Blog « All Things Networking

Networking During the Holidays

December 21st, 2011

James Meyers of Celestial Cheesecakes requested this one. Happy to oblige!

We’re winding up 2011, and many people will be working a light schedule the rest of this week and next. But networking doesn’t need to end. You’ll have some excellent opportunities, if you recognize them and take advantage of them.

As I indicated in an earlier post, Networking at a Funeral, there’s no place you can’t network. Holiday parties and family gatherings are no exception. Honor the occasion, leave business cards in your pocket until requested and listen for needs. Do those three things, and you can do some good networking at any event. Family and friends should be willing to help you out, so use them as sounding boards for ideas. Or just as a way to share the awesome things you did this year. They’ll be happy to be involved, and who knows? They might even have contacts for you in the New Year.

What about next week? Definitely, you should take some time off and relax, but it can also be a good time to catch up on some coffee meetings. Some people are easier to tie…err…track down at the end of the year. Having a hard time getting on the calendar of a busy, key contact? See if he or she is available next week.

Remember that networking is something that can occur whenever two or more people are in the same room. Don’t ignore opportunities just because it’s the holiday season.

Anyone have good holiday networking stories to share?

FYI. I am taking my own advice. I do have a few coffee meetings I’m setting up for next week, but mostly I’m taking the time off. This is my last original post of the year. There will still be blog posts, but they’ll be reposts of some popular entries from the archives. Enjoy!

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Tags: Networking, Relationship building
Posted in Networking | 2 Comments »

Bestselling Author? Really?

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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Tags: communication, reputation
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Make Free Easy

December 14th, 2011

Do you give stuff away for free? When you do, how many hoops do you make us jump through?

I recently participated in an online focus group. One of the things they offered us was a coupon for a free sample of the product we were looking at. Free? Sign me up!

I finally got the coupon (a couple of weeks later). It’s been sitting in my Inbox for over a week. Why? Because of what is required to print it.

The coupon is only good for one printing. I need to be sure my printer is on, ready to go, with paper loaded and my ink cartridge full. I’m not kidding. Those were the instructions.

Now my printer is, how do I put this? Old and cranky. With my luck it would be in a mood when I tried to print the coupon, and I’d be out of luck.

I get that they don’t want me printing zillions of these things for friends, family, clients, etc. But seriously. Does it need to be this hard? Kind of makes me feel not trusted, which doesn’t leave me.with a warm fuzzy about them and their product.

Giving stuff away is good. It allows us to try before we buy. But don’t treat your potential clients like criminals or make it so hard that we say “No thanks!”

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Tags: Giving, marketing
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Twitter Time and Posting Management Tools

December 9th, 2011

This post was written at the request of Nancy Wigal of the Search Engine Academy of Washington DC. Hope it answers the question, Nancy!

I tell people that the worst way to interact with Twitter is at http://twitter.com. Why?

Because the main Twitter web page is missing so many useful tools. Yes, you can view your lists there, but it’s a pain to switch from one to another. You can retweet, but there’s no way to add comments to your RT. And, most important, there’s no scheduling!!!! Savvy Twitter people use (and abuse) scheduling.

So what’s a Tweeter to do? Use a third-party tool like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck. Both allow you to:

1. Make columns to view your lists or other streams (like Mentions or Direct Messages)
2. Retweet with comments
3. Automatically shorten URLs
4. Schedule tweets!

So, you may ask, which one should I pick? I prefer Hootsuite, but your needs might vary, however.

Hootsuite is browser-based on all browsers while Tweetdeck only works in Chrome and Safari. If you use another browser, you need to download it as a piece of software. This gives it a couple of advantages/disadvantages, depending on your needs.

1. It doesn’t need to update itself your computer. Tweetdeck seems to want to update ALL THE BLOODY TIME! (Ooops, did I say that out loud?)

2. It has no notifications. In Tweetdeck, you can set it to pop up notifications for your various columns. Do you love it when your computer says “You’ve got mail?” Then you’ll appreciate Tweetdeck’s notifications. Do you hate it when your computer tells you there’s a new message in your Inbox? Tweetdeck will drive you crazy!

3. Hootsuite in the browser will time out, which the installed version of Tweetdeck will not. But, just to be fair, when Hootsuite times out, you get this:

He’s a good reason to use Hootsuite just by himself.

So, users of both, what do you think? Any advantages/disadvantages I missed?

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Tags: social media, task management, time management
Posted in social media | 8 Comments »

Ending Business Paralysis

December 7th, 2011

Most business owners suffer from paralysis every so often. You know the feeling? Your ideas keep circling but you don’t know which one to try first. Or you’re stuck, and you don’t know what to do to move forward.

Paralysis can can caused by a number of factors. Let’s look at three of them.

1. Perfectionism

My dad once told me, “Don’t let perfection get in the way of good enough.” It’s excellent advice, and it’s especially true for business owners.

Where does perfection slow you down? Are you worried your website isn’t perfect? Or do you write and rewrite and rewrite emails before you send them? How about blog posts? How many hours does it take you to write one?

