Posted by Michael Damphousse on Fri, May 17, 2013 @ 02:36 PM
I'm just coming off 19,000 miles, 3 countries, and both coasts of the US (back and forth twice) in a 5 week period. I met lots of new people, and noticed a trend that interestingly reflected a concept Craig Rosenberg, The Funnelholic, and I presented at our case study session at SiriusDecisions Summit -- Social Surround.
It's not new, and wasn't coined by us, but Social Surround is the technique of using every social platform available to connect to your colleagues and prospects. Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, you name it. The more you connect, and the more you share with them or about them, the more you build that relationship. Let's face it, a retweet by any means is flattering.
Here's a surround scenario for you:
- I met the director of Demand Gen for a software company a few months back, brief handshake, intro and card exchange. There wasn't an immediate need for Green Leads work at the time...nurturable
- That night I sent an email with the contact info of a mutual colleageue we both knew from years ago that he had fallen out of touch with
- I then linked to him on LinkedIn
- From LinkedIn, I found his twitter handle, and followed him. Hopefully he monitors his new followers.
- I also followed his company account, learned a bit there
- Found him on Facebook, and instead of offering to connect, I simply shared Green Leads' facebook page with him. He liked it
- I notice his company tweets something retweetable, and give it a retweet. Maybe he'll notice
- He's an avid LinkedIn Update poster. So I liked a post
- Saw he was on the attendee list of #SDsummit, so sent a "Look forward to seeing you at the event" email
Fast forward to the SiriusDecisions Summit. Craig and I are in the case study presenting the Social Surround concept, and who's sitting in the middle row smiling? Yep. He comes up to me afterwards and told me how he personally experienced Social Surround by me and had come to the conference with the intent of talking with me about a b2b appointment setting project. Now that he knew the concept had a term and it worked, he was sold--surrounded and sold.
Benefits of Social Surround:
- Passive branding
- Ongoing networking
- Rapport building the social way
- Non-intrusive to the prospect
- Multiple touch points
- Warms up outbound activies
- Can trigger inbound responses
ps. What I like the most with Social Surround is that I'm seeing the prospects surrounding me. That is the ultimate Inbound Lead!
Photo: Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Surrounded Islands
Posted by Michael Damphousse on Wed, Oct 06, 2010 @ 02:00 PM
Today I'm attending New Marketing Lab's Inbound Marketing Summit at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro (killer spot for a conference, btw).
Highlight of the day is always Chris Brogan's down to earth, almost "stand up" quality talks. He is always insightful, practical, and spot on with his delivery.
I thought it would be useful to create a Twitter List of the #IMS10 Speakers.
Here you go: http://twitter.com/damphoux/ims10-speakers
| Alex Beauchamp, Citrix Online |
@alexthegirl |
| Alex Howard, O'Reilly Media |
@digiphile |
| Amber Naslund, Radian6 |
@ambercadabra |
| Audrey McClelland, Mom Generations |
@audreymcclelland |
| Benjamin Diggles, Webtrends |
@mrdiggles |
| Bernie Borges, Find & Convert |
@berniebay |
| Bettina Hein, Pixability |
@pixability |
| Brad Blake, Office of Governor Deval Patrick |
@bradmblake |
| Brian Halligan, Hubspot |
@bhalligan |
| Byron White, ideaLaunch |
@byronwhite |
| C.C. Chapman, Digital Dads |
@cc_chapman |
| Chris Brogan, New Marketing Labs |
@chrisbrogan |
| Claire Spina-Russell, PerkettPR |
@jerseygrl |
| David Meerman Scott, Freshspot Marketing |
@dmscott |
| Deb Orton, SAS |
@deb_orton |
| Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot |
@dharmesh |
| Erica Brookes, Vitrue |
@ebrookes |
| Erica McClenny, Expion |
@ericamcclenny |
| Gail Goodman, Constant Contact |
@gail_goodman |
| Greg Cangialosi, Blue Sky Factory |
@gregcangialosi |
| Jamus Driscoll, Demandware |
@jamusdriscoll |
| Jeanne Connon, Daily Grommet |
@jconnon |
| Jess Weiss, Office of Governor Deval Patrick |
@jessweiss |
| John Doyle, Alure Home Improvements |
@14str8 |
| John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing |
@ducttape |
| Justin Levy, New Marketing Labs |
@justinlevy |
| Kiki Mills, MITx |
@kikimills |
| Lisa Horner, Citrix Online |
@lisahorner |
| Maria Pergolino, Marketo |
@inboundmarketer |
| Mark Chaves, SAS |
@markachaves |
| Matt Cutler, Visible Measures |
@mcutler |
| Michael Damphousse, Green Leads |
