Internet Marketing Tools

I have been invited by a friend to show him how to use the Linkedin social networking program in his business.  He tells me his wife has a Linkedin account and “on the computer all the time.”  He wants to know what he is missing and how he can take advantage of this social networking program to promote his business.

In the next series of blog entries I will share my reflections on using the Linked In social networking program for small business owners.

Comparing Linkedin to Other Social Networking Tools

Think of the different types of social networking programs as different types of parties.  Linkedin is a very formal business party.  You can use this social networking program for creating business connections, looking for a job, answering business questions.   You are expected to be dressed up in your best business behavior.  People expect you to push and promote your business.  Currently, there are 30 Linked In million users.

Think of Face book as a social networking party.  It started with Harvard college kids and now has expanded to anyone, including businesses.  You have more fun at this party. The dress is expected to be informal.  You will meet other business people on Face Book among the 165 million users.  Face Book is now promoting Pages or Fan Groups as the business version of Face Book.

Think of Twitter the newest and skinniest of the social networking program as a neighborhood block party.   You are only allowed 140 characters for your messages.  The primary purpose of this party is to get to know people.  It’s very informal and causal.  Conducting too much business is considered bad taste.  If you meet someone interested, ask them to check out your website or blog for more information.  Otherwise has a good time at the party and meet a lot of new people.  Experts claim that Twitter will be bigger than Face book by the end of 2010.

Small is Not Bad

Being smaller, narrower and less popular can be seen as a limitation.  It is also Linkedin’s strength as the social networking program environment.   In the next blog entry, I will explore some of the unique features of Linkedin for small business owners.

March 7th, 2009

The Linkedin Mindset…

Let me share with you a story to illustrate the mindset that will make your Linkedin experience more successful.

For five years I was associated with the business networking group, BNI.  I participated as a member, served in various officer positions, and even performed as a regional ambassador to other BNI business networking groups.

Over these five years, I learned the basic rules of effective business networking.  Here are the basic:

•    Networking is about building relationships
•    Find the right group suitable to your business goals
•    People need to know, like and trust you before they refer to you
•    You need to build your credibility within the group
•    You need to show up to the meetings
•    You need to participate and assume responsible roles within the group
•    You need to give more than you get
•    Business networking is not a quick fix or magic bullet

Doing these basic will help you be an effective traditional business networker.

Even though, Linkedin is an internet based social networking group, the same networking rules apply to be successful.  Linkedin is a conduit for building relationships and communicating with others.  It is not a magic bullet.  It requires a commitment of time, and participation.  It requires that you build a trust level with others and give more than you get.  It makes you choose the right groups with whom you want to participate.

March 8th, 2009

Before you do anything on Linkedin or use any of its functions, clarify your “Why!”  Why are you doing Linkedin?  What do you want to accomplish on this social networking program?  How will the Linkedin program fit with your other small business marketing efforts?

If you are clear about your “Why” or your purpose for using Linkedin, you can leverage your time and communications.  What is your “Why”?  Here is how others are using Linkedin.  You may want to use some of these reasons or add your own.

•    Using for job searching
•    Building and enhancing your career
•    Adding to your expertise status
•    Generating leads for your business
•    Keeping informed about your industry and competitors
•    Finding business resources to solve your business problems
•    Improving your internet presence for Google searches
•    Fostering your brand recognition
•    Increasing visibility for you and your business
•    Selling your products and services
•    Finding affiliates and joint venture partners
•    Increasing the number of business relationships
•    Finding additional talent for your business
•    Developing social relationships
•    Identifying other personal or business goals

You can have more than one “Why” or reasons for using Linkedin.  However, the more clear about a central purpose for using Linkedin, the easier it will be use this program effectively without wasting large chunks of time.

I suggest you print out this list of reasons and come up with a set of reasons that fit your situation.  We will begin to use this in the next blog entry where we create a Linkedin plan of action.

March 9th, 200

Linkedin is a social network program.  Whether you’re looking for a job, wanting help with your business or using Linkedin to market your business, you must maximize your connections you make on the Linkedin program.

Chris Muccio, David Burns and Peggy Murrah are the authors of an e-book called 42 Rules for 24-Hour Success on Linkedin. They suggest you expand and enhance your network by using their “CAP” method.  As they describe it, you want to be more than a “billboard in a jungle”.  You want to become a “Linkedin Magnet.”  Here is their CAP approach.

C equals Content.  People want new, they want unique, they want original.   While there are standard formats and tools in Linkedin that does not mean you need to be boring.  Be as original as you can be.

A equals Awareness. Make you self known to search engines, RSS feeds, other social networkers and fellow bloggers.  Publish your URL address every time you make a post.  If you are not going to promote yourself, who is going to do it? You are competing with millions of other people outside and inside of Linkedin.

P equals Passion.  Participate properly and consistently.  Otherwise you will become the “movie of the week” and then totally forgotten.

These are simple and powerful reminders on how to make Linkedin a tool to maximize your business and professional goals.

March 10th, 2009

You want Linkedin to serve your small business.  Not your small business to serve Linkedin.

Spending too much time on social network programs like Linkedin is a fear of many small business owners.   By putting your Linkedin efforts into an overall marketing plan for your business, you will eliminate this fear.

If you do not already have answers to these basic marketing questions, take time to answer them.  This will be a step forward for your business and for making Linkedin more effective for your business.

Basic Marketing Questions

What is the target market for your business? Who are these people?  What are their buying preferences?  How will you convert them from prospects to customers?   How many of these prospects and customers do you need in your business on a monthly basis?

What is your brand? Can you describe in one sentence what makes you attractive to your customers and different from your competition?

What are you offering to your customers? What is it?  How will the customer benefit from your product or service?  How much does it cost?  Why should they believe you?

What are your current marketing efforts? Identify each effort, the time and the dollars currently being spent on each effort.  On a scale of 1-10, what is the effectiveness of each marketing effort?  What are you using to measure the effectiveness of each effort?  Which of these efforts are you going to drop to put time and effort into Linkedin?

Applying Marketing Answers to Your Linkedin Efforts

These may seem like simple questions.  Studies show the businesses that have a written marketing plan are 30% more successful in their business.

Neither Linkedin nor any other social networking program can make up for a poor marketing plan.  Throwing a new marketing effort into a confusing mess will only make the mess bigger.

As we go through the various Linkedin tools, you will see how…

· Having a clear focus on your target market

· Knowing your business brand

· Having an offering beneficial to customers

· Measuring your marketing efforts

…will help you use Linkedin more effectively.

March 12th, 2009

Your Linkedin Profile

Your Linkedin Profile is the most important ingredient for successfully using this social networking program.  Here are three reasons why you want to put time and energy into the profile component of your Linkedin program.

Your Internet Billboard

Your profile is your billboard on the internet highway.  Like billboards along the freeways, you never know when someone is going to take notice of your billboard.  No matter what purposes you have for using Linkedin, getting noticed by others is essential.  Your profile needs to be constructed in such a way that it becomes a billboard that others will notice as they travel the internet highway.

How People Buy

You are always selling on Linkedin.  Whether you are looking to advance your career, looking for a new job, looking for business resources, or looking for new customers for your business, you’re selling on Linkedin.  The fundamental rule of selling is that people buy from people they know, like and trust.  Your Linkedin profile is where people get to know you, get to like you and get to trust you.  Construct your profile, not only to show your business expertise, but also your personality as well.  Remember people buy from people not a business.  You want your personality to be expressed in your profile.  People buy from people they know and they like!

Building Your Brand

Your Linkedin profile is the marketing expression of your brand.  (I will talk more about branding later).  Your brand is the expertise you bring to your customers.  It’s the special something that connects with your customers.  It’s the one idea that expresses what they can get from you that they cannot get from your competition.  If your profile is like every other profile from others in your industry, why would a person want to be part of your connections?  Your profile offers an opportunity to establish your online reputation that will draw others to you.   You don’t want to overlook this opportunity.

March 13th, 2009

Getting Ready for Your Linkedin Profile

Most people get started on Linkedin in response to an invitation from someone who is already on Linkedin.  They want to get started as soon as possible.  Trying to get on to Linkedin as soon as possible can be a mistake.

I have found that by using some simple preparation steps before you actually create your profile, you can make this task easier and create a more effective profile.  I suggest the following preparation steps be done before you create your Linked profile.

1.  Have sitting in front of you the goals and purposes you have determine as your why for the Linkedin program.

2.  Have available a resume of your business experiences and educational background.   You will be referring to this in the creation of your profile.

3.  Take some time to check out other profiles on Linkedin.  See how people have constructed their profiles.  Check out people who have a large number of connections.  You can learn from these successful profiles.

4.  Do a key word search on terms people are using to search for your type of business on the internet.   If you have not done so, you can use the free Google key word search by going to: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal.  Create a list of the most commonly used search words and phrases and keep this list sitting in front of you.  You will be incorporating these words into your profile to help the search engines find you.

5.  Locate and have ready a professional photo of yourself.   Linkedin is a social business networking program.  You want a professional looking picture for your profile.

