Well it is the last day of June and I am nearly six months into this life changing experience called the Saltire Fellowship.  As I write this blog I am 32,000 feet in the air flying from Sacramento in California to Seattle in Washington State.  I am currently traveling with David Miller as we work through some focus sessions with the Liberty Mutual field sales teams throughout different states.  The opportunity to travel is great especially when you are meeting lots of different people in different states and getting the opportunity to share the vision of the Saltire Foundation.  As we head into the last four weeks of the externship I will have the opportunity to engage with sales reps in Philadelphia. Chicago, Houston, and Dallas.  The session that we are running is pretty much the same 8 times over through out the day and I think I will have performed in the region of 60 focus interviews by the time I finish this project.  It is my groundhog day experience, but it definitely lets you sharpen your presentation and interview skills to get the best out of the hour sessions.

Well more about Liberty Mutual and travel another time.  I wanted to share some thoughts on my learnings over the past few weeks.  At the Liberty Mutual Social Media Conference we had the opportunity to listen to senior executives from Youtube and Facebook.  Both presentations funny, informative and made me really think that I need to spend more time on my computer.  Some of the key learnings I would like to share are as follows:

• Messages from Youtube Head of Marketing 
• The combined Facbook and Youtube community is 750 million people
• 20% of these users are over 55 years old (so there is hope for me yet!)
• There are 90 million social network sites in the world
• Most of the Youtube insights were about knowing your audience and making sure that you don’t just lift your standard media advertising deck and put it on youtube.  You need to think about this audience and capture them.  Some companies have been great at this and I suppose it is like the subliminal advertising of the 1960’s!
• You need to be true, authentic and original in your message

• Messages from Tom Arixx - VP of Sales and Marketing at Facebook
• As marketing evolves rip up the playbook and start again.  Help marketing evolve:- and collaborate through innovation
• There is currently a transformational shift to social marketing
• Great words from the CMO at Proctor and Gamble, Jim Stenzel

   ‘Todays marketing is broken, we are applying antiquated ideas...’

Finally

• Marketing was about products and development.  It now has to be about relationships, connections and networks

The last point rings true as David and I head home from Seattle.  We met with a Liberty Mutual sales veteran today who retired earlier this year and missed it so much he has come back to train the younger sales folks in the art of building relationships.  Marvin Wheetar was one of the top sales reps in Liberty Mutual for 30 years in a row.  He is on first name terms with all of the senior management including the CEO.  In fact he was sharing with us that he spent a week in the Greek Islands with the CEO and 8 other top performing sales people.  For a man in retirement he had the energy of a 18 year old and the commercial head of a long standing Global Sales Professional.  Don’t be afraid of asking for the sale or the opportunity.  You will get 8 NO’s but end the end you will get 2 YES’s.......stay focussed on the goal.  Make sure that you are the first person that the client contacts and not only always ask for the business, ask for a referral.

Well I started this blog on the flight to Seattle.  I am now at the airport less than 24 hours later flying back to Boston for July 4th holidays.  I am looking forward to spending the weekend on Cape Cod and relaxing after a busy week.  A big thanks to David for his humour and company on this trip.  Also a big thanks to Neil and Ian in Palo Alto who let us crash on their floor for a couple of nights letting us keep the costs in control for our trip.