If the thought to hire an intern crossed your mind recently, this post is your wake up call. Stop thinking about doing it and actually do it.

Today.

Of course, I am speaking from experience. I waited longer than I should have to make the move but did so last week. And with only a week under my belt, my decision is paying off big time.

Here are three reasons to hire an intern right now:

It forces you to get organized

You could say, of course, that this isn’t an issue for you. That you are the ultimate in organized already. But I doubt that.

The second I knew that my intern would be coming on board, I excitedly began to organize my thoughts around how she could help me achieve some new goals. So I had to think about what those goals were (or at least confirm them). I also loved the natural accountability that comes with hiring an intern (or anyone else who will be working closely with you).

For example if you start to mentor someone, it forces you to be better as well. There’s a new responsibility to be better when someone else is there to learn from you.

It’s fun to share your knowledge and experience with someone new

Here’s where you get to rediscover your work and your passion for it. The act of describing what you do to someone new is pretty motivating. It allows you to think with “an aspiration mindset”. As you talk, you hear the future of your business unfolding.

Now you might say: ”

“Aren’t internships only three months? What possible impact could someone have in that short of a time?”

Honestly, I don’t think “time” is the factor here. If you see the opportunity in front of you, there is a lot of potential to take the energy you feel and project out, and allow it to propel your business forward.

It helps you prioritize the work

There are a lot of tasks on our plates every week. But having an intern allows you to think bigger.

“What can two people do instead of one?”

 

I found that my task list today is longer, farther-reaching and more aligned with my long-term goals than ever before. I am able to share the load with another person who is motivated, excited to learn and smarter than me in a number of key areas.

“Yes, smarter than me.”

So knowing that I have the help and realizing that it may not be here forever, there is a sense of urgency to do great things sooner and to focus her time on driving key growth initiatives.

 

“Instead of hiring an intern to do boring admin work.”

Any questions on how I found her, why I am paying her or how to get started?

Let me know!

Thanks adpowers for the photo via Flickr

I’ve written blog posts in a lot of different places. And when I have, the content seems more interesting. And I have more fun sharing my ideas with readers. For example I wrote a blog post:

• on a train heading to the Grand Canyon. It was on the “chasm” between job seekers and recruiters. I wrote it on a Blackberry. And it was a long one. #painful

• on a plane heading to Florida. In a cramped seat. It was a bumpy flight. And I was thinking about the language we use about “landing a job“.

• on a university campus after a coaching session with an executive MBA student. The conversation was fresh and I needed to take their perspective and create a message for companies about how they need to embrace MBA-earning employees.

So if you are a blogger – new or old to the job – do you need some inspiration? Does your blog need a boost?

Here are 10 places you can write where the location can not only inspire more interesting content but also reignite your love for sharing ideas with your audience:

1. Water – this can be the ocean, a lake or a bathtub (just don’t drop your laptop in the tub). Water provides a variety of influences (calm lapping of small waves on a lake, pounding surf, ocean breeze, seagulls).

2. Travel – Whether you travel via car, plane, fly, bus or horse you can either write during (hard by horse, I imagine) or after the experience. Thinking about ways that your experience can inspire a topic, headline or metaphor.

3. Spiritual – A visit or recent visit to a church, temple, mosque or any other spiritual spot can help to create a mood or drive emotions that may help you reach your audience in a new way.

4. People - Getting around lots of people can create an energy that translates into great content. Go to a shopping mall or theme park. Listen to voices, watch people.

5. Movie - Movies can move you, make you smile and often can help you offer a theme to your readers. And associate your post with a well known actor or story line.

6. Concert - Music is inspiring. It can create energy in you that can help to energize your writing. And I’d love to read a post from you that begins “Have you ever been to a Rolling Stones concert? I am writing this post live…”

7. Mountain top - It shouldn’t surprise you that climbing to the top of a mountain can inspire you. There are great themes that come from the climb, finding new paths and gaining perspective.

8. Emptiness - Where could you go in your community to be completely alone? What if you sat in the center of a big park in the early morning. Or on the 50 yard line of the local high school football field at night. Big, open and empty places can quiet your mind and allow cool, new ideas to enter in.

9. Temperature - Writing on a really hot day, during a rainstorm or while a cold snap is occurring, will naturally create physical reactions in you. What could you write while sitting on a snowball?

10. Historical - Some parts of the world have more history than others. But could the efforts or experiences of those who came before us, inspire a blog post? Yep. Standing in a historical spot, learning what happened there and tying all that into a new idea can be really interesting for your readers.

Whether this list inspires you to find your own places to write or gets you to set a plan to visit one of these places, a new location to write can make you a better blogger. And a more interesting one.

Where will you write your next post?

Thanks GerryT for the photo via Flickr

This is a guest post by Dori Gilbert.

They are looking for a story, a brand promise that resonates with them and compels them to call one over the eight others they are seeing in their Google search results.  What is your story, and where on the home page is it told?

Visitors who don’t know you will spend only seconds on your home page to learn about you.  The key element of your story is knowing your ideal visitor’s story.  What is it that they really want?  For those of you who haven’t heard of this old marketing adage, I’ll repeat it here.  A man is working on home improvement projects, and he needs a ¼” hole to finish.  So he goes to the home improvement store.  Is he wanting a drill?  No.  He is wanting a ¼” hole.

When you know what is driving your visitors to purchase beyond your products or services, for example a genuine caring for them or a personal involvement in the community, your brand promise will be stronger and you can then apply the story to these key home page elements:

1.  Logo and Slogan

A thoughtful, meaningful, and simple logo reflects your story.  Professionals who do this well are brand marketers or graphic artists.  As soon as you can afford it, use professionally prepared graphics to represent you.  It goes a long way.   Keep it simple in colors and complexity, as that will help later in printing, imprinting, and embroidery costs.  Add a relevant, authentic slogan so you’ll be remembered.

2. Navigation

Be creative and don’t be locked into traditional navigation like:

Home…About…Products…Services…Contact.

I advocate sticking to industry convention, AND being creative with your navigation.  In the few seconds that a visitor is taking to understand you, it might be more helpful to use navigation that incorporates the need your products fill, like “1/4-inch Holes.”

3. Prime Real Estate

When the home page is being displayed in the browser, the area that can be seen without scrolling down is called “above the fold.” It is critical that images, photos or video, and headlines above the fold are telling your story quickly and easily.  Big, fancy banners may look nice but may not be the most effective.  If a visitor has to scroll down to learn what you do, it may cause them to leave your site.