With these materials in front of you, you now have the ingredients for making a powerful profile.

March 14th, 2009

Completing Your Linkedin Profile

Now you are ready to complete your Linkedin Profile.  You will be completing the following items:

· Your name

· Your professional Headline

· Your Location

· Your Industry of expertise

· Your Current position and past experiences

· Your Educational background

· Your Specialties

· Your Connections

· Recommendations that people write for you

· Your websites and blogs locations

· Your Contact setting—how you want to connect with others

· Your privacy levels

Reviewing Your Input Materials
Here are the materials you to review:

· Review the goals and purposes you identified for using Linkedin.  As you complete the above elements in your Profile, you want all of these elements to be moving you forward in achieving your goals and purposes.

· From the search engine list, pick the top 3-5 key words or phrases you want to include in the profile.  These will be the most popular words and phrases people use to search on the internet.  This makes your profile search engine ready.

· You will want to write in a web format.  By this I mean write in 2-3 sentences paragraphs with bolder heading for each paragraph.   People read on the web by scanning.  You want your Profile to read easily so others can determine quickly whether they want to be connected to you.

· You don’t have to be perfect in this first profile effort.  You can also edit.  In fact you will do a makeover of your Profile after a week or ten days.  All of your connections will then be automatically notified that you have redone your profile.

Your Name

Type in the name that people know you by.  No nick names.  For example, my legal name is Albert but people know me as Al, so I use Al Hanzal as my Linkedin name.

Your Professional Headline

This is an extremely important part of your profile.  It’s what everyone sees under your photo.  It should contain at least one key word or phrase that people use to search the internet for a business like your.  This is your 3 second commercial and should tell the reader what benefit you provide to them.  My current headline is “Helping small business owners successfully use internet tools.”  In this headline I am telling people whom I work with and what benefits they may realize.

Your Industry Expertise

What is the industry or expertise generally associated with your business.   Again, key words here will help internet searches find you.  You are given a drop down list from which to choose.

Your Location

You can indicate the physical area where you do business.

March 16th, 2009

Current position and Past Experiences

Review your resume to help complete this section of your profile.   Here’s a tip for you.  Most resumes look backwards about what the person did in the past or their past experiences.  Your connections are more concerned about what you can do for them now or in the future.  Always show what you can do for your customers, the benefits they may achieve by being connected with you and your business.   Like a good resume, time frames should be included if they add to your credibility.  Make sure to write short 2-3 sentence paragraphs so that it can easily be read on the computer monitor.

Educational Experience

It’s been my experience that educational backgrounds have less credibility than in the past.  The exception may be job that calls for educational credentials like “you need a PHD”.  If your educational background is a strong suit, use it.  I’m proud that I received a degree from Notre Dame University.  Because of its national reputation and the fraternity of Notre Dame Alumni, several people have joined my Linkedin connections.

Your educational background may also be another contact for someone who went to the same school or a former classmate.

Specialties in Your Industry of Expertise

This is the place to share your skills and knowledge that can benefit others.   If you have certifications, place them here.  What will give you the most credibility with another person if they were standing before you?  Don’t be too modest.  If you don’t toot your horn, who is going to?  You will have another opportunity in the Recommendations section of the profile to include statements from what other think about your business or work.

Your Interests

Here you can include some of your personal interests. What do you like to do when you are not doing business?  What are some of your hobbies?  Many times people will spark with “this part of you” as the reason for becoming a connection.  Just as someone interviewing you for a job might ask, “What do you like to do when you are not working?”  They are trying to get an idea about the whole person.

Groups and Associations

List here the groups or associations you belong to outside of any Linkedin groups.  These could be clubs.  This may also be a place to insert volunteer work if that is appropriate for you.  These could be online groups in other social networking programs.  When you join a specific Linkedin group, it is automatically added to your profile.

Honors and Awards

If you have received any honors or awards, list them here.  How often have you been in offices or businesses where awards dot the walls?  These awards are further evidence of your credibility.  Do they help give a better picture of you?  If they don’t, don’t use them.

March 17th, 2009

How You Want to Connect with People

How do you want people to contact you?  You have an opportunity on your profile page to specify exactly how you want to be contacted via Linkedin.  How a user should contact you will depend on how they are connected to you.
•    If a connection views your profile, he or she sees your email address
•    If a user in your network, they can use the “Get Introduced” button or “Contact Directly” button.
Besides helping you find people and opportunities through your network, LinkedIn makes it easy for opportunities to find you.  Here are the three areas to complete:

What type of messages will you accept?
I’ll accept Introductions and Linkedin inmail or I’ll accept only Introductions

Opportunity Preferences
What kinds of opportunities would you like to receive?  You get to check the ones you want to use.

· Expertise requests

· Consulting offers

· Career opportunities

· Business deals

· New ventures

· Personal reference requests

· Job inquiries

· Requests to reconnect

Contact Advice
Contact Advice gives a user considering sending you a request some guidance. So be clear about what details you expect, what kinds of things you are open to, and not open to. Also include information about any limitations.
Include comments on your availability, types of projects or opportunities that interest you, and what information you’d like to see included in a request. To avoid unwanted contacts, do not include contact information, since your response will be visible to your entire network.
Here’s an example: I’m in the middle of several projects right now, so my time is limited. Specific, limited-time contracts will be considered, especially if they can be handled via tele-commuting.

March 18th, 2009

I call the next three areas Power Points on your Linkedin Profile.  These are critical areas for achieving your goals on Linkedin.  Spend additional time completing these three items.

Recommendations

Three months ago, I was in the process of buying online a winter coat for my wife.  This is always dangerous because you need to get the size; the color and the style right or you get the product returned!  I found a coat I liked and ask my 13 year old daughter, what she thought.  She liked it.  Good sign for dad!!  Then she began reading the reviews about the coat.  She told me, “Dad, you don’t want to buy this coat.  Read the reviews.  Most of them have bad things to say about the coat.”  I did not buy the coat.  This example shows the power of social media, recommendations and reviews.

You should have at least three recommendations about you on your Linkedin profile.  Like customer testimonials for your products and services, these should be regularly changed.

Visitors read recommendations.  You are a stranger to them.  Recommendations give them insights into what you can do for them.  Request recommendations from others much like you would request a reference from them for your resume.  Make sure the recommendations are diverse enough to give the reader a good picture on how you can produce results for them.

Here’s another tip.  Give Recommendations to others on Linkedin.  You can ask each other to exchange recommendations.  Every time you make a recommendation for another person, it gets noted on your profile.  Users see this and see that you understand the business process of giving as much as you gain!

Recommendations are an important part of your Linkedin profile.

Your Photo

Experts say that 65% of the people on today’s internet social networking programs join a connection or become a friend because of the photo of the other person.  If people like what they see, they like being connected with you.

Use a professional photo head shot for your Linkedin profile.  A quick browsing of Linkedin will show you how different a professional photo stands out over the pictures of a person taken at their family more recent picnic.  Who would you rather do business with?  It’s a simple process to upload your photo from your computer.   Let your photo help achieve your Linkedin goals.

Status

You have an opportunity to type in on a regular basis the current status on what you are doing.  You know about Twitter which is the fastest growing social networking program on the internet.  Twitter has made its mark from this one feature “What are you doing now”.  You are allowed only 140 characters to complete this sentence.  Millions are joining Twitter each month. (If you are linked to Twitter, your Twitter lines will appear on your Linkedin page).

The Status Line on Linkedin can be used much like the Twitter 140 character line.  It keeps people informed.  And each time you change your status word goes all the people connected to you.

This is a very useful tool to keep fostering your business efforts.  In advertising they have the expression, “Top of the mind awareness” which means keeping your product in front of people.  You can use the Status Line function to keep yourself in front of your connections.

Since this is a business social network, most often I use the Status function to keep my business in front of my connections.   For example, I wrote recently in my status line, “Just finished a new website for a client, check it out www.dhisprinklers.com”.   I will occasionally put something more personal in this status line to show people that all work and no play make Jonnie a dull boy.

You should be updating your Status line 4-5 times per week.  It will take less than five minutes to do so.  Think of the exposure you get with this five minutes?

March 20th, 2009

So far, with all the areas you have completed on the Linkedin Profile you’re customizing your Linkedin profile.  You have been completing your profile with the aim achieving the goals you have set for your Linkedin involvement.

I will now show you two additional ways you can customize your Profile to make if more effective for your Linkedin purposes.

Your Website

On your profile page, you have a place to put in the address of your websites or blogs.  When you click on this area, you will be given several options to identify the type of site you want to address.  Your last option is “Other”.  Let me show you how to use “Other” to get a higher search engine rating and more visibility for you.

When I choose the “Other” category, instead of adding my company name, Hanzal Enterprises, Inc., I added a key word phrase from my search engine key word search.  I typed in “small business marketing”, then, I typed in the address of my website.

