Lou - thanks for posting. It is an interesting point you make about the written word. Likely there will be a verbal format of TMC type site one day as well. But the written word does offer advantages to some individuals communication preferences, both written and reading. I also think pre-conceived notions and ideas come into play with respect to grasping concepts being shared. Those new to the industry can perhaps learn and accept things more quickly because they do not have strong convictions based upon their personal experience. This is very helpful when participating in a community that welcomes those on every level. I have seen situations occur many times here where individuals refuse to accept established principles of business because they never learned them and refuse to accept that they exist. A great example of this occurred in recent discussions where Walter spoke of b2b vs b2c fundamental differences and was attacked by several members as being ego driven and worse. A simple google search on the subject revealed such differences exist, yet people would rather hold firm in their views and not even acknowledge this to be the case when a link was offered by me. I think we fall short of looking at the true potential to continue learning here if we only fault the written word and the style of writing others use, while never internalizing our own barriers. As I stated earlier in this thread, I greatly appreciate Lou using his example to create discussion and help us all to learn. In doing so, Lou earned the respect of Walter and was rewarded by developing a relationship that extended beyond TMC. That is another great lesson we should all take from this thread.

Thank you everyone for the kind words. And thank you Lou for the call, I enjoyed the conversation as it forced me to distill my thoughts in a clearer manner than hastily writing a post from my iPhone.

I'd like to expand a little bit more on the importance of terms for posting on the forum. As Lou pointed out, depending where you target your business it may not influence your work. But on the forum it does influence responses and clarifies communication. As I use terminology to clearly reference the size, complexity, and even the mindset of the economic buyer so others may better understand the purpose of the actions. Doing so would eliminate arguments over what does and doesn't work with "corporate gigs" because if I'm targeting a $5 million company ran by the owner with 50 employees vs someone else who's targeting a regional division of IBM our approach and value proposition are different especially when compared against the economic buyers mindset and needs.

Also during our conversation, Lou asked me to clarify a couple of phrases and concepts that I took for granted as a given, in doing so, he gently reminded me that we all come from different backgrounds and experiences. It's far to easy for us to be comfortable with what we know and hold others to our own understandings and jargon. So if I say something here on a post that isn't clear, please ask me to clarify either in a pm or in the thread.

Thanks again Lou for your time and willingness to put yourself As an example.