4.  Name Your Solutions

Together or individually, your products and services can combine to create solutions or packages to solve your ideal visitor’s main problems.  You can give the visitor quick insight that you understand their need by using an appropriate name in an image, video, headline, or even a guarantee. Now, you probably won’t be offering a “1/4-inch hole generator,” but you get the idea.

5. Call to Action

Now that you’ve captured the attention of your ideal visitor, give them one or a few easy and compelling decisions to follow up on. Some ideas are:

• Learn more
• Read our blog
• Free ebook
• Coach others to greatness (as seen here on Fix, Build, and Drive)

It’s not likely everyone who visits will now rush to call you.  Be careful you don’t mistake this new home page for the ending to your story.  The story on your website – and especially your home page – is just the beginning and the hub of your other online efforts. When you start with the story of your ideal visitor, you’ve laid a good foundation to a strong presence on the Internet and as you use the story, you will learn more about what your audience is looking for and how to become even more effective on the Web.

Thanks to umjanedoan on Flickr for the photo.

Meeting Burner

Meeting Burner is a platform for online meetings. You can schedule them in advance or use their feature to meet right now. You can share your screen with up to 10 people for free. You can also get an upgraded account to share with larger groups. The free version lets you switch presenters, use in-meeting chat functions, meeting scheduling and reminders. I used Meeting Burner recently for a whole series of VIP demonstrations of my new job search strategy software. It was a great tool for introducing my new product to everyone. Sign up today for Meeting Burner.

Phone Burner

I’m not big on cold calling as a sales tool, but if you have a lot of calls to make you will need some help. Phone burner is a great product that helps you make calls more efficiently. It dials for you. If there is no answer it leaves a custom message (recorded in advance by you) and starts dialing again. If there is an answer, it alerts you so you can pick up right away and connect with your sales lead. Sign up today for Phone Burner.

MyEmma

I use MyEmma for both my newsletters. As I was researching all the different newsletter options out there, I found MyEmma to be the easiest to understand and to use. For me, it was the most intuitive. I’ve since used Constant Contact and Mail Chimp on behalf of clients so I’m now happy with them all. But if you need to build a database and stay in touch with your customers or clients, MyEmma is great. Learn more about MyEmma.

Hootsuite

This is a great platform to manage your social media accounts. It acts like a dashboard for accounts like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. You can track multiple accounts at the same time and safely automate your marketing efforts without being a spammer. You can also create teams and start collaborating with others. Sign up today for Hootsuite.

A few others I like? Look at ZenDesk for customer service and Evernote for organization.

What are you using as smart tool?

Today the blog features a guest post by Chris Marocchi.

If you are looking for resources geared toward the growth of small businesses, this post should be a big help. Each month the we’ll include tips and tools that help entrepreneurs to develop strategies that promote their business without the necessity of a large budget. This month we’ll look at a combination of strategy and tech tips.

Here we go:

1) STRATEGY & PROBLEM SOLVING: SCORE and the Small Business Administration (SBA). These guys are such a wonderful resource! At SCORE, you can schedule appointments with retired business executives whose experience spans a spectrum of business industries. If you have a challenge or need help writing a business plan, make an appointment to visit with one of the SCORE counselors and allow them to help your business to grow – for free! SCORE also hosts local seminars on topics such as ‘Writing a Successful Business Plan’, ‘Writing Proposals That Win Business’, and ‘Financial Management’ (some seminars charge a small fee). To learn more or to find a SCORE chapter near you, visit score.org.

2) EMAIL MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA: Constant Contact. Want to learn how to market your small business using inexpensive and sometimes free etools? You’ll want to attend the Constant Contact small business marketing seminars – most of which are free. In them you’ll learn about email marketing, how to use tools like Constant Contact to manage your contact lists and email campaigns, how to integrate social media with your digital marketing campaigns, create inexpensive digital videos, and leverage Google analytics. To find the next seminar near you, visit constantcontact.com and join their newsletter.

3) BLOGGING OR BUILDING A WEBSITE: WordPress.com. Thinking of starting a blog? Launching a website? Starting an eCommerce business? WordPress can help you get started. I recommend WordPress over other blog tools for three main reasons: Ease of use, SEO and integration with other tools. Just as Google dominates online search, WordPress has evolved into the most standardized platform for a blogging or do-it-yourself website. WordPress offers easy-to-set-up blog sites, if blogging is your end game. Or, if you intend to build your own website, you can find a range of WordPress website templates for under $50 on sites such as themeforest.com. You might still need someone with some technical skills to help you set up your web hosting services (and maybe with the website setup), but most of the site content can be self-populated. Additionally, WordPress offers many available plugins and its sites are structured to help you maximize SEO. For more information, visit wordpress.com.

4) CONTACT MANAGEMENT & LEAD PROSPECTING: LinkedIn.com. Many of us use Linked In to manage our networking database, but don’t think of it as a prospecting tool to obtain sales leads. In fact, Linked In offers 3 premium services starting at just $15.95/mo that enable the user enhanced techniques for identifying potential sales prospects. These services allow the user to create alerts, view full profiles of secondary and tertiary connections and full profiles of those who have visited our profiles. The services allow for an increased number of introductions, and the top two tiers allow for the sending of In Mail messages. Finally, all three premium services allow the user to take advantage of the proprietary Linked In Lead Builder tool. To learn more about the Linked In premium services, one must already have a Linked In profile, then can visit the Linked In Sales Services page.

5) TRADITIONAL NETWORKING: Meetup.com. Nothing helps us develop our interpersonal relationships like good, old-fashioned networking. There are many networking strategies that we could employ: a) Attend general interest networking groups that are open to anyone from any type of professional background that is in transition or looking to get sales leads; 2) Join an industry or discipline specific networking organization; for example, NHRA for human resources professionals or AMA for marketing professionals; 3) Local meetups. Meetups are an especially effective place to network because group members come together based on a common cause, interest or hobby, and are not in attendance (usually) to identify a job or a sales lead opportunity. This leads to a more organic and natural opportunity to get to know other meetup group members and increased likelihood that members of that group will be willing to help you. To learn more about the different types of meetup groups in your local area, visit Meetup.com.

Hopefully you’ll find these marketing resources useful as you develop ways to grow your business in 2013. Check back regularly for additional tips on how to succeed in marketing your small business while maintaining a modest marketing budget.

A friend of mine (Lisa Lyons) recently shared a fun and creative way one company delivered their brand. They did it through email and tried to be playful. And it worked.

The company is called Miracle Noodle – they make healthy (low calorie) pasta.

