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Here's some great tips from Dr. Ivan Misner, founder of Business Networking International (BNI) on being a better networker in the social media arena:
From a business perspective, social media is ideal to build your brand and your credibility; it’s about providing value for your connections and followers. It is important to offer them useful information balanced with a dash of personal insight. Whether you’re talking about face-to-face networking or online networking, credibility and relationship building are critical to the process.
With social media, the key to success is outlining a strategy. You should consider the amount of time you can realistically dedicate each day to online marketing efforts so as to be consistent. People have a tendency to get online at random times and start clicking away. Then something mysterious happens to the space-time continuum. Suddenly, two hours go by and you have nothing to show for it!
Avoid falling victim to that trap: Write up a plan for how often and how long you will work your social media.
Map out a weekly schedule that outlines specific days and times you’ll spend developing your social media strategy. Figure out what’s realistic and what makes sense for your company. For example, you might schedule yourself to post daily updates at 9a.m., 1p.m, and 5p.m., and then dedicate ten minutes to responding to comments and direct messages at 10 a.m. and 3p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, you might dedicate ten minutes at 10a.m. and 3p.m. to retweeting people’s comments which you find valuable. You can also use this time to thank people for mentioning you or retweeting your posts.
Leverage Your Time
As you design your plan, make sure you integrate tools to leverage your time in your social media efforts. Sites like http://ping.fm, www.seesmic.com, and www.tweetdeck.com are designed to send your social media updates to multiple social networking sites, including Twitter and Facebook, with one click.
Some sites even allow you to link multiple Facebook and Twitter accounts (if you have more than one) to one desktop application where you can post updates to all sites as well as view and respond to your friends’ posts on those sites and keep a log of all your past posts. This means no more logging into multiple social networking sites . . . you can manage all your social networking accounts from one place!
Also, there are sites such as www.cotweet.com where you can schedule updates in advance so your updates will post even while you’re not online. With all the traveling I do, this is a tool that is very useful.
ROI of Social Media Networking
Once you have your strategy in place, you will no doubt be anxious to start seeing a return on your online networking investment, but it’s very important to remember one thing: Networking, whether online or face-to-face, is more about farming than it is about hunting. It’s about cultivating relationships with people. The bottom line is – it takes time. It is about building the credibility of your brand, and we know that doesn’t happen overnight.
Return on Investment (ROI) is directly correlated to either – 1. Dollars spent (online paid marketing), or 2. Time and/or effort spent – in saturating and building strong profiles on whatever social media channels are deemed effective for the brand (including blogging). Don’t forget that some businesses will benefit much more from spending more effort on “niche” networks that may have less traffic, but are more targeted to the brand’s ultimate consumer.
If your network is a mile wide and an inch deep it will not be successful. It is important to create a network that is both wide and deep. You do this by being visible and engaging in the conversation. Over time, this gives you credibility which leads to building your brand and your sales. This, ultimately, will give you the biggest ROI for your online marketing efforts.
Top 5 Common Mistakes of Social Media Networking
Most of what I’ve discussed so far has focused on what you should do in order to carry out an effective and profitable social media campaign for your business. But there are also some things you should be sure to avoid.
Below are the top five social media networking mistakes:
- Spending too much time on sites you enjoy and not fully evaluating whether or not that particular site is the most effective one for your efforts.
- Going onto a site for “work” and then running down rabbit holes getting distracted by friends who may have posted something interesting or something that requires a response.
- Not being able to properly define when it is more cost-effective to delegate certain social media responsibilities to someone else to handle.
- Setting up a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter page and then not keeping it populated –consistency and fresh content are key.
- Forgetting that social media is about engaging in the conversation and not just about selling.
October 18, 2009 10:50 AM
Great article on Change by Marshall Goldsmith
Change is hard. It takes forever and I don't even know if it's working. Any tips for making this process easier?
Change takes longer than we think and the process is difficult. Acknowledging these facts can make your attempts more successful. My co-author Dr. Kelly Goldsmith, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, and I researched why people give up on their goals. We discovered that there are five common reasons. Understanding these roadblocks will help you apply some preventive medicine - and increase the odds that you won't fall into the same old traps.
1. Ownership
"I wasn't sure that this would work in the first place. I tried it out - it didn't do that much good. As I guessed, this was kind of a waste of time."
The classic mistake made in leadership development, coaching, and self-help books is the promise that "This will make you better!" After years of experience in helping real leaders change real behavior in the real world, I have learned a hard lesson. Only you will make you better.
To have a real chance of success, you have to take personal ownership and have the internal belief that "This will work if, and only if, I make it work. I am going to make this work."
