogging Crossed the Threshold of Legitimacy?

From The Liquid Betsy:

Jon Hansen, host of Blog Radio’s PI Window of Business asked me to join a panel to discuss “Has Blogging Crossed the Threshold of Legitimacy?” I was happy to accept. What an excellent experience I had! The panel was outstanding, the discussion was fast and furious, and our host kept the us all on time and on topic. One of the best interviews I’ve ever done or been associated with. We went over the allotted time limit. I could have chatted for a lot longer (but you knew that…)

So many thanks to my fellow panelists: the delightful Dr. Ellen Brandt, Ph.D., the winner in the Community Marketing’s Great Blog Off. – congrats to her for this week, she launches her new blog “Baby Boomers – The Angriest Generation”; the insightful Elizabeth Hannan, an on-line evangelist at Pragmatic Marketing whose firm focuses on leveraging the new media to elevate brand awareness; and David Bush, who as CEO of Iasta (a supply chain software company) launched probably one of the first “content marketing” blogs as the creator and editor of an industry leading blog the e-Sourcing Forum.

This is the second in our series of meeting our Inquisix community members.  Thank you to Rick Roberge, master networker and sales coach with David Kurlan & Associates — and an Inquisix member since December 2007. Rick spent some time to answer a few of our questions about trends in business and networking and we’re much obliged.

I starred 3 blog posts this week that I’ve re-read a couple of times already and wanted to share with you.

From Seth Godin – He refutes the cliche and states that “It DOES hurt to ask” because you then don’t get a chance to ask the right way.

From Geoffrey James – An example of what he considers an eternal rule of business, “Anyone who manipulates you with fear intends to screw you eventually.”

From Adrian Miller, author of “The Blatant Truth”, 10 Ways to Suck at Networking. I was at the New England Networkers event last night and am going to the Cambridge Business Development Group event tonight so a quick referesher on what NOT to do was timely.

This is Part II of our interview with Shiera O’Brien, Inquisix member since April ‘08.  Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, she recently started an Inquisix Group, The Dublin Chamber Business Referral Traders. 

If you missed Part One just click HERE. Now on to Shiera…

About the Inquisix Group you started- The Dublin Chamber Business Referral Traders Group- please tell us more…

I started the Dublin Chamber Business Referral Traders Group because I was keen to bring Inquisix to my contacts there and try and replicate an on-line experience of the great networking events they put on around Dublin. I run a program at the Chamber called “Maximize Your Membership,” how to really get value from networking, because the consistent problem was that people let it all slide after attending an event. They never followed up. And that can be expensive. So I thought with Inquisix, we could keep the momentum.

Do you see a specific need that Inquisix addresses of your group?

Inquisix allows the group to start building their on-line network and continue the conversations they have had at the Dublin Chamber events. It will strengthen the ties within the group and encourage them to trade and conduct commerce between each other. It is still in the early adopter phase. We are planning to do an on-line event with Michael Kreppein to demonstrate the power of this tool to help our members. We hope to do that in the next month and really get the buzz going about Inquisix over the summer months.

If you could get across one thing about Inquisix to a perspective member what would it be?

Inquisix is like clean energy in on-line networks – no noise polution, no spam footprint & a cleaner world. It’s real and you do make connections.

I really love the clean way the information is presented, I’m not bombarbed with job adverts and spam, which is a serious problem with other tools, which devalue the experience of on-line networking. So keep it clean and it will build loyalty. With Inquisix, I can just get on with the job, which is to make connections and build a business network worth participating in and generate real business opportunities.

Thank you for talking with us Shiera, Happy Connecting!

For more information on how you can start your own group or about our affiliate program, contact Michael Kreppein.

Paul McCord has an excellent series of posts on the 4 requirements for a successful referral.

Pillar 1: Your Relationship to Your Client
Pillar 2: Your Client’s Purchasing Experience
Pillar 3: Your Client’s Relationship to the Referred Prospect
Pillar 4: How You Contact Your Referred Prospect

Paul says that clients don’t like to give referrals. I agree, I think they’re much better at being a reference then pro-actively giving you a referral.  But referrals can be earned and Paul details the “how” which mostly revolves around your reputation with your client.

What’s really interesting is discussed in Paul’s 3rd pillar.  He says, “Your referred prospect will view YOU the same way they view your Client– Good, Bad, or Indifferent”  I absolutely agree.  Inquisix’s data on the quality of a reputation given shows that the better the relationship between the the person giving the referral and their referred colleague, the better the referral experience.  The first hint of a bad referral is how the referral is handled, which is Paul’s 4th Pillar.

So the primary reputation factor in a good referral is not between the person asking and the person giving the referral. Rather, it’s between the person giving the referral and their referred colleague.

Pillars 3 and 4 are why Inquisix allows members to rate each side of the referral via reputation points.  If you give a referral, that member will rate you on the quality of the referral given.  If you get a referral, that member will rate you on how well you treated their trusted colleague. Your Inquisix reputation rating of giving and getting referrals then becomes the badge that all other members can use to validate your credentials.

