If you are, you aren’t alone.  If you’re not, it’s time to join.  More than 135 million people in over 200 countries are part of the world’s largest professional network.  Yes, LinkedIn is a great place to look for career opportunities, but it’s also a wonderful place to grow your personal brand and promote your business.

Think of LinkedIn as a giant cocktail party, but better.  At this event everyone is wearing name tags, but the tags have more than names.  The label displays your employment information, interests and work partners.  Gold stars on the tag designate the number of positive work experiences others have had with you.  Now, doesn’t it sound easy to see who you should meet at this event?  Conversely, wouldn’t it be easy for others to find you too?  Imagine that this event takes place 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  You’ve been invited, it’s free, and your competition is there hiring talent, finding investors, and making sales. It’s time for you to show up too!

The results you can achieve include new business opportunities and new customers, all while becoming part of rapidly expanding business group.  To top it off you can gauge your LinkedIn success.  Metrics can be used to measure the number of invites you receive, the amount of connections you’ve made, new business opportunities as well as comments and inquiries. You can obtain expert status for yourself and create inbound marketing with zero advertising expense.

Why take the time to join?  Simple. On LinkedIn you’ll find your customers, your competitors, recruiters and investors.   You’ll want to be there with them.  Follow these 5 easy steps to join the party and create your “name tag”.

1. Fill out your profile.   It will take some time to complete, but it’s worth it.    Think of your profile as an electronic business card or as an online resume with the power of social networking.  Make sure you include a picture and a solid headline with keywords relevant to the work you do or the work you want to do.  Your profile is your marketing piece.  Write it to appeal to the people you’d like to attract.
2. Obtain recommendations.  These are your gold stars.  A positive recommendation offers proof to your colleagues of your experience and abilities.  In order to garner recommendations you can first write one and hope the gesture is reciprocated.  My preference is to directly ask for a recommendation.  Be sure to ask people that you know well and use the recommendation system within LinkedIn to send the recommendation request.
3. Obtain a unique LinkedIn URL.  Instead of a randomly generated URL address for your public profile like http://www.linkedin.com/pub/56/12H/000, your URL can look like www.linkedin.com/in/chrisitinemiller.  This is easy to do (directions are on the site), easy to remember, and therefore more likely to successfully direct someone to your profile.
4. Create or join a group on Linked In.   When you join or start a group you have the ability to participate in relevant conversations with others in your professional category.  Reach out and engage with potential customers with LinkedIn Groups.
5. Start connecting and leverage those relationships!  After you’ve created your profile it’s time to connect with others.  This is the same as greeting someone you know or introducing yourself to someone new.  Offer your knowledge and services to help others.   Being a resource to your network when you first connect will go a long way to helping your on-line reputation.   Ask questions of experts in order to help you and others in your group.

Once you are LinkedIn you can start benefiting from your efforts. Associate yourself with the number one professional brand.  It’s a new year.  Ditch your social networking anxiety, come to the party, and get LinkedIn.

Manners: The socially correct way of acting; etiquette.

I’ve been thinking a lot about manners lately and have begun to wonder: When has it become acceptable to be rude? Don’t get me wrong, the new casual work environment has its benefits, but it’s also made us forget our manners.

At some point we all have had doors slammed in our faces, or sat next to people yelling into a cell phone at a restaurant.  Unfortunately this egocentric sloppiness has transcended to business practices.

Since Mom isn’t around to remind you what to do, at least follow these three rules.

1.     Don’t dodge or ignore follow-up calls or e-mails. Yes, you are busy. Everyone is busy. Yet people always have time for the things that are important to them. A quick follow-up offering a better time to talk or the reasons for turning down a proposal is still better than leaving a potential business vendor or customer out in the void. Salespeople are very accustomed to hearing “no” and to understanding budget constraints. Sharing your decision is a fair request, and a quick exit meeting is more time effective than hiding from follow-up calls and emails.

2.     Respond to RSVP’s and say Thank You!  I will admit that these two topics are hot buttons for me.  RSVP means to “please reply”, not show up if you feel like it.  If you receive an invitation, any invitation, respond yes or no by the time requested.  After someone has shared their time, gift, or advice say thank you— for the meeting, the proposal, the time, the thought, the follow-up, and the effort. This should happen no matter if you like the gift, or how the business meeting ends.

3.     Respect other people’s time.  This sounds so simple and you’ve heard it before.  Be on time for meetings, showing up late without a solid reason is disrespectful to the person hosting the meeting as well as any others that have been invited.  Make appointments and come prepared with necessary information.  Don’t make customers wait while you finish your social conversation with a co-worker or answer the phone.

