How good is ZoomInfo for searching?

I've been playing recently with ZoomInfo, which at first glance seems an interesting tool for finding people online.

I used a couple of live scenarios recently where I needed to find a contact for a client; comparing the results from ZoomInfo with using Google was very interesting. Google, as always, delivered the results I wanted (searching for some background and email address), but you had to work for it over several searches.

ZoomInfo was able to display a very simple summary on one page, and came up with a few nice features for one contact which was the ability to email them (through the site, not directly). Interestingly though, some of the contact details were not up to date when I finally contacted the person (but I would have still got to the person I wanted so that wasn't a real problem)

For salespeople or recruiters without the skills to data-mine Google, I think it's a useful tool. As it gathers momentum and allows you to contact a significant number of people dirctly through the site, it will be a useful additional to the contact listing and social network space.

Like some other services, the additional features, such as Sales Intelligence, are still USA focused.

If you want to be found on ZoonInfo, you can also create an account and update your details to make it easier for people to find you.

David Regler
Maine Associates Ltd

Technorati Tags - Business Development, Sales Outsourcing, social networking, ZoomInfo

Is the phone still king?

I had a conversation the other day with a head-hunter who used Linkedin daily as part of his search for candidates. We were chatting about how I also used Linkedin for similar ends and it was interesting how we both had adopted the same strategies.

We both agreed that Linkedin was an excellent resource for searching and finding exactly the person you wanted, so that you could make a high quality approach. In some circumstances we both used the introduction or InMail approach but usually we just picked up the phone and called the contact.

I was working on a project recently and, using Linkedin, I was able to pin-point a contact within a $multi-billion global company and, with a single phone call, arrange a meeting for my client. Without Linkedin my approach would have been less surgical; I was able to use the person's profile to construct a value proposition. However, I suspect that if had used Linkedin to contact the person (they were a 3rd degree in my network)it would have taken at least a couple of weeks and probably would have a 50% chance of success (for reasons I'll go into on another blog)

The key thing here is that I was able to find the right person who really saw value in what my client was offering. This isn't the scatter-gun approach of many outbound telemarketing and lead generation companies. And, the final point is that the person I contacted was delighted I had called.

David Regler
Maine Associates Ltd

Technorati Tags - Business Development, Sales Outsourcing, social networking, Linkedin

So what is this AppExchange all about?

Anyone who uses Salesforce.com cannot have failed to notice all the hype over AppExchange. For a start, it's in your face everytime you log on, right?

Well, after all the hype, here's an article, Rights and wrongs of Salesforce's 'eBay' play, by ZDNet's Phil Wainewright which presents a more balanced view.

What does it all mean to The Virtual Sales Team? Well, if it promotes the expansion of interesting and useful third-party apps that enhance the core application then it's got to be good.

Time will tell I guess, I'm still waiting for someone from Before the Call to call me with pricing ;-)

David Regler
Maine Associates Ltd

Technorati Tags - Business Development, Sales Outsourcing, Salesforce.com

LinkedIn & Salesforce.com

A really interesting development picked up from LinkedIn Bloggers is the possibility of seamlessly accessing the LinkedIn network from Before the Call's sales intelligence solution. You can read a PDF press release here

I hadn't yet come across Before the Call so I've put a request in for a demo of their software. They seem to offer on-demand Sales Intelligence, which is critical for when our clients want us to open doors for them at C-level.

Like many Salesforce.com add-ons, it'll be interesting to see how this one maps over to the UK market, which is where we are most active, but if it is utilising our own LinkedIn connections then it really could deliver.

I'll keep you posted when I've had the opportunity to evaluate it.

David Regler
Maine Associates Ltd

Technorati Tags - Business Development, Sales Outsourcing, social networking, Linkedin, Salesforce.com

Linkedin & AOL (part 2)

Out of interest I posted a quick blog on Ecademy to ask how may people are using AIM. Julian Bond confirmed that he had 698 members using it and out of those 118 were using Skype also, so there's a good chance that they've migrated over.

So, whilst AIM is very popular in the US, it seems that it hasn't wide-spread usage in networking and business circles elsewhere.

David Regler
Maine Associates Ltd

Technorati Tags - Business Development, Sales Outsourcing, Social Networking, Linkedin, AOL, Ecademy

Linkedin & AOL

I picked up on this from Bill Liao's post on OpenBLOG, regarding the announcement that Linkedin was teaming up with AOL for profile integration.

What interests me here is that users of AIM, AOL's IM service, will be able to see when their Linkedin contacts (that also use AIM) are online and available to be contacted via IM.

As someone who uses Linkedin daily, I can see how this could help me develop closer networking links with my contacts. According to Reid Hoffman, Linkedin "chose AIM as it is already the most popular instant messaging service among our user base of 3.8 million business professionals".

I'm not sure how many of my contacts are using AIM for their IM; to me, Skype is the preferred option for most of my contacts.

However, I always want to keep my options open so I signed up for an AIM Screen Name and added it to my Trillian settings. Trillian is a IM client that allows you to talk to Yahoo, MSN & AIM users in one program. The basic program is free and you can get it here.

If you want to communicate with me via AIM my screen name is Davidregler1

Let's see how this one develops and I'll be interested to see how embedded IM can improve the LinkedIn experience.

David Regler
Maine Associates Ltd

Technorati Tags - Business Development, Sales Outsourcing, social networking, Linkedin, AOL

New Application for Skype

I'm testing a new application add-on for Skype. It's called Festoon and it promises to allow up to 200 people to share a video call, plus allows you to share your desktop with them. I'm thinking presentations, sales meetings, client project meetings...

I'll let you know how I get on trialling it and report back on another blog. If anyone has some direct experience of this product, I'd love to hear about it.

David Regler
Maine Associates Ltd

Technorati Tags - Business Development, Sales Outsourcing, Skype, Festoon

Where to start?

Well here's a little about me and what you can expect from my blog.

My name is David Regler and I run a small outsourced business development consultancy.

A what? You can think of us as a Virtual Sales Team that clients engage to help them find and win new business.

This means that I spend nearly all my time online, searching for contacts, researching markets and prospects, networking, managing contacts and sales activities through salesforce.com, emailing and, with Skype, phoning people online.

In fact, I'm using every online resource and tool I can to seek out and find new business for my clients.

So in this blog I'm going to share my thoughts and strategies on all these areas. I'll comment on other blogs, on major changes with the technology and how to best exploit it, and also my general thoughts on the area of sales and finding new business opportunities.

I'm planning to post around once a week or more frequently if there's something interesting to say.

David Regler
Maine Associates Ltd

Technorati Tags - Business Development, Sales Outsourcing, Social Networking,