Jon Ferrara is a genius.

He’s also an aggressive salesman reminiscent of the Fuller Brush sales reps who would knock on our door back in the 1950’s.

Suddenly, I feel old. Whoever heard of a salesperson knocking on your door? Well, they did, selling brushes and cleaning supplies to stay-at-home moms.

In those days lots of things were sold from the privacy of your front porch—milk and other dairy products, baked goods, fruit and vegetables, vacuum cleaners, awnings, carpet, aluminum siding, even life insurance. In those days sales were made on the basis of the seller’s ability to establish a relationship with the customer.

Hey, that’s funny! Not much has changed. Sales are still made based on your ability to establish and cultivate a relationship with your customer. And that means you need to meet Jon Ferrara, founder of Nimble.

Jon Ferrara is a genius… and a noticer.

The founder of GoldMine, the CRM system that was the hit of the 90’s, Ferrara noticed that CRM systems, his included, turned salespersons into data entry clerks. He also noticed that CRM systems seemed to focus more on generating reports than relationships. So Ferrara created Nimble with the express purpose of managing relationships rather than data.

Speaking with the passion of an evangelist at a tent revival, Ferrara told me in a telephone interview that left me struggling to keep up, “Business is social. People buy from people they like and they like people who know them.” Suddenly Ferrara interrupts himself, slows his verbal cadence, and in a near whisper delivers what speakers refer to as call and response… “Everybody likes to talk about themselves.  Don’t they, Scott?” Of course, you are expected to answer so I did.

“Let’s get back to relationships,” says the man shooting PowerPoint bullets in our GoToMeeting exchange.

Ferrara the noticer observed that salespeople have to go to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media sites if they truly want to communicate with their customers. So why not channel the relevant data streams into a single source of valuable customer data?

“We bring it all together and create a single record that you can operate from. I can see their history. I know if they are following me and who they are following. I can send a message on the channel that the customer can hear me on. I can see who is talking about my product or services.  I can see who is saying what on our Facebook page.”

Using Nimble, Jon Ferrara can see lots of things. But mostly I believe what he sees is the future.

You may reach T. Scott Gross at: 1 877 882 5368.  Call to inquiry about having him speak at your next event or visit his page for booking information, click here.  T Scott Gross is a customer service, customer loyalty, and social media customer relationship management speaker.

About T. Scott Gross

 T. Scott Gross is more than a Texas writer who speaks; he literally has been there and done that!

A veteran of the hospitality industry, Gross learned from the bottom up, literally from the business end of a pot sink! His credibility from his years in that industry has earned him the respect of audiences everywhere as an entrepreneur who knows what it’s like to make payroll every Friday.

Best known for his first book, Positively Outrageous Service, now in its second edition, with over 200,000 copies in circulation world-wide in a multitude of languages, Scott continues to delight audiences with his subtle humor, masterful storytelling, and take-home value, challenging them to make work fun. His subsequent books, 13 in all, validate the need and reward of delivering a customer service experience so positive that your customers become your best marketing tool.

Scott’s client list is as diverse as the Fortune 500, including such respected companies as Southwest Airlines, Ford, and WalMart. Presenting to audiences from as small as six to over three thousand, Scott has chosen to hone his skills in more diverse territories. He has served as a First Responder (EMT-B) in his small community of Kerrville, where he currently is serving his third term as a City Council member. When not on the road, Scott intends to live life to its fullest in San Antonio, TX, always making a difference!