What does this accomplish?  Linkedin has a very high page ranking on Google.  By doing this I now have my web address and a key search word phrase linked on Linkedin.  When someone types in the words “small business marketing” in Google it starts searching with higher rated pages like Linkedin.  When it sees that on I have “small business marketing” on my Linkedin site and them my website address, it gives my website a higher ranking.   I’m riding the coat tails of Linkedin higher rating to get a higher rating for my website.  A simple change makes a big difference.

Your Public Profile

You can personalize your Linkedin Profile page by using your name in the Linkedin URL.  When you first join, you are given a number as a Linkedin member.  Who wants to be a number?  You can insert your name in the Linkedin URL instead of a number.  This will boost your online presence with someone is searching for you on Google or other search engines.  Now you will have your own customized URL on Linkedin.  See my example: www.linkedin.com/in/alhanzal .

Here’s how to do this.

Click on your current Public Profile URL link, you’ll see the edit box.  You will see the original number address you were given at sign up.  Click on Edit and it will take you to a new page and a box where you can change the address.  Type in your full name–all in lower case letters as one word.   Then click Set Address.

Your name changes from numbers to your name.  Now you can put this on your signature file, websites, and other marketing pieces to let people know that you are on Linkedin.  You now have given people another way to contact you.

March 21st, 2009

As we prepared for a recent vacation, I used several of my social networking programs to ask people if they had any recommendations for places to eat in Ft. Lauderdale where we were going for vacation.  My wife loved the idea but asked, “Wouldn’t people know we are out of town and maybe rob our house?”

Privacy is a concern for many internet people.  For this reason, some do not use social networking programs.  Linkedin allows you to create whatever privacy level you want on your Linkedin site.  You can structure your privacy so that no one can see your information; everyone can see everything on your site; or a mixed level of who can see what information.

Most successful social networkers let everyone see their information—the whole point of social networking is to be seen by others.  However, they carefully guard what information they place on a social networking program.

Privacy Options and Your Public Profil

No iews can be seen
Full View can be seen

You can specify any of the following:

· Photo

· Headline

· Summary

· Specialties

· Current Position

· Past Positions

· Education

· Websites

· Interests

· Groups

· Honors and Awards

· Interested in

You will recognize these as the categories you have just completed.  You judge what areas you want open to the general public and what areas you want to remain private to selective people.

You are also allows in this part of the profile to choose a Linkedin button that you can place on your website or email signature file.  Once a person clicks on the button, they are immediately sent to your Linkedin site.  You will notice how popular these social networking buttons have become on internet sites and email signatures.

You can switch and use another Language to create your profile.

March 22nd, 2009

You have completed your profile and saved your changes.  There are five additional steps you will take in the next week to make your profile even more effective.

1.  Take a look at how others will see your profile.  Click on the Button that says, See Your Public Profile.   What you see on the screen is actually what others will see on Linkedin.  Note any changes or revisions you want to make and make them now.
2.  Make a copy of your profile and place it into a word document and then print it for you to use as a working copy of your profile.  Start making notes on this copy by asking yourself the question, “If I saw this profile, would it catch my attention?  How well does this profile push my agenda or goals for using Linkedin?”  Make any notes on this working copy.  You may also wish to view the PDF form of your profile that has been created by Linkedin.  You can send a copy of this to anyone.  (Upper right hand corner of your site page with the PDF symbol).
3. In the next week, use Linkedin to visit Profiles of others people you know or other people in your same industry.  What can you now learn from their profiles to use on your profile?  You will find some things you absolutely want to avoid and other things that you may wish to incorporate in your own profile.  Make notes on the working copy of your Profile.

4.  The following is a check list professionals use to review Linkedin Profiles:

· Add your voice.  Is your profile boring?

· Make sure you are writing recommendations for others

· Find ways to connect with your old colleagues

· Make sure you have personalized your Linkedin address

· Add substance to your Headline

· Make sure your specialties are attention grabbing

· Explain what you did at previous companies

· Add board or advisory positions you have held

· Get more recommendations about yourself

· Indicate your interests outside of work

· Customize why you want people to reach you

·

March 24th, 2009

If you have completed your profile as I have described, you now have all the ingredients of your own brand.  Unless you have a totally unique product or service, you are always selling YOU.  Let’s break down this brand called YOU.

Recently, I needed a new furnace for our home.  After receiving several bids from local heating contractors, I went on line to do my own research.  What I found was a mess.

Every websites was full of pictures and promises about their products.  No just one product but dozens and dozens of products.  I just wanted one website that could clearly show me the advantages and disadvantages of the various brand names and furnaces I was seeing.  I never found it.  When I mentioned this fact to the contractor who finally sold me our furnace, he said, “You’re right.  Even I am confused when I go to the websites?”

Creating the Brand YOU

What do you do? Your first challenge in creating a brand is to provide the prospect with a clear picture about what you are offering.  What do you do or what does what you are selling do?  You must be able to answer this question simply and clearly.  Confused buyers never buy.

Write down the answer to this question in simple and clear words.  Then show it to three people.  Is it simple and clear to them?

What is your specialty? A second branding question is what is your specialty?  People don’t buy from Jack of all trades and masters of none.  They have too many buying options.  When you try to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one.   Make it clear about your specialty.

How are you different from the competition? How are you different or better than your competition?”  You don’t just want to be different.  You may be the only sales person with green hair.  That would make you different.  Does this different matter to your customers?

Here is the heart and soul of branding.  Does your difference make an emotional connection with your customers?  What’s the one thing they can get from you that they cannot get from your competition?

When you think of Tiffany’s—what do you think of?  Fine jewelry and romance.  When you think of Tiger Woods, what you think about?  Golf!  Your difference is what makes the deep connection with your customers.

Dominate your market. The fourth quality, do you want to just be another peddler in the market place?  Be the best.  Be recognized as an expert in your business.  Understand your customer better than your competition.  Tell the world about your expertise.  Dominate.  Don’t just exist as a brand.

When you bring these qualities to the market place, you have a successful brand.  You become enviable.  People will look at you and admire you.  And that makes your entire business operations more enjoyable and prosperous.

March 25th, 2009

So how do you create and bring this brand which is YOU to the market place?  Let me just focus on one element–being different in today’s crowded market place.

Start by staking out your new position.  Stop marketing to everyone.  Pick out a narrow segment of the market place.  The best way to identify this segment is to find a place where you can be different from your competitors.  Your success depends on the ability to identify your difference and tell the world about it.

Here are three areas where you can look for business differences.  Each business does have a difference to discover!   Each business has a brand waiting to be developed.

· Customer differences

· Product differences

· Customer buying  differences

Customer Differences

You can make yourself different by choosing a specific group of customers or subset of customers to serve.  Some mortgage businesses deal only with high end customer mortgages.   Some businesses sell only to left-handed golfers.

Or maybe you choose a specific problem within a customer group.  Some mortgage businesses cater to the re-financing of high-end mortgages.   Some businesses only sell shoes to left-handed golfers.  Is there one problem or set of conditions that you can solve with your business that separates you from your competitors?

Product Differences

Look at your product or services as a second place to find your differences.   Here are a number of things you can promote about your products or services to make your business stand out in a crowded market place.

· Make your product faster—we live in a time starved environment.

· Customize your product—people want to be treated as special and unique.

· Make your product larger–this can increase the value to the customer.

· Improve the quality of the product—people will pay for quality.

· Make your product safer—people are always concerned about safety.

· Make your product greener—hot social trend in today’s world

· Make your product more convenient—people are looking for ease of use.

· Eliminate a common complaint or weakness about products in your industry.

· Make it last longer—people want durability.

· Make it more portable—take it to the people rather than people come to you.

· Make it more available—people hate to wait for things.

· Package your offerings so you are different from your competitors.

· Combine several elements into one—less complexity for people.

· Make your price the difference—be the lowest or the highest.

· Make the product more innovative—some customers want the newest.

Customer Buying-Process Differences

If you’re not different with your customers or your product, you can be different in the customer buying process.  Customers today put as much value on the buying experience as they do on the product or service.

Can you change the physical environment of your business so it stands out from competitors?   A neat, attractive, well displayed showroom will clearly separate you from competitors.

Do you have employees who have more dedication, more knowledge, more “whatever” than your competitors?   Just saying good things about your employees does not work because everyone claims they have the best and most knowledgeable employees.  If the differences are real, and they affect the customer’s buying experience, use them.

Do you have more credibility than your competitors?  Credibility is fostered by testimonials, credentials, guarantees and evidence of expertise.  For example, if your guarantee was double the industry average, you could use this as a way of separating yourself from your competitors.

March 27th, 2009

You have completed your profile—for now.  You feel good about the Linkedin brand you have created.  Now, it’s time to construct a strategy about connecting with others on Linkedin.  As with other parts of Linkedin, your purposes and goals should guide how you do the networking.  Your networking strategy and actions steps should support your goals and purposes.

Linkedin Networking Strategy—Quality Verses Quantity

There are a number of choices you will make before you actually start creating your network.  Your first choice involves quality verses quantity networking.

At first blush, you want as many connections as possible on your Linkedin site.  If a hundred connections is good; a thousand is better.  Going for as many connections as possible is one strategy.

