Partnerpedia – Connect, Control, Collaborate

Disclaimer: This post is based entirely upon my initial evaluation of this application only and should not be interpreted as being 100% accurate. Please contact the vendor to confirm or discuss your particular needs. Thank you!

I had an interesting opportunity last week to connect directly with this company and their Vice President of Marketing, Sam Liu. Why they reached out to me still remains largely a mystery but how is a testament to how hard these folks work at engagement. Rachel Marshall, found this site via one of their PR folks, Tory Klaubo Patrick, and they apparently found something to be of interest and ….. relevance? That, in itself, is astonishing! LOL.

Prior to our call I did have the opportunity to get on the site and sign up for their free account. My first impression was that this is a well designed application and I am a sucker for a pretty face… My free version of Jing does limit these videos to 5 minutes in length. After watching, you will likely wish to send them a thank you card in grateful acknowledgment of this small blessing (smile).

Click here for a larger screen view of  “Partnerpedia“, posted with vodpod

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Still, I would also have to say that those same first impressions were that this was just another business networking site and, at first glance, perhaps most resembled BizNik. BizNik is very nice, and worthy of your attention but Partnerpedia is an animal entirely unto itself and an impressive one at that! While the aim of all business networking sites is to facilitate connections, Partnerpedia takes that mission to an entirely new level with a bevy of tools designed for partner collaboration. In it’s unique way, it does provide elements that meet the definitions for being both social and CRM.

The most accurate way to view Partnerpedia may be found in their name itself. This site is designed to help you find and establish partnership relations with other firms, or strengthen your existing ones,  (partner) and then share specific information with those partners through rich content management modules that can include documents such as your literature and channel agreements (pedia). It goes further than that by integrating a leads management system that, once again, allows you to collaborate on those opportunities in your shared efforts to secure that business. This, my friends, would be CRM. I am not certain if this is yet available, and even then perhaps will be only with the paid version but, their website does tout integration with Salesforce. Definitely CRM. While Partnerpedia certainly exhibits aspects of a business-social networking site, it really is more of a serious business tool and a very different tool at that. I have never personally encountered anything quite like it.

I am at a slight disadvantage as, at present, I do not have any partners on the site to collaborate with and this makes it difficult for me to actually field test the tools. I will be looking to change that. However, let’s talk a little bit about what I am able discern …

The home page is well designed and easy to navigate. The predominate features are community shared articles and a forum where you can add content or start a new forum discussion or collaboration. You do have the ability to rate content, leave comments, or share it on Social Media. You can join discussions and follow their updates. There are also feature articles by Partnerpedia’s Community Managers. Community Managers are there to assist member companies with any questions that they may have about the site and also to share helpful tips. Now, when was the last time you were on LinkedIn or FaceBook or any other site and found someone lurking around with nothing to do but to help you? How about … never! What if you needed help? How easy was it to even find where to ask for it? Not very. Partnerpedia gets extremely high marks for customer service. Their community managers are Responsive with a capital “R”.

From my home page I also have the ability to invite my contacts to Partnerpedia or upload partners that are already in my channel. I can also search members who are already on the site as well as seek to initiate new collaborations. These tools are quite powerful and will allow you to share documents as well as have access to a variety of other options. Once a connection has been made, you then have the ability to control what information or documents that you may have on file and how those are to be shared with each individual partner or connection. For example, a VAR may have access to forms and agreements that a standard reseller would not.  As far as Partnerpedia’s tools to give you the ability to control areas of access, and your privacy …. very flexible, very detailed, and very complete. In my experience, these controls are generally all or nothing and that goes for everybody, therefore, these individual levels of control strike me as being huge.

Of course, you do have the ability to establish profiles for yourself, other members of your company, and your company itself and have those linked altogether. Throughout Partnerpedia you will find a pretty nice word processing tool for creating and editing content. This module also has the ability to establish hyperlinks which I used to direct folks to my LinkedIn, Twitter, and FaceBook sites. What the word processor does not have is any kind of spell check. What is up with that? And, if you think that your FireFox spell check will take care of that little problem, guess again. If your spelling skills even remotely resemble mine, this is a serious bummer and one I hope that they will correct. You will also see on the home page prominent links to Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn, and Wikipedia. Unfortunately, these are not your links. Each of them connects to Partnerpedia’s respective sites. Bummer part deux. However………..

