Building Relationships

The feedback that we receive from you, our valued SOCAP members, is that networking is the single greatest benefit that you receive from your membership with SOCAP. The data that we receive from testimonials, interviews and focus groups tell us that you value the opportunities through SOCAP that connect you with the best and brightest in the customer care profession. The connections that result from networking are something even more meaningful. This is the value of relationships.

SOCAP is committed to helping you make the most of our of your membership and, as a result, we have invited best selling author, Keith Ferrazzi, to speak at the 2007 SOCAP Annual Conference (October 7–10) in Palm Springs, California. Keith’s book, NEVER EAT ALONE and Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time, explores relationship building and how to leverage your professional networks into more meaningful connections that will benefit you and your career. In this issue of Update, Keith shares some highlights of his upcoming keynote presentation about building mutually beneficial relationships. I invite you to attend the SOCAP Annual Conference in Palm Springs to hear Keith’s complete message. For those of you who plan to attend the conference, consider this your sneak preview! For those of you who are still considering the conference, I hope that this interview with Keith will motivate you to join us in Palm Springs.

Relationships are important in our profession, and Kelly McDonald’s article excerpt in Update (the full article will be featured in the June issue of Customer Relationship Management Magazine), challenges all of us to further develop new relationships with the Hispanic consumer. Kelly’s article highlights the need for all of us to be prepared to serve and engage with this growing customer market and to be responsive and respectful of Hispanic needs and expectations.

SOCAP’s relationships with our chapters are also important. I invite all chapter volunteers to submit an application for SOCAP’s Chapter Achievement Awards. Chapter presidents can also nominate an outstanding volunteer for a Chapter STAR Award. Winners of the chapter awards will be honored at the SOCAP Annual Conference. Details about both awards are included in the June Update, so I hope you will apply!

Finally, I invite you to develop a relationship with SOCAP. We want to hear your feedback, to meet you at the Annual Conference and to engage with you at our next chapter meeting. Additionally, I hope that you will join a SOCAP Committee or serve on a task force. For information on opportunities for you to deepen your relationship with SOCAP, please contact me at matthew@socap.org. I look forward to getting to know you!

Matthew R. D’Uva, CAE
President

By Kelly Smedley, The Jay Group

Keith Ferrazzi, Leading Author of NEVER EAT ALONE and Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time, is a scheduled keynote speaker at the SOCAP 2007 Annual Conference in October. Keith was recently interviewed by Kelly Smedley, a member of the SOCAP Publications Committee, about his presentation at the upcoming SOCAP conference.

SOCAP: As the keynote speaker for the 2007 SOCAP Conference, can you give us a glimpse into how your talk will benefit our consumer affairs professionals?

Keith Ferrazzi: My goal for the presentation will be to help consumer affairs professionals acquire the mindset and skill set needed to take control of their careers through building mutually beneficial relationships. Setting goals is where a lot of talks on career development end, but to me that’s where my talk begins. I want SOCAP members to think about setting incremental goals for a range of 60-days to 10-years. This will allow them the opportunity to do the following:

• Identify people who can help them achieve their career and life goals
• Build and broadcast unique personal brands to stand out in the crowded marketplace
• Ensure the people and resources in their own "backyards" are contributing to their success
• Approach and engage mentors for guidance along the many paths of their careers, culminating in a dynamic personal board of advisors
• Develop a customized "Relationship Action Plan" to guide their actions and track progress.

SOCAP: Your best-selling book, Never Eat Alone, teaches us how networking is directly tied to personal and professional success. Give us some tips on how we go about making these connections.

Keith Ferrazzi: The practice and methodology for relationship building and creating connections in my book is taken a step further in my presentation, but as a preview I have outlined my five secrets of success for building relationships:

1. Business Relationships Are Personal Relationships. The most common mistake people make when building relationships for revenue growth and career success is treating business contacts differently than personal friendships. Think for a moment about the people you work with on a professional level who are also close personal friends. Aren’t they always more forgiving when you slip up and more helpful when you’re in need? Of course! I guarantee your work will become easier and more joyful if you make more of your business relationships personal.
   
