Comments on: Blogging is not Enough, “Press the Flesh”!

By: Scott Burkey

Scott Burkey — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:53:21 +0000

Doug - Good posting, my man. I find a good hand-shake and a smile to be far more impactful in sales, networking and relationship-building than anything else I can do.

Recently I found myself in a job change, only my second one since getting into business development on a full-time basis. In interviewing everyone asked me, “What do you do to build leads/business?” Without a doubt, my personal network is the largest source of leads as I obtain referrals from them. This can only be done by bring value and interpersonal communications. I use the phrase “shake your hand” a lot when emailing somebody. As in, “I look forward to shaking your hand someday.” I am not a fan of………”pressing the flesh”. Sounds kind of…..fleshy.

By: Joseph Ferrara.sellsius

Joseph Ferrara.sellsius — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:20:23 +0000

After traveling 10,000 miles across the country on our Blog Tour, I am a firm believer in the power of personal F2F social networking. A laugh is priceless compared to a lol.

By: john blue

john blue — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:30:29 +0000

Yes, we at Truffle Media continue to have a presence at events (World Pork Expo is next week for those interested:) plus we use regular old phone and email to touch bases.

We also use new media channels to keep connected with those interested in agriculture: Twitter (http://twitter.com/trufflemedia), the SwineCast.com (and its sister sites for beef, dairy, poultry, and crop) blogs/podcasts, Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/trufflemedia/), and Blip.tv (http://trufflemedia.blip.tv/).

But there is nothing like being there in person to hear what people are interested in, have a chat with a beer in hand, and see the nuance / body language on some sensitive topics (corn for food or corn for fuel is a popular conversation in Iowa:)

Thanks again Doug.

John Blue
TruffleMedia.com

By: Mike Schinkel

Mike Schinkel — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:29:23 +0000

Doug: I completely agree. I’ve accomplished a lot more acclaim here in Atlanta with Atlanta Web Entrepreneurs and other related meetups and events I attend and support than I was ever able gain with my blog. Plus, it’s a lot more rewarding to be with people face-to-face than alone behind a keyboard and computer screen.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:06:05 +0000

Great, balanced perspective, Doug. Your blog called to mind an article I read this past week describing one of Senator Clinton’s campaign chiefs advocating early-on for raising $100 each from 1,000,000 American women.

What a blockbuster appeal! But the proposal was overruled by another campaign advisor. (And we know which candidate is successfully using micro-fundraising: Obama.)

On “pressing the flesh” vs internet techniques: I think each yields different dividends. Some customers (or voters) will be touched only by personal outreach. Others you’ll never connect with unless you have an internet presence. Maximizing results takes both.

(Or, as an old friend used to say when offered his choice of vanilla or chocolate ice cream: “Yes!”)