Choosing a large quantity of network connections is fashionable today.  The money is in the list!  Statistics show that at any one point in time, only 3% of any group is ready to buy, with another 7% considering a purchase.

With the quantity strategy you build as many contacts as possible.  Many sales strategies are built on “the numbers game.”  Go for as many numbers as possible and there will always be a certain number of people that are ready to buy what you are selling.

Another strategy is the qualitative approach to networking building.  In this approach you seek a more limited number of connections.  Using your own criteria, you carefully select who to connect with on Linkedin.

If you have a hundred connections on your network and 30% of them are strong connections, then that number equals 3% of 1000 weaker connections.

Different people use different strategies.  Qualitative verses quantitative.  You choose the strategy you believe and feel comfortable using in your business.  You can start with a quantitative strategy and switch later to a qualitative strategy.

Linkedin Networking Strategy—Active Verses Passive

This is another strategic decision.  You can take a very active approach to getting connections.  I will share will you the tools that Linkedin provides for this purpose.

Or you can use a passive approach.  You passively invite others to connect with you by adding a Linkedin Icon to your email signature or your website or your blog.  Anywhere people can click and connect with you.

Some people will click and will invite you to connect with them.  They take the action; you respond.  That is why I call this passive network building.

Linkedin Networking Strategy Other Considerations

Many people make the mistake of waiting to build a network only when they need it.  It takes time to build a Linkedin network.  Start building now for the future rather than waiting until you need it.

Manage your network.  You will need to sort your network, remove dead wood, repair emails, find missing people, etc.  A strong network needs to be managed.  This takes time.

Allow enough time and energy to create your network.  It is work.  It can be fun.  Depending on your purposes and goals, you must allow the appropriate time each week to work on your network building.

You can have internal business processes that make you different and better than your competitors.  When the internal system can be translated into real customer benefits, you can use it.

You can also separate yourself by having a better marketing process.   Marketing involves selecting the right customers, offering the right message and choosing the right means to get your message to the right group of customers.

March 28th, 2009

Here are some ways to begin building your Linkedin network rapidly.

Use the Linkedin “Add Connections” Function

On the side of every Linkedin page you will find a green button Add Connections.  Click on this button to begin your first step in building your network.  This will take you to a page where you can manually add six invitations at one time.  We will come back to the manual input in a moment.  First we want to use Linkedin automated tools.

You will find a tab on that same page “Import Contacts”.  You will click here to import contacts from Outlook, and webmail services like Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, AOL and other electronic address books.

I’ve had a Hotmail account for eight years.  From the Icon choices, I clicked on Hotmail.  My connection did not go through the first time (See the tip at the end of this secton).  The second time Linkedin connected to my entire email list in Hotmail and displayed a 193 contacts.  (Since I only use Hotmail as a back up email program, I had forgotten most of the people listed on this email file.)

If a person is already on Linkedin, they will have a small blue cross after their name.  This is a great place to make your first invitations.  These are people who are already familiar with Linkedin and suitable candidates to add to your network. (Use your own set of criteria for who you want on your network).

You then click to identify which of these people you want to send an invitation to.  In my case I choose  the 18 current Linkedin people as my first set of invitations.  This created a list (their names and email addresses are already on the Linkedin list because it extracted the list from your webmail accounts), on the right side of the page.

I checked the box that says I want to “Personalize my Invitation”.  I was then greeted with a screen box in which I could type my personalize invitation rather than the standard Linkedin form.

Since I was sending 18 of these invitations at one time, I wanted to make the invitation semi-personal.  This is not a mass mailing nor is it a one to one mailing.

Here’s what I wrote: “I see that you are on Linkedin just as I am.  I would love to connect with you.  I am currently working on an e-book of tips for people using the Linkedin program and would like to send it to you.  Let’s try to connect on each others network.  Thanks.”  Al

You will notice a couple of things about this semi-personal note.  It is more general than a one to one (you can always send out individual personal invitations) .  Second, I offered them something in return for joining my network.  My mother taught me that whenever I visited a friend’s house, I should bring some type of treat or gift.  This is my version of “visiting” someone.  It is my hope that the email tips sheet will be seen as useful to the other person and an incentive to connect with me on Linkedin.

Once I was finished with my message, I click to send the invitation.  Linkedin will personalize the invitation with the person’s name.  I was immediately notified that 18 invitations were sent. By the next morning I already had four responses that people had joined my network.

Because my hotmail list had almost two hundred names, I went back several times and follow the above steps until I had send email invitation to all the people I wanted to from my Hotmail list.  If you have a large list you can go back to your list several times to do this process.

March 29th, 2009

Here’s the most exciting networking tool to help you build your Linkedin network.  When you use this tool, you combine your Outlook program with your Linked in Program.  You can have your Outlook program running behind your Linkedin program; or your Linkedin program can run behind your Outlook program.  You can switch back and forth between programs.  In a moment I will show you how to activate this Linkedin feature.  First let me show how you can use it to build your Linkedin network quickly.

Emails You Receive in Outlook

For every email you receive from a person in Outlook, there will be a Linkedin symbol in the right hand corner of the email.  When you click on this, it tells you if this person is a member of Linkedin, their headline and the number of their contacts—a good standard to measure the person’s active with Linkedin.

If they are on Linkedin, you can keep in contact with them or Invite them to join your network.  If you click on the Invite, a screen appears with all the information and choices to send a personalized invitation to join your network.  You decide on the words you want to use or create a template to use on an ongoing basis.  Once you complete the form, you hit send and you are right back at your Outlook program.

The beauty of this tool is that you don’t have to leave Outlook to send an invitation.  And it only takes a few minutes. It’s faster if you use your own template invitation to send the person an invitation.

If the person is not on Linkedin, it will also tell you.  This tool will give you the opportunity to create a different invitation form for these people since they may be unfamiliar with Linkedin.

Another feature of this tool is that if the email you receive contains other names in any part of the address, the CC or Blind Copy, these names are shown in a separate box.  You can click on them and find out if they are on Linkedin.   One email I received had four additional names displayed when I clicked the Linkedin symbol.  I sent out five invitations in the space of five minutes, one to each person.

The Power of the Outlook Tool

Stop for a moment and think about the power of this tool.  First there is the speed and convenience of sending out invitations.  Then, in any given day, I may receive a hundred emails from other professionals in my field.  They are advertising materials to sell, newsletter, etc.  I can click on any of these emails and invite the person to be on my network.  When they receive the invite, it is very easy for them to click and say “Yes” to become a member of my network.  And you can do all of this without every leaving your Outlook program.  How cool is this?

Now I can invite the top people in my field as members of my network without all the work involved in personally contacting these people.  When others see these experts as part of my network, now my credibility soars.

April 2nd, 2009

In an earlier post, I talked about making a decision on what strategy you were going to use to build your Linkedin network.  Qualitative verses Quantitative.  Currently, there is a heated discussion going on regarding Twitter and the same decision about building your network.  Do you automatically follow everyone who wants to follow you?.  It’s the same qualitative verses quantitative discussion.

As you add more names and invitations to your Linkedin connections, it is worth while to listen in on this Twitter debate.  It will give you additional insights into what type of connections you want to form on your Linkedin program.

Let me help you jump into the debate by sharing with you a short video by Seth Godin who always has a way to say things so pointed.  Here’s the reference to his short 2 minute video.http://www.openforum.com/marketing/video_socialgood.html.

In the next post, I will give you much more content about the Twitter debate.

April 3rd, 2009

I continue to listen in on the debate regarding whether you should build your social network using a selected number of followers or whether the popular trends of collecting large number of followers is better.  Michael Fortin in his blog:  http://www.michelfortin.com/twitter-populated-drones-frauds/ has written a post that has people comment on both sides of the issue.  Its a longer post.  When you read it, substitute “social networking” for the word Twitter and see where you fall in this debate.  Enjoy.

Your comments are welcomed…

Al Hanzal

Twitter Populated By Drones And Fakes?

Twitter is a fantastic marketing tool. I love it and I encourage everyone to get on it. But I do have a warning, because the way some people use it today is not only wrong, but it can also become potentially dangerous to its survival.

Twitter is micro-blogging, i.e., blogging in a shorter format. It limits the posts to 140 characters. The reason for the limit is, when Twitter was first introduced it was intended to be used for text-messaging (SMS) between mobile phones.

The SMS protocol, along with most phones, limit their messages to 140 characters. (Nowadays, some phones allow up to 160.)  I love Twitter because, as a copywriter, it’s also a great tool to force you to be pithy, test headlines and subject lines, and create a persona around which you build your brand.

However, there’s one thing that seriously irks me and my wife, Sylvie Fortin, to no end. That one thing is in the process of destroying one of the best tools to come on the Internet since the invention of email. And that’s auto-following.

First, I don’t use Twitter for telling my followers every bit of minutia of my day. I think that’s ridiculous and absurd.  If I were a celebrity, sure. Fans love to hear about the daily activities of their favorite stars. We live in a voyeuristic society. That’s why reality TV shows have exploded, and the whole concept of social media along with it.

