I am excited and nervous about what tonight has in store for me.
I am friends with a hospital administrator whose facility is beginning to recognize the importance of Social Media in relation to its public and customer relations. He’s been asking me a lot of questions about social media, and I am in a position to put myself forward as a candidate for this contract. I could, except for the truth that I am not the right person to provide precisely what he needs.
Every client deserves to have their needs filled exactly, by a professional who truly understands those needs and can provide specialized solutions for them to use. I understand festivals, special events and other similar small organizations. Health Care is different. Health Care is not my thing. Which brings me to Liz Strauss. Health Care is her thing. She is very good at what she does.
Liz Strauss, the founder of SOBCon, has been named to the Top 100 Social Media & Internet Marketing Bloggers Top 100 Most Influential Marketers of 2008, the 50 of the Most Powerful and Influential Women of Social Media, NxE’s Fifty Most Influential ‘Female’ Bloggers and her blog is listed on Alltop Social Media and Alltop Twitterati. I subscribe to her blog so that I can learn from her and I follow her on Twitter so that I can keep track of what she is doing. Until yesterday, I had never interacted directly with her but I want the best for my friend’s hospital, so I DM’d Liz and asked if I could recommend her services to him. Liz gave me permission to pass along her contact information, and I copied her on the email to my friend.
A conversation between Liz and I, via Twitter and email, ensued. Several amazing things happened. I received a phone call from Liz, she shared unbelievably valuable insight on relationships that has already impacted the way I approach prospective clients, we talked about my new business, we talked about her projects, and I was asked to be a guest host on her Open Comment Night.
All this, because I chose to recommend the best person for a job instead of giving that job my best shot. A win for my friend, a win for Liz, a win for me.
I will always recommend the best person to fill your needs – even if, especially if, that person isn’t me.
Does that inspire you to do the same?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you, Mike for stopping in!
@LisaDJenkins
I had the pleasure of meeting Liz and seeing her present at WordCamp DFW 2009 this weekend and she does in fact know her stuff. Healthcare definitely needs to recognize the power of social media to listen to customers, suppliers and employees. Great Job Lisa and Liz and thanks for sharing your blog post.
@mikedmerrill