I couldn’t help but notice the differences between online and offline companies. Here are a few observations and takeaways that make me think us web geeks/startup junkies sometimtes live in a bubble.

• Salespeople don’t mess around – I know some people think I’m a “sales guy”, although I’ve never been trained (most that are great have been). I brought my portfolio and plenty of cards, but the real salespeople had tri-fold brochures, client lists and a few even had custom name tags with a scrolling digital message. Before you laugh, it was memorable and again their motive was clear. Takeaway – Customer acquisition is so different for offline businesses.
  
• Social what? – Most attendees referenced the web in some way and a couple even talked about their Facebook group or *gasp* Twitter page (their words not mine). I was floored to hear business owners and employees talk about using social tools. Granted some butchered the vernacular and I assume the execution, but there was obvious curiousity and interest. I suspect these steps are much like company blogs were a few years ago and 99% still haven’t heard of RSS. Takeaway – Social tools are still shiny new toys for most offline businesses and some may sadly be looking for the magic bullet.
  
• You are what you wear – As we rotated groups you had to choose your next table in less than one minute. Needless to say, we were all forced to make judgments on where to sit by who you knew or what the table looked like. Some folks wore their company logo (helpful for this event) a few were business casual and most were professionally dressed. I chose the sportcoat with no tie and it was obvious a few suits wondered if I accidentally left my tie at home. Takeaway – I know some people hate to hear this, but just as online companies are judged by the look of their site, offline folks are judged by their attire.
• Face to face matters – In addition to physical appearance, those who were quick witted or well spoken ruled the event’s roost. Most of my online friends can write great copy for a web page or type funny statements in under 140 characters, but human interaction is just so different. I found it refreshing and realized many people (of all ages) still want the face to face interaction for making decisions. Takeaway – While our crowd may use Paypal, email and Google docs there is a massive customer base for companies who will meet you in person.

I’m not ready to ditch my web conferencing, twitter addiction or LinkedIn account, but it was a nice change of pace. I really enjoyed the event’s framework as people weren’t there to meet and greet, they came to generate business. It felt almost more relaxed knowing everyone’s intentions (i.e. – buy my wares or help me find someone who will). Online we criticize those who try to sell, sell, sell, but this was the purpose of virtually every attendee.

There are many things I appreciate about the web like scaling, speed and visibility (Google the term earwood). But, just like the show “Lost” there are “others” out there and they’re not going away.