People do business with people they know and trust. Create a business where customers and vendors are respected and you’ll increase your sales, even if it isn’t today.  Why the etiquette formality, when ignoring someone is the universal sign for “I’m too busy” or “The answer is no”? Because this is your business and your business reputation is largely based on your behavior.  We know customers share opinions, but remember all people share, even salespeople and vendors.

They share in their recommendations, their perceptions and their experiences. And now they share via worldwide on free platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Yelp. And they talk — at chamber mixers and over coffee with friends.

Maybe you’ve never thought about it, or thought it important. Well, think about it now. Because a negative impression can cost your business. Everybody shares. And most people don’t follow the dictate, “If you can’t say something nice, …”

Christine Miller is president of Miller Consulting LLC, which helps small businesses identify, qualify, develop, and close targeted sales leads, and helps organizations find more value in existing relationships. She can be reached at chris@millersalesconsulting.com.

We’ve all heard about the power of networking.  “It’s not what you know but who you know” is a phrase that often is repeated in business discussions.  Yet many networking experiences leave a negative impression.   Maybe at your last mixer you were nervous about meeting someone new, didn’t know what to say, or you were ignored.   Your biggest worry was the fear of coming off as too pushy.

To overcome these obstacles and produce meaningful results you will need to make a commitment of time, energy and resources.   With proper planning you will be able to acquire new clients, cross-sell other opportunities and maintain existing clients through expanded business relationships.  A networking action plan will get you on your way.

Create Goals. Define your networking goals.  What do you hope to achieve? Do you want to meet people or a specific person?  Do you want to build your reputation or generate referrals?  Answer these questions honestly and specifically.  With measurable results you’ll be able to measure the success of your goals.

Develop a Plan.  Determine the best events to attend and organizations to join.   Ask existing customers which events they attend and what they liked about those events.  If you want to expand your connections in new energy technologies, join an organization whose focus is on green business.  Interested in entrepreneurs?  Join a networking group that supports those people.  In every community there is a variety of organizations. Invest time and research matching your goals with events.  Determine how many events you want to attend in a month and then plan on attending slightly more than that number.  If you miss one, you’re not behind.

Be Prepared. Have a memorable introduction prepared.  This is often known as your “elevator pitch”.  Your introduction should include who you are and what you do.  Include information that is relevant to the person you are meeting and talk about benefits, not features of your work.  Here’s an example of a bad elevator pitch. “Hi, I’m Joe Jones of Acme Corporation based in Burlington, Vermont. We are a human resources company specializing in career management for business professionals.”  Now this is a legitimate description of a company.  As an elevator pitch, it stinks.  Sounds boring, doesn’t it?  Now here is a much better example for the same company.  “Hi, I’m Joe Jones of Acme Corporation, the state’s leading publisher of books, audio programs and seminars for business professionals on how to manage their careers. We don’t help these folks with their business; we educate them on how to get jobs, get promoted and become successful.”    This introduction is also a description, but it’s a description of the benefits, not the features of the company.  It’s also interesting and opens the door to questions and continuing the conversation.  Plan and practice your introduction. It should only be about 20 to 30 seconds long. Behavioral studies show that it only takes about five seconds for a person to make up their mind whether or not they like you, and only an additional 10 to 15 seconds to determine if he/she will buy something from you.

Bring Your Best Game.  Get the most out of networking events by interacting with integrity.  Be helpful and positive.  Have you ever been stuck chatting with a person who laments over the state of the economy, bad weather all that is negative?  Don’t be that person! Share your ideas and be helpful.  Connect colleagues together when you can.  Know a good accountant and someone who is looking for one?  Make the introduction.  The favor will be returned to you sometime.   Respect confidentiality and listen to your new contact.  Don’t scan the room looking to see if someone more important or better is available to meet.

This summer attend the mixers, expos, and conferences with confidence. You can’t guarantee some one else’s success, but if working with you makes them achieve their goals faster, better, and more efficiently, you’ll be a part of their winning team.

Now you just have to pitch it.

New Business=More Revenue

“So, how do you find new business?”  It’s a question I hear a lot. Finding new customers can be challenging and frustrating; however there are things that you can do to make finding new customers easier, and make the business come to you!

1.  Mine your existing clients for new work.  You’ve heard it before.  80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients.  Know and love those clients.  New business doesn’t have to come from customers new to your company, it’s just revenue that wasn’t previously generated. Contact past and current clients with new products and services. Don’t let them forget how wonderful you are to work with and keep their loyalty.

