ALONG WITH 23 OTHERS, I spent part of the evening learning about how people who are addicted to selling fit an internet presence into their working lives. These are not idle tweeple (people with time to tweet more than 40 times a day) nor have they the patience to waste time in cul de sacs. But they know there is promise in some facets of social networking. "The stronger the image, the better the sales," says James Whelan Butchers, the five-star craft butcher in County Tipperary. That observation works in shop windows and it certainly works for well-designed online shops too. James Whelan Butchers reverted to a paper-first strategy when an all-electronic version failed to command the attention of clients. With a paper brochure outlining the site's potential in 2001, the site got traction. Today, the website extends beyond the geographical range of the butcher's livestock. James Whelan Butchers now delivers "a taste of home" into the UK through a network of distributors. "It's the most silent business in the world" is how JamesWhelanButchers.com views an effecitve online presence.That's smoked trout hanging in the butchers.