We were lucky to grab this very busy power networker – meet Shiera O’Brien, Inquisix member since April ‘08.  Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, she recently started an Inquisix Group, The Dublin Chamber Business Referral Traders. 

Hi Shiera, so tell us about your business.

Zenith Training and Development is my business. I work specifically with sales professionals, helping them have more powerful sales conversations and meetings. I offer training and coaching to clients in the psychology of buying and selling and how to get better results from sales meetings and become a buying facilitator rather than a sales person.

Why do you network?

I network because meeting in person is powerful as an introduction to my company, and I am generally meeting people on the sales front line, so it’s the type of business introduction I want. I use on-line networking to back up my off-line/in-person networking and am sharing this methodology to all my contacts. I need other people to create a business network, and I want technology to do the work for me after I’ve put time and effort into an event.

What made you join Inquisix?

As an active member and Ambassador at The Dublin Chamber of Commerce, in Ireland, I found the on-line networking tools to be lacking in process, when it came to post-networking follow-up. Linked-In was too public; would I want to put all my contacts on public view? I loved the idea that I could keep my contacts in a Vault, yet allow others to tap into the contact pool and return the favour. The real attraction is holding contact privates, yet opening the doors of opportunity to others and vice versa. We get a glimpse at the potential for real connections via this tool.

I found Inquisix mentioned in a blog and then was travelling to the US and met Michael Kreppein. I really liked how he communicated the vision of what they wanted to achieve with Inquisix and so far they’ve been loyal to this vision, willing to invest in supporting users in Ireland. Inquisix went a out of their way to make the address fields work for us here, which was the only way we could kick start things and build a community.

Prior to joining, I was doing lots of in-person business networking through local business groups. I found it to be useful, yet the missing link was an easy to use on-line follow-up tool- a system to follow-up that I could have on-line, that would keep track of all my contacts and referrals. The follow-up process and technology was the big missing link- I couldn’t work with the tools that existed out there, because of the public way it displayed contacts and there was no proper referral tool. Inquisix came across my screen when I did research on it for the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

What do you like best about Inquisix?

The layer of anonymity: I can see what’s happening in the world of my contacts. Somebody asks for a referral, and if I don’t see the real value in the connection, I can make a decision anonymously whether I want to give the referral or not, and relationships remain intact. I also like the pro-active referral tool. I meet people every day that I think should hook up and it’s great to be able to go in, hit a button and send on referral contact details with a note. Pure Magic. Like a gift in their In-Box. It’s a very powerful way to say “Hey, I am serious about helping you with your business, ” without always looking for a return favour. This helps build a reputation, which Inquisix tracks and profiles, so people can see how committed I am to networking in the local business community.

Easiest thing about Inquisix is, it does all the work I don’t like doing; keeping track, sending emails, and putting all that information on referral into somebody’s inbox with a few clicks. And it shows me graphically what is happening. It’s very well designed and takes the effort out of passing on contacts.

Any great examples of using Inquisix Trusted Referrals™?

I had a request from somebody in the network, who knew me, but I didn’t know them as well. I got the request one morning, called him, asked about his business, thought it was good fit, so I hit the referral button; 30 minutes later he was on the phone talking to a contact he had been looking to meet for 2-3 previous weeks. I gave him an additional contact in same business arena. So he got two targeted contacts from one request through Inquisix. This demonstrates the power of Inquisix and got me very excited about the possibilities it can bring to businesses in a way it hadn’t existed before.

What are the misconceptions about online networking? 

The misconceptions in this part of the world are based on people’s perceptions about social media in general. Can we trust these people? What if I give a referral? What will happen to my reputation?

The reality is, the next generation don’t have that at all, so as they come into the work force, Inquisix will be a natural tool to use; they will want to use it and won’t think twice about asking for a referral into a network they don’t personally know, they will make the connection and move to the next one. When somebody really embraces this technology they will experience rapid business growth.

Do you like the direction Inquisix is going? How do you see the future of networking?

Yes, Inquisix is going in the right direction. I like how it has closely replicated the real world of networking. Networking on-line is the way forward.We are in a time-poor work society, where connecting to the right person is absolutely vital. I can see that the next generation are going to drop all concerns and embrace this like no other group of people. They do not have the same “perceptions” around relationships. On-line relationships are as real to them as off-line relationships.

I see it being an integrated part of a Sales Strategy, CRM strategy and people will build profiles and businesses rapidly by embracing it now rather than adopting a wait-and-see-attitude. I am an early adopter and I am willing to put the effort in and harvest the reward over time. Like everything, Inquisix will reach a tipping point and create the snowball effect that will bring in the wider web community.

Next post : Part II, Shiera talks about starting an Inquisix Online Networking Referral Group.

For more information about how you can start your own group or about our affiliate program, contact Michael Kreppein.