The Art of Saying it First.

WHERE you spend time with WHO…

Last weekend I attended Larry Chiang’s “What they don’t Teach you in the NSA” session.  Larry deeply understands the power of social networking.  He did his best to explain it to the NSA community.

They didn't get it. 

Fifteen minutes in, the average age of the audience was dropping by the minute.  The older generations wanted someone to explain social networking to them without using ANY of the social networking jargon. 

A few of the older folks where overheard to say:

• “I thought tweeter was a music speaker?”
• “Excuse me there youngster, what’s an afterparty?”
• “What is a My Face?”

Larry took it all in stride.  You can see from the picture below he was very upset.

Larry is self-admittedly an A.D.D. basket case and his presentation style was wide ranging.  During his presentation he actually ENCOURAGED people to text him mid-presentation.

In fact you can text him anytime you would like:  650-283-8008.

Ultimately his message was to spend time on social networking that best fills your needs for WHY you are using these service.  It is a very basic message however rarely followed. 

Ill be right back, I need to go update my Facebook status…

Have you checked the ECN Site today?

Aspirins vs. Vitamins

When you get a major headache, how long does it take you to find an aspirin? How much are you willing to pay for that aspirin? The amount of pain you are in is directly related to how much you will spend (RIGHT NOW) to make the pain go away!

When is the last time you found yourself searching for a vitamin? When have you ever said to yourself, "Ill pay anything for a vitamin RIGHT NOW?" Have you ever had a friend ask you for a vitamin?

Is your solution a vitamin or an aspirin? In today's competitive market, aspirins get funded, vitamins do not.

Negative selling downgrades your own stock.

I am a "private" in Chad's Army at EMC. Each and every solider (to continue the analogy) comes from extremely different backgrounds and has diverse skill sets.

Some vSpecialists are incredibly technical --- Wait until you meet Weaver, KZ, Hollis or Spellicy!

Some vSpecialists ooze charisma --- Mitch, Birdwell or Lewis come to mind.

As different as we all are, there are several character traits that are present in each and every vSpecialist.

The one I like best? Our team uses ZERO negative selling. Even if a customer begs for dirt on our competitors, you'll never hear a vSpecialist bash anyone.

This comes from the top down. Chad has taught us how to master the deflection. Chad never goes negative! In fact, he will will expertly describe our competitions strengths - and then demonstrate how we are better. That's karma!

Negative selling is the hideout of the weak. Bashing your competition may feel good short term, but it only lowers the audience's perception of YOU.

Nobody buys 1/4" drill bits

My grandfather owned a small town lawn mower repair shop. I spent many summer nights on his farm hearing motors start and stop as he completed his repairs. 

One 1978 Saturday morning my grandfather took me to the local hardware store. The store owner greeted him and said, "Good morning Theron, what do you need?" He answered, "I need ¼” holes." The shop owner directed us to the wall of drill bits and we found what we needed. 

Customers do not buy SAN, Servers or Networking equipment. They buy technology that supports their business applications to maximize shareholder profit. 

Let us never forget the reason technology is purchased.