Archive for the ‘Relationships’ Category
The Referral Engine
Why do some companies seem to get customers or clients or patients who are referred IN to them as opposed to other firms who have to seek OUT their sources of revenues using direct marketing, cold-calling and the like?
The answer? Simple. Some businesses are just more refer-able. They operate in a manner that invites and even demands their customers and clients to become evangelists for the company’s brand.
In a few weeks, Duct Tape Marketing’s founder, John Jantsch will be releasing a new book — The Referral Engine.
I have an advance copy for a review I’m writing and I am most impressed. Rather than being a book of ‘How To’ (although that is present) this book is more about how to be a business that operates in a manner that generates such exquisite experiences for people that they become the ‘raving fans’ and the ‘brand evangelists’ that drive new customers and clients into contact with the firm.
You can get a complimentary download of Chapter 1 of John’s wonderful new book: The Referral Engine
Just click on the cover and you’ll be reading some great new insights in no time!
Enjoy!
Maximizing LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a wonderful social network for business.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a ‘User Handbook’ full of ideas on how to get the most value you can from being a part of it.
Here are some quick and easy ways can get more out of being on LinkedIn.
Drop Your Title!
For example, I used to use my title “CCO”. Now, my profile ‘title’ reads: “Helping small business owners attract clients and grow revenues”.
This allows you to inform people how you can help them rather than what you are — which may be lost on them, anyway.
Key Idea
Show your tagline instead of your title
Integrate with Twitter
The new Twitter integration functionality allows you to tweet a message and have it display in your status . . . automatically!.
You can edit your settings to show “ALL” your Tweets or, selective Tweets which you can set up with the hashtag (#) function on Twitter. Very cool!
Key Idea
Use the Twitter integration function on your LinkedIn profile.
Leverage Your Group Memberships
I’ve been writing a monthly article for The National Networker for about two years helping others leverage their marketing and networking to build relationships and revenues. After an article is published, my publisher, Adam Kovitz suggested I post it as a “news article” to the various groups that I belong to on LinkedIn. You can do the same thing with any blog post you write just as easily.
This one simple activity can drive tons of traffic to your blog!
In time, getting people to know of you (brand awareness), like you (brand preference) and trust you (brand value) because they’ve come to appreciate the value in your advice is . . . priceless!
Key Idea
Join the LinkedIn groups where your blog posts or articles will be relevant and post your “news articles” whenever you can.
Join The Conversations
LinkedIn has ‘Discussions’. Are you starting them? Are you commenting on them? If not, you’re missing a huge opportunity to leverage your membership and the value LinkedIn holds for you.
Contributing to LinkedIn Discussions is a great way to position yourself as an authority and showcase your expertise.
Always provide a link to a relevant page on your blog or landing page on your website. For example, if you comment on how to ‘generate referrals’, you should create a landing page where a Special Report on ‘Referrals’ can be downloaded. Remember, you’re offering relevant information in a meaningful context. So don’t just say, “Hey, I’m here!”. Offer value and . . . an easy way to get it!
Key Idea
Participate in the discussions on any LinkedIn group where your ideal clients are likely to be found and post questions to stimulate some discussions of your own.
Respond To Questions
Questions allow you to demonstrate your expertise and build up the “know / Like / Trust” factor you know is so important to your marketing success.
Both the questions you answer for others (and, ask) will be seen by visitors to your profile. Often, what you have to say may be more interesting than anything else a visitor will notice on your profile page.
Key Idea
Seek out questions posed by others on topics you can answer. Use an RSS feed coupled to your Google Reader to show you new questions as they appear and post your answers to your profile as well.
Want To Build Revenues With Social Media?
Check out our Social Media Pro Study Group!
Are Elevator Pitches . . . Dead?
Andy Lopata is a fellow-columnist at The National Networker where we both write a monthly column. Andy’s from the UK. And, while we’re geographically far apart, we’re in close agreement about . . . Elevator Pitches.
Elevator Ptches
If you aren’t familiar with the concept, it’s based upon the 10 - 15 seconds that begins with the time you step into an elevator and the time you step out of one. Maybe a floor or two. Inside the elevator someone asks, “What do you do?”.
Having a prepared ‘pitch’ or commercial response at the ready can turn such a moment-of-truth with a truly qualified prospect for your services . . . into a highly productive one.
Andy argues that these chance encounters, while prevalent in daily business, have deteriorated into a social convention that is often more polite than productive. He’s got a good point. Listen to him directly:
Why Elevator Pitches May Not Really Work
If you’re honest about it, do they work for you? Or, are they merely a social convention that prevents sincere connections from taking place between two people in business?
Lopata contends that delivering a carefully crafted ‘commercial’ has become, for many businesspeople, the sole goal of a ‘new encounter’ rather than using it as the starting point for a meaningful conversation with a stranger. I tend to agree.
