Posts Tagged ‘reputation’

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Complete That LinkedIn Profile!

Friday, January 27th, 2012

I’m always amazed at how frequently I run across incomplete or inadequate LinkedIn profiles. Your profile is one of your most important sites on the Internet. Don’t believe me? Do a Google search on some people you know. It’s highly likely that a LinkedIn profile will come up near the top, if not number 1.

Given that it’s so important and shows up so high on search engines, it’s insane that people don’t give their profile the time and attention it deserves. I’m going to talk about a few areas I usually see lacking.

1. A Good Summary

Your Summary should be the last thing you write. It’s a synopsis of you as a person, and it’s the tease that makes us interested to read more. No, it should not be the “summary” section of your resume. No “well-organized business professional” type language. That’s good for getting in the door on a job search, but it doesn’t make us want to connect to you. What’s in it for me to connect to you? Tell me that. Or why might I want to use or refer you? Tell me that. Shine. Stand out!

2. Too Much Resume Language

Lots of people cut and paste from their resume to create a profile. That’s okay for older entries, but make the newest positions in your profile snap and sparkle.

3. Incomplete Profiles

Need I say anything about this? LinkedIn prompts you on exactly what you need to complete a profile. Follow their suggestions and get it to 100%.

4. No/Few Recommendations

You need at least 3 to get your profile to 100%, but really, you need more than that. Your profile is a huge part of your reputation online. The more recommendations you have, the better. And absolutely get at least 2 (preferably more) for your most recent position. We’re going to make decisions about you based on that. Make sure we’re making a good one for you.

I could say a lot more about this, but those hit the biggest points. What are you waiting for? Go look at your profile and make it shine.

Need help? Creating/updating/fixing profiles is one of my services. Email me, and I’ll help you out.

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Bestselling Author? Really?

Friday, December 16th, 2011

I recently heard an interesting story, and I thought I’d share.

Someone was telling me about an author who self-published and had to buy over a.thousand books as part of the deal. (Don’t get me started on how bad an idea that was!) Anyway, the author was listed on Amazon and proceeded to tag and categorize the book so specifically that he was able to call himself a best selling author. In that specific category. You know how many copies he’d actually sold? 67!

What the person didn’t tell me is how long it took to sell those copies, but I can guess it took a while.

For the record, my book has already outsold that number.

But that’s not the point. What’s the use of creating such an artificial definition of best seller? At best it’s silly vanity. At worst it’s deceptive. Most people hearing “best selling author” think New York Times list, which this person definitely didn’t qualify for.

I’ve seen similar.problems with claims that a company is #1. You can always manipulate data to be #1 at something, so it’s usually a meaningless accolade.

When we work with you or buy your product or service, we aren’t interested in games you’ve played to feed your ego. If your book has sold 67 copies but is exactly what we need to read, so what?

Focus on the benefit of working with you and leave gamesmanship to your competition.

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Claim Your Place

Monday, November 14th, 2011

You’ve got a website, Twitter account and Facebook page. You’ve set up your LinkedIn profiles (both for yourself and your business), and you’ve created your Google+ profile and business profile.

You’ve even been an overachiever and created a YouTube channel, Flicker and Tumblr accounts.

Whew! That’s it, right?

Well, maybe not. If you are a business with an actual address, there are a few other things you’ll want to claim and monitor. I know, not what you wanted to hear, but if being a small business owner were easy, everyone would be doing it.

Don’t forget about Yelp, Google Places, Yahoo Local and perhaps Foursquare. These are other places customers can find you and talk about you. Some reviews will be good. Others maybe not so good, but you need to know about them.

Why do you care? Two reasons.

1. If you don’t claim it someone else, like your competition, might

Let’s take Yelp for an example. A Yelper can create a page for your business to review it. Also, Yelp spiders roam the web, looking for business listings and creating basic pages for them. Once a page is there, anyone can stop by and review you.

They can also stop by and “claim” the page. What does that mean? It means they have set up a user name and password to access and make changes to your business information. If that person is you, great. If not? Do I really need to spell it out for you?

If you claim your own page, no one else can claim it for you.

It works basically the same for Foursquare, Google Places and Yahoo! Local.

2. If you don’t know it exists, you don’t know what people are saying about you

If people are complimenting you, don’t you want to know about it? If they are saying you suck, you need to know that so you can fix the problem. But you have to go to where they are commenting, and the four places I’ve discussed in this post are the ones I suggest paying attention to. Yes, there are others, but until you have a large staff working for you, apply the 80/20 rule. Those four places, plus your social media channels, will hit 80% of the places people are reviewing you.