Auto-following is where you automatically follow someone who follows you. There are many benefits to auto-following, such as giving your followers the ability to send you a private, direct message.

But to me, auto-following is, at its core, no different than posting your website URL willy-nilly to a bunch of free-for-all link farms, which was wildly popular at the early onset of the Internet. And we all know how that turned out to be as a marketing tactic.
In fact, FFA links only really benefited the owner of the link farm, because no one came to their website with the intent to read or click on those bazillion links. They only came to post their own link. And the FFA owner would therefore be able to build a list they can easily email to.
(Sounds familiar?)

I use Twitter for business—not for marketing or selling per se, but to share probably the most important aspect in marketing, social media, and the Internet in general (in fact, it’s the reason the Internet exists in the first place).
And that is (hold on tight, here it comes)…
… Information!

(Crazy, huh?)
Yes, I love to “tweet” about websites I’ve visited, which may be of interest to my followers. I love to post quick tips and links to articles I’ve stumbled across that I find fascinating or interesting. And I love to blog about products, software, and programs I’ve used or discovered, which I believe my followers would certainly appreciate knowing about.

And yes, I do insert from time to time an affiliate link or two. But I wouldn’t post it if I didn’t think it would be of benefit to my followers. My goal is not to make money with micro-blogging, or even blogging in general. It’s a byproduct.
But in terms of auto-following, I’ve always been against it. And yesterday, I felt vindicated, because I came across this remarkable short video from Seth Godin, who arguably is one of the leading experts on marketing.

In it, Seth addresses the entire “social media for business” in a simple statement. In fact, he did it in less than two minutes. Basically, he said that business is built on relationships, not on how many followers you have.

Seth calls it “fake networking” as opposed to real networking. What matters is real relationships, the relationships you create, cultivate, and care about. Not numbers on a Twitter account that only boast how popular you are or try to appear to be.

I believe most people use auto-follow in an attempt to inflate their numbers, either for pure egotistical reasons, or at most, for spamming their followers.  Don’t believe me? Here’s a case in point.

Auto-follow is often enabled through various third-party software. But Twitter once had this feature — some users still have it to this day. Well, just yesterday Techcrunch reported a bit of news in which Twitter itself will abandon the whole auto-follow process. And personally, I think it’s about freakin’ time.

Twitter’s CEO said it beautifully: “We’re going to discontinue autofollow because this behavior sends the wrong message. Namely, it is unlikely that anyone can actually read tweets from thousands of accounts which makes this activity disingenuous.”
When I sent this link to my friend Armand Morin via a discussion we were having within our mastermind coaching group, his reply was nothing short of brilliant. He said…

I totally agree.
I think that is my biggest problem with Social Media Marketing.
People are fooling themselves thinking their numbers of followers or friends is an indication of their potential income generation.
Why would this work?
Most people are following or becoming friends with strangers for two reasons.
1.) They want to build their own “LIST”
2.) They are following these people with the false illusion that they are going to be their “friend” and get FREE marketing information. Which they don’t realize is the person they are following is only interested in OPTION #1 I listed above.
So are they really on your list wanting to be marketed to?
The answer is obviously no.

Now, I’ve disagreed with my friend Ed Dale in the past. But recently, Ed posted a video on the Twitter auto-follow nonsense, and this time I must wholeheartedly agree with him.

In fact, just a couple of months ago my wife and I were engaged in a fierce, controversial debate online about the nonsensical nature of the whole auto-follow process. I want to share with you some of the highlights from that debate here.

I cannot paste what others have said for copyright reasons. But let me paste some of my tweets below. Most are from Twitter, but some are from Facebook since my tweets are simultaneously posted to my Facebook “wall,” which often generate independent conversations and additional comments.

Understandably, some tweets are parts of conversations. So to help you understand the context, each group of tweets are preceded by a sidenote to explain the history behind it and give you some background information.

SIDENOTE: The tweet that started it all…
•    Auto-follow? Not me. My philosophy is, I follow those who reply to @michelfortin as to engage me. It’s
like saying “Hi!”
•    What’s your follosophy?* Auto-follow? Follow those who reply to you? Follow only follow-worthy?
Follow “x” followers?
*By the way, “follosophy” was coined by Harris Fellman, not me.

SIDENOTE: Some people said that NOT auto-following defeats the purpose of “social media.” Because a bad ratio of “following” vs. “followers” means your conversations are one-sided. One even said that non-followers who tweet “one way” (i.e., they don’t follow as many followers) are usually tweeting unhelpful, “spammy,” or “soapbox” tweets.

I disagree.
•    “Helpful” could also be defined as appreciating other points of view to support or challenge your own.
Even soapbox tweets.
•    I said this many times, would you auto-follow everyone who propositions you in a bar? (Rhetorical
question. Don’t answer, LOL!)
•    Twitter is the Internet’s water cooler. At least you know the people you work with to talk with them at
the cooler.
•    Lately there’s an onslaught of people who clearly use auto-follow so they can claim “I have a huge
list”. It’s B.S.
•    Ultimately, it seems to me that auto-follow is one person pretending to listen, and it seems fake and
insincere.
•    It’s like “I’ll show you mine *IF* you show me yours.” Paul Myers said it best, “Internet marketers are a
bunch of incestuous cannibals.”
•    With social media, people have a distorted sense of what “friend” means. An acquaintance, a contact,
or a fan, doesn’t make them a “friend.”
•    Same with Facebook. I add friends who add a message to their friend requests. They make an effort to
introduce themselves.
•    I ignore simple friend requests, especially if they’re people I don’t know. Which is the point!
•    Most people on Facebook, who add you as a friend without any introduction, are usually networkers
who want to pitch you their “opportunity”.
•    Facebook caps their friends lists to 5,000 because it’s virtually impossible to have 5,000 “friends.”
Think about it.
•    Once you’ve reached Facebook’s limit, they tell you to start a fan page instead so people can become
fans, not friends.
•    Facebook’s policy is clear: you cannot use a personal profile for professional or promotional purposes.
I know, they’ve told me.
•    If you want to enter a conversation, use hashtags or @ replies, not auto-follow.
•    Twitter is a big cocktail party*. You don’t follow everyone in the room who merely looks at you.

*By the way, “cocktail party” was something my wife coined several months ago, way before Seth Godin mentioned it on that video I posted earlier. Back to the tweets…

•    We need to distinguish conversational vs. social media. Being in a crowded bar doesn’t mean you’re
being social.
•    Conversely, being in a crowded bar and talking to no one doesn’t mean you’re being anti-social,
either.
•    Watching everyone in the bar interacting with one and other doesn’t mean you’re listening in on every
conversation, too.

SIDENOTE: Some have tweeted that “auto-follow” is a way to introduce yourself, like a “handshake.” They say you should auto-follow to be approachable. I disagree.

•    Auto-follow is NOT an introduction. A discussion or conversation IS. It’s all about RELATIONSHIPS.
•    Which is why I prefer to follow those who reply me, because they’re making an effort to introduce
themselves.
•    I *am* approachable. That’s why I’ll respond to tweets with @ reply to me. I might even follow them.
•    But I won’t automatically follow people who simply follow me without saying a word.
•    Handshake? If a serial killer shakes your hand, would you befriend them? Not unless you get to know
them first.
•    Yes, auto-follow is creepy. To me, anyway. I’m not against it, it’s just not my philosophy. I don’t like
it.
•    Honestly when following thousands, the only way to have a conversation is via the @ reply!
•    But not auto-following doesn’t mean it’s one-sided! Want to enter a conversation with me? Just @
reply to me. Simple.
•    TV or radio are one-sided. Twitter is mutifaceted by its very nature — follow or not. Hashtags is a great
example of this.
•    People who follow you (without an expectation of a return follow) are genuinely interested in what you
have to say.
•    I’d rather have hundreds of real, serious fans who care, than thousands of curious onlookers who
don’t.

SIDENOTE: One said that auto-follow’s single benefit is the ability to direct message (DM) each other. I agree, which is precisely why I don’t auto-follow. Here’s what I mean…

•    Bottom line, I follow those who make an effort to introduce themselves to me and whose tweets are
valuable.
•    Return follows grant you access via DM. I don’t like that. I pay a support staff to handle stuff like that.
•    If I followed thousands of people, I’ll get bombarded with DM’s and support requests.
•    It’s not that I don’t care, it’s that I don’t have time answering DMs, which takes my attention away
from serving my paying clients.
•    If I don’t respond to DMs by saying “please contact support,” which is time-consuming, I’ll be accused
of not listening anyway.
•    People who auto-follow and want to DM are looking for free advice. A free lunch. I don’t do free
lunches.
•    Here’s a great article/video by @perrymarshall to explain why I, too, don’t do free lunches:
http://is.gd/go5P
•    Would you subscribe to everyone’s blog who comments on yours? Of course not. Micro-blogging is no
different.
•    I don’t subscribe to everyone’s blog who comments on mine. But I do reply to their comments. Twitter
is micro-blogging. But it’s still blogging.
•    Again, I follow people because I want to FOLLOW them. Not because of an expectation of a return
follow.
•    Social media is about interaction. Discussion. Conversation. Hence “social.” Not reciprocal STALKING.
•    Final note, if I followed a gazillion people, I still won’t know you exist… unless you introduced
yourself to me with @ reply.
•    Besides, I know you exist when you @ reply me (that’s what I mean by following after you approach
me). That’s what I do.