2. Time
"I had no idea that this process would take so long. I'm not sure it's worth it."
Goal setters have a chronic tendency to underestimate the time needed to reach targets. In setting our goals for behavioral change, it's important to be realistic about the time we need to produce positive, lasting results. Habits that have taken years to develop won't go away in a week. Set time expectations that are 50% to 100% longer than you think you will need to see results - then add a little more.
3. Difficulty
"This is a lot harder than I thought it would be. It sounded so simple when we were starting out."
The optimism bias of goal setters applies to difficulty as well as time. Not only does everything take longer than we think it will, but it also requires more hard work than we anticipate.
In setting goals, it's important to accept the fact that real change requires real work. Acknowledging the price for success in the beginning of the change process will help prevent the disappointment that can occur when challenges arise later.
4. Distractions
"I would really like to work toward my goal, but I'm facing some unique challenges right now. It might be better if I just stopped and did this at a time when things weren't so crazy."
Goal setters have a tendency to underestimate the distractions and competing goals that will invariably appear throughout the year. A piece of advice that I give all of my coaching clients is: "I'm not sure what crisis will appear, but I'm almost positive that some crisis will appear."
Plan for distractions in advance. Assume that crazy is the new normal. You will probably be close to the reality that awaits.
5. Maintenance
"I think that I did actually try to change and get better, but I have let it slide since then. What am I supposed to do - work on this stuff the rest of my life?"
Once a goal setter has put in all of the effort needed to achieve a goal, it can be tough for him to face the reality of what's needed to maintain the new status quo. When one of my high-potential leaders asked his boss, the CEO, "Do I have to watch what I say and do for the rest of my career?" the CEO replied, "You do if you plan on ever becoming a CEO!"
Here are the cold, hard truths. Real change requires real effort. The "quick fix" is seldom a meaningful one. Distractions and things that compete for your attention are going to crop up - frequently. Changing any one type of behavior won't solve all of life's problems. And finally, any meaningful change will probably require a lifetime of effort.
September 18, 2009 5:38 AM
I wanted to share this great article by Keith Rosen that I read in Sales Gravy:
JUST FOLLOW UP!
My wife and I were about to undertake our last remodeling project. Being a consummate consumer, I wanted several qualified companies to bid on our next project. After calling ten contractors, I scheduled an appointment with the five that called back.
Following our meetings, one gave me a price on the spot and two never responded with an estimate. Two contractors mailed an estimate, and one of them followed up a week later.
Guess who got the job. Just by making a five-minute phone call! What fascinated me most was that only one contractor called back to discuss his proposal and ask for my business.
How can these salespeople afford not to follow up? Conducting my own research, each one said they needed more business, yet didn't know the status of the majority of proposals they sent. I sensed that following up regarding their proposal was not their typical M.O. Instead, here's what they said.
· I thought you were using someone else.
· I didn't think you were ready to buy.
· I thought you felt the price was too high.
· I didn't want to bother or pressure you.
While these contractors formulated their own conclusion, they never bothered to confirm if their assumptions were, in fact, true! They were operating under the costly assumption, "The prospect will call when they're ready."
I asked Bill, one of the contractors, "If you're sacrificing valuable time to drive to an appointment, deliver a presentation, write a proposal and then don't follow up and ask for a prospect's business after taking all of the steps that earned you the opportunity to do so, who are you really helping?" Then it hit him between the eyes. "My competition!"
Bill realized something that only a select few have. While prospects need his remodeling knowledge and skills, they also need his help in making their purchasing decision. Bill recently called me with some exciting results. After making thirty phone calls to past prospects, he spoke with ten prospects he had met with. Bill sold three more deals ($78,000) in one week that he never would have sold.
In many businesses, especially the ones that sell directly to consumers such as home remodeling, cold calling consumers via the phone is no longer an option to generate new leads. Aside from canvassing door to door, networking, asking for referrals, posting job signs or traditional (and sometimes costly) marketing/advertising campaigns, what else brings in more business? Follow up calls.
How many prospects are waiting for your phone call so they can send you a deposit? How many people are out there waiting to begin working with you?
Bill and I sat down to crunch the numbers. I shared this observation with him. "Consider that you can make about fifteen calls per hour (one hour per week). Assume that out of fifteen contacts, you make one more sale. (Average sale $10,000.) Four hours a month equates to four more sales. Over a year, that's $480,000 in volume. This exceeds the yearly volume of most contractors just by making one hour of follow up calls each week!"
If you take a moment and look at your call back list, how much business does that equate to? Now ask yourself, "How much of it am I willing to give to my competition?"
Since your competitors aren't paying you commission, here's your opportunity to utilize a simple, efficient three-step follow up system that will bring in more (free) sales.