What if someone says something bad? Respond. Ask what happened. Offer to make it right. If someone on your staff received the bad review, discuss what happened. Maybe the reviewer is a jerk. Maybe your staff member was having an off day. But you, as a business owner, need to know about it so you can address any problems.

Respond publicly when you can. People notice and appreciate it. If you’ve made something right for a client, ask them to update their review. We understand that things can happen. We love it when we know mistakes will be fixed!

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Speakers, Respect Your Event

Friday, October 14th, 2011

A couple of days ago, I posted about speakers and making your event a success by engaging the right person.

Yesterday something interesting and kind of sad happened, and I wanted to write about it and the lesson for speakers.

I was registered for a free seminar on LinkedIn, and I was looking forward to learning something new. Then I got a call from the organizer of the event. A week before the seminar, the speaker cancelled. My contact was being positive about it. “He had to fly down to Florida for a paying gig. I probably would have done the same thing.”

“I wouldn’t have,” I said.

Why?

Well, 38 people had already registered for the event. That’s an awful lot of people to let down. And it’s a reputation thing. His presentation, in part, was on using LinkedIn to build credibility. Where’s his credibility now?

Life is about choices. Whenever we make one choice, we close off other options. It’s okay. It’s the way it works. But you need to make a stand and stick with commitments. Can life happen? Sure. But decisions have consequences. My contact, while he was understanding, said he was hesitant to promote him as a speaker again, and that’s completely understandable.

If you’ve been asked to speak and something urgent comes up, what should you do? I think it’s obvious. Find a replacement speaker. Surely you know someone else who can present on the same topic? This allows the event to continue, you to attend to another opportunity, and you garner some good will with your replacement. Everyone wins.

This particular speaker didn’t do that, but at least this story has a happy ending. I volunteered to step in and do the presentation. Now I get to present to a good-sized group. I bet I can make that lead to some good consequences for me. :)

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How Apple Forced Me To Buy A Nook Color

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

This post is about how loyalties can change and actions can have unintended consequences.

Until a few months ago, I did all my reading on my iPhone. I had a ton of e-reader apps: Kobo, Nook, Kindle, Stanza, iBooks and Overdrive for library books. Yes, it was a pain to keep track of what books I had in which app, but I liked the freedom to get books from anywhere.

Most of my e-book money went to Amazon because they had the best selection and usually the best prices.

Then the Sony app was rejected by Apple, who decided to finally enforce their in-app purchase rules. Everyone said the sky was falling and that there would be no e-reader apps in the App Store, and on top of that, Hulu, Netflix, Dropbox and other, similar apps were probably going to vanish as well.

Did I believe the sky was falling? No, but all of a sudden, having a bunch of apps seemed to be a pain, and uncertainty made me uncomfortable enough to consider a change.

Before all this, I was likely to have entered the tablet world with an iPad. I already knew Apple and liked their products. It was kind of expensive, but I could have justified it.

Not any more! I wanted an option that didn’t involve Apple. So, there was the first unintended consequence. Apple lost money on me.

Naturally, I looked at the Kindle since I spent most of my e-book money at Amazon. But I’ve never liked the look and feel of the Kindle. I prefer a soft keyboard to a hard one on a e-reader. And I love touchscreens.

The Sony products were beautiful but too expensive.

So I looked at the Nook. I could root it and still run the Kindle app. It supported all the other bookstores, except iBooks, and I wasn’t interested in buying from them anyway.

So I bought my Nook Color. And still haven’t rooted it. I like the stock operating system. I like the way the reader functions. I like having all my books in one place!

So I still buy a few books from Amazon, but only ones that are DRM-free, and I convert them to Nook format. I can buy from Kobo, Sony and Barnes and Noble. I can get library books, and I don’t have to mess with a bunch of apps.

So where do you think I spend most of my e-book money now? Yes, at Barnes and Noble. They are the easiest. I can buy, download and be reading within minutes. All the other stores require me to hook my Nook up to my computer. Not hard, but why bother if I don’t have to?

You know what’s ironic? I had been right. The sky didn’t falling. All the e-book apps are still available, without direct links to stores, but I never cared about that. But now I have my Nook, and I’m not going back to reading on my iPhone.

So what’s the moral of this story? Well, Barnes and Noble provided a good product that meets my needs. But that’s the small part. Understand that customer loyalty is fickle. I was loyal to both Apple and Amazon. But they didn’t meet my needs, so now I’m loyal to Barnes and Noble. But that could change in the future as well.