@damphoux |
| Michael Pranikoff, PR Newswire |
@mpranikoff |
| Michael Weiss, Imagistic |
@imagistic |
| Mike Schneider, Allen & Gerritsen |
@schneidermike |
| Nichole Kelly, CareOne Services |
@nichole_kelly |
| Pamela Meek, SAS |
@pamelameek |
| Patrick Attallah, 90:10 Group |
@bzpat |
| Patti Fousek, Mind Search Marketing |
@pattifousek |
| Paul Gillin, Paul Gillin Communications |
@pgillin |
| Pawan Deshpande, HiveFire |
@tweetsfrompawan |
| Rand Fishkin, SEOmoz |
@randfish |
| Ric Pratte, JitterJam |
@ricpratte |
| Robbie Vorhaus, Vorhaus & Company |
@vorhaus |
| Robert Brosnan, Seton Hall University |
@brosnaro |
| Ron West, PaperThin |
@notronwest |
| Sal Ferro, Alure Home Improvements |
@sal_ferro |
| Scott Stratten, Un-Marketing |
@unmarketing |
| Steve Garfield, SteveGarfield.com |
@stevegarfield |
| Tim Hayden, Blue Clover Studios |
@thetimhayden |
| Tim Washer, Cisco |
@timwasher |
| Tom Webster, Edison Research |
@webby2001 |
| Valeria Maltoni, Powered |
@conversationage |
| Vern Imrich, Percussion Software |
@vimrich |
| Wayne Sutton, TriOut |
@waynesutton |
If I missed someone or they made a last minute change in speakers, let me know and I'll update the list.
Posted by Mike Damphousse on Sun, Aug 08, 2010 @ 08:45 AM
Sometimes I think George Lucas just didn’t “get it” when he made the Star Wars prequels. You know, the “other” Star Wars movies? He had made the greatest trilogy in the world in
Star Wars,
The Empire Strikes Back, and
Return of the Jedi. For years, with fans clamoring for more movies, Lucas said that either he wasn’t ready to make them or the technology in cinematography just wasn’t ready. Then stars aligned and he was ready to make the rest of his story; three movies to be set before Episode IV (1977), to tell the story of how things led up to where they did. To fans of the original trilogy, Lucas fell woefully short with Episodes I-III. He didn’t get that what made the original movies was story, not special effects. Sure, the newer movies had better effects, but the end result was miserable.
If you’ve spent any amount of time on Twitter, specifically in the B2B Sales and Marketing arena, you’re sure to see some people on there that deliver fantastic information. This is information that I’m very thankful for, as are my colleagues in the industry. However, with all of the good, there are still some on Twitter who just don’t “get it.” I’d like to share with you some ideas on how you can “get it” and keep yourself from becoming a Demand Gen Twit:
- Remember, it’s not always about you -- If there’s one thing that burns me up about Twitter, it's the people who are shameless self-promoters. SHAMELESS. Twitter is a great self-promotion tool, however, it’s an even better word-of-mouth tool. It’s one thing to tweet about something you’ve done or your most recent blog entry, but it’s another if someone else does it for you. What does that mean for you? It means you’ve got to be writing great content. Keep in mind what Chris Brogan says: “[promote] the heck out of others”
- Start the conversation -- One of the best parts about Twitter is the ability to have long-running conversations with a bunch of people. That’s a great way to share new ideas (and get some, too) while keeping in mind my first point. Get involved and get people talking. A number of people do this well; and for a great example, check out Mack Collier’s blog chat (#blogchat) that occurs most Sunday nights.
- Learn -- If there’s one thing that I love about Twitter, it’s that for the most part the folks that “get it” share a wealth of new information -- new information that is relevant to you because others finding and sharing it have similar interests to you. The opportunity to have great content and data at my fingertips, throughout any part of my day, is exciting for me. The more you read, the more you’ll be able to share, and the more you share, the more you’ll keep yourself from becoming another Twit.
There are a lot of ways to be a better B2B tweeter, and these ideas are for me as much as they are for you (maybe even more so). So, help me keep the conversation going, and share with the rest us some other ways we can keep from being a Twit.
Photo Credit: PhotoJonny via Flickr
Posted by Michael Damphousse on Thu, May 06, 2010 @ 10:57 AM
American Association of Inside Sales Professionals has their national Leadership Summit May 11-12 in Minneapolis. The speakers include fantastic cast of sales/marketing leaders, with me doing my part. Topics range from inside sales strategies, increasing performance, compensation models, hiring and managing to Sales 2.0. If it's Inside Sales related, it's a topic.
