Hi –

Ever wished there was a site that would gather all the snippets of information scattered around the Web on who or whatever you're searching for, and organize them into something more than just a single list of results?

This month's issue highlights two terrific but little known sites that do exactly that. One profiles people, the other topics of interest. Both belong in your arsenal of research resources. Be sure to read about, bookmark, and use them.

If you missed out on my webinars earlier this spring (working the Web as a prospecting and relationship management tool and simple strategies for improving productivity), you're in luck! In late July I'll be running live encores of both presentations. You're eligible for a special discount. Details are below.

Hard to believe the year's half over. Are you halfway or better to the goals you set? Targeted individual or team coaching may be just what you need to accelerate your pace and achieve your objectives before 2007 ends. Scroll down to learn more.

Ever Googled someone's name before meeting or talking by phone to see what useful background you could turn up about them? Maybe a referral from a client, or a new prospect, perhaps a journalist you want to build a relationship with, or a center of influence at a company or trade group? For a growing number of advisors, Googling those folks is now standard pre-conversation homework.

The problem is what surfaces in that process isn't always structured in a very organized way - which can mean having to plow through a raft of results to patch together anything meaningful. That's where sites like ZoomInfo and Clusty come in handy, two search tools that take the time and guess work out of organizing information found online.

Long-time readers may recall I first spotlighted ZoomInfo in March 2006. Recently, the site got a major overhaul which warrants giving it another look. Clusty I included in Winning Clients in a Wired World (back then it was called Vivisimo Web Search) as an alternative/supplement to Google worth considering.

What makes both sites useful is how they group their findings into categories, which makes reviewing whatever results they return both faster and easier.

ZoomInfo

Originally designed to help recruiters uncover job candidates, ZoomInfo scans the Web for mentions of the 37 million (and counting) people it tracks, using what it finds to create a virtual resume for each person. Contact information, work history, board memberships and affiliations, education, Web references – background that can give you a more complete picture of who a person is and in what ways you (or others… think referrals) may be connected with them.

Basic service is free; paid versions give you access to more information, and greater flexibility in transferring that data into your own system.

Two quick notes of caution: not everyone has a ZoomInfo profile, and those that do may be fragmented in multiple profiles. Despite those limitations it's worth checking if people you're interested in show up in ZoomInfo's database. It won't cost you, and you simply won't get the same organized output using a standard search engine.

One cool ZoomInfo feature I use frequently is QuickLists, a way of grouping contacts together for ongoing tracking/access – your "A" clients, execs at the same company, members of a local professional organization, competitors, whatever. (QuickLists also solve the multi-part bio problem mentioned above; you can group the pieces of a person's background together into one QuickList for faster reference the next time.)

Another thing I like: you can use the site's Advanced Search page to look for people at companies within a defined geography or within a certain size range.

Clusty

Clusty is a broader-based search tool. What makes it noteworthy is that it groups or "clusters" results it finds into logical categories, all by itself. Enter the keywords entrepreneurs "Washington, DC" and you'll get groupings for Small Business, Women, Non-Profit, Association, and Young Entrepreneurs, to name just a few. Click on any of those headings and you'll get a list of subheadings, each with a distinct set of results to help you find exactly what you're looking for.

Google is still my bread-and-butter search tool but when I'm looking for information on people or want help parsing what's out there on certain topics I'm researching, ZoomInfo and Clusty are where I turn next. You should too.

Have an approach to prospecting or a relationship management strategy that you've found especially effective? A Web site or tactic you use, or a tool you've developed? I'd love to hear about it. Just hit Reply and let me know. If I write about what you're doing in a future Tips issue, you'll win a free signed copy of Winning Clients in a Wired World!

Live Webinar Training

Our webinars are designed with one purpose: to guide you to greater success by showing you how to build better process into your business.

Frankly, they are the best investment you can make in yourself and your team that I can think of - with an ROI many times greater than the cost.

That's why I hope you'll join me for both.

And as a Kip's Tips subscriber, if you act now you can save 35% off the total cost of both webinars (coupon code KT3982) or 25% off the cost of one (KT8560). After July 20 you'll pay full price, so be sure to reserve your spot right away!