What Does Work?
In a word, ‘Listening‘ –– focusing more on what the other person is sharing with you than on what you say in response to their question: “What do you do?”.
POINT:
It’s only slightly more difficult to listen. But it’s a lot more powerful. And, given that it’s a common complaint about people, being a good listener may be better than being a good pitcher!
Are You Naughty or Nice?
For session #2 of Social Media Pro — our online coaching course for using social media in your business, we’re focusing on optimizing your brand assets.
One of the many ways to do that is to create quality content and post it on the internet.
Video content is increasingly popular. And, various video hosting services have sprung up to support you in making your video content readily available.
The best known site is Google’s YouTube service. But there are others. One, which I’ve personally experienced (and, none too pleasant an experience it was, I assure you!) is Vimeo.
In my ‘listening post’, I get an alert when certain terms are being cited on blogs. “Vimeo” is one of them. (I have my reasons!)
Why am I telling you all this? Simple. To share three (3) lessons that will ‘teach’ you how this social media stuff really works better than anything less ‘real world’ ever would.
Lesson #1: You Can’t Hide On The Internet
This is true if you’re good. But, it’s especially true if you’re bad. As in ‘bad customer experience’. Why? People talk. And the mechanisms available — online — to do their ‘talking’ is tremendous.
Check it out for yourself: http://boagworld.com/reviews/vimeo and you’ll see an example of the kind of ‘chatter’ that is waiting for any firm — even yours and mine — if we give people a good reason to want to vent.
Lesson #2: Do NOT P ____ People Off!
In the upper left panel of the above blog, note the number of ‘RE-Tweets’ about this page. This post just went up and in less than a day there are already over 400 re-tweets!!
Now consider this . . . the average social media savvy person has a network online of their contacts. People who are facile with social media are probably pretty well connected. Some people have ‘followers’ that number into the 1,000’s of people.
In just ONE day, this rather toxic post has already been broadcast (retweeted) to a very, very significant number of people. Probably a couple hundred thousand when you consider these socially connected types each have a network themselves! And, if the source is credible, they tend to retweet the content they receive over and over and over again. Scary, isn’t it?
Lesson #3: If You Listen, You’ll Find Stuff You Can Use
In my listening post, I spotted another related item . . . http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2357254,00.asp. Seems Vimeo has a little explaining to do about how it’s doing it’s own business –– in a courtroom!
Oh, it’s a little thing, really — copyright infringements being alleged by EMI — the music industry watchdog for this kind of questionable behavior!
Copyright infringement. Interesting. Because people are claiming Vimeo’s telling them what they can or can’t publish . . . and EMI claims Vimeo is just as culpable in the way Vimeo’s handling their own affairs. Think that’s going to engender ‘goodwill’ from the Vimeo user community? I’d say the jury is still out on that one!
Question:
Let’s suppose . . . you are the chief counsel for EMI. Would knowing about the kind of comments being made online about the firm you’re trying to build a case against be helpful to you? Would it be hurtful to Vimeo? How would you use this kind of information in court? I don’t have the answers. But they’re certainly worth noting, aren’t they?
Look, Vimeo is not a villanous firm. Ok, maybe some appear to argue they’re eccentric and artsy and all. And, yes . . . they appear to be capricious and arbitrary in how they choose to recognize and respond to violations of their ‘terms and conditions’ clause.
But here’s the lesson I want YOU to get . . . social media has made the masses connected . . . in a way we’ve never seen before!
The media that connects all those minds is a superhighway of thoughts that can either build your brand up or . . . tear it down. I say, ‘either’ because, frankly, there’s really nothing in-between. It’s all or nothing.
Now, do you see why it is so important to be listening? And, once you are . . . to respond in a timely and effective manner!
Personally, I’d be giving “thanks” to Vimeo for providing you with a ‘real world’ example of the power of social media on a business. It’s not always a ‘good’ example that teaches us so well. But, what social media is doing to Vimeo is certainly a ‘powerful’ example, isn’t it?
And please remember this — to make social media work FOR you, you must know what people are saying ABOUT you (as well as putting out your own story).
Which is an excellent segue into what we’re going to be learning about in Session #3 . . . on BLOGGING!
Next session . . . session #3 . . . “Blogging” . . . is an excellent way to make sure _YOU_ control the story about you and what you deem to be important to the people — friends and foes alike — in 2010.
It Doesn’t Cost Anything To Listen!
Great Minds Think Alike
When Richard Branson, arguably one of the most successful entrepreneurs alive and Seth Godin, one of the most prolific thought-leaders on marketing get together, under the auspices of American Express . . . it has to be good.
It is:
The Point:
LISTENING . . . to your customer (or, client or patient or prospect) is essential to your success.