Hello Lisa,

 

Your noodles from order (207316) have been gently taken from our highly secured warehouse with cotton gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.

 

Our team of employees inspected your Miracle Noodles and polished the labels to make sure they were in the best possible condition before mailing.

 

Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your Miracle Noodles into the finest box that money can buy.

 

We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Chatsworth waved ‘Bon Voyage!’ to your package, on its way to you, in our private Miracle Noodle jet on this day, (1/21/2013 8:32:00 AM).

 

I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at Miracle Noodle. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as “Customer of the Year”. We’re all exhausted but can’t wait for you to come back to MiracleNoodle.com!!

 

Shipped Via Carrier  Priority Mail, Large Flat Rate Box
Shipping Tracking Number   XXXXXXXXX

 

Warm Regards,

The Miracle Noodle Team

(Inspired by Derek Sivers)

 

I though this was a fun example of a way to wake up your customers, make them smile and perhaps get them not only to read your marketing communications but be more aware of your brand the next time you try to connect.

Of course, you have to write these well, the content needs to match your brand promise and/or brand personality. If it’s not true to the brand or simply trying to be cute, well that doesn’t always work.

So be smart. But also be open to having some fun while getting your message across.

What did you think of this attempt from Miracle Noodle? Did it work?

My friend sure thought it did.

This is a guest post from our friends at TinyPrints.

That’s why it’s wise to send client thank you notes and even information regarding promotions and events through the mail. But unfortunately with the advent of many faster forms of communication such as email, the importance of sending letters has become incredibly understated and is often neglected by many businesses.

Why send snail mail?

• Nothing can replace the experience of holding a tangible letter. Cards sent through the mail have a more personal feel to them partly because they take time and effort to create, whereas an email can be completed in an instant.

• People view traditional mail as less spammy than most other forms of digital communication. It’s also more convenient because it can easily be set aside for another time if the recipient doesn’t want to look at it immediately.

• It’s a wonderful way to reach out to past clients and can possibly rekindle those relationships. Sending a simple greeting will act as a little reminder which lets them know you’re still around and that you appreciate their business.

• By taking the time to recognize your existing customers with a thoughtful card, they’ll feel valued and be more likely to refer your company to other people within their network.

If you’re going to do something, do it right!

Unfortunately, some attempts at sending cards to customers are so lackluster that it would be better to not even mail anything at all. Your correspondence is a representation of your business and it can create either a negative or positive brand perception.

So here are a few tips that will help you make your stationery look nothing short of stunning:

1.Pick impressive paper - It’s important to use only the most premium paper or highest quality cardstock for your professional correspondence. As long as it’s thick and the texture is luxurious, you will certainly make the right impression on customers. However, going with something cheap will cause clients to view you as stingy and will reflect poorly upon your company.

2.Find a design that’s on brand - If you don’t have any experience in graphic design, you’ll probably end up going with an already made template. If this is the case, make sure you choose a layout that captures the aesthetic of your brand. Also, depending on the type of work you do, you’ll want to find a template that matches. For example, someone in the financial industry should choose a design that has a simple and professional look while an artist would benefit from something a little more creative and unique.

3.Embellish your letter with a logo – Since your logo is the face of your company, it’s absolutely necessary to include it on your card. And if you’re using a template, make sure you are able to upload images. Also, by including a company logo on all your professional letters, you will further aid brand awareness.

4.Details make a difference -Even the smallest details can really make your stationery stand out. Whether you utilize elegant envelope liners or classy address labels, these additions will make a huge difference as to how customers perceive your company.

5.Leave a mark with your message- No matter what the purpose of your letter might be, it’s always best keep your message short and concise. By staying brief, you will get your point across quicker and will avoid wasting your customer’s time.

So while it wouldn’t be wise to completely abandon emails in favor of snail mail, sending letters in some situations is certainly a more effective way of communicating.

If you are like most sales people, consultants or service providers, it always takes a few weeks to get back into the groove. Well, guess what, your customers are the same. So while you are trying to re-ignite your business, so are they. They are likely very internal-focused.

This means you are low consultant on the totem pole. A last priority. Unless you change the environment and remind them of your value.

How do you do that? Here’s how:

1. Get an early meeting scheduled – even if it’s just to say hello for 30 minutes

Maybe there’s an extra holiday gift you forgot to drop off, an article or book you think they might like or a favorite tea that might warm them up in the winter months.

2. Write a “year in review” email highlighting successes where you made a contribution.

Create it in a way that it can be easily forwarded to higher-ups and team members. A great passive re-introduction for you.

3. Offer to buy lunch for the team and hand-deliver it.

While there, re-connect with as many people as possible – especially the meeting schedulers and gatekeepers. Your smiling face offers a chance for people to re-connect physically and your next phone call will be more easily picked up.

4. Put on a lunch and learn.

But make it light and fun (the food and the content). Help them kick off a great new year with relevant content that’s tied to a January initiative.

5. Use social media sites or a blog post to praise someone or highlight a team’s success story in 2012.

Everyone like to be praised or highlighted. Especially if a large population has the potential to see it. Of course it has to be genuine. Not a stretch of the truth. No ass-kissing here (to be blunt). You can also go re-tweet their content or like and comment on their Facebook page. Or maybe click on a few targeted LinkedIn endorsements?

What are your tricks to renewing client relationships in January?

Thx CPX Interactive for the photo via Flickr

I started writing this blog back in June with the idea that I’d have a place to share my thoughts on marketing, branding and business strategy. So I did. But not as often as I would have liked.

I got busy. Busy doing marketing, branding and business strategy for people and companies. Funny how that works.

Reminds me of a piece of advice I got back in 2010 when I attended BlogWorld:

“If you want to grow your business, stop blogging”

Now if you take that advice literally, you might make a mistake. Because blogging is a great way to build your brand and to create social credibility within your space.

What the speaker really meant was that blogging by itself does not grow your business. You have to create clear products and services for people to buy from you. And then you have you have to deliver those products and services.

If you spend your days blogging, you are not making money. Not sure you agree? Read my post on mistakes made by new bloggers.

So what were the best posts here in 2012?  Here’s the top 5:

5. How To Create A Facebook Content Calendar

As I worked with clients this year, one of the biggest struggles was helping them decide what to say on Facebook. Usually the early weeks were fine, but as the weeks wore on, there was always this question f how to stay on strategy and what to say each day. I hope this helps you with your Facebook implementation strategy.

4. Brand Recognition: Are You A Brand Logo Expert?

Everybody loves to be quizzed. Especially on their core knowledge. So if you consider yourself a brand person, this post introduced a smartphone app that challenges your memory and brand awareness. How many can you guess?

