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A recent study from Stanford Graduate School of Business warns here that having too much (or useless) information about future negotiation partners is actually worse than having no information at all. As it turns out, the false illusion of knowing how to approach your (sales) meeting made participants 46% less likely to identify important issues in the negotiation. That’s not to say checking out people’s profiles on LinkedIn or Facebook before knowing them in real life is totally bad, but it can very well take your mind off the important issues in the game.
So don’t go running for client intelligence in all the wrong places.
Instead, get yourself introduced to your partners by a trusted third party. Because statistically, clients are willing to pay up to 25% more in an environment that they trust.
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According to Gartner, the CRM global arena is a 10 billion euro industry, with an annual growth rate of more than 25%. In total, it is estimated that more than 1 million companies use a CRM system, which also means there is vast potential for the years to come.
That’s a big market.
But how will CRM look like in five years from now? Well, that’s a question for analysts to ask (check out here an interesting piece from Software Advice), and for key players or influencers to answer.
The trends highlighted by Lauren Carlson with expert advice in the article from Software Advice relate to the following…
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The long lasting debate over Social Media at work just got fueled. Again.
Yet another study by Cisco revealed that “56% of twentysomethings would refuse to work in a job denying them access to social media or would attempt to sidestep the rule”. More than this, one in three respondents ranked social media access on the job as more important than salary and according to another study, 46 percent of teenagers aged 18 to 24 prefer Internet access to having their own automobile.
Now, these findings sound like huge alarms all over the world. Pessimists are already heralding the end of the world “as we know it”, teachers will probably try to ban smartphones from classes and automakers will have to try and change the 100 year-old concept of delivering to people some metal on rubber wheels. If they want to keep up productivity and sell cars to young people, they will have to deliver them a whole new experience, one that integrates the natural movement from A to B with every other gadget out there.
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That’s it. We’ve won!!!Clintelica is now officially the most innovative Cloud Computing idea in Sweden, as voted by the Cloud Camp Jury.
The event held in Stockholm yesterday confirmed that we are on the right track in our efforts to use networking in order to increase the quality of sales and recruiting.
We’ve always wondered why people winning Oscars have this tendency of thanking everyone from their mothers to their business partners, but now we understand it comes naturally. So here we are, Winners of Cloud Camp Sweden, humbly saying thanks to the team that worked so hard on this idea, to our families for the support they’ve shown, to the people at Cloud Camp for organizing a very cool unconference and, last but not least, to all the people who told us it can’t be done.
As for the Cloud Camp movement, you might want to keep an eye on the upcoming events that have a scheduled date and location here. The “unconferences” where early adopters of Cloud Computing technologies exchange ideas are going on strong around the world and by June next year cities like Sao Paolo, Montreal or Copenhagen will have awarded prizes of their own.
We will certainly keep an eye on #cloudcamp on twitter, simply because the organizers have shown that their mission, to provide a common ground for the introduction and advancement of cloud computing, is bringing the best the industry has to offer in one huge cloud of ideas, with links all over the world. Read more about how this works here and understand how to camp here.
And, for those who speak Swedish or use the translate feature in Google Chrome, link here to the IDG interview about winning the first prize.
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According to a study made by Robert Half Technology earlier this year that allegedly processed the answers of 1.400 chief information officers from companies across the US, more than 54% of them responded that their companies do not allow employees to visit social networking websites for any reason during office hours. Together with messaging tools like Yahoo or Skype, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter are seen like the devil’s work in these companies and are, as such, regarded as counterproductive. Amongst the main reasons why different employers block social media, the main is, of course, loss in productivity, but “exposure of company’s computer and network to viruses and spyware” and “leaking of corporate information” rank high as well. This kind of study only confirms what you might already be thinking, that this happens elsewhere in the world as well. After all, throughout the world and especially outside some industries like online advertising or media in itself, Social Media websites are regarded as entertainment.
In fact, considering all of these websites as entertainment is the weapon of choice for those who argue that it is more productive for companies not to restrict their employees access to Social Media. According to another study from the University of Melbourne, “short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf on the internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a day’s work, and, as a result, increase productivity.” According to this study, those who engage in WILB (Workplace Internet Leisure Browsing) are 9% more productive than those who don’t. But this is Australia we’re talking about, so this might explain the result of the study.
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What is a company’s “social capital”? According to Ivan Misner, founder of BNI, one of the world’s largest businesses networking organization, social capital refers to: “the accumulation of resources developed through personal and professional networks. These resources include ideas, knowledge, information, opportunities, contacts and, of course, referrals.”
A strong social capital can be a main differentiating point for a company, but how can businesses build and expand their social capital? The answer lies in the right kind of people who can enhance the company’s connections and exposure.
In his “Team Role” Theory, Belbin described these persons as “Resource Investigators”. Resource investigators are not necessarily able to solve problems themselves, but they will come up with an alternative solution to any problem, by using their resources inside or outside the company: they will refer you to a person who knows a person who can get the job done… quickly, efficiently and cheap. Other people in the company turn to them because of their capacity to connect the dots.