1. Get Permission. Whether you need to follow up after an initial conversation or once a prospect receives your proposal, tries out your product, speaks with references or needs to check their schedule before they meet with you a second time, it's just good business sense to get permission before doing so. For instance, you inform the prospect they will be receiving your proposal next Friday. Before you leave the appointment ask, "May I follow up with you to discuss and answer any questions you have regarding my proposal?" Gaining permission to follow up eliminates your fear of appearing overly aggressive or pushy. Now, they're expecting your call.
2. Schedule A Meeting. Now that you've gotten permission, schedule a time that you will be calling or meeting with them. Immediately put it in your planner or PDA. This eliminates the time consuming game of phone tag and having to hunt your prospect down in order to schedule yet another time to meet or review your proposal, reducing the number of calls you'll have to make or respond to.
Tip: There is an exception to this rule. If part of your selling strategy requires drafting a proposal for a prospect, rather than sending your proposal and then scheduling a time to meet after they've received it, if possible, it's always better to schedule a time to hand deliver your proposal. This way, you can review it face to face (or computer to computer) with the prospect and immediately address any concerns or barriers to the sale. Reviewing the proposal upon delivery provides you with the luxury of handling all possible objections immediately so that you can then ask for the prospect's business, thus reducing the chance of your proposal becoming another item on the prospect's lengthy 'to-do' list. In many cases, the longer it takes to reconnect with a prospect, the closer your proposal gets to the bottom of their priority list.
3. Just Follow Up! Depending on the sheer number of prospects you connect with, start by putting aside at least one hour each week that's strictly devoted to this practice. Considering your ROI, it's time well invested. Otherwise, something else will always take precedent.
Instead of thinking about how many calls you need to make, consider how many sales you'll be giving to your competition if you don't. If something as simple as following up provides you with a competitive edge, then your next sale is just a phone call away.
Even though we’re not all professional salespersons, we all perform sales functions from time to time - whether we’re helping out our church group or Rotary Club by selling raffle tickets or we’re inviting someone to a trade show, we’re “selling” in a manner of speaking. Of course, each sale doesn’t require such a lengthy process that I’m going to describe, but let’s just pretend that today we’re all in a sales career and that we’ve made an appointment with a potential customer (prospect) to sell our product or service. So, after reading this, you should be able to see how a successful sale is one that focuses on the customer. Few people today want anything to do with the pushy, fast-talking, overbearing, salesperson. That type of individual tends to convey the message that he’s just trying to make a sale for the money – for himself! In fact, it’s been said that people don’t want to be sold at all, but people do love to buy. So to be successful in sales, one must help his customers buy, by concentrating on their particular wants & needs. There are 6 major steps in this kind of sales process. As I explain them, you’ll notice the focus on the customer continues throughout each step.
1. The Introduction: First impressions count. Review your mental checklist before you arrive at that meeting. Are you properly groomed? People are buying you. Remember that smile, eye contact, firm handshake, confident self-assured posture, and call the prospect by name. Focus on the prospect. Remember the 80/20 rule about listening. “It’s so nice to meet you, Alice.”
2. Gaining Favorable Attention: Show interest by asking questions. Focus on them and observe verbal and nonverbal signs. The goal here is to build credibility. Occasionally do a time check, so as not to take up more of his time than you scheduled. “Jim, I know we scheduled an hour for this meeting. Are we still okay?”
3. Discovering Wants & Needs: Not only do you want to discover these wants and needs, but why they are important to him or her. Ask questions to discover areas of dissatisfaction (What are you trying to accomplish?) (What sort of challenges are you facing?) Needs can be active or latent. Prospects are aware of active needs and have a desire to take action. The latent need is not as pressing; it has no sense of urgency. You must turn latent needs into active needs so that the prospect will be ready to take action. Needs are the motivation for people to make decisions to buy. “We must reduce customer complaints” is an active need; whereby, “Our customer complaints have certainly increased since last year” is a latent need.
4. Presenting Benefits & Consequences: Remain customer-focused. Make it easy for them to do business with you by focusing only on those issues, features, and benefits that are important to them. Involve the prospect in a participative process that is specifically tailored to match his or her needs and wants with you, your company, and your products or services. “How much of an increase in revenues will this process help you to realize?”
5. Getting commitment: If you want more clients and if you want a long-term relationship with your customers, it may be more appropriate to think in terms of getting commitment rather than closing. If the prospect believes you are trying to help them make the best decision and they recognize that you are genuinely interested in them, then you have a high probability of getting the business. If you’ve executed all the other steps in the process well, the natural conclusion is that you now ask for the business and get it. “It seems like we have a good fit here. When can we get started?” or “It looks like this will work fine for you. How many would you like to start with.”
