Customers Service and the Server Geek – Episode 58

Smilin' Scott Hanson
Smilin’ Scott Hanson

This week we talk with someone who uses Twitter and social media to form relationships with their customers. Scott Hanson, @CiscoServerGeek on Twitter, is a unicorn who uses his super powers as a pre-sales SE for Cisco’s data center products.

 

 

  • Social selling (and selling in general) is about customer service
  • Scott has always been in technical pre-sales. He doesn’t see himself as a hair-slicked-back sales guys. Are sales guys always a bit insincere?
  • Scott got started in a hardware store – customer service to the Nth degree
  • This is more evidence for Amy’s thesis that people who are good at social have often had customer support, customer service, or a service industry in their background.
  • Scott’s not sure if he does “social selling” — this is just how build relationships using tools. It’s just another way of making connections.
  • Scott puts his Twitter handle on his business card. He’s not sure if that’s the corporate standard, or even allowed, but he just did it.
  • Scott isn’t measured on social, but it helps him achieve his management-set objectives.
  • Co-workers ask for help when they see the results he gets.
  • Culture of helping others in your team – not always present in sales
  • But community and sharing helps the top performers perform
  • Too much top-down command and control doesn’t work
  • Keeping balance in institutional process part of social media is actually hard to get right
  • John may or may not be a bronie
  • Social is about maintaining relationships – which sometimes pay off in a sale 2 or 3 years down the line
  • Twitter vs Facebook
  • Social is glue for offline relationships. It’s the most efficient way to manage our multitude of distant relationships in any kind of sincere way and then let us pour more energy and time to engaging in person.
  • All these tools are just about creating connections and relationships with people
  • LoCoSoCoMoCo WTF
  • Long-term vs transactional relationships – customer-first vs company-first
  • Sea monkeys as an example of false marketing and a failure to establish a long-term win-win relationship.
  • It all comes down to: be yourself. Start slowly and stop trying to do so many things.
  • John is the Jane Goodall of IT chimpanzees
  • Techies are more important now because there is so much information to sort through.
  • What not to do: Don’t be an asshole. Don’t be snarky. Be nice. That doesn’t mean you can’t be sarcastic or witty.
  • Pro tip: save early, safe often, max out your 401(k).
  • Find Scott at @CiscoServerGeek and CiscoServerGeek.com

 

 

 

 

7809_sea_monkeys
Sea monkeys were advertised in a way that did not foster a long-term relationship. Kids were disappointed when they turned out to be tiny little shrimp.

 

Pure blackmail fodder - Scott photobombing Amy and the Cloud Bunnies at the v0dgeball charity dodgeball game at VMworld
Pure blackmail fodder – Scott photobombing Amy and the Cloud Bunnies at the v0dgeball charity dodgeball game at VMworld

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