2.  Tell everyone about your business and have your friends and family do the same.  I once asked a very successful salesperson how he continued to find new customers.  One of his techniques was to put a business card in every piece of mail he sent out.  Yes, that included the electric bill, garbage collector and so on.  You never know who may need your product or service one day, so don’t be shy about spreading the word.  I’d also make a point of adding your Facebook and Twitter accounts to those business cards.  Of course you can also apply that theory to electronic mail and correspondence. Every e-mail you send should include a signature with your business contact info and change “sent from my iPhone” to your business slogan.

3. Have your elevator pitch ready and perfected for the “So what do you do?” question.  As you make an effort to gain new business you’ll be surprised at how often you get asked about your company.   Being asked the question is great.  This gives you the opportunity to share what makes your business unique. Have a simple, clear answer as to what service or products you and your business provide.  If you’re in a specialized business, make sure you speak in simple terms so that the message is easily understood by all.

4. Be known for what you know.   Blog, write and speak about your industry.  Become an expert and trusted resource.  Attend seminars, trade shows, association meetings and share your knowledge either as a speaker, or over coffee during a break.  If you are tech savvy create informational podcasts  or videos to post on your website or You Tube.  There are many organizations that offer networking and speaking opportunities.  Most offer complimentary visits to see if the organization is a good fit for you.  Take advantage of those offers.  Go to a variety of meetings and determine where you feel most comfortable and have the most success. Don’t be discouraged if your first outing is unproductive.  Keep looking, you’ll find a match, and some new prospects. Explore LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter groups, or create a group if one doesn’t exist.

5. Advertise.  Yes, you do need to advertise.  A great location, many years in the industry, or having the best widget does not exclude you.  McDonald’s has one of the most recognized brands worldwide yet they still need to advertise.  So do you.  With that said, advertising can take many different forms. Traditional advertising includes radio, TV and print.  Examples of new media include everything from websites, pay per click, Facebook, Twitter, 4-Square and discount coupons like Groupon.  Done properly advertising is an effective way to generate new business and should be considered a fixed expense like utilities.  You can only bootstrap your marketing budget for so long.  Spend money on what will drive results based on research and customer analysis, not personal tastes or friend’s advice.  Have goals and a plan to measure the results before you buy.

What is the most effective of the five techniques?  Well that depends on your business.  However a combination of the above is usually most effective.   Yes, it’s work.  But the return on investment is well worth the time!

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Google how to increase fans, likes, or members to your Facebook business page and you’ll find lots of contest ideas.   Contests create new fans, right?  Well, contests if not executed properly, may now create problems with your Facebook account.  Haven’t read the new guidelines yet?  Well here’s a quick rundown.

On November 6, 2009 Facebook issued new Promo/Sweepstakes guidelines.  What is clearly not allowed, is clearly the most popular way for business to engage Facebook users.  According to the Facebook guidelines the following types of contests are not allowed: Status Update Contests, Photo Upload Contests, any other kinds of contest that require responding to status updates or news feeds.  Instead all such contests must be run through a third party application on Facebook (such as Wildfire) and have prior approval.  You do not need permission from Facebook if you are promoting a contest that is held completely off Facebook.  (Ex: customers come in to your store to register for a giveaway.)

So, what can you do?  You can use a third party application that hosts the contest.  I did an experiment and hosted a giveaway through Wildfire.  Although it was not completely intuitive to set up (as may things are not on Facebook!), it was not difficult to execute.  I also had a friend register to see if she would get spammed from using the application.  So far so good, although I can tell you people are hesitant to move away from Facebook to enter.

You can also only allow fans of your page to access the sweepstakes tab.  So while not requiring someone to become a fan to enter the contest, you can prohibit non-fans from entering.  Seems like semantics to me, but those are the rules.  If you are a big player, and most small business are not, you can get a Facebook Account Representative.  This person will help you create a legal Facebook contest without using a third party application.

Now I am not a lawyer, so please feel free to review these new rules with an expert and make your own marketing choice. The rules and regs are fairly clear and easy to understand in the Facebook Promotion Guidelines.

What are the consequences?  From what I can decipher, Facebook will shut you down and turn you off.  Will they really “go after” the little guy giving away a prize for the cutest uploaded doggie photo?   I can’t say.   The risk versus return is your call.

