get out and face the market!

As the business climate gets tougher so we must get smarter. We at The Presidents' Club know this is not the time to put your head in the sand, to do nothing, or to delete marketing budgets....albeit significant savings can be made and effort reallocated.

It is a time to get out and sell, to move and shake, and to innovate.

I recall from University of Ulster days, a long time ago, that despite my undertaking a vocational 'business facing' degree, we were not taught how to sell. Since that era, I know that most of our excellent colleges now provide modules in entrepreneurship.

Now some think you can't teach sales and sales ability is a natural God given talent. Some even question God's role! It is true that most don't have the talent of young Rory McIlroy in golf....but one thing is for sure, few will practice as much as he does.

Whatever the discipline, sport, art, public speaking, or business, practice will raise your game.

I turn to 'moving & shaking' - in other words networking - and 'innovation'.
Much has been written about the social networking revolution and its positive impact on President Obama's election victory. Clearly social networking platforms like facebook played a vital part in his campaign.

Now business people need to examine the opportunities. It is not just about sharing mindless drivel and arranging which pub to meet in after work. The next few years are going to be exciting and new innovative collaborations are going to spring-up. One such initiative sees salesforce.com and facebook come together.


Launch: Force.com for Facebook from Dave Morin on Vimeo.

Also thanks to our great friend from Vancouver Matt Synder of ADO for his 'heads-up' on a new book The Facebook Era

Now exciting news - The Presidents' Club has some great upcoming events to help our members focus their fire.

Firstly Fegus Gloster SVP EMEA of salesforce.com is going to talk to us about Customer Relationship Management and web based technicques to yield the maximum from existing customers and new clients too.

Secondly Matt Johnston of Momemtum NI and Digital Circle is going to conduct a masterclass on social networking entitled Can you face facebook? Are you LinkedIn?

Matt is just a amasing....at our Inauguration Reception last week he was in constant Twitter conversation about the day, the new President and America's hopes! In another instantaneous initiative, I viewed the flickr images of the reception posted by another great 'creative' Davy Simms.