SIDENOTE: Some people said that if the “gurus” don’t auto-follow, you can’t access them. You bought their product, and therefore you have every right to access them. They say that, if they don’t follow back their customers, their delivering bad customer service. I’m not only disagreeing with this, I’m also disgusted.

•    Just because you bought someone’s stuff doesn’t give you access. Do you expect Bill Gates to follow you if
you bought Microsoft Windows?
•    Precisely. It’s about relationships. I mean, would you auto-follow everyone who propositions you in a bar?
•    It’s like being in a crowded stadium, when everybody’s talking at once, and pretending that you’re listening
to what everyone is saying.
•    Yes, friends have discussions. It’s like being on stage at a seminar vs. being at the back having a 1-on-1.
•    Exactly. Look at it this way, would you respond to every piece of junk mail with a letter saying “thank you
for mailing me!”?
•    Followers can either be a “fan” or a “friend.” That’s the point about “following” in the first place.
•    I FOLLOW because I’m interested in WHAT that person has to say. I don’t follow simply because I want
that person to follow back!
•    I’m THEIR fan. I follow with no expectation. That’s the point. There’s a difference between “fan” and
“friend.”
•    Right. You follow? You’re a fan. I follow back? You’re a friend. I don’t want followers. I want fans.

SIDENOTE: Chris Brogan, who follows as many people who follow him (and that’s in the several tens of thousands), said to me that if you don’t autofollow, you appear as a snobby bastard, so there’s no winning. My answer…

•    It’s all in the intent. There’s unconditional reciprocation. And then there’s extortion.
•    I guess I’d rather be perceived as a snobby bastard who doesn’t care than a lying one who fakes that he
does.;)

What do you think?

Finally, I’ll leave you with one of the best posts on the subject of Twitter. Copywriter Randy Gage, who I’ve been following for many years, posted one of the best manifestos on the use, purpose, and benefits (and downsides) of Twitter I’ve ever read.

About the Author

Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker, consultant, and CEO of The Success Doctor, Inc. Visit his blog and signup free to get tested conversion strategies and response-boosting tips by email, along with blog updates, news, and more! Go now tohttp://www.michelfortin.com.

April 4th, 2009

Here’s how to install Linkedin on your Outlook tool bar.  Go to the bottom of any page on your Linkedin site and to the Tools section.  Click on Outlook Toolbar.  You will be given instructions on downloading Outlook to create a coordinated tool bar.

When you have completed this simple process, you will have a new tool bar on your Outlook program with your standard Outlook functions and many new Linkedin functions.  Take a few minutes to mouse over the various new buttons to see what you can do with these.  You can arrange how you want your new Outlook toolbar to look.

Here are a couple of my favorite fun or useful things you can do with this nifty tool:

Search Bar: You can search your Linkedin website right from your Outlook program.  No need to log into the website.  All the results are shown directly in Outlook for you to see.

Info Icon: As I have already described, when you receive an email and it has the Linkedin Icon in the upper right hand corner, you can mouse over this icon and a new box appears that allows you to “keep in touch” with the person or “invite” the person to join your connections.  All of the pieces are there for you to complete these tasks right from Outlook.  (If you click on “keep in touch”, you will be given a reminder in 60 days that that you have not emailed this person—your own personal secretarial reminder!)

Grab Button: You can curse over the signature of the person on any email you receive.  Then hit the Grab button on your tool bar.  This tool goes out and grabs their contact information and creates an Outlook Contact Card for you.  The Contact Card basically includes their name, address, company name, phone numbers and email address.  (Some street addresses may not be included)  Click Save and Close and now that person’s information is part of your Outlook Contact file.

April 5th, 2009

You may find when you try to Import Contacts” that you get an error message “There was en error processing your request.”  I did when I first tried importing from some of the mail servers.  This is because of the security controls on Internet Explorer 7.  Thanks for this tip from Jan Vermeiren for how to by pass this problem and upload your contacts.

1.  Open Internet Explorer 7

2.  Go to Tools and then choose Internet Options

3.  Select the Security tab

4.  Select the Internet Zone click on Customize

5.  Disable the ‘Enable Protected Mode’

6.  Click on Apply and then Ok to set your changes.

7. You will need to restart Internet Explorer 7 to make these changes

8.  The status bar a the bottom should now state “Internet Protected Mode Off”

9.  Now you can retry uploading your contacts on Linkedin

(Jan Vermeiren How To Really Use Linkedin)

April 6th, 2009

If you have been following my posts on the Linkedin networking tools,  you have loaded up your contact lists from Outlook and other email services like G-Mail or Hotmail, etc.  The strategy I suggested was to find on those lists, people who are already on Linkedin and send them an invite to connect with you.  They already are familiar with Linkedin and are more likely to accept your invitation.

When I did my first batch of Outlook Contacts (I have been using Outlook as a contact manager for about five years), I identified 37 people who were already on Linkedin.  While I knew many of these people, I have not had contact with most of them in the past year.

I composed the semi-private invitation you saw in an earlier post.  I sent invitations to 37 people in one click.  I was very pleased that within the first hour, I had twelve responses accepting my invitation.   Over the course of the next several days, that number grew to 18 people.  A 50% response rate is good for less than 30 minutes of work.  It helped give me more Linkedin connections in very quick fashion.  You may get better response rates with from your uploaded contacts.

Colleagues, Company and Class Mates

Linkedin also provides you with tools to find connections from colleagues, companies where you have worked or people who attended school with you.  Start again with the Green Button Add Connections on the left side of any Linkedin page.   Click on Colleagues and Classmates. If you have listed specific companies in your profile or identified specific schools in your profile, Linkedin will search its data base to find matches for your companies and schools who are already on Linkedin.  You will be given a list of names and you can decide whether they are people you want to invite as connections on your Linkedin program.

April 8th, 2009

If you have been following this sequence of posts about adding connections to your network, you have now invited all those who are already on Linkedin to join you.   In your Outlook file and other email services files, you will have many more names that are not on Linkedin.  What is going to be your strategy for inviting them to be part of your networking efforts?

Again, you want to use your overall purpose for using Linkedin as the guiding principle to additional invitations.  Continue to ask yourself, how will this person or these types of persons who emails addresses you have, help you achieve your goals for the program.  Revisit your decisions such as quality networking verses quantity networking.

More than likely, you will have a number of people whose emails addresses that are not on Linkedin.  Break this larger number down into chuck size pieces so that you can invite them your join your connection each day.  A consistent effort of 5-10 invites a day from your existing lists of contact will produce an amazing result even over the course of 30 days.

Here’s an example of a script I used for people I know but who may be unfamiliar with the Linkedin program.

Script

“Hello, it’s been sometime since I have connected with you.  I hope you are doing well.  I am not sure if you are familiar with the new social networking programs people are using on the internet?  I belong to the Linkedin program as a way of networking with a group of people who have similar interests as me.  I would like to invite you to join my network.  It’s very easy to get started.  You can go to www.Linnkedin.com and sign up to be on the program.  It’s free and I think you will enjoy it.  I am currently working on an e-book of tips for people using the Linkedin program and would like to send it to you.  Let’s try to connect on each others network.   Check out www.linkedin.com and join so we can connect on a more regular basis” Thanks, Al

Change the words to suit your situation.  With this script, I am making an invitation, telling them about Linkedin, showing them how easily they can get started and making a promise to share something with them.  These ingredients make the script work.

Use this or a similar email invitation to those on your list and do it on a consistent basis.

Manual Invitation

The last direct tool Linkedin offers for building your network is the Manual invitation.  Go to the green Get Connected button and click on it.  You will see a manual section where you can now type in six email names and addresses to invite with one stroke of the key board.

I found it helpful to take some time to research the names and email address I wanted to invite and then place them in a word document.  I then copy six names on a daily basis from this list and send an invitation to all the people I wanted to invite.

Recycling Your Invitations

On a sixty to ninety day basis, you may wish to invite again those who have not responded.  If you go to your Inbox on your Linkedin Home Page and click on “Send” you will see all the people to whom you have send invitations and the status of those invitations.  From here you can choose to resend invitations to specific people.

Social Media Tip of the Month -5 Ways LinkedIn Can Help Your Business

April 9th, 2009

Before we start focusing on the Group functions in Linkedin, I thought you might enjoy an short article on ways to use Linkedin in your business by Peggy Murrah.  Enjoy.

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By now, you should be familiar with all of the social networking aspects that LinkedIn offers. LinkedIn has helped so many professionals get in touch with each other and forge new relationships. Many jobs have been found through the use of connections and members have been well placed in their respective company networks. LinkedIn remains to be one of the largest networks of professionals seeking to build their careers.