Partnerpedia does a paid version which they call Private Networks. Looking at their literature, Private Networks allows you to create and brand your own private online community and it appears to be very very powerful. It is likely best designed for larger firms and they did throw out some well recognized names during our conversation. I honestly have no idea of  the necessary investment that might be required to use this service but, it could certainly be worth your inquiry. You will even get the social media links on the home page that will take folks to your sites (smile). Here’s a comparison chart of the free and paid versions ……

So, how close does Partnerpedia come to my definition of the “Holy Grail of Social CRM”? I haven’t quite decided yet. If CRM stands for “Customer Relationship Management”, this is exactly what Partnerpedia is designed to do.  It may be one of the most interesting tools that I have evaluated to-date . And, it may also be forcing me to reevaluate my previous definitions.

I am going to end this here but I am also going to promise you additional posts once I have had an opportunity to put this application through its paces. There is no way that even a fraction of its capabilities can be explored in one writing.  I have to say that this site, at least on the surface, may not be well designed for my specific business model which does not meet what I perceive to be Partnerpedia’s target market. However, I do have a certain talent for taking unusual tools and adapting them to fit my twisted needs. My tiny brain is already churning on the possibilities (smile).

Thanks for visiting!

Craig

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NetWorks! Boise Continues To Evolve

This is going to be a very short post but I did want to share with you some things I saw today that literally blew me away. I am being forced to re-examine many of my core beliefs as it relates to face-to-face networking groups. You know, those same groups that I own and run as a business.

I have always been one who finds a tremendous amount of security in conformity. I like everything painted the same color. I like my groups to march to the same beat. After all, I do know what makes these groups work. Oddly, when it comes to using new technologies to carry out our goals, I am very much open to that and quick to evaluate and embrace those tools that will make our groups even better. Mess with the basic group format, it’s core principles, and that’s where I have traditionally drawn the hard-line.

Here’s what works. You get some really great people together, they share some great leads, and strong relationships naturally form as the result. Simple. And, I see it work and work well everyday. With two of my groups. My third group, Business Minds, has essentially flipped the last two components. Sure, they talk a little about leads but, with some exception, that is not the focus. With even less exception, they will write these leads down so that I can enter them into their CRM. They march to the beat of a different drummer and no matter how hard I have tried to establish the correct rhythm, they continue to go their own direction.

Well, today I saw something incredible. Everybody went around the room and as opposed to the typical 60 second commercial, each shared their passions. Some of it was work related but a lot of it was very personal. We have discussed this topic before but I have never seen folks jump in like they did today. Mind you, this core group has now been together for close to four months so I am sure that has a great deal to do with it. I had absolutely no idea of most of the fantastic causes that these folks are involved in. I do now (smile). I feel honored to just be associated with them. I left the meeting with a new appreciation for each as an individual as well as a member of our group. But, the meeting did not stop there …..

For several weeks now, many of the members have stayed after the regular meeting to conduct round table discussions on areas of business that likely affect them all. While It may be constructed around an issue that a particular member is having with their business, fact is, most of us share these same challenges. What this has transformed into, however, is much more than just a round table. It has become a peer board. I’d like to take credit for this great idea but it sure wasn’t me. This credit goes to Brandon Wright of Ultra Clean and Wright Stuff Radio. Brandon called me after the meeting and we shared some feedback. I told him how my jaw had dropped at what I had seen and how I was seriously taking it all in and now examining how best to put it to work in our other groups.

Brandon and I did agree on one other thing. It would be nice if people would write their leads down. Someone had a great one for him the other day but he could not remember what it was. Of course, it’s not in the CRM. I had to smile because I know the system does work. Leads and relationships are not mutually exclusive. How we approach them may need to evolve.