Manners.  Definition: The socially correct way of acting; etiquette.  I’ve been thinking a lot about manners lately and have begun to wonder.  When has it become acceptable to be rude?  At some point we all have had a door slammed in our face, or sat next to someone yelling into a cell phone at a restaurant.  In many ways it’s like  Mr./Ms Rude are oblivious to others in their environment. Unfortunately this egocentric sloppiness has also transcended to business practices.

Let’s start at the beginning.  You are considering buying a product or hiring a service provider.  You contact possible contractors, set up an appointment and request a proposal.  You decide not to move forward with the product, not to work with a particular company, or the budget deems the purchase out of reach.  Please contact the vendors involved and tell them about your decision.  Salespeople are very accustomed to hearing no and to understanding budget constraints.  Sharing your decision is a fair request and a quick exit meeting is more time effective than dodging follow up calls and e-mails.

Next, don’t dodge or ignore follow up calls and e-mails.   Yes, you are busy.  Everyone is busy. Yet people always have time for the things that are important to them. A quick follow up with a better time to talk, or a no, is still better than leaving a potential business vendor or customer out in the void.  Don’t be oblivious to others in your environment.

Say thank you.   Say thank you for the meeting, the proposal, the time, the follow-up and the effort.  This should happen no matter how the business meeting ends. People do business with people they know and trust.  Become a business that  people trust and want to work with, even if that isn’t today.

Why the formality, when ignoring someone is the universal sign for “I’m too busy” or “The answer is no”?  Because this is your business and your business reputation is largely based on your behavior.   And because people share, even salespeople and vendors.  They share in their recommendations, their perceptions and their experiences.  And now they share via worldwide free platforms like twitter, facebook, and yelp.  And they talk at chamber mixers and over coffee with friends.  Do you want to be categorized as someone with a good product with poor follow through?  A business that is difficult to work with?  Someone who expects exceptional accommodations with quick proposals and then disappears?  Maybe you’ve never thought about it, or thought it important.  Well, think about it now.  Because a negative impression can cost your business.  Everybody shares.  And most people don’t follow the dictate  “If you can’t say something nice….

What makes a good sales rep? That might depend on which side of the table you are sitting on.  If you own a company, you probably gauge sales success based on numbers.  The largest revenue generator is the best.  As the sales customer, you probably have a different set of criteria.  Starting my marketing career as a media buyer, I had the pleasure (sometimes not) of working with all types of media sales reps. That experience allowed me to learn how to be a good salesperson to my client and a good revenue producer for my employer. As an employer you want a productive and client focused rep, as the buyer, you want a rep that is there to serve you and your business. From the outside looking in, both employer and customer should expect the same from their sales person.

Qualities.  Good sales people should be professional. Act professionally, and dress professionally.  Send out introduction letters or e-mails.  Call for an appointment.  Dropping in on someone in the middle of his or her workday accomplishes little except animosity.  Please don’t encourage your sales staff to “door knock”.  The days of strong arming one-call sales are done.  A good salesperson will be sensible with decisions that represent you and your product or service while respecting the business he or she is trying to close.

A good salesperson will know about their client, their business and how the product they are selling is beneficial.  This is really important so I‘m going to say it again.  A good salesperson will sell the positive link between their product and their client’s business.  A sales appointment should not be an opportunity for the salesperson to spew company history or hype product features.  If there is not a benefit to the client, there is not a sale.  Simple. This is also not an opportunity to ask ridiculous questions of the customer that could have easily been answered with a little research.  Probing questions of client needs –good.  Idiotic questions like store hours—bad.

A good salesperson will ask about client goals and design a sale that will meet these goals.  A red flag should immediately go up if a salesperson comes in with a canned product or service.  This is something that the salesperson needs to sell, not something the client needs to buy.  The sales proposal from your rep should be individually customized. A good salesperson knows this and will not sell forced product. A salesperson that wants to work with you for the long haul will actually walk away from business that won’t benefit a long-term relationship.  A short-term sale will result in short term income, and there are many reps that survive on that type of selling practice.  Good professional reps will shun it.

After the sale a good sales person will follow up with their customer. They will do whatever it takes to correct a problem and demonstrate how it was resolved. A good salesperson will embrace the opportunity to make sure expectations are exceeded so that they will have a long-term customer that will trust and recommend the salesperson and their product.

Lastly, a good salesperson will have integrity and truly care about their clients.  They will honor their word, price fairly, and deliver as promised. When you have this person on staff representing you, be grateful.  This person will represent you and your company well, while at the same time be highly productive.  If this salesperson is your rep, be grateful.  He/or she is a resource for you and a valuable part of your team.