Recently, I’ve received a flood of cold calls from salespeople asking to “network” with me. The unanswered questions in my mind when I’m approached with a request like that are. . . Why? To what end? Why should I meet with you?
In order to ensure relevancy with your networking efforts, it’s important to have a purpose for any meeting.
One of the most common mistakes salespeople make is to think that all meetings are good meetings.
That’s just not the case.
The ability to connect with people is essential to success in any business. Professional networking events present opportunities to interact with others on a personal level and to develop profitable relationships. These occasions are critical for anyone who wants to grow a business or promote a career.
Many people are simply not comfortable walking into a room full of strangers and striking up conversations. Here are five common stumbling blocks that you may face and tips to help you overcome them.
Last week, at a seminar, someone asked me, “If you could give me only one piece of advice about social media marketing, what would it be?” My answer was, “Be generous. Give, give and give some more. A lot of doors will open for you if you do this.”
In this post I’ll share with you the most powerful social media tactics I’ve ever used.
To be honest, I wanted a different title for this article.
Instead of using the word “wimp,” I wanted to say, “7 Mistakes of Social Media Wussies.” But, I wasn’t sure if the word “wuss” would cross the line of good taste. So how did I test “wimp” versus “wuss”? I went straight to social media itself, and posted the question on my Facebook page. I asked: “Is wussy a socially acceptable word? Or, like, kinda pushing it?”
And 47 comments later, well… as you can see, I decided to tone it down, with “wimp.”
But part of me wonders if I made a mistake.
Why? Social media isn’t about….Read more at http://www.soldlab.com/news/2011/9/15/7-mistakes-of-social-media-wimps-to-read-more-sales-news.html
are the ones that work.
Here are my favorites, and why they work so well.
1. Share personal stories about your life with complete strangers.
You can't just talk about authenticity; you have to reveal it. This is the only way you will build a fan base for your blog or social media pages. This is your reality show. Sure, you can be shocking and over the top, which is entertaining. But unless your name is Fred and your audience is little kids, my recommendation is to just use some social media wizardy and pull back the curtain.
1) Link to inactive social networking accounts: So there’s a prospect, interested enough to check out your Linkedin profile. They click on your Twitter link thinking “Cool, I spend more time there anyway” then they discover your account either has zero tweets or the last time you tweeted was back in late 2009. I’ve seen this with inactive blogs and even websites. Please go back and update or report to the Principals office folks. Inexcusable!
2) Dancing the “Linkedin two step”. This is when you
If you are tired of getting emails telling you that you have a new follower on Twitter and yet you want to know who you should or shouldn’t follow back, here is a quick tip.
Although we know that the goal of networking is to discover new business opportunities, it's more than a "paint by the numbers" process. It takes time, patience, and creativity to cultivate people into our lives. The key is to make networking become a natural part of everyday life.
When I first started consulting businesspeople, networking was starting to get a bad reputation. People saw trade shows, business seminars, and community events as "targets" to pass out and collect as many business cards as possible. Ultimately, people networked when they needed something from someone. I agree that type of attitude can be detrimental to our sales success.
To make positive networking become a part of your everyday life, start with a strategy and begin the process. Begin to imagine that many people you meet can lead you to potential business. Now plan a strategy that will...
LinkedIn can be a very valuable tool for B2B professionals to meet colleagues they'd never otherwise have access to, network with those they don't see very often and engage in conversations on topics of interest. It's also one heck of a community for getting to know your prospects and customers.
LinkedIn can also expose a lack of integrity and authenticity in a heartbeat.