Thanks for visiting!

Craig

Postscript 1/20/10: At our Wednesday meeting today for NetWorks! Boise Bing!, we asked each member to share his or her passion and obtained equally amazing results! Sweet! Oh yeah, and we also managed to post 28 leads to their CRM. Yes, you can do both (smile).

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The Evolution of Face-To-Face Networking Groups

My very first blog post on February 8, 2009 featured this same image and it is only fitting that my first post of 2010 do likewise. More importantly, the topic of this entry is the “Evolution of Face-to-Face Networking Groups”. The times, they are a changing.

If you have previously been to this site, you will know that I am a huge proponent of all forms of business networking and actually run B2B networking groups as a business. We began with one group in November 2007, added another in the last quarter of 2009, and launched our third group at the beginning of this year. I am planning at least one extra group for this year and will then decide whether to continue the expansion. Only so much “Craig” to go around.

What we do at NetWorks! Boise is traditional face-to-face networking. Every networking or leads group that I have ever been involved in does pretty much the same thing: share leads, get to know each other, network. What makes us different is that we do everything better. Way better. Our members are more committed. The quality and quantity of our leads are better. We use technologies that I have never seen introduced into any networking group environment. Our dues are double what the average group charges yet, we have over 10 member companies who have insisted that they need to be represented in more than one of our groups. I would guess that what we do … works.

Still, we always strive to be better. Technology plays a huge role in these efforts and that would include our use of a web-based CRM, dedicated group websites, and the employment of social media tools like Twitter, FaceBook, and LinkedIn to push member and group information out to the public. As these technologies continue to improve, what effect does that have, if any, on the evolution of the traditional face-to-face networking group? Are not FaceBook and LinkedIn, in reality, actually virtual networking groups? I’d have to say “yes”.  Do they replace face-to-face networking? While some may think that they do, I would argue strongly that they do not. Relationships are developed face-to-face. Like everything else, that may change. For now at least, I consider this to be a universal truth.

What started me thinking heavily about all of this is the fact that my two more established networking groups have two entirely different and distinct personalities. The older of the two, “Bing!”, is everything you will find in a traditional networking group but one that has been juiced up on heavy does of steroids. This group is very strong on business intelligence (information is power) and has close to 3,000 leads in its CRM database. My second group, “Business Minds”, focuses entirely on relationships and flat refuses to write information down so that I can update that to their CRM. They see little value in what I would consider a networking group staple. What is up with that!!?? (smile).

In retrospect, I saw this coming but blew off any concerns that I might have had. When I was first approached about starting this group I was told .. “But, we can’t call it a leads group”. “Okay, then, what is it?” Seems to me that, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably… a duck.  Furthermore, as I have a strong personality and am typically able to convince, or even manipulate, others to coming around to my way of thinking, I did not see this as an insurmountable challenge. However, I severely underestimated the fact that there are 20 of them and only one of me and that they are just as stubborn about refusing to conform to my will. I have whined, cajoled, scolded, sold, pleaded, and begged and have done all of these without achieving anything even close to my desired results. In fact, the more I do it, the worse they get. Bummer (smile).

This has caused me great consternation. I have a very strong belief that I know what it takes to make these groups work. “Business Minds” is running counter to this belief. My biggest concern has been that the members are not getting out of the group what I envision that they should be getting. And, there lies the answer. My perception of what works and their perception of the same is entirely different. And, frankly, it is their group. If they are perfectly satisfied, and I am told that they are, why would I want to change that? Maybe because I am…. an idiot (smile).

I have come to view this situation as a huge personal growth opportunity for me. I have always had difficulty with managing my expectations for both myself and of others. This forces me to address these challenges more directly. I will become more the listener and the learner and less the talker and the persuader. Is not the most important aspect of any networking effort the development of relationships that lead directly to personal introductions and referrals? Yes, it is. A warm call still beats a cold call but taking me and introducing me to your best client still trumps all other hands.