For those of you that can't be there live, you can follow the action on twitter with hashtag #ls10.
If you do attend, and are a follower of @damphoux, track me down and say "Hello".
Posted by Michael Damphousse on Wed, Nov 04, 2009 @ 03:03 PM
Today's B2B University, sponsored by Silverpop, was a great turnout. My estimate was 150 or so. Great networking and information sharing. Glad to have met everyone I met. If we didn't meet but you wanted to...shoot me a message.
During the session (despite the wireless being up and down all afternoon) I collected what I thought were the top 20 tweets from the crowd:
damphoux:
Joe Malony, Conselltants: Do you work for the VP of Sales & Marketing or the VP of Marketing & Sales? priority? #b2buniversity
abneedles: The room at #B2BUniversity Boston is seriously packed. Awesome, guys. http://pic.gd/1d57d0
We hear this one at every conference:
And the light hearted tweet of the day (and yes, I'll take credit):
Posted by Michael Damphousse on Wed, Oct 21, 2009 @ 02:23 PM
If someone has already written about this, forgive me. But twice in the past few weeks the discussion of real time search came up and how it might touch b2b demand gen. Today, unless someone is searching in multiple places -- Google, Twitter Search, Facebook Search and others -- they will never find the trending topics that people are talking about. When someone goes to Google and types "appointment setting," don't you want your organic results on the left and your real time social media posts on the right? I do.
Dear Google,
Please blend Organic Search and Real Time Search on one page. Better, create algorithms that will show real time results from people "like me," not just from topics that sound or look like I'd like them. Personally, I'll love it. Professionally, I can see demand gen goodness for inbound marketing all over it. It will allow my prospects to find me in multiple different ways, and allow my real time content to be as valuable as my static content -- even if those searching aren't into Twitter or Facebook.
Thanks,
Smashmouth Marketer
(credit: Google and Scoopler)
Posted by Mike Damphousse on Wed, Sep 23, 2009 @ 10:06 AM
RoyHP: Collaborate with Data Analysts: 4 Strategies to Improve Relationships with IT http://ow.ly/qM0Q MarketingSherpa
mvolpe: "design your website first for search engines" use the free tool http://www.websitegrader.com/ to check how you are doing #sherpab2b09
NetSuite_Mei: Focus on providing valuable content on your website to drive traffic #sherpab2b09
mvolpe: I agree!! "you can make your website as pretty as you want, but if search engines don't list you, no one finds it" #sherpab2b09
ajdun: Jaren Green: "Not everyone searches like you do" Amen. There is no such thing as the average web surfer #sherpab2b09
MarketingSherpa: Audience poll #sherpab2b09: Majority of marketers using lead scoring can't quantify the value they're getting from it.
kimalbee: Look at the big pic 4 success - metrics: # visits > #leads - initial > #leads - more info > #sales-ready leads > Sales closed #sherpab2b09
viewstream: #sherpab2b09 Julie Wisdom, Babcock: content is KING, but expensive. SO leverage content, and find inexpensive ways to produce.
jill_rowley: Remember - even if you're doing B2B marketing, you are marketing to humans - per Julie from Babcock & Jenkins #sherpab2b09
BabcockJenkins: RT @viewstream: #sherpab2b09 @juliewisdom Top 4 Content Mediums For B2B: 1: video, 2: white papers, 3: ondemand webcasts, 4: case studies
MarketingSherpa: 97% of SMBs say email newsletters ‘important' or ‘very important...only 27% say same about Twitter. #sherpab2b09
kimalbee: SMB Newsletter Response: Look beyond the opening click to conversions when examining response and best day to deliver #sherpab2b09
viewstream: @KenricVanWyk landing page driven site fueled only by organic search. #sherpab2b09
LaBergeLLC: Acoustics By Design -Great example of using blogging to add SEO content for your web site. http://www.acousticsbydesign.com/ #sherpab2b09
Quality vs. Quantity:
damphoux: Quality v Quantity RT @MarketingSherpa Jaren Green: Work lead quality into every discussion to improve relationship w sales #sherpab2b09
For a chuckle (congrats @andrewspoeth for both of them):
andrewspoeth: Can anyone read the font size on this slide? #sherpab2b09
andrewspoeth: Picture of today's crazy, complex sales funnel according to Forrester. #sherpab2b09 http://twitpic.com/iywkj
