A Contest

On September 18th, at SOBCon Colorado, we announced a contest featuring our Colorado sponsor, Carlsen Resources.

The prize?

A FREE trip to our flagship event, SOBCon 2011 in Chicago!  (registration, 3 night’s hotel, air up to $750)

The contest?

Propose, in 500 words or less, a Social Media strategy for Carlsen Resources.

Why does Carlsen need a strategy?

Right now, aside from their website, they have no other Social Media presense or activity.

How to enter?

Post your proposal on your blog by October 31, 2010  (make sure you link it back to this post, and/or Tweet it with the #sobconCarlsen hashtag)

Update (10/19/10): Or, just e-mail it to sobevents@gmail.com

How will the winner be selected?

A team at Carlsen Resources will review and determine which proposal best suits their business. The SOBCon social media team will act in an advisory role only.

Any other rules to know about?

The 500-word limit INCLUDES text in any illustrations that are part of the proposal (graphs, charts, pictures, etc)

How do I find out more about Carlsen Resources?

Click here to visit their website.

Meet Carlsen Resources

Founded in 1989, Carlsen Resources, Inc. is a premiere executive search firm in the ever-expanding arenas of cable television, global media and telecommunications. Carlsen offers an array of executive search, candidate assessment, workplace diversity, career development and HR services across a wide range of business disciplines.Carlsen Resources helps its clients grow their business using innovative techniques, over two decades of experience and the broadest network of quality professionals in the industry today.

Carlsen has developed a reputation for delivering superior client service with uncompromising integrity, attention to detail, and an always professional , yet uniquely personal approach to the science of executive placement.

Recently we also interviewed Ann Carlsen, founder and CEO, and Sandy Ramunno, President and COO, about the company and their desire to use Social Media to help their business:

SOBCon: 

We understand you’ve built your business and your contact list the traditional “analog” way, and most impressively at that (a list in the 10′s of thousands).  How did you do this?

Ann:

  It was one person and relationship at a time. We started with lower levels, and built relationships through a methodic process of staying in touch once a month through the phone, sending out birthday and all holiday greetings,  and most of all, being there for them when the chips were down. Then it was “Rinse and repeat”.  The database was 120 people when we started.

SOBCon:

Sandy, tell us about Ann – describe her personality, and the values she brings to the company.

Sandy:

 Ann is one of the smartest, most generous, and funniest people I’ve ever known.  She is extremely hardworking & well read, has impeccable integrity, and is steadfast in her commitment to our clients.  She has grown up with the industry so knows its history, evolution and people.  She sets the tone and pace for the entire team.

We all take our work very seriously – strive to always under promise and over deliver. I have the utmost confidence in every last person on our team and the job they do each and every day.   We measure our success by our clients’ success.  We are constantly evaluating the process so that we are confident that we are doing the job better than anyone else.  And we have a lot of fun while we do it.

And, I love this story despite all her successes– 5 years ago – 6 kittens were born under my house and something had happened to the mother.  We bottle fed them for about 2 weeks before I had to go to what must have been my 5 year HS reunion.   When I told Ann that I was on my way to Petsmart to find a pet sitter she asked what was going on.  To make a long story short – she and her kids bottle fed them while I was gone….and for the next month… AND 4 of the 6 never left her house again!  Huge heart, wonderful person.

SOBCon:

  Let’s talk about the business itself.  What is the “extraordinary value” Carlsen brings to their clients?

Sandy:

 Our mission statement is to build enduring relationships to create great matches of opportunity and talent that grow businesses and careers. We know the people in the industry better than the competition and understand the business.  And we make every effort to keep it that way.

Ann:

 It’s high touch, caring about the person above all else, understanding the business from the inside out, and performance and results.

SOBCon:

  Lastly, can you describe why you are interested in using Social Media, and what you believe you can get out of it?

Sandy:

We KNOW we need to use it and it’s not like we’ve done nothing but we don’t have an overall strategy on how best to approach it.  I’ve heard all the reasons TO use it and know that a traditional website is 90s technology…still good to have but not exactly cutting edge.  The “reasons” for using it that are most compelling are that we could better communicate with our market – both to speak TO them and to hear FROM them.   We learn more from feedback than anything else.

Ann:

We want to expand our reach among younger people. As AC (Ann) has gotten older, so have her contacts.  The team is all about the same age, so we all have similar contact base.  We need to cultivate the younger people who will be the decision-makers of the future.  We want to stay relevant and on top of things.

Any More Resources to Share?

Click here for a great interview with Ann Carlsen by The Cable Center.

Good luck, and may the best proposal win!

Remember, the deadline for entries is October 31, 2010