I continue to believe that business intelligence leads and relationship building are not mutually exclusive. What I need to do is figure out a way to do both and to make some determinations of how best to facilitate each activity. As previously stated, relationships are face-to-face. Business intelligence is really nothing more than data. Our weekly meetings are face-to-face and we already use technology to store data. What we need is better technology that will facilitate collaboration on-line amongst our members. Presently, we utilize no less than 5 different technology platforms to accomplish our goals. They do work but they can be cumbersome. As I was the one who researched, adopted, and adapted all of them … I am pretty comfortable in using them. Our members, I know, are not. But, hey, they are the best available low cost solutions that are out there that I have been able to find that will fulfill our needs. What we really need is one platform that combines all of our tools in an easy-to-use format. Is it out there already? Maybe. I continue to search. Perhaps I won’t have to look too far but that, my friends, will hopefully be the topic of another post (smile).

Thanks for visiting! Goodbye 2009. Hello, and thank God, for 2010!

Craig

I’d Love To Give You That Referral …. But

I have been incredibly busy this past week getting everything put into place for the launch of our third NetWorks! Boise group on January 5. This will be a Tuesday breakfast group code-named … Sunrise. How original (smile). Oh well, it works.  I’ve been thinking about the topic of this post for some time now and, in fact, it was originally created on one of my Posterous accounts that I don’t really promote as of yet. Still, the topic is timely. If Christmas is about “giving”, it only makes sense that I see so many “takers” these days (smile). Here is the original post in its entirety and please have a fun and safe Merry Christmas and New Years!! …..

Referrals are the “holy grail” of all networking activities. When you are provided with a referral, there is a better than average chance that, if anybody gets the sale, it’s going to be you. A good referral is like gold. Money in your pocket. It can range from “Please use my name” to “They are expecting your call” to “I’d like to take you out and introduce you to …”.

Now, let’s take a moment and think about that person who is providing you with this referral. If I give somebody a referral, I need to do so with 100% confidence that:

1. This person is going to treat my client or friend with total respect
2. They are going to do the best possible job for my contact
3. I will be kept informed of anything that comes up that I should be concerned about
4. By turning my client over to this individual, I’m not going to have to stay up at night wondering if I did the right thing

The reason is simple. When I send somebody to call on my client or friend, my good name and reputation with that client is placed squarely on the line. If things go badly, it reflects badly on me. It has the potential to damage the good relationship that I already have with this client. So, why do it? Two reasons:

1. I think that you can help my client and by providing this referral I am assisting you both
2. My client will value this new connection and this will reflect on me in a positive manner

Your day-to-day actions form my perceptions of you. Perceptions that, right or wrong, are going to come into play as I evaluate whether or not I will consider providing you with referrals. The following are not indictments. They are merely perceptions. I can’t help it. It is what it is.

1. You fail to return my phone calls or even acknowledge my emails: There is a better than average chance that you will likely do the same with my customer.
2. You don’t know how to say “thank you”: Your mother didn’t teach you any manners (smile).
3. You don’t keep me informed of what’s going on that affects me: Chances of ever hearing about how that referral is going are probably “slim and none”.
4. You treat our business relationship in a cavalier manner: I should expect you to be any different with my client?
5. I have to chase after you for monies owed: You either can’t handle yours or don’t respect me enough to take care of your obligations to me. And, you want me to provide you with a referral to one of my valued accounts? Mind you, and speaking for myself, I value communication over money. All I really want to know about is what the plan is. Is that too much to ask?

“Whoa!”, you say, “Hang on! I’m not at all like that!”. Maybe “yes”. Maybe “no”. I’m sorry but, that is the perception that you have given me and until that changes, that is the perception that I am going to have to weigh before I provide you with that referral. You should know that I still might consider you to be a great person and a valued friend. I just can’t be that comfortable in referring you to others. What may be even more incredible to me is that most of these folks have little or no idea of the perceptions that they are creating with others. They don’t ever think about the fact that “the person that I disrespect today (and that is what it is), may be in a position to assist me in the future”.

Thanks for visiting!

Craig

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