Here’s some sad truths about perfection. 1) We can’t attain it. We’re only human. 2) Because of #1, no one recognizes it even when we come close.

Look at what you’re doing and ask, “Is it good enough?” If yes, go with it and stop tweaking.

2. Lack of knowledge

This one is a bit harder to overcome than #1, but it’s still manageable. If you need to learn something to move forward in your business, find a class, teacher or mentor and learn it. When you’ve learned enough, apply the “good enough principle” and keep on moving.

3. Lack of organization or a plan

If you don’t have a plan, it’s easy to get stuck on what to do next. It’s important to periodically sit down and review your business vision, mission and goals. See what your logical next steps need to be. Find the resources and make a plan to move forward. Apply the “good enough” principle and keep charging.

By the way, a coach is a fantastic resource for overcoming all three causes of business paralysis.

Anyone else have a cause to share? Or a story of how you overcome paralysis to keep moving forward?

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Tags: general business, task management
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But I Just Can’t!

November 30th, 2011

I talk to a lot of people about coaching and what I do. A question I hear frequently is “What do you do if a client doesn’t do what he or she committed to?”

Good question. I like it because it gives me a chance to talk about one of the biggest values I can bring to a client.

Most people don’t intend to fail to meet commitments. Usually failure to do what you say you will means you are dealing with some sort of roadblock. Let me give you an example.

A client of mine was having trouble growing her business. She knew what she needed to do, and she had some excellent networking skills. But she resisted getting out to meet people, and her follow up was tepid, at best.

When we did some digging, we discovered that she had set a message in her subconscious that she didn’t want to make money! How? Well, a few years back, she’d been facing a possible bankruptcy, and she had decided it didn’t make sense to increase her income until that had been resolved. The situation had been subsequently resolved, but she hadn’t “reset” the message to her subconscious.

I’m happy to report that has been fixed, and she’s now networking and landing lots of new business.

Could she have figured it out on her own? Maybe. But using someone else as a sounding board, preferably one who’s trained at it, can make it a lot easier.

What should you do if you find yourself unable to meet commitments or do what you know you need to do to grow your business?

1. Ask yourself why

Is it time management difficulty? Are you burned out on your business or job? Is your home life making you crazy?

Talk to some friends. Ask them what they see that’s different with you now as opposed to when you used to be more productive. Or ask them what they think might be in your way. Your friends often know you better than you know yourself.

2. Make incremental changes

You didn’t get the way you are overnight, and you won’t change in a day or two. Look at your end goal and then decide on one step to get you in that direction. If your problem is, say, lack of organization, make a commitment to one small change, like cleaning up your desk.

3. Hold yourself accountable (or find an accountability partner)

Accountability is hard. You’ll make progress forward and then feel like you’re slipping back. Having someone else to be accountable to can help. It’s even better if you’re holding your buddy accountable too. Change is easier when shared.

4. Celebrate success!

When you make a step forward, celebrate. Look at what you just did instead of looking at how far you still have to go. Enjoy your accomplishment, and then set your next step to the goal.

Tried all that, and you’re still stuck? That’s a good time to hire a coach. Like me!

Anyone else want to share some stories about how you overcame your roadblocks?

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Tags: general business, task management, time management
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Message Lost In Delivery?

November 28th, 2011

I recently tried to read 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris. I really wanted to like the book. Many people have said good things about it, and I was interested in the idea behind the book. (Who wouldn’t be?)

However, I couldn’t get into it. Why? Because the messenger and the delivery got in the way of the message. I found the author obnoxious. His stories, while entertaining, were not getting me closer to the answer. Ironic, since one of his main points was to do more in less time. I felt his stories were wasting my time.

But enough about Tim and his book. The point of this post is not to trash him. But look at what I felt. His message might be good, but his delivery was in the way.

Think back to a time you were trying to communicate something. Did the person get it? If not, might there have been a problem with how it was communicated?

Another example. I was reviewing a marketing message for a healthy food product. The packaging told me lots about what the product wasn’t. Gluten free. No dairy. No trans-fats, etc. What was lacking? Did it taste good? Is it smooth? Will it melt like cheese? They didn’t tell me any of those things. For all I knew, it was healthy but tasted like cardboard. I think the message was supposed to be healthy and just like cheese, but that was lost in their delivery.

Here’s one more. Have you ever been oversold by a salesperson who doesn’t know when to shut up. You were ready to write the check or hand over the money, but he wouldn’t stop, so you gave up and left.

These are all examples of when the message was lost in the delivery.

What can you do? To be persuasive, everything has to be in sync. Your message needs to be good. Your tone of voice, posture and words chosen need to advance your goal and be in line with your message.

Let’s look again at the examples above. What could have been done differently.

Well, Tim could have gotten to his point quicker and made his book less about him and more about what’s in it for the reader.

The food ad could have said something like “Tastes like cheese!”

And the salesperson could have listened more, talked less and shut up when you indicated you were sold.