3. What’s Your Brand Promise?

This is a core question I ask my clients. Especially if they compete in a crowded category. Do you have one? If not, read this post to determine the simple phrase you can use to demonstrate your unique value or your company’s reason why. It’s a great exercise as you head into a new year.

2. 10 Business Card Mistakes You Might Be Making

I see a lot of business cards.  Many of them do a very poor job communicating the value of a person or company. And at an ever more basic level, many of them simply don’t communicate at all. You can’t read them, takes notes on them or understand them. How are your cards and how many of these mistakes are you making?

1. 10 More Brand Promise Examples

This post was #1 for a simple reason. People love examples. And 10 more examples is even better. People love examples when they are searching to define something for their own brand or business. To get a measuring stick of some kind. Or, sometimes, to get an example to use in a presentation or business plan. Hope these help you!

Have a safe new year. And a great start to 2013!

How big is your snowball today? And how big can it get based on its change in size and projected growth since the beginning of the year?

So how do snowballs get bigger, anyway?

They roll in the right conditions.

According to an article by Caroline Hardman at STEMPlanet, the best conditions for  a snowball fight are “denser, moister snow that falls when it is near freezing”. It’s not the kind that falls after freezing because that snow is too full of air crystals and won’t pack. It makes sense that a rolling snowball will also grow faster when the conditions are right. If you wait too long for business conditions to be just right, you might hamper growth. So act now. Don’t hesitate to take action on a strategy you believe in.

They get constantly pushed by someone.

Who’s pushing your company to get better, faster, bigger, more nimble or stronger. Is it you? If not, are influencers being listened to by you and other senior managers? Make sure that those who want to influence in your organization are heard so that they are not drowned out by more passive voices.

They get some help from gravity.

It’s nice to have a break from the pushing sometimes. It’s nice to know that sometimes you grow with the market vs. always having to create your own inertia. But you never know how long the downhill will last so you have to be ready to create your own momentum when the market flattens out again.

They are not blocked by obstacles.

There are a lot of business obstacles that cause problems and keep your snowball from rolling. What business obstacles are in your way? Need some help? Look for unmotivated employees, poorly trained employees, wrong inventory levels (too low or too high), no clear brand promise or an outdated marketing plan.

So if you think of your business like a snowball, is yours getting bigger?

Thanks Joccay for the great photo via Flickr

It’s not just how to handle the MBA conversation.  It’s a general concern about what an MBA really is, what it means for an employee to be pursuing one and what happens at graduation.

The questions come from direct bosses, co-workers and anyone else who is generally curious about employee or personal development. But why the questions?

• Some are nervous because they don’t have an MBA and wonder if they should be getting one

• Some don’t think anyone needs an MBA and don’t like someone who is blatantly “career-building”

• Some fear that by supporting the MBA idea they are inviting their employees to plan a departure from their company

But I believe there is a great long-term marketing opportunity here. For companies to build their brand with great employees and a top university MBA program in the area. Once they embrace the idea, of course.

The idea is:

• The employee gets an MBA and some help developing that new knowledge into a successful career

•  The company gets to utilize and benefit from the new, stronger and more motivated employee.

So how can companies embrace their MBA-earning employees? Here are my five ideas:

1. Engage them in an open conversation - MBA-earning employees might be unsure how to do this on their own. And might be worried about how they will be perceived. So take the pressure off them by initiating a “we support you” conversation.

2. Include their MBA effort in the annual review and development conversation - Give them credit internally for the work they are doing externally to develop new skills. And perhaps give them a break on some of their less important failings. After all, they are working full-time for you and taking on a big class load at the same time.

3. Invite them to present what they are learning at brown-bag lunches - Let other employees gain the value of the MBA experience (especially if you are paying for all or part of it). It will allow others to ask questions and take the mystery away from the MBA by showing off the practical learning going on.

4. Bring their new, broader perspective into special projects and brainstorming sessions - Your MBA-earning employees are being exposed to a lot of new ideas. Maybe other departments can benefit from their new knowledge. And it shows that the company values their time outside of the office.

5. Introduce them to senior management - Let the senior managers of today meet and interact with the potential senior managers of tomorrow. Perhaps even the board would like to meet a few of the company’s finest. Perhaps there’s even a quarterly breakfast for each MBA-earning employee to share an idea for the company based on their class content.

Try a few of these ideas and see what reaction you get from MBA-earning employees. And see what happens when you get known in your community for encouraging the development and education of your professional workforce.

 What have you tried?

Thanks jessleecuizon for the photo via Flickr

If you’ve read my larger story, you know that I’m living out a portfolio career. And trying to replace a corporate VP salary with a non-traditional job. It’s a challenging project but one that I have embraced. Because I love what I do.

Part of this effort has involved the development of a new software product for those in job search or those who think they might be soon. So, as a result, I am now officially a software executive. Leader of a team of two.

We are in a controlled beta now having recently finished a few private betas (top secret stuff). It’s been two years to get to this point and more money and personal sacrifice than I care to divulge. But every dollar that went out the door was to invest in something I really cared about.

This is my passion project. And I’m excited to see where it goes.

But not every day is wine and roses. Sometimes it is downright frustrating. So I was really encouraged to get an email newsletter (not my normal reaction to an email newsletter) from Mike McDerment, Founder and CEO of FreshBooks. You can read the whole newsletter here, but below is a passage that spoke to me in a big way:

“It took over 16 months to bring a product to market. When we launched no one cared and 24 months after starting we had only 10 paying customers and revenues of $99 per month. We moved into my parents’ basement for 3.5 years. But despite all the evidence pointing to our failure, we carried on. Why? We loved our customers, our company and working together, and we’d discovered a passion to serve others.”

Of course later in the newsletter Mike shares the good news about FreshBooks:

Since those humble beginnings, over 5 million people have used FreshBooks to send and receive, print or pay invoices. Today FreshBooks has paying customers in over 120 countries. We are a rapidly growing 90 person company.

Awesome. I really enjoyed his message and the hope it offers for passionate creators of software (0r any new product that aims to help people). Especially for me since this is my first time around the block as a “software executive”.

Thanks Mike.  The timing of your newsletter was perfect.

But real quick – here are my three humble learnings about creating the product and the systems to support it:

The process is highly iterative

Every time I thought I had reached a milestone, the stone itself was turned over exposing a whole new way to do something. And its hard not to turn over the stones if you can make something better.