2. Don’t Keep Score. A network functions precisely because there’s recognition of mutual need. There’s no point in keeping track of favors done and owed. A network is not finite like a pie. A pie can only be cut into so many pieces, and when you take a piece away there’s that much less for the future. Instead, think of your network as a muscle. The more you work it, the bigger and stronger it gets. So always look for ways to lend your talents, contacts, and time to make others more successful. And when you need help, reach out and ask for it. People want you to be successful, too, but they can’t help you if they don’t know what you need.
   
3. Build it before you need it. I can’t tell you how many times a friend has called me and said, "Keith, I just became unemployed. I need to start networking; will you teach me how?" My answer: "No. No. No. You need to start job-hunting! You should have been building relationships for the past five or ten years, so now that you need a job, you could make twenty calls and have five job offers waiting for you in a week." The lesson here applies to everything we do to grow our organizations: sales, recruiting, etc. Start building those relationships today!
   
4. Be interesting. It’s much easier to develop relationships when you have something unique to say. Just having two arms, two legs and an MBA won’t get you anywhere anymore. If you want to become more valuable in the marketplace—for the sake of your organization, your personal career and just to be more intriguing to the world at large—you must develop some deep expertise in your mind and root some higher-order passion in your heart.
   
5. Never Eat Alone. This rule is obviously one you can’t follow 100 percent, but it’s a great way to remember to invite others into the activities you already enjoy doing. My strongest client relationships have been forged over good food and great wine in restaurants or my home. I also invite clients and friends to work out with me and to accompany me to my church. If you share your passions, building relationships will take no extra time than you already devote to your favorite activities. Plus, since you’ll be energized and having fun while doing the things you love, others will see you in your best light (instead of in those nasty fluorescents of the office).

The July issue of Update will include an interview with Lenora Billings-Harris, International Diversity Consultant and another confirmed keynote speaker at the upcoming SOCAP Annual Conference.

Have you seen the current breakout sessions at the SOCAP 2007 Annual Conference? The SOCAP website now includes listings for confirmed breakout sessions, including sessions for a new career development track.

Watch your mail for the 2007 Annual Conference brochure coming soon!

Visit the SOCAP website today to register for the Annual Conference.

Does your chapter have an exceptional newsletter or creative, innovative program? Or does your chapter have a member who has made an outstanding contribution to the local chapter? Then submit a nomination for the SOCAP 2007 Chapter Awards!

SOCAP has a new online award nomination form, making it easier for chapters to submit applications. Any chapter member can make a nomination online for one of the four Chapter Achievement Awards. Additionally, chapter Presidents can go online to nominate an outstanding volunteer for the Chapter STAR Awards.

The deadline for chapter award nominations is Monday, July 16, 2007. Awards will be presented at the 2007 SOCAP International Annual Conference, so submit your nomination today!

The June issue of CRM Magazine will mark the launch of a new “Reader Feedback” column for the magazine.

“Reader Feedback” gives SOCAP members an opportunity to voice opinions about CRM articles. But even more, this new column also provides a venue for readers to offer insights into how their companies are addressing the critical issues that are covered in the magazine.

Do you have an opinion or comments about a CRM article you have read? Then submit your feedback to CRM’s “Reader Feedback” column at publications@socap.org.

Attention SOCAP members from the automotive industry!! Registration is now available for the 2007 Automotive Summit, September 18-19, in Michigan.

The Automotive Summit is a highly collaborative meeting designed exclusively for automotive brands and their major departments—financial services, dealer support and customer support services. Olivette Whipple, Vice President of Global CRM Customer Contact Centers in the Americas, IBM, will be the featured Summit keynote speaker.

The Summit allows consumer affairs professionals within the automotive industry to share ideas and best practices, to discuss industry benchmarking, to identify challenges and to recommend solutions that impact the auto brands, their companies and their customers. The meeting is not open to vendors or professionals from outside the automotive sector.

For more details, please visit the website for the 2007 Automotive Summit.

SOCAP Greater Philadelphia Chapter Networks at the Ballpark

45 people attended the Greater Philly Chapter’s May 17 event on Regulatory Compliance. According to one member, “It was a great success, and a topic that everyone enjoyed.”

On Thursday, June 21, the Chapter will partner with the American Teleservices Association (ATA) to hold a networking event at the Camden Riversharks ballpark. Families are welcome.