See how it works? Think carefully before sending your next message to be certain your audience hears what you intended and not something else.

Anyone else have a message delivery story to share?

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Tags: communication
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Mobile Search Optimization: Guest Post by Nancy Wigal

November 23rd, 2011

On Monday, Nancy Wigal of the Search Engine Academy of Washington DC told us about local search optimization. Now, she’s going to discuss mobile search optimization. Why do you care? Because lots of people have smartphones, and use them to search. Learn how to make it easy for them. Take it away, Nancy!

There are plenty of facts and figures, but the bottom line is, mobile search is growing daily. More and more of us are buying and learning how to use our smart phones to find information and solutions while on the go.

Would your business benefit by offering a mobile version of your website? If you’re a restaurant, food delivery service, movie theatre, or even any type of retail store, the answer is a large YES.

Think about it…you’re out running around. It’s time to buy a new washer and dryer. You’re looking at one set in one place, but you’re wondering if you can get a better deal somewhere else. It’s just too handy and convenient to look up the prices on your smart phone and make an informed decision on the spot.

Restaurants and food delivery businesses absolutely should be mobile and local, first and foremost. When designing your mobile version, be sure that your link to your menus, your locations and the hours you’re open pop up on the screen without scrolling down.

Is your website done in Flash? If so, I have a news flash (I know, not funny) for you: Flash does not render on mobile devices. What this means is your pretty, lovely, absolutely fabulous Flash website shows up like a little tiny blue dot in the middle of a smart phone screen. If your site is done in Flash, you’ll need to shell out even more for a completely different looking mobile website version. Sorry!

Make your phone number clickable as well. Anything you can do to make it easy for the prospect to do business with you is one less person your competition is getting.

Are you a tow truck operator or mobile vehicle repair business? If so, it’s critical that you’re an easy mobile search, plus you want to get listed with 411, Onstar and the other in-vehicle information and notification services so you get called more often.

Local and mobile search is growing daily. Don’t be left behind – review your business listings, consider uploading a mobile version of your site and optimize both your web pages and business listings with the keyword terms your target market uses.”

Thank you, Nancy. Follow her on Twitter: @seowashdc

Have a happy Thanksgiving and see you after the holiday.

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Tags: seo
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Local SEO Optimization: Guest Post by Nancy Wigal

November 21st, 2011

I recently did a post on the importance of claiming local search places, and Nancy Wigal of the Search Engine Academy of Washington DC added a great comment, so I asked her to elaborate. Take it away, Nancy!

Recently Juli wrote and published “Claim Your Place,” to give you, dear reader, a better understanding of how to get more visitors to your website and traffic to your business location by checking your local business listings on the major search engines.

In response to her wonderful, informative post, I’m writing this post as a follow up to provide a better understanding of two fairly new search engine optimization (SEO) processes – local and mobile SEO.

Local and mobile SEO go together in many cases like peanut butter and jelly. Let’s see how they complement one another, but first let’s talk about local business directory listings.

Companies and businesses that depend upon customers and clients locally to come to their bricks and mortar location need to know that they must take advantage of, and leverage their business listing on large search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing. Most small businesses that depend upon walk in traffic aren’t aware that they can create local business listings on Google, Yahoo and Bing.

If your business has had a hard copy Yellow Pages ad, it’s highly likely you have generic business listings that you need to “claim,” then customize.

Claiming means you need to create accounts with Google, Yahoo! and Bing, find your generic business listing, verify you are the owner, then customize the listing for better local search results.

There are many good reasons to claim and customize all of your local business listings. You will show up higher more often in local searches, which will drive more traffic to your website and your physical business location.

One very good reason to claim your business listing is to ensure your competition doesn’t grab your listing and either delete it or put in false information that can negatively impact your sales.

Two other great business directories to be listed in is Best of the Web (BOTW) and Universal Business Listing (UBL).

One more that is very, very local is Patch. Patch often drills down to specific sections of cities, so be sure you keep going down to your neighborhood for the most accurate listing possible.

The other good thing about all of these listings is the citation factor Google looks for when ranking and indexing local businesses for local search results. The more listings you have, the more your business looks important to Google.

So how can you optimize for better local search results?

If your business is concentrated on getting customers from specific areas, put that on your website – neighborhoods, zip codes, counties, etc. Put your physical address and phone number on every single page of your website. Make it easy for your visitors to see where you’re located. The search engine spiders and robots also will “crawl” your address for ranking and indexing your pages in local search results.

Many folks do a search for local businesses by typing in a zip code. It’s so easy, it’s a crime NOT to do it! You owe it to your business!

Customize your business listings in the various engines and directories by using keyword phrases your target market is typing in to find your services and products. Add photos and videos, and optimize the titles and captions with variations of your keyword phrase.

Thanks, Nancy! Tune in Wednesday when she’ll talk about mobile search, so people with smartphones can find and buy from you.

Follow Nancy on Twitter. Her handle is @seowashdc

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Tags: seo
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