Posted by Mike Damphousse on Wed, Sep 23, 2009 @ 09:52 AM
TJMcCue: RT @MarketingSherpa The 5 levers for improving lead-gen performance: http://bit.ly/10TUGy #sherpab2b09
amberjwallace: RT @juliepower: Best viral marketing campaigns by b2b and b2c from Sherpa http://snipurl.com/s2h9i
ajdun: Great stat from Sirius Decisions via #sherpab2b09 80% of leads DQ by sales go on to buy in 24 mos
MktgExperiments: @brianjcarroll: study shows 28% of early-stage leads take 100+ days to become sales-ready. #sherpab2b09
mvolpe: Brian Carroll just quoted me when I quote @dmscott the originator: "Think like a publisher, not a marketer" #sherpab2b09
andrewspoeth: RT @damphoux: answer these questions on landing pages: where are you at? what can I do here? why should I do it? #sherpab2b09
mvolpe: Quick Landing Page Tips from #sherpab2b09 http://hub.tm/?QYdmH
alanorourke: Clarity trumps persuasion! Landing page conversion #sherpab2b09
ardath421: sell the download (content) NOT the company on your landing page (Flint) #sherpab2b09
jepc: Genoo chose not to blog, but to create microsite http://www.b2bonlinemarketingpros.com/ & promote it in their own LinkedIn Group #sherpab2b09
MarketingSherpa: Albee: Creating a LinkedIn group gives you a great list: Genoo's enewsletters to LinkedIn Group members avg. 19%-44% CTR. #sherpab2b09
mvolpe: I disagree!!! www.facebook.com/hubspot has 6,000+ fans & FB is a top 10 source of leads for HubSpot #sherpab2b09
InboundMarketer: Almost everyone at MarketingSherpa has a corporate Twitter account, though less than half of those people read Twitter daily #sherpab2b09
InboundMarketer: Less than half of those at MarketingSherpa have company Facebook pages, & less than 10 update those pages daily #sherpab2b09
And for the lighthearted chuckle...
damphoux: @repcor most interesting part of the conference is listening to the ambient conversations next to the camera during breaks ;) #sherpab2b09
repcor: Going to turn off the lifestream for a few. Back on in 15. #sherpab2b09 http://bit.ly/sherpa09
Posted by Mike Damphousse on Thu, Sep 10, 2009 @ 06:33 PM
Ok, so of the top 20 posts, I've got a few myself. Well, I did do a big part of the tweeting, and darn it -- I think it was good stuff.
nedelsha: RT @annekeseley: All Sales 2.0 conference presenters on Customer Engagement are using inside sales to connect with customers #sales20
gerhard20: #sales20 Pelin says use the economy as an excuse to establish a culture of measurement
damphoux: @mvolpe you'll be glad to know that speakers at #sales20 increasing use of inbound marketing & feeding outbound campaign w leads
annekeseley: Elliott Baretz of SWC uses an inside team to drive people to meetings, book meetings, which is the "engine of success". #sales20
Saleschannels: Sales 2.0 Conference Chicago IDC suggests change VP Sales title to VP Customer Outcomes!
damphoux: @leemlevitt uses LinkedIn to search for Quality leads, not Quantity - hearing it again #sales20
PelinT: Just found out only 4-6 pct of advertisers spend more than 5K/mo on Google! #sales20
Sales20Conf: What about sales & marketing sharing compensation plans... good idea? bad idea? DM me. #sales20
gerhard20: HP is endorsing Barry Rhein's curiosity selling process #sales20
greenleads: RT @damphoux: Elliott Baretz: "to maximize @connectandsell, you MUST have good lists" #sales20
robertlesser: A new crop of photos of the #sales20 Conference http://bit.ly/2Ug0x
damphoux: @gerhard20 & @david_genius announced that the social media panel will have open bar. sounds like a tweetup! #sales20
ardath421: 2 top applications salespeople use - #1 Excel, #2 Google (4 to 5 hours per week) via Lee Levitt, IDC #sales20
Sales_Machine: I've been blogging the Sales 2.0 conference -- a big post but full of the updates on how people use the new tech. http://bit.ly/qINOb
brianjcarroll: RT @Sales20Conf: RT @gerhard20 Customers can smell your "commission breath" #sales20
nedelsha: Just learned from Kevin Popovic I don't need to present. 10k's of people will see our preso online #sales20
greenleads: just added twitter stream to Green Leads facebook fan page - become a FAN http://www.facebook.com/greenleads #sales20
darn...gotta head to the airport. Will find another 3 tweets later ;)
Posted by Mike Damphousse on Thu, Sep 10, 2009 @ 01:14 PM
I'm at the
Sales 2.0 Conference in Chicago. Below is the twitter stream coming from the attendees.
Looking forward to meeting all the folks that participated in the
Sales 2.0 Thought Leader Interviews.