It takes at least twice as long to get anything done in the software world

My one year project became two. And that was just to get the beta out into the market. It works, is stable and we are now charging for it, but I never thought it would take so long.

Developers think differently than I do

They move at a different pace, are highly visual and require a spoon fed set of instructions for functionality. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure part of the issue is my lack of experience in working with developers. But it became clear to me that I had to change to succeed. They weren’t going to change.

What have you learned? And what could you teach me about the next steps?

I’ve been consulting officially for about 1.5 years. Marketing, branding and business strategy. After a long and successful marketing career in corporate America, I needed something different.  Something closer to the lives of real people and less about creating more margin for nameless shareholders.

I wanted to live a life based less on success and more based on significance. So I shifted my focus to smaller companies and individuals. Anyone wanting to do great great things. But needed help, accountability or a skilled guide.

So I started a portfolio career (what’s a portfolio career?) and began working a non-traditional job (can you make money with a non-traditional job?). And that has made all the difference.

It made the difference from a “what I wanted to do with my life” standpoint. Now I just had to make money doing it. Then enough money to “get by”. Now it’s about expanding my view and beginning to believe that I can create wealth – not just make a living.

But all this is only possible if I work the formula. Here it is:

Now, before this gets too technical, I’m not a math professor. And I haven’t actually calculated that these numbers work out exactly. But if any of you have math in your DNA, maybe you can create the actual formula to express this idea in numbers.

My formula is based on my own experience:

It says that anything you want to accomplish in life that requires people, must include a lot of them. And they must take action. Even if you have an amazing idea or service, without an active network, you will struggle to succeed.

So all of you people with big followings on Twitter or connections on LinkedIn, this means you actually have to engage with your following. And you have to include an in-person component to this formula. That’s how you build social credibility (that which lowers the risk of meeting with or hiring you).

And if you don’t have the network, you are starting without a key ingredient. People. Without people, there’s no one to spread the word. And no one to hire you.

Some months it seems like it takes 50 conversations to create 10 meetings (read about the perils of a great conversation) . 10 meetings turn into 5 commitments. And 5 commitments = 1 new customer. So what if you start with 10 conversations?

So you need a lot of people who know about you, like you and believe you can help them. And then those people need to either refer you or hire you.

If you build it they won’t come. Unless someone tells them to.

So get out of your house or office. Go meet people. Share your passion for whatever it is you do.

Or else.

You’ll find yourself back in a job interview explaining what you were trying to accomplish.  To someone who wonders why you aren’t still doing it.

Thanks Libertas Academica for the image via flickr

Are you one who gets nervous before a presentation? Whether your audience is a group of executives at your company or the local chamber of commerce, you want to show up and deliver your material with confidence.  Here are three ways to do that…

Are you the one with the butterflies as a speaker?

If so, don’t assume being nervous is bad. I actually like a bit of “nervous” in a client who’s asked to speak – tells me that the presentation has value and matters to them. And I can use that to help them prepare.

If you’ve done some work as a speaker,  you know that people do rotten things while you speak. So you have to do whatever you can to engage your audience. And doing so will make it all go easier.  Over time, the nervous  feeling will naturally have less of an impact as you get more comfortable.

It’s really common for people to get nervous before a presentation. And while there are some people who have a basic fear of speaking (rational or irrational), others simply haven’t prepared well enough, don’t know their audience and have not connected at all with those they’ll be speaking to that day.

Recently I needed to help a client prepare for a public speech. She was nervous.

Why?

Well, she wanted to do well. She knew expectations were high because of her position within the industry and company. She wanted to be great for this organization that asked her to speak. Awesome.

Here’s the advice I gave her.  I hope it helps you.

1. Know Your Stuff

If you don’t feel like an expert, it’s hard to confidently stand up and pretend that you are one. So you either have to be one or complete the research necessary to have the most knowledge on the topic, the most knowledge in a segment of the topic or a unique or interesting angle on the topic.

So you need to do your homework. You need to find fun facts, stimulating pictures and research as much as you can. Depending on whether you are trying to inform or persuade (the latter tends to be more engaging), you’ll need to prepare accordingly.

If you are worried that your argument is light or might be easy to argue with, that will create an uneasiness in you that will likely show. So don’t put off your preparation.  And, once ready with your content, practice it a lot. Not just in front of a mirror but in a similar room to the one you’ll be using well in advance of presentation day.

2. Test Your Ideas In Advance

If you know your audience or (even better) know a few people who will be there, ask them to review your presentation in advance. Talk them through your argument and get early feedback. Doing so will let you know where you are hitting important points and where you are being unclear or too vague about a point.

And knowing in advance that your ideas are resonating means that your known risk of not delivering compelling ideas is minimal. And that will help you step onto the stage with confidence.

3. Simplify Your Slides

This may be the biggest criticism (still) for presenters.  Either too many slides or too much on them. My advice? Use as few slides as possible and keep them as simple as possible.

Why? You want eyes on you 90% of the time – not on your slides. When people are reading your slides (if they can) they are not listening to you.  And if you are saying something important that’s not on your slide, that bit of data will be lost forever.

 

Instead, use your slides as a way to pace your presentation, trigger your key points and grab the attention of your audience.

4. Focus on helping people

Sometimes we put too much pressure on our presentations.  We believe that our career is at stake or our personal brands are at risk if we fail to “wow” the crowd.

So let me take the pressure off of you right now. A single presentation is usually not that important (there are exceptions to this of course). It is simply another impression of you that people are getting.  Or the first in-person introduction to you. And while first impressions matter and we always want to build social credibility, there’s a simple way to reduce the pressure and deliver confidently.

 

Focus on helping people.  Teach them something or convince them of something that will help them in their own lies or careers. Focus on the needs of others and your worries (ego) about being a great speaker will naturally seem less important.

5. Get there early

If you don’t know your audience, it’s easy to make assumptions about who they are, what they expect from you and how they will perceive you. So what if you got there extra early and actually spoke to a few of them? Depending on the size of the crowd and how many people you can meet, you might even see a few friendly faces in the audience when you first get up there.

Getting there early will relax you, allow you to work the room a bit and connect with your audience in a way that you could never do once you start speaking.

At South by Southwest (SXSW) a few years ago, I loved watching Gary Vee personally welcome hundreds of people into the ballroom. We all shook his hand and got a chance to say hello. As a result, everyone felt like they had a small connection to him. Not that he showed an ounce of nerves.

Are these ideas helpful? What ideas do you have to reduce nerves and deliver your best during a presentation?

