InfoXchange -- ICCA-Boston Newsletter
| November/December 2006 Volume 2, Issue 6 |
IN THIS ISSUEAnnouncementsFrom the Board - You're Invited! Thinking of Starting a Blog? Here's What You Need to Know Mentor's Corner - Toolkit for Consultants: Vendor Relationships Who Are We? From the Editor:We would like to encourage anyone to submit articles to the new ICCA Greater Boston Chapter newsletter. If you know of anyone interested in free publicity, ask them to write an article of any size or topic pertinent to our organization for submission in the next issue of our newsletter. The good news is the smaller the article, the better, since long articles are hard to read on-line.We are very open to ideas and suggestions regarding article topics in all sections of the newsletter, including: Local or Chapter Announcements; Articles; Member-to-Member Spotlights; Member-to-Member News; Mentor's Corner. Submit ideas or articles to:Kim ReddingtonDirector of Communications newsletter@ icca-boston.org Next Deadline:Dec 19, 2006 for the Jan/Feb Issue |
1) The November meeting of ICCA-GBC is a work-in-progress.
Please stay tuned and watch for your mailings regarding this meeting. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, we are targetting Nov 28 for the meeting. 2) If anyone has ideas for great speakers, send anyone on the Board of Directors a note. We have compiled a list of great presentation ideas and are in the process of finding engaging speakers for the topics. You're Invited!!By Vin D'Amico, President, ICCA-GBCHave you ever wondered what it's like to be on or associated with a volunteer group Board of Directors? Well, here's your chance! ICCA-Boston is holding it's next Board meeting on Tuesday evening, November 14th, at Peking Garden in Lexington. Join us! No cost. No obligation. No commitments. No strings. Just listen. You get a free meal, an opportunity to really get to know other members, and a chance to make a difference. If you're serious about the ICCA and serious about networking as a way to grow your business, you owe it to yourself to attend. Just send an email message to president@icca-boston.org so we can plan accordingly. We'll be waiting for you! Thinking of Starting a Blog? Here's What You Need to Know By Vin D'Amico, PrincipalDAMICON, LLC Forget about writing articles, newsletters and books! Blogging is where the action is. A little extreme? Perhaps, but if you haven't at least considered writing a blog, you're still living in the 20th century. Time to move on. What do you think of when you hear about blogging? Perhaps you imagine a journalist writing about today's events; or an activist offering opinions about an emerging situation; or maybe you think bloggers are mostly teenagers just mouthing off. While all of the above can be interesting blogs, more and more consultants are turning to blogs as a vehicle for communicating with their clients and partners. The informal, conversational nature of blogs makes them ideally suited to spreading information quickly and keeping people up to date. I won't go into all the ways a blog can benefit your clients. There is plenty of guidance available on the Web and plenty of good blogs to study. Instead, I'll tell you about the software tools you need and show you how easy it is to get started. Click here to learn how to setup your own blog. Toolkit for Consultants: Vendor RelationshipsBy C. Thomas Tyler, Chief Technology Officer of The Go To Group, Inc.Many consultants tell me they are weak at what I call forward marketing, finding ways to connect with new prospects. They feel they are limited to networking and personal referrals. However, many of these consultants have a good marketing baseline. That is, they have a good story to tell when somehow, someone does find their way to their doorstep. A marketing baseline consists of things like your "elevator pitch", brochures describing your products and/or services, your web site, and whatever you have to show to someone who indicates an interest in your offerings. This article explores a way of capitalizing on the powerful forward marketing capabilities of other companies to support your own offerings. If you are in the situation of having a good marketing baseline but weak forward marketing, this article may prove helpful. If you don't yet have a solid marketing baseline - you'll need to focus on that first, and then read this later! VendorsFirst, I should define what I mean by vendors. For purposes of this article, "vendor" will have a somewhat narrow definition, meaning "any well-established company with strong forward marketing capabilities that primarily distributes products (software or otherwise) rather than services."The basic idea is to use vendors as a channel to drive business to your doorstep, thus taking advantage of their powerful forward marketing capabilities. Then your own marketing materials will tell your story. Marketers love to use terms like "synergistic" and "win-win", and in this case these terms generally do apply. Click here to find out more about how vendors can grow your business. Founded in 1976, the Independent Computer Consultants Association (ICCA) is a national not-for-profit organization of independent computer consulting firms sharing the highest ethical and professional standards. The ICCA Greater Boston Chapter Mission Statement: The Greater Boston Chapter of the ICCA supports and encourages the growth of individuals and small firms in the business of computer consulting through education, networking, advocacy, and the exchange of ideas and knowledge among peers. The ICCA offers great services and benefits to its members including business and health insurance, marketing programs, a National Conference, standard form consulting and subcontracting contracts, and many discount programs. For additional information regarding the ICCA or to search the National Membership Directory, visit the national website http://www.icca.org or the Greater Boston Chapter website http://www.icca-boston.org Board MembersPresident - Vin D'Amico - president@icca-boston.orgVice President - Mike Spanos - vicepresident@icca-boston.org Treasurer - James Connell - treasurer@icca-boston.org Secretary - Peter Dwyer - secretary@icca-boston.org Director of Communications - Kim Reddington - newsletter@icca-boston.org Director and Web Committee Chair- Bob Goodearl - pr@icca-boston.org Immediate Past President - Norman Daoust - pastpresident@icca-boston.org Legal StuffThis newsletter comes to you via the Chapter Members Announcements list of the Greater Boston Chapter of the ICCA.If you believe it has reached you in error, or if you do not wish to received further messages from this list, visit the Yahoo URL following this newlsetter. Alternatively, you can send a message via US Mail to: ICCA, Greater Boston Chapter Attn: Chapter Email List Unsubscribe 11131 South Towne Square, Suite F St Louis, MO 63123-7817 Publisher: Greater Boston Chapter of the Independent Computer Consultants Association, http://www.icca-boston.org Copyright 2005, Greater Boston Chapter of the Independent Computer Consultants Association This newsletter may be distributed without charge as long as it's distributed in its entirety. Individual sections and portions may be distributed with permission. |