Tips and Tricks for Untangling the Web
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
3:30 - 4:30 pm ET

Most advisors barely scrape the surface of the Web - email, headlines, market updates, sports scores. That's about it. Which is too bad, because used well the Web can be one of the best client retention and prospecting tools you can use.

If you believe that information, not dollars, is the real currency you trade in these days, and you want to know how to pinpoint, retrieve, organize, manage, and use information to create efficiency and knowledge advantages, this event was tailor-made for you! An hour-long live, interactive program, it will show you how to begin harnessing the Internet's power as both a business development and relationship management resource.

You and your team will walk away with knowledge and actionable ideas for leveraging sites like ZoomInfo, Google, Clusty, and others that will immediately improve your efficiency and effectiveness.

Click here to learn more and reserve your spot! Don't forget to enter one of the special Tips subscriber coupon codes listed above when prompted to receive your discount.

Mastering Time and Information Management to Gain an Extra Hour Every Day
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
3:30 - 4:30 pm ET

Imagine how much control and confidence you'd have if you could instantly put your hands on material you needed whenever you needed it - forms for completing a sale, talking points for cultivating a prospect, or nurturing a referral partner, you name it. Wouldn't that be great? How much would that increase in productivity be worth to you and your team?

In this 60-minute session, you'll learn a simple system you can implement immediately to save time and increase effectiveness. I call it knowledge journaling. Using it will permanently change how you manage the information that fuels your business. It's that powerful.

Even if you've heard me talk about journaling in person, you'll want to attend this event. I'll cover tips, tricks, and shortcuts I don't usually share publicly.

Click here to learn more about this exciting event and reserve your spot! And remember to use the coupon code shown above to take advantage of your special pricing.

One-on-One and Team Coaching

Much of my coaching work centers on helping teams identify the key processes in their business and how to effectively streamline them through better delegation and automation. My clients share a common trait: they're all already successful to one degree or another... but they've plateaued and want to step up to their next level. If that describes you we should talk. I can help you implement solutions to a variety of challenges that routinely hold advisors back:

• Finding and fixing productivity leaks - minimizing the time you lose to email, you spend recreating information you already have, you forfeit locating what you need online, or burn delivering on follow-up commitments inefficiently are just a few examples
  
  
• Defining sales and service processes – from contact to contract to ongoing care and feeding of clients… understanding who does what when, and where technology fits (or could fit) into the picture
  
  
• Developing a marketing communication strategy and calendar – mapping out an annual plan for keeping in touch with and in front of clients, prospects, centers of influence, and the media
  
  
• Cultivating referrals from current clients – strategies and tactics for expanding your business with help from those who know it best
  
  
• Designing a step-by-step improvement plan for strengthening key aspects of your business - identifying opportunities and developing work flows in designated areas of the practice
  
  
• Team building and successful delegation – defining the vision, setting expectations, identifying desired results, managing the process, and the tools that make it easier

Please don't keep me a secret! If you're involved in booking or recommending speakers for any event - corporate sales conferences, due diligence meetings, national or chapter events for industry groups - let's talk. Now more than ever, attendees are looking for the tangible, actionable kind of content I deliver, things they can take back to the office and put to work immediately.

Here's a quick snapshot of the presentations I can make to your group.

Practical Strategies for Improving Productivity

It's no secret that excelling at time, information, and resource management is essential to becoming more productive. This presentation shows you how to develop and blend those three skills successfully to execute almost automatic business improvements. In it, you will learn how to: 1. permanently conquer information overload with a simple system for cataloging knowledge and content, 2. build a systematic, measurable, and repeatable roadmap to success, and, 3. put an hour of selling time back into every day by taming today's #1 productivity killer: email. All using technology you currently own.

Topics include:

• Understanding your productivity gap… and how to close it


• The 80/20 rule of information - how to keep what's critical at your fingertips


• A simple approach to creating your team's process playbook


• Developing a 30-day improvement game plan


• Eliminating email overload -- managing your message flow (optional)

Things You Should Know About

Got a tip you'd like to share? Or a topic you'd like to see covered in a future issue? Email me your ideas.

Until next time wishing you all the best,

Kip Gregory

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The Gregory Group:
Teaching Clients to Leverage Their Time, Talent, and Technology to Increase Productivity and Profit
202.364.6913

http://www.kipgregory.com

© 2007 Kip Gregory. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or republishing this content either electronically or in print without prior permission is prohibited.