Patrick Booth
President, CCB Technology
2823 Carlisle Ave., Racine
Industry: information technology
ccbtechnology.com
Patrick Booth is president of Racine-based CCB Technology, an IT provider that provides technology solutions and services to businesses and nonprofits. It’s important to focus not just on technology itself, but on the people behind the technology, Booth says.
“I am a self-confessed LinkedIn fanatic. It’s a great way to connect with customers, leadership and vendors. However, real face time (no, not FaceTime the iPhone app) is what develops trusting relationships. Even in a world of social media and electronic communication, in-person interactions make all the difference.
“A virtual presence is effective and convenient, but body language, a hand shake and first impressions can’t be replicated on a conference call. I learned this the hard way while in sales, and came to understand that the things not being said are often more important than what is said.
“Face-to-face meetings allow humor and individuality to come through – things that can be missed or misinterpreted in an email. It’s often the moments of laughter that make a person memorable or solidify a connection.
“This philosophy doesn’t stop at the customer level. Our partners take time to come to our organization because we show a sincere and vested interest in having them here.
“The phrase, ‘people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care,’ is so true. As a technology company, it’d be easy to hide behind our monitors, never engaging with our customers face-to-face. But I believe we all want to work with people that truly have our best interest at heart. The bottom line is that trust and credibility are built in-person.”