If you take my advice and implement these five ideas, you will be happier, more relaxed and confident. And your audience will be more open to your pitch.

When you are relaxed, the crowd relaxes. They want you to succeed after all.

A speaker like Thom Singer is so good at relaxing their audience and working hard to bring relevant content to them in a fun and interesting way. Watch one of Thom’s videos on speaking success and you’ll see what I mean.

Good luck and let me know if I can help.

Thanks moon angel for the great photo via flickr

Today’s success story is about a smart guy with a healthy consulting business. But he had a look that didn’t match.

Greg Goates is a highly regarded leadership coach, human resources consultant and adjunct college instructor in San Diego who, like many in his profession, was not communicating a strong enough brand message.  He was also not properly utilizing the tools available to him (dynamic website, LinkedIn profile, Twitter, Facebook, etc.).

So we started with a marketing audit to help him see where he stood at the time. Among other results, we found a website that was copy heavy and lacked any fresh content. Greg was using his site as more of an online resume or brochure. And it was not telling his compelling story in a way that inspired his visitors. Finally, it was a little too much about him and not enough about the benefits he could bring his clients. So success for Greg’s business was being limited.

Here’s Greg’s site (and logo) before we began his re-branding project:

So we took Greg through our strategic brand development process and came up with a new way to tell his story (visually and verbally). And once we had the strategy confirmed (including a new brand promise), we brought in a creative talent to help develop the logo and website design.

Based on the strategy, here’s the brand new look for Greg’s business – just launched this past week:

 A totally new website at goatesconsultinggroup.com

A fresh new logo and design

A new brand promise

A brand new business page on Facebook

So what’s the value of this branding strategy effort? How do you measure success?

Of course, we’ll all be watching Greg’s business over the coming months to see the results that matter. Those include the number and size of his new client engagements.  We’ll also watch site traffic, likes on Facebook and engagement on LinkedIn. But what are some of the softer metrics for Greg?

Personal momentum and confidence – Greg, as you might expect, feels substantially more energized about his business and has a lot of new news to share with current and potential clients.

Added social credibility – Greg is now getting better known to the San Diego community as well as the world via his web presence, blog and Facebook page.  While these will take time to grow and flourish, there is now a much more compelling story resulting when someone does a Google search for a consultant with Greg’s background.

Integrated look and feel – Greg’s consulting practice now has a set of reinforcing brand properties that will help him attract and retain clients. His new look will help potential clients decide to say “yes” to his services.

Of course there’s more to do. Greg’s branding success story is just getting started.

But we like where he’s headed.

I’ve been blogging for about five years. And when I meet someone interested in blogging, they always ask how I know what to write about each time I sit at the computer.

The truth is I don’t always know. So don’t think that bloggers are always full of the next big idea.

But the creative bloggers are constantly paying attention to their life experiences, those of their friends and any relevant stories or thoughts that might inspire an interesting take on a topic.

So, as an example, here’s how my twisted mind works. This is how one blogger (me) strung together a few thoughts into a blog post:

My other blog, Tim’s Strategy, covers “ideas for job search, career and life” and most of my readers there are in a job search, have been through one or think they might be some time soon. How about you?

So I write fairly practical posts to help them through specific job search strategy, social networking opportunities or the importance of a confident and positive psychology. But I like to have fun with the path I take to get to there.

I wrote Job Seekers: Learn To Be Less Sensitive because I meet so many job seekers who stumble due to over-reactions to events and people during the process. By over-reacting, they look desperate. It negatively affects their own confidence when things don’t go exactly as expected.

The thoughts:

A few weeks ago, I took a new pill to make myself healthier. A niacin pill. Of course, I didn’t read the label for any specific details about side-effects.

Turns out there are a few.  Most pronounced is a monster hot flash if you take too big a of a dose. And I guess I did.

Imagine waking up at 2:00 AM with a body on fire. My skin felt like it was sizzling. And, at first, I forgot about the pill and thought I was heading to meet my maker. I felt like a combination of Jim Morrison (during a peyote overdose in the desert) and Will Ferrell’s character Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights (running naked on the track because he thought he was on fire).

After the burn was over (about an hour), I thankfully went back to sleep. In the morning, I grabbed the bottle and, sure enough, there was the warning “some may be sensitive to feelings of heat flashes”. Good to know.

The good news is that it centered me on the idea for a blog post to convince people that being too sensitive is a bad thing.

I decided not to use the imagery of Ricky Bobby and Jim Morrison because I wanted the example to be less personal. So I talked about being too much like a hungry spider that over reacts to a touch on its web.  But you can see how the idea of “too sensitive” came up, right?

So what’s happening in your life? And how can you turn it into a blog post?

It’s fun to share success stories. A while back, I shared the story of how I helped another client with a successful brand update.

About 12 months ago I started a conversation with a really smart woman. Drusilla (Dee) Blackman is a university admissions executive having worked with a few of America’s best universities.  She was Director of Admissions at both Harvard and Columbia and, needless to say, she knows a lot about what it takes to get accepted as a new student at a top-tier school.

And when we first met she was trying to launch a new consulting business. She created a website and a name for her business.  And she had a steady stream of clients.

So what’s wrong with this picture?

Here are the three problems Dee was facing:

1. Her business name and brand were different – both were generic.

2. Her website lacked compelling content and it looked wrong for her and the clients she wanted to target.

3. A significant percentage of her business was coming through another website – and the leads were really expensive.

So our challenge was to create a new brand look, logo, site and positioning for Dee. We’re not done yet though. After all, brands and their branding tend to be iterative. But we’ve come a long way, baby.

Here’s what Dee’s brand and business looked like one year ago:

Her logo (her web address was yourbestcollege.com):

What’s wrong with this name and logo? Well, “Premier” is generic.  It’s like AAA Bail Bonds and while it tries to position the business as high end, words like “Premier” are almost invisible these days. Also, the font is too normal and the look is not inspiring considering the price she charges for her service and the expectations of her client families.

Her website:

What’s wrong with this website? The look and feel is very “elementary school” (primary colors) vs. university (rich, regal colors).  And it certainly doesn’t feel like the place you’d visit to get strategic advice regarding ivy league or other top-tier university admissions.

So how did we fix it?

We took Dee through a complete brand development process including a review of her target market, her background, services and personality. Once complete, that entire brand positioning package was used to identify a new brand, matching website url, brand promise, look, color scheme and marketing strategy.

