Recently I was talking with a new contact who offers data management services - basically making digital copies of archive documents. He was wondering whether having a presence on sites like Ecademy or Facebook would yield any benefit to his business. On balance he doubted it.
The reason he gave was that he dealt mainly with people like the Senior Partner in a firm of Solicitors or the CEO of a Hospital Trust. He questioned whether that sort of individual would ever look at any website, even Ecademy, to find services such as his. Probably not.
I asked him to imagine that he was a Senior Partner.
Only then did he recognise the full course of events that led up to a request to tender and eventually a signed contract. He realised - for the first time - that although he might end up meeting people like Senior Partners, such exalted beings do not do the initial leg-work to identify possible service providers.
Generally that is done by someone much lower down the organisation, usually a lot younger and with no decision-making capacity - but certainly with the freedom to list, or not to list, those who might provide that service. And, being younger, that more junior person would almost certainly look at Ecademy, Facebook and other similar sites.
Clearly, if his firm had no presence on those portals, then he would be invisible to the list makers of this world.
Being on the list would not guarantee an invitation to tender; but not being on the list would certainly guarantee no invitation to tender.
It was a small point, missed by my new friend until now, but with all the potential to make a difference. And all from a small piece of networking.
So, how invisible is your firm? And would you like to get more noticed?
The reason he gave was that he dealt mainly with people like the Senior Partner in a firm of Solicitors or the CEO of a Hospital Trust. He questioned whether that sort of individual would ever look at any website, even Ecademy, to find services such as his. Probably not.
I asked him to imagine that he was a Senior Partner.
Only then did he recognise the full course of events that led up to a request to tender and eventually a signed contract. He realised - for the first time - that although he might end up meeting people like Senior Partners, such exalted beings do not do the initial leg-work to identify possible service providers.
Generally that is done by someone much lower down the organisation, usually a lot younger and with no decision-making capacity - but certainly with the freedom to list, or not to list, those who might provide that service. And, being younger, that more junior person would almost certainly look at Ecademy, Facebook and other similar sites.
Clearly, if his firm had no presence on those portals, then he would be invisible to the list makers of this world.
Being on the list would not guarantee an invitation to tender; but not being on the list would certainly guarantee no invitation to tender.
It was a small point, missed by my new friend until now, but with all the potential to make a difference. And all from a small piece of networking.
So, how invisible is your firm? And would you like to get more noticed?
1 comment:
Hi Paul
Interesting comment about social networking sites.
While I am active on Ecademy I have only recently started experimenting with Facebook.
A good start for your blog. I am delighted with the way that the Business Coaching Blog has developed in the last 4 months.
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