Customers are only loyal as long as you listen to them and meet their needs. Stop doing those, and you’ll lose them. Maybe not right away, but eventually something will make them uncomfortable enough that they will look for another option.

That’s good for your competitor. But not for you.

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Respond Quickly and Appropriately to Customer Problems

Friday, April 15th, 2011

I’m pissed at my business attorney and his boss.

Apparently, my LLC expired with the State Corporation Commission, and the way I found out was when my new bank told me they’d close the account if I didn’t get it resolved quickly. In other words, my attorney, who is the registered agent for my company, didn’t send in the renewal paperwork (even though I’d sent him the money).

I immediately called my attorney’s boss. Why the boss and not my attorney? Because this isn’t the first time I’ve had this problem, and I wanted to be certain it would be resolved quickly.

The voice mail I left clearly said that I wanted him (the boss) to call me back. I still haven’t heard from him, a week later. His employee (my attorney) called me back promptly and said he was on top of it, so that’s good from a “get the problem resolved” position, but wasn’t what I had asked for.

Business owners, you are the face of your company. Your employees are also part of that, but ultimately, the reputation of your company is in your hands. Your employees can (and will) screw up, but it’s your company, and you are responsible for making sure problems are resolved. Note I said you are responsible. You don’t have to do the work, but you need to be certain things are done.

And when a client wants to speak to you, directly, return her phone call.

I won’t name names, but I will say I will never be referring this firm again. And, a week later, the status of my LLC is still in the air. Now I’m communicating with my attorney via email because I want a written record if this doesn’t all work out.

Anyone know a good business attorney I can refer?

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It’s About the Relationship, Not the Sale

Monday, February 21st, 2011

One of my clients forwarded me an email last week, and it was a good example of a common mistake sales people make.

He’d met the young lady at a networking event, and she followed up with a (very thinly disguised) request for a sales presentation. Oh, it was gussied up as “I’ll evaluate your existing plan, and if it’s good, you’ll at least know that” kind of offer, but we all know what that means, right? The real kicker? A specific date, time and location suggestion for the meeting. Folks, in case you don’t know, in an unsolicited email, that’s always a sign that you’re going to be sold something.

I actually don’t fault the young lady. I know her industry, and this is what she’s been taught to do. She’s been taught to view everyone she meets as a potential client. Hopefully, she’ll survive long enough to learn some better strategies.

What’s a better way? Easy, view everyone you meet as someone who can open doors for you. Set up meetings to learn about another person, how you might refer each other and to get a feel for who they know. Then you can ask for introductions.

If you speak with passion and knowledge about how you help your clients and who you like to work with, and the person you are meeting with needs your services, he or she will likely ask about working with you. The important thing is that you’ve given the space to self-select. If they don’t need you, no problem. At best, you’ve found a good referral source. At worst, you’ve left a good impression.

So in case you still haven’t heard me, it’s about the relationship. Not the sale. Relationships will lead to sales. Sales don’t always lead to relationships. You need both to survive.

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Value, Not Glitz

Friday, February 18th, 2011

As you can imagine, I get asked on a regular basis “Do you know…” about people who have a reputation in either business networking or social media. Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t know absolutely everyone (just a pretty good cross section), but I do know how to do research.

When I’m asked about people I don’t know, I head for the Internet to check them out. I’m generally looking to see if they walk their talk, and sadly, I often discover they don’t.

Seriously, just being a New York Times bestselling author or having been interviewed by CNN doesn’t make you amazing. If you’ve done any of those things, definitely talk about them and feature your accomplishments on your web page. But you need to do a lot more than have a book or interview to convince us you’re good at what you do. A decent first step is not scamming us with flash and glitz but no substance.

Yesterday, I was asked to check out someone. She’s a published author, and she’s been interviewed by some names you’d recognize. She’s supposedly an expert in networking and building relationships. My contact asked me to check out a teleseminar series she’s offering.

Off I went to the web. The series was supposed to tell us secrets to networking and business success. She laid out each of the modules in the series. What do you suppose I found? Nothing I haven’t seen written about in books by people who really do walk their talk (like Bob Burg, interviewed on this blog last year).

It was a typical Internet package with lots of “bonus items” and “the first 49 people to sign up will get…” stuff. Yawn. I wasn’t impressed.

And then I got to the price. Call me crazy but deceptive pricing is just wrong. It’s even more wrong from someone who is supposed to teach me “the secrets of business relationship building.”

What’s wrong with this picture?