A really fun project that got us to a very happy place:

Her new name is the The Ivy Dean™. A name that reinforces the role she played at Harvard and Columbia.  It also delivers the credibility we wanted built into the new name. And while Dee’s focus isn’t solely on Ivy League candidates, it is highly aspirational (if Dee gets people into Harvard, I’ll bet she can help me get into my college).

Her new website url is http://theivydean.com. It is consistent with her name and her history. And allows her to have the same name across her online presence.

The logo we created (vs. her first) says collegiate (the shield, the icons within the shield and the crimson color):

And, from this we created an obvious avatar and favicon:

As for the website, we didn’t have a huge budget so we hired a developer to modify a WordPress template. Down the road, when there is interest and more budget, we can go bigger.  But for now, her brand is alive and kicking on a website that supports her brand, it’s image and is attracting the right traffic.  Here’s her site:

Results:

Well, along with a successful advertising campaign created by Reciprocal Consulting, Dee’s business is flourishing. She has more clients than ever, has hired her first employee and is no longer giving up a big percentage of her fee to a lead generation website.

 

She’s now better known, more profitable and she’s having more fun serving her client families.

Of course, there’s more work to do. And she’s now planning for new ways to grow her influence and impact on the college admissions process.

But the results of her new brand strategy are bigger than just getting more clients. She is now better positioned for growth and for becoming nationally known as the clear subject matter expert in the university admissions consulting business.

And that’s awesome.

What do you think of Dee’s new brand? If you want, you can like The Ivy Dean on Facebook. I know she’d appreciate that.

According to many common definitions, spam is any kind of unwanted communication.  We typically think of it as emails, text messages or instant messages. Cold calling can also be considered a form of spamming.

But with social media, the door is wide open. It is such an easy way to connect with so many new people.  It’s tempting to speed up the process of attracting and engaging people. Especially when something with such a low commitment (a follow on Twitter, for example) allows the “followed” so many options to communicate openly.

So if you are unsure if you are spamming people (intentionally or not), read this list and check your score at the bottom.

You are spamming if you:

1. Send automated direct messages on Twitter to anyone who follows you. Yuck.

2. Visit LinkedIn groups, leave your latest blog post as a discussion and leave – never to return. If you do this, you are a seagull.

3. Post photos you haven’t taken (i.e. stock photos) and post them on Instagram as your own.  Or you post photos and then tell me I can find your photo somewhere online (advertisement).

4. Buy single shares in people all day long (and start again the next day) on Empire Avenue just to expose your brand or business to people

5. Send emails through LinkedIn to all your connections with a “special offer”. Don’t spam your LinkedIn connections. I don’t think I’ve given you that permission by connecting with you. Especially if these communications are all I get.

6. Send promotional tweets with seven or eight hash tags (or as many as you can fit). #badform #boring #unwanted #hardontheeyes #etc

7. Tag people and businesses on Facebook to make your “marketing message” (vs. an attempt to engage thoughtfully) more interruptive. Instead of this, why not work to develop a strategic content calendar and earn your views?

8. Automate a group #ff list (follow friday) on Twitter so that everyone you follow gets a mention once a week.  Next time you get mentioned as part of a list for a #ff, go to that person’s stream and see how many others have received similar treatment.  Feel less special? Be smart about using Twitter.

9. Overuse the automation tools available.  Everyone uses some form of automation to help get the word out more efficiently (a Foursquare  or Instagram update that you’d like to share with more people). Automation’s not the issue.  It’s those who use it too much.

10. Find the most popular place to be (a big LinkedIn discussion, a blog post by someone important) and drop a link to your important something without contributing a thing of value. If you do this you are a vulture.

So now I need you to do one of three things:

1. Argue with me – tell me I’m wrong on one or more of these examples.

2. Give me another example – your pet peeve issue with people who spam

3. Calculate your score – give yourself 1 point for every spammy thing you do:

If your score is 8-10, you are a spammer and you scare me. I am going to unfollow you today.

 

If your score is 5-7, you might want to back off and let people find your great content (or personality) for a change

 

If your score is 2-4, you are at some risk of frustrating people but perhaps you are flying under the radar

 

If your score is 0-1, you are doing it right and likely building a more sustainable following

Well…how did you do? Share your score (if you dare) in the comments.

Thanks Sean MacEntee for the image via Flickr

Today’s post is not from Fix, Build and Drive. It is from another blog I write called Tim’s Strategy which is a career strategy site. I’m re-posting it here because the opportunity to use LinkedIn effectively is being lost on so many. Hope you like it.

Just so you know, you’re at risk.

It can happen to anyone, of course. But today I am talking to you.

You’re at risk of missing out on the real value of using LinkedIn. It happens when you start to use the site like a lazy person.

So this post is about avoiding all of that bad karma. So you don’t fall into the trap of being Lazy On LinkedIn.

You don’t want to be a LOLI.

As in lollipop (the lazy person’s candy).  Or lollygag (the act of wasting time).

It doesn’t make you a bad person. But if you’ve spent a lot of time establishing a presence on LinkedIn, why not use the tool productively and regularly to get all the benefits?

So here are 10 signs that you are being lazy on LinkedIn:

1. You send generic LinkedIn connection requests

Yes, I’ve written about this before.  You know I don’t like generic LinkedIn requests.  Because it puts all the work on me to figure out if and how we have relevant experience.  Something in common.  Perhaps enough similar experience or goals to give us some way to help each other.  Want to connect on LinkedIn?  Send me a nice personalized connection request telling me why our connecting makes sense.

I know sometimes LinkedIn’s form won’t allow you to personalize a request. It just gets sent. But if the request goes out without you personalizing it, you can still find some way to connect with that person.  And let them know that you are not just simply collecting online coins to “build a powerful network”.

2. You neglect to add a good photo to your profile

Some make a conscious decision not to add one.  Perhaps a security or privacy issue.  But if security is that big of a deal, perhaps you should crawl into a bunker.  There are very few good reasons to skip adding a photo on LinkedIn. Others add what I call a bad photo.  Categories include “you but from 100 yards away”, “you and your Uncle Bob”, “you 15 years ago” and “you looking like you mixed up your Facebook photo with your LinkedIn photo”.

3. You have no or only a precious few recommendations

Getting a recommendation on LinkedIn doesn’t carry a lot of weight.  But they are better to have than an empty profile. There is a credibility question here.  I suggest having a minimum of 10 recommendations.  Three from bosses, three from peers, three from direct reports, and a tenth from a vendor, supplier or customer.  Without them you look naked.