LinkedIn is, however, more than just connecting with others and building relationships. Here are 5 other ways that can help you as a member of LinkedIn.

Have your questions answered

Similar to Yahoo! and Google Answers, LinkedIn offers an area where members can type in questions that can be seen by all members of LinkedIn regardless of connections. Since LinkedIn is a network of professionals, you can expect to get better answers than other sites like forums.

Conduct reference checks

LinkedIn is a great source for looking up companies and individuals for reference purposes. All you need to do is fire up the Reference Check Tool and just search for a person or company to see some information about how long they worked there and other backgrounds. It is great for crosschecking the legitimacy of profiles since LinkedIn is officially networked to some top resource sites like BusinessWeek.

Obtain information on competitors

Knowing your competitors’ progress and connections can be advantageous in taking your team above them. By taking the time in getting information on individuals and their connections belonging to rival companies, you can highlight their main strengths and weaknesses and find ways to work around them.

Get indexed in search engines

Since LinkedIn has a high Google page rank, you can take advantage of this by setting your profile on public and filling it with as much information as possible. What happens is all that information is indexed by Google and other bots while taking in keywords in the process. This gives you an opportunity for non-registered LinkedIn users to see your profile just by doing simple searches that may match your profile’s description. It also makes it easier for people to find more information about you and don’t know where to look. You can even use this to advertise other websites and gain exposure through LinkedIn.

Find more information about people you’ll meet up with

If you are going to have a huge meeting with a few top executives of a company, try to learn more about them by searching in LinkedIn. Even if their profiles may not be listed, you can do other checks such as searching for the company and see any familiar names there. It is important to know the backgrounds of the people you are about to do business with so you can make better decisions and judgment.

These 5 ways are sure to help and encourage you to use LinkedIn more for any business related tasks. Use these methods to your advantage so you can have the edge over competitors and other people in your network. You can really stand out if you utilize the LinkedIn network using your own creative ways.

April 10th, 2009

You have been making connections on Linkedin.  Now you will take your Linkedin network to a deeper level.  Inviting others to join your connections is a basic step in forming your networking.  If you want to be even more successful with Linkedin, you need to join several Linkedin Groups.  Let me explain why.

Why a Group?

Linkedin Groups are formed around people who have a shared or common interest.  ( You will have lots of choices).  Beyond being interested in networking, people in Groups want to network with a specific group of people who care as they do about a topic or an issue.  Here are a few of the benefits you will realize by being part of a Linkedin Group that goes beyond the benefits of normal Linkedin networking.

· You can see more information about Group members than the average Linkedin members.  (Many Linkedin participants disable the View aspect of their Profile.  Not Group members!

· By participating in the Group member discussions, you get to demonstrate your expertise to others who care about the subject.

· Sharing your materials with others in the Group gives more you visibility.  (You can add links to your URL web presence.)

· You can both give and receive from others in the Group discussions.

· You can ask questions from Group members in a different manner than the general Answers section of Linkedin.

The real power of networking, whether in traditional networking groups, Linkedin or any of the internet social networking groups, comes from being active and participating.  The real value of Linkedin comes from participating into the “people” resources of others.

April 11th, 2009

In its essence, all social media and social networking is a group of people who come together to have a conversation around a common topic.  The internet eliminates the space and time considerations associated with traditional networking.  To be successful with Linkedin Groups, you must participate in the conversation.

Spirited Conversations

Think back to some of the best face to face conversations you’ve had with friends or colleagues.  What happen in those spirited conversations?

You talked about an important topic that interested everyone.  People had definite opinions and feelings about the issue.  Each person was involved and paid attention.  Each person made contributions to the conversation.  People took time to listen and ask questions.  Each person respected the opinions of others, even if they disagreed.

The qualities found in a lively person to person conversation are the same qualities that you want to bring to your conversations within the Linkedin Groups you join.

Social Conversations

This can be a difficult shift for some small business owners.  Their marketing usually centers on events.  They take time to create an ad.  Then they sit back and wait for the ad to work.  Or they put a lot of effort into creating a brochure.  They print it and use it when they feel it is needed.  These are event type marketing.

Participation in Groups conversations requires a different form of behavior.  It takes a different form of energy and time commitment.  You can be more or less involved in the Groups, but you do have to be there consistently if you are going to gain the respect you need to have others look at you and your business.

What would you think of a person who joined a Group six months ago?  Since that time, they have made three new connections.  They made two comments, the last one made 5 months ago?  Is that someone you would want to follow?

Because it is digital, your level of participation is open to everyone in the Group.   They see how many and when you made your last contribution.  If you went into a store in July that still had up their Christmas decorations, would you do business with them?

Let me give you one successful example.  One of the top bloggers in the world started his blogging business four years ago.  When he got started, he made a commitment that before he went to bed each night, he would post comments on 5-10 on his favorite blogs.   He maintained that discipline for several years.  He now makes between $10,000-20,000 per month from his blog.  His content is wonderful.  Just as important, he earned people’s respect and confidence by his consistent performance and participation.

Conclusion

If you are going to be successful with Linkedin Groups, be prepared to participate in the conversation.  It is not a one time event.  It is an on going commitment to participate in the conversation.

In the next blog, I will return to Linkedin Group process and how to join a group and how even to form your own Group for networking purposes.

How to Join a Linkedin Group

April 12th, 2009

It’s a very simple process to join a Linkedin Group.  Start by clicking on the Group Button on the left hand side of your profile page in Linked.  You will be shown three options:

· My Groups

· Following

· Group Directory

· Create a Group

If you are not a part of any Group, select the Group Directory.  You will then be taken to a search box that allows you to search the many groups that already exist.  For each group you will be given a description, the number of people in the group and how long it has been in existence.  To start, choose two groups that you want to join.

When you click on a Group to join, you will be taken to a screen that will ask you several questions.  These include, whether you will display the group’s logo; your email address; how often you want to be notified about digests of the group’s activities; allowing members to send you direct messages and a general consent form for participating in the group.

You can then send a message to the group leader telling them why you would like to participate in the group.  You will then await, usually a day or so to be accepted into the group.
Once accepted you can now see previous group discussions, learn about the people in the group and initiate and participate in discussions.

Creating Your Own Linked Group

Here’s the form you must complete to create your own Linkedin Group. Once you complete this form, you will submit it to Linkedin and they will review your request for creating a group.

· * Large Logo:

Your logo will appear in the Groups Directory and on your group pages.

100×50 pixels; PNG, JPEG, GIF; max size 100 KB

· * Small Logo:

60×30 pixels; PNG, JPEG, GIF; max size 100 KB

·

· * Group Name:

· * Group Type:

Choose… Alumni Group Corporate Group Conference Group Networking Group Non-Profit Group Professional Group Other…

· * Summary:

Enter a brief description about your group and its purpose. Your summary about this group will appear in the Groups Directory.

· * Full Description:

Your full description of this group will appear on your group pages.

· Website:

· * Group Owner Email:

· Group Visibility:

Display this group in the Groups Directory.

Allow group member to display the logo on their profiles.

· Group Access

Allow anyone to join this group without requiring approval by a group manager.

· Location:

My group is based in a single geographic location.

· Language:

English German French Spanish Albanian Armenian Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Burmese (Myanmar) Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Czech Danish Dutch Finnish Greek Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Korean Latvian Lithuanian Malay Malayalam Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Slovak Swedish Tagalog Tamil Telugu Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese Other

· * Agreement:

Check to confirm you have read and accept the Terms of Service.

·

or Cancel

· * Indicated required fields

April 14th, 2009

Let’s summary some of our recent posts on the tools you can use within Linkedin to build a social network quickly and easily.  The Linkedin program is a social networking program specially designed for business people.  It lacks the size of today’s popular social networks like Facebook.  However, with 35 million participants it is still very robust.  As a participant, you can use Linkedin software to build an on-line network easily and quickly.  Here are six Linkedin tools that will save you time and effort in building your digital network.  More importantly, it gives you control over the entire process!

Import Your Contact (March 28, 2009)  Using the Add Connection icon in Linkedin, you can import your email addresses from your Outlook program as well as email servers like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo and others.

Linkedin will import a complete list of your emails and addresses from these programs.  You select the people you want to invite to your network. You can use a standard Linkedin invitation or create your own, more personalized invitation to join.  With one click you can send email invitations to all your selected contacts.

Download the Outlook Tool Bar (April 4, 2009)  You can integrate your Linkedin program with an Outlook Tool Bar.  What will this do?  Once you have this tool bar, every email you receive through Outlook will indicate in the upper right hand corner of the email if the person is already on the Linkedin program.   Click on this icon and you can immediately send an invitation to join your Linkedin network.  I have done this with emails I have received from some of the leading experts in my field.  It takes only a minute to generate the invitation right from Outlook.  Now you have opportunity to connect with some of the best experts in your industry and invite them to be part of your network.