$497 for the series

BUT, because we understand cash flow is tight for entrepreneurs right now, if you sign up by [specific date] you can pay in three easy installments of only $197 each.

Hmm. $497 now or $591 in installments? Why the heck did she put a time limit on such a sweetheart deal (for her)? Yep, as a struggling entrepreneur, I’m really grateful that good cash flow management is paying almost a hundred bucks extra. And I’m definitely convinced that she can teach me the secret to better business relationship building.

People, please, before you sign up for the “next great seminar to propel you to business success,” use some common sense. If more people used common sense, people like her will have to change their methods.

And if you are a coach, consultant, author or trainer, don’t play cheap tricks. Offer a good product with good value, and you’ll be successful. We’ll refer you to our friends. Honest.

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Credibility and New Entrepreneurs/Salespeople

Friday, February 4th, 2011

I need your help.

I was having a great discussion yesterday with a friend about new entrepreneurs and sales. She said that new entrepreneurs have a lot of credibility with family and friends and should use that to their advantage in their early days in business.

Interestingly, when I started as a window sales person seven years ago, I had the opposite experience. My friends and family all liked and trusted me as a person. But they had NO trust in me as a sales person and refused to refer me to their friends and family.

So I’m wondering. What was your experience? I think I know why my friend and I had different experiences, but I don’t want to make assumptions. I’d rather hear multiple views before I propose a hypothesis.

Thanks in advance for the help. What we discover will be extremely useful for a class I am preparing.

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How to Make Your Twitter Stream Look Like Spam. Guest post by @chatterbachs

Friday, December 10th, 2010

I read this post earlier this week, and it made me laugh out loud several times. Jay and I spoke on Tuesday, and he kindly agreed to let me repost it here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Go, Jay!

On a regular basis I get followed by Twitter accounts that look fishy in some way. After reviewing a few thousand Twitter profiles over the years, I’ve found a few keys to making an account look like its got some ill intent behind it. So if that’s the direction you’re looking to go, here are what I hope you find to be helpful hints:

* First, give yourself a username that has 4 numbers at the end or more than one underscore. My favorites are the ones that have this pattern: “Woman’s name_in_name of place”. Be creative though. There are new heights to reach here for spam accounts. Perhaps a combination would work best for you, such as “@Cindy4462_in_SF”.

* Next, don’t download a profile photo or avatar. No, just go with the big white egg that’s standard when you first set up a Twitter account. This saves time and will be a clear indicator to potential followers that you are a spam account.

* Whatever you do, do not give yourself a bio. Giving yourself a bio starts to make it iffy as to whether you are a spam account. It’s best just to remove all doubt and leave this field alone. I repeat… if you want the Twitterverse to be sure you are a spam account, do not put any information in the bio section.

* The next step is easy enough but takes a little more time. Follow 1999 or 2000 Twitter profiles, but make sure that no more than 150 follow you back. In fact if more than 150 follow your Twitter account, it’s best to block some of these to keep this number acceptably low. Warning: if you do not, people might begin to think you’re a real person behind a legitimate account.

* Additionally, you should post no more than 8 tweets. Sure, it seems simple enough; but you will be tempted to tweet more. Resist the temptation. Tweeting more will lead to all kinds of confusion for a spam account…

* As a corollary to this, it’s best if you stick to tweets that really don’t make sense in and of themselves. Things like “Cycloramic sweep” work well. Using someone’s name in a tweet without it actually being a Twitter reply is also an excellent way to present yourself as a spam account, such as: “Intense and stubborn dogmatism, Stacy” or “Yo can you hear me now Karin” (especially when first starting an account). Some of my best students have gone on to utilize this technique with great effectiveness.

* One of those confusion-causing activities is the use of mentions. For the love of all that is evil, do not reply to a tweet or mention another Twitter profile. This is called engagement and must be avoided at all costs. You want to be a good spammer, don’t you? Well, don’t you?!

Please note: to achieve greatness in this area it’s best to put into practice all of these techniques. If you slip up in one or two areas, however, don’t get down on yourself. Most people will still recognize you as a spam account. Keep the goal in front of yourself. Review these principles as often as you need reminding. Keep practicing, and repeat this mantra to yourself on a daily basis, “Be less. Do less. Spam success.”

We are always looking for additional ways to help spam accounts achieve their goals. No, this task is never finished. Please add to the dialogue by submitting your ideas and suggestions.

Thanks, Jay. Several people, myself included, added some good suggestions. So check out the comments to the original post.

And while you’re there, subscribe to his blog and follow @Chatterbachs on Twitter.

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