4. You provide vague recommendation for others

If someone asks you to write a recommendation for them, try to write a good one.  Use specific examples of their work and, importantly, the impact they had on you, your career or the company.  Don’t refer to people as “great assets” and don’t say that they “added value”.  That means nothing.  If you can’t think of something great to say, ask the person you are recommending for a few ideas like projects/results they’d like you to highlight.  Just make sure they are true.  Or else your credibility will be questioned.

5. You copy and paste your resume into LinkedIn

That’s not a profile, that’s your resume.  And resumes are different.  Don’t make your Linkedin profile a carbon copy of your resume. Your summary can be a powerful place to introduce your brand promise to recruiters, hiring managers and HR folks.  If you write it well.

6. You join groups then promptly ignore them

There are some great career groups on LinkedIn.  You can pick up new ideas, meet great people and share your story.  But that only happens if you actually participate.  Most people don’t.  So why did you join again?  Here’s how to participate in LinkedIn groups.  And please don’t max out your groups without a plan.  Start with five, establish yourself, and then add more as you can.

7. You don’t complete your profile

It’s really not that hard to get to 100%.  And it gives your profile an extra bit of polish.  It says to people that you are serious about your participation on the site.  So many people I meet are at about 50%.  And it shows.

8. You don’t have enough connections

The purpose of LinkedIn is to get you connected to your network (old and new potential).  And then to enjoy the explosive nature of now being linked to everyone they know.  And so on.  So if you have less than 100 connections, you are missing out on the great value that Linkedin  provides.  Everyone knows (or has worked with) 100 people.  Get started today by sending out five connection requests.  And do that every day in July.  You’ll get there.

9. Your headline is a non-starter

When someone (recruiter, future customer, hiring manager) gets to your profile, you want inspire them.  But first you need to tell them who you are and what you do.  And “unemployed” or “looking for a job” doesn’t make me want to get in touch with you.  It’s not compelling.  Don’t let being out of work define your brand.  So say something that might be interesting to me.

10. Your last status update was July 5 . . . 2010

Updates to your profile remind people that you are still active.  Alive and kicking.  Updating  your profile all across the social web is a good idea. But on LinkedIn it is a great idea.  You can share content from Twitter by using #in within your tweet to make it easier.  You can update your network using your small wins during job search (successful interview, etc). You can also like, comment on or share an update from someone else.

So, are you lazy?  Use this handy scoring system to see if  you’ve lost your way on LinkedIn. How many of the 10 are true for you?

 

None are true – You are a master. I bow to you.

 

1-2 are true - Congrats, you are just a few steps away from being an engaging connection for someone.

 

3-5 are true - You are not alone, but there is still some important work to be done.

 

5-7 are true – There’s trouble in River City.  You need help or a few hours of focused time to improve your profile.

 

8-10 are true - Make LinkedIn a major priority this week.  Really.

No matter how you score, stay focused on this great tool.  And don’t let your hard work up to this point go to waste!

Thanks emerille for the great photo via Flickr

How about you? Are you a superstar business networking guru?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

If you are like most people in business, the idea of networking is the least favorite aspect of business or brand development.

Why?

• Many are socially uncomfortable and don’t like talking to strangers.

• Some feel like “being out” on behalf of their company after hours is asking too much.

• Some have a memory of “the guy in the Vegas jacket, toupee and mixed drink” – selling you hard on an insurance policy.

But if you have a business of your own or have the responsibility for sales and business development for your company – and aren’t doing it right – here are 5 things you need to know about business networking.  So you can relax, do it right and get results. Without completely screwing up.

1. Early on, it will be hard

When you first get started (seriously get started), results will likely not come right away.  You might feel like an outsider. That you don’t belong amongst this crowd of people that already appear to know each other.  But if you expect results (sales, leads, etc) and don’t get them, you will be disappointed. And you’ll get frustrated.  And then you’ll get impatient.  All culminating in you coming right out and asking a stranger for something that they are not ready or willing to give you.  Not yet.

So you have to be patient.  Ask questions about those you are meeting.  And find common ground.

2. You have to give to get

For those of you old school folks, the game has changed.  When I mentioned asking questions above, I wasn’t referring to:

“So….who do you use for your carpet cleaning needs?”

Of course that’s too direct, right? Our real goal in asking questions is to learn about someone new, to learn who they are looking to meet, what they are trying to accomplish in life and how you can help.  Also I mentioned the need to be patient.  It’s possible that 75% of your conversations will be about someone else. And if you impatient, this will frustrate you.  But if you are patient, smart and curious about people, you will learn a lot about your networking partners. Enough perhaps to help them in some way.

And when you do, there will be a natural pendulum swing back to you, to your needs and your business. The question is how slow will the pendulum swing. It’s not always as quick as you’d like.  But if your plan is to go out and get results real soon, you may find people feeling less inclined. And ending conversations with you in  an abrupt manner.

3. How you say it is just as important as what you say

Some people take themselves too seriously – they are loud, arrogant and boisterous. Others are just the opposite – quiet, meek and desperate. Your message will be received positively or negatively in part based on the way you present yourself.  For example:

You can have a finely tuned and beautifully crafted elevator pitch that stuns your audience. The question is are they stunned and smiling or stunned and thinking “jerk” or are left without any sense of interest in you.

So when you pitch yourself to others, make sure they can hear you (speak up), that you make eye contact (initially and ongoing) and allow the corners of your mouth to venture north (smile).  You can send a lot of very positive non-verbal cues that you are not a jerk and in fact are someone others would like to hang out with (be someone, as Bob Burg says, that we know, like and trust).

Is that you?

4. Online social networking is a necessary (not optional) complement

If you are not a powerful social media icon (like most), you might be unsure what role social media sites play (or should play) in your business networking. But let me tell you there is a significant opportunity to enhance and drive your networking success by including an online component.

I’m amazed at the number of people who are still not on LinkedIn and just as amazed that so many are using LinkedIn improperly.  They are lazy.

In terms of other social sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, it’s really a question of time, industry, resources and many more factors.  I think you can create a nice string of business networking successes via LinkedIn and a strong in person networking strategy.

So you can meet new people online and, conveniently, stay in touch over the years. With the help of a social networking plan.

5. You have to remain “present” and stay in touch

But here’s one of the truths.  Business networking requires a consistent presence. Success does not come with one event or a a 3 month push to get one thing done.

Success comes when you establish your brand and brand personality with a group of relevant people over time. The result is a growing social credibility. You are a safe person to refer to others.

This way your network grows passively (i.e. you don’t have to work as hard to meet people since they come looking for you). Sound good?

So admit it. You need help with business networking.  It’s the first step to success.

Thanks danperry.com for the photo via flickr