September 1-2, 2010

Selling any new ideas lately? Have you incorporated what is sustainable about your product, service, or company? Do you have proof-of-performance? Is that proof accepted by governments and citizens alike?

Where do you start?

The best place is with those who self-select themselves for conferences such as the Women in Green Forum. Any person who foots their own bill to keep both informed and networked is the type of person you want on your team.

For me, finding Green in Orange County isn’t easy, OC isn’t San Fran. I signed up for the forum hoping to find other women as passionate about sustainability as I am — it didn’t disappoint. If you need connections for your sales pipeline, sign up for next year’s event.

One of the first women I met was Sarah Potts, City Director of the Clinton Foundation. Out of 300 attendees somehow I sat near almost everyone attending from the Climate Registry, Jennifer Kaminski, Peggy Foran and Robyn Camp. I lunched with Marieta Francis the Ex. Dir of Algalita.org (that’s the group that monitors gyres of plastic swirling about in the oceans) and also with marketing dynamo Carolyn Parrs of Mind Over Markets and her own change-the-world site. And so many more — I learned something from everyone I met.

What surprised me the most? They brought in a guy to do the keynote at a first-time women’s conference. I bad mouthed that effort on Twitter, but have to eat my words because he delivered an exceptional crossover talk with the gender-neutral balance of an Apple Store.

“He” was John Picard, long-time USGBG native and activist. As this is a blog about selling, John had to work extra hard to win this crowd over — he hit every resonating tie to what women care about with absolute authenticity thanks to his track record and his willingness to show respect for the women in the room.

Another big surprise didn’t happen until I came home; I had picked up a year’s worth of Miller-McCune magazines that were sitting by the door. I’ve been reading them cover-to-cover ever since, as has my husband a mechanical engineer who only subscribes to the National Geographic. Producing a mag that appeals to both a marketer/sales type and an engineer is no small feat.

Miller-McCune is a newbie on the publication scene, but if you’re serious about keeping your sales saw sharp with what matters in today’s world, I’d highly recommend bookmarking the site or subscribing to the magazine. Regardless of your talent base, Miller-McCune will raise your critical thinking and writing skills.

My sincere thanks to Jaime Nack’s team for putting on an excellent first forum and setting the tone for high-level dot connecting.