Salesconx Will Monetize Your Rolodex: LinkedIn Beware? INTERVIEW
Poor LinkedIn? Not only doesn’t the blogosphere “get” the leading online professional network “use case,” The Boston Globe is also mixing up Web 2.0 social and business metaphors!
To describe a new online version of an offline organization that declares itself to be “dedicated to fostering relationships among young venture capitalists in New england by building a strong industry community through networking events,” Carolyn Johnson calls the impending online “network” a social one and juxtaposes it to Facebook and MySpace, NOT LinkedIn!
The New England Venture Network (NEVN) heralds itself in fact to be an “educational platform and communications vehicle for different topics in the VC comunity” and is particulalry proud of providing ”outstanding opportunities for leading private equity service providers to connect with their clients.”
As LinkedIn CEO Dan Nye suggested re LinkedIn, it is safe to wager then that there will be no hamburger slinging at the NEVN online offshot, like there is at Facebook!
Should LinkedIn be worried? After all, the new niche professional network will aim to provide LinkedIn style functionality, such as an “Answers” feature and a jobs offering.
The online professional networking vertical is itself getting the vertical treatment! What’s more, some online networks are even promising to monetize our rolodexes for us.
I spoke with the founder and CEO of the latest niche professional network to launch online: Salesconx.
Evan Sohn is a veteran sales and marketing exec; He told me he created Salesconx to bring word of mouth referrals to the Web by enabling sales execs to efficiently and professionaly monetize their rolodexes.
Billed as a “Web portal for brokering relationships between sales associates and buyers,” Salesconx promises to help the dedicated sales person “monetize existing business contacts and establish brand new relationships with all types of potential customers.”
Why now? Sohn: “Sales pros have been sharing contacts forever. Voice and spam filters, and reduced face-to-face networking make it more difficult for salespoeple to find appropriate contacts of late.”
How it works: Members pay a $100 fee for each introduction (a personal email referral), or $25 for a contact name without introduction. Salesconx takes 20% of each transaction.
Sohn proudly underscored to me that Salesconx is one of the rare Web 2.0 startups that can boast revenues of any amount right out of the gate. Launched last month, Salesconx has 619 members and has facilitated 171 deals (the buying and selling of connections).
So, do YOU know how much YOUR rolodex could be worth? Ready to cash in???
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