6.Follow-Up: Be thorough. Be prompt. Be careful to promise less than you deliver and deliver more than you promise. Develop the habit of exceeding expectations.
The objective in this type of buying/selling process is WIN/WIN. This process encourages you to sell your product or service by concentrating on its contribution to the customers. By focusing on the customer and his needs, you’re likely to bring more value to that prospect or customer than his investment in you represents.
How can an organization provide value and build customer loyalty? Here’s six easy ways that can apply to any organization, whether you call them customers, clients, members, donors or patrons.
- Always remember to smile (even over the phone) and say THANK YOU. And don’t forget the power of an “old-fashioned” hand-written thank you note. I get lots of positive comments after sending these.
- Welcome feedback, especially if it’s negative. How do you know if you’re doing a good job? ASK! If the answer is less than glamorous, apologize and react quickly to correct.
- Communicate your value. Make sure the customer realizes they made the right decision to do business with you. Emphasize your competitive differences.
- Take responsibility for your products and/or services. Personally stand behind everything you do. Customers do business with the people who represent the company – not the company itself. Make sure the customer knows you believe in what you do and you mean what you say. If the customer has a problem, it is your responsibility to see it through.
- Recognize and appreciate others that may be a part of the “buying process.” You may not be dealing directly with them, but there may be an assistant, secretary, committee or even family member that’s part of the customer’s team. Don’t forget to show these people appreciation for their part in the decision to buy from you.
- Remember we’re not all alike. Those customers with speech or hearing difficulties, as well as those who struggle with the English language, may not be able to communicate as effectively as we’d like. People from different cultures often have different ways of saying things. However, they still have the opportunity to be one of our most loyal customers.
It’s so easy to get pulled into all the bad news going around. And there does seem to be quite a bit of it going around right now. I feel, however, that some good does come from most bad things, and your attitude and overall well-being will greatly improve if you can just discover that good. Experts say there are five ways to see the positive side of a negative situation.
- What can you learn from the experience? When you’ve identified the learning opportunity, then think of how you can use what you’ve learned.
- Help out those in need who are worse off than you. You can always find someone who is in a worse situation. By helping them, you’ll help yourself.
- Keep a journal of everything you’re most grateful for. By thinking about and writing down 3 things each day for which you’re grateful, you’ll have a more positive attitude.
- Find a coach or buddy who can help you see the silver lining in the clouds. Partnering with a positive person can be uplifting; pessimists can drain your energy.
- Give yourself some time to see the positive. Don’t push or shame yourself when you don’t immediately see the bright side of a situation. Allow a certain amount of “grieving” time before you start focusing on the positive over the negative.
In our fast-paced world, it’s sometimes difficult to keep our mind focused in the midst of all our multiple demands. The most productive people are those who concentrate on accomplishing a specific task from start to finish. They maintain focus and momentum by asking themselves, “What’s next?” and confidently moving on to the next item on their action list. The first step to accomplishing more in less time is to maintain control over your environment rather than become stressed by it. Here are 4 steps you can take to help:
1. Focus on obtaining a specific result. Keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed by working on one task at a time and staying focused on that task. Set a specific time frame, even if it’s only 15 minutes, to achieve a specific result.
2. Seek alternative ways to accomplish tasks and produce results. Spending more time working on tasks doesn’t always translate into higher productivity. Rather than spinning your wheels when you’re stuck on a particular problem, try different work strategies. Take a minute to step back from your projects, look at the big picture and reconnect with your original inspiration and ideas.
3. Unload your thoughts and link your various achievements. Free up some mental space and relieve excess anxiety by writing down any obstacles or concerns you may have in a journal. This clears your mind of clutter and empowers you to take focused action. Try to relate the outcome of one accomplishment to your next undertaking. When you discover how tasks are connected, your frustration level lowers.
4. When interrupted, consciously mark where you left off. Interruptions will occur. Make it easier to return to tasks by writing down your next action step before taking that phone call or answering that email. That way, you can lower your stress level and make the best use of your time when you return.
Don’t forget to schedule downtime for yourself. It’s OK to postpone a return call or email if you need a minute to re-group. Be sure to take care of yourself so you can approach each new challenge feeling refreshed and optimistic.
 I'm currently reading "The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It", by Michael Gerber, (actually I'm listening to the audio book) for the second time. Michael reminds entrepreneurs about the importance of developing a powerful vision and of working ON the business, rather than just IN the business. His tips let small business owners realize that they can actually have a balanced life, while still increasing productivity and profitability.
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