Date: Thursday, June 21, 2007
Time: 7:05 p.m.
Place: Executive Skyline Suite, Campbell’s Field, Camden NJ
Information: www.gphl-socap.org

SOCAP Southwest Regional Chapter to Offer “60 Ideas in 60 Minutes”

At its next meeting, the Southwest Regional Chapter will present “60 Ideas in 60 Minutes,” featuring an expert panel that includes Rita Wood of Network Direct and Karen Simmons of Yokohama Tire Company.

Following the panel, there will be an open forum discussion on “Presenting Consumer Insights in Your Organization.,” featuring Mike Wilke of Wilke-Thornton.

Date: Thursday, June 14, 2007
Time: 7:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Place: Dole Foods Westlake Village, CA
Cost: $20.00 for Members and Guests, $15.00 for Students
Information: www.socapsrcchapter.org

SOCAP Northwest Regional Chapter Presents Secrets for Customer-Driven Service

On June 13, 2007, Joe Caliro, Executive Vice President at HyperQuality, shared with the Northwest Regional Chapter the secrets for building a customer-driven service platform.

Caliro draws on a strong background in global customer service management and strategic deployment, consultative sales design and call center operations. He has held executive positions at AOL, Verizon, GTE and Pearle Vision.

According to Caliro’s presentation, a truly customer-driven service platform allows a company to place a dollar value on customer satisfaction, thus enabling management to tie financial results to customer satisfaction and employee performance. Companies need to go beyond a simple mention of customer service in their mission statement and get into customer service data, analytics, metrics and modeling.

SOCAP Great Lakes Chapter Holds Golf Tournament

On June 12, 2007, the Great Lakes Chapter held its 16th Annual Summer Golf Classic Scramble. In addition to golf, the event featured Door Prizes, Awards for Lowest Team Score, Best Team Ball, Longest Putt, Closest to the Pin and more!

How Do I Participate in the SANG meetings at the SOCAP Annual Conference in October?

SOCAP’s two Special Affinity Networking Groups (SANGs)—the Food & Beverage SANG and the Executive SANG—will hold in-person meetings at the SOCAP 2007 Annual Conference in October. The Executive SANG will meet on Tuesday, October 9 from 11:00 am–1:00 pm at the conference hotel, the J.W. Marriott Desert Springs. The Food & Beverage SANG will meet on Wednesday, October 10 from 10:00 am–2:00 pm at the Marriott.

Additional registration is required to attend both the Executive and Food & Beverage SANG meetings. SOCAP charges a SANG member rate and a non-member rate to participate in both meetings. The fees include lunch and are as follows:

Executive SANG
Executive SANG Members – $50
Executive SANG Non-Member – $130

Food & Beverage SANG
F&B SANG Member – $50
F&B SANG Non-Member – $110

The Non-member rate for either the Executive or Food & Beverage SANG meeting includes a one-year membership to that SANG. Both meetings will address timely and relevant customer care issue in a private, informal setting that fosters robust discussion and networking. Registration at the Annual Conference is required to attend the SANG meetings. Visit the SOCAP website for details about both SANG meetings, including program agendas and registration details. Space will be limited so register early!

By Kelly McDonald, McDonald Marketing

Kelly McDonald, President of McDonald Marketing, was a keynote speaker at the SOCAP 2007 Symposium in April in San Antonio, TX.

You’ve read the statistics, you’ve seen the Census data—Latinos are the largest and fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S. Whether you live in Los Angeles where the Latino population is the largest in the country (41% of the total population) or in Greensboro, NC (the fastest growing Latino market, with a 674% increase in Latino population since 1990), the Latino population cannot be ignored. It is large, getting larger, and for companies and brands, it means a huge opportunity to gain incremental business.

The latest Census numbers reveal that there are 44.5 million Latinos residing in the United States. If you’re like me, that’s a staggering number to get your head around. Just how many is 44.5 million? Consider this: there are more Latinos living in the United States than there are Canadians in Canada. TheLatino population in this country rosealmost 60% in the last decade, compared to a mere 13% increase in the non-Latino population. Another way to look at it: currently, almost one in seven U.S. residents is Latino. By 2020, this ratio will increase to one in five. And this is having a profound effect on our culture and our society.

The influence of this exploding population is seen everywhere: our food, our music and entertainment, our sports, our media and our politics.

For information on the how your company can tap into this important market segment, read the complete article, along with other articles on Hispanic marketing, in the upcoming June issue of CRM Magazine.