Invite Colleagues and School People (April 6, 2009)  When you compete your Profile in Linkedin you add information about the companies where you have worked and the schools where you have attended.  Using the Add Connection tab, Linkedin will search its data base to find matches for people who are associated with the same companies or who attended the same school as you.  You decide which colleagues or school people you want to invite into your network.

Manual Invitations (April 8, 2009) You can use a manual form of inviting others to join your network.  You create an invitation message and use Linkedin to send it to six people at a time.  Repeat this process as often as you like.

Groups (April 12, 2009)  The Linkedin program has hundred of groups–people who join together around a common theme or issue.  When you join a Linkedin Group, you now have access to thousands of other like minded people who are already members in that group.  With these group members, you have the opportunity to both, give and receive from others; show your expertise as well as get more exposure for your business from a group of people who have your same interests at heart.

Recycle Your Invitations For a variety of reasons, not everyone will respond to a first invitation to join your network.  You may want to invite them a second time.  Inside of your Linked Profile, you can click on “Sent” items.  There you can find out whom you have invited and the current status of the invitation, Pending, Accepted, etc.  You can decide if you want to resend an invitation.

Conclusion

To do you see how easily and quickly you can use this Linkedin to proactively build a your own network of people?  It doesn’t have to be time consuming or laborious.  It can be a process you control.  Check out Linkedin at www.linkedin.com.

April 15th, 2009

Linkedin provides another valuable resource for building your on-line social network–the ability to ask and answer questions with other people on Linkedin.   How can this function benefit you and your business?

· It’s another form of contacting and relating with Linkedin participants

· You get access to valuable resources and business answers

· Opportunities to demonstrate your own expertise

· It becomes another Google touch point for your internet presence

· Linkedin maintains a repository of valuable business information

· It gives you more visibility and credibility

Before I show the details on how to Ask or Answer a question on Linkedin, take a few moments to browse this function.  Click on the Answer tab on the top of any Linkedin page.  Experiment with the keyword search tool.  Look at the different types of questions people are making and the types of answers they are receiving.  Check out the various Categories of questions.  Look at both the “open” and “closed” questions and this “Week’s Expert”.

Ask a Question

Follow this sequence of 10 steps to Ask a question on Linkedin.

1.  Write down your question

2.  Search the Answered Questions to see if there may already be an answer to your question

3.  Click the Answer tab and the Ask Question Tab to get a new form

4.  Write the short version of your question.  Think of this first box like the subject line in an email or the heading in a newspaper.  It should be a very short and succinct version of your question.  You get better answers to better written questions.

5.  Check to see if you want people outside of your network to respond. (Usually a good idea)

6.  Now you can add more details to your question.  It still makes sense to keep this short, or bullet points that help illustrate your questions.

7.  You then need to pick one of the Categories in which to place your question.  Your geographic area can be one of the categories.

8.  Finally, you need to identify whether the question revolves around

· Recruiting

· Promoting your service/product

· Job Seeking

9.  Hit the Submit button

10.  Be sure to thank people when they offer you answers to your questions.  This can be the start of more valuable relationships.

April 16th, 2009

Taking the time to answer other Linkedin participant’s questions not only allows you to contribute, it also builds credibility and expertise within your network.  Years ago, when I left my carpeting business, I volunteered for one of those “Ask an Expert” websites as an expert regarding carpet.  I answered 50-60 questions per year.  It’s been several years, since I left that program.  I still get emails from people I have helped with my knowledge.

Click on Answer a question and you will get a drop down box that also indicates what recommended Categories are most likely for your expertise.  These are based on the groups you belong to and the information in your Profile.  You will also see a heading, New Questions from Your Network.   In addition, you can click on any of the Categories listed on the right side of the page and answer questions from these Categories.

Use one of the above options to see a list of current questions.  Click on an appropriate question.  You will have two options.  You can answer the question Answer Yourself or your can Suggest an Expert and provide the person asking the question with a connection to an Expert or a resource that can help.

While Answering the question yourself bring some immediate attention to your own expertise, connecting other people resources is also a powerful way of building relationships.  Do you remember the last time someone hooked you up to the right person?  You felt good that you had a solution to your problem.  The expert felt good that they were recognized for their expertise and could now establish a new relationship with you.   And the connector felt good because they were helpful even though they did not have the immediate answer.

This Week’s Expert Status

You will also see a list of This Week’s Experts with a Star logo behind their name.  The person asking a Linkedin questions gets to select the best answer to their question.  When you are choose as the best answer you get a “Point” from Linkedin.  After several “points” you are given Expert status of the week—just a little extra bonus of recognition.  Here are the Linkedin rules for getting Expert status.

Earning expertise is easy:
1.    Find questions in the areas you know
Browse questions to find categories familiar to you
2.    Answer those questions
Remember, private answers won’t help you earn expertise
3.    Every time the questioner picks your answer best, you gain a point of expertise
The more points of expertise, the higher you appear on lists of experts

April 17th, 2009

Before we move on to the next section of Linkedin, let me share with you a blog post from the official Linkedin Blog.   Ian McCarthy has written a short blog article where he identifies additional benefits to the Linkedin’s Group function that go beyond what I identified in an earlier post.

In particular, he shows the “Follow” function you can use in following Group Discussions.  When you use this function, you can get email updates on the Group conversation so you can keep in touch with the conversation without making a huge time commitment.  Go to: http://tinyurl.com/cmljgj
Enjoy.

April 18th, 2009

I believe that next to your Linkedin Profile (your personal brand see my earlier post Branding and Linkedin Continued…) is the second most important element in your Linkedin page is your Recommendations.  Before we dig into the details on the how to do Recommendations, let me share with you why I feel so strongly about their power.

Personal Experience

Last Christmas, my wife asked for a new winter coat.  This is dangerous business for any husband. You need to get the style, the color and size right—otherwise the present goes back.  I went on line and found a coat I thought fit all the requirements.  I asked my 13 year old daughter, Laura, for her opinion.  She thought it was a very nice coat.  Then, she read the comments section from women who had already purchased the coat.

She said, “Dad, you don’t want to buy this coat.  Read about all the trouble women are having with this coat.” I read the comments and she was right.  I left the website and found a different coat. (My wife loved it!)

Websites

When I work with small business owners creating their websites,  I have them put a testimonial on every page of their site.  My logic is that for most internet buyers, the business is a stranger to them.  They expect the business to say good things about their products.  Before they buy, they want to hear what other people like themselves have experienced with the product.

Small Business Owner and Believability

Many small business owners think their “smallness” gives them an edge with customers.  It’s true. When all things are equal, most customers would rather buy from a small business and have a personal transaction. However, customers do wonder whether the small business can deliver on the promises they make.  They know that larger, brand name businesses are more impersonal.  They also know large businesses have been proven in the market place.  Their products have been purchased by many people and if they were not working, people would not buy them.  Small business must overcome a believability issue.

Social Networking

Dave Evans in his wonderful book, Social Media Marketing, One Hour a Day, says the real power of social media programs comes with the consideration phase of the buying process.  He says there are three steps in the buying process: awareness, consideration and the purchase.  Social media programs allow consumers to share their experiences with products.  These experiences carry a larger weight than traditional media when people are considering a particular purchase.

He shares his own experience of trying to decide between a PC and a MAC computer.  He asked for people’s advice on his social media program.  Many people shared their experiences with both types of computers. Their information helped him decide which computer to purchase.

Linkedin Bonuses

Recommendations within Linkedin reflect this changing landscape of business credibility.  Here are three Linkedin bonuses that come with Recommendations.

1. Statistics show that after the Profile, Recommendations are the most read section on a Linkedin page. People want to know what others are saying about you.  If your page does not have Recommendations, they wonder, “What’s wrong with this person?”

2. When you give a Recommendation to another person in Linkedin, your Recommendation is noted on the right side of your Linkedin page.  It is also found on the page of the person receiving the Recommendation. Both of these items give you more visibility and an additional touch point for the search engines.

3. Each time you receive a Recommendation or give a Recommendation, an alert is sent to all of your connections.  This gives you added exposure with your connections.

Conclusion

People buying from strangers on the internet; the small business extra burden for creating believability; the power of social networking and social media to influence the consideration phase of the buying process are just some of the reasons the landscape of credibility has changed for small business owners.  This makes the Recommendation step of your Linkedin page all the more important.

April 20th, 2009

Last year I wrote an extensive paper on how small business owners can use testimonials to generate more profits for their business.  The principles I developed in that paper totally apply to the creation and use of Recommendations on your Linkedin page.  In the next several posts, I invite you to read the principles I developed in that paper and apply them to your Linkedin thought process.  I have divided the paper into four parts and four posts.  If you would like to read the entire paper now, click on http://tinyurl.com/cj5yz6 . You can read it on line or print your own copy.  Remember, every place you see testimonial substitute the word Recommendation.

Linkedin Resolutions and Testimonials–Your Secret Sales Force

Adding the Secret Ingredient to Grow Your Profits!

Successful small businesses have more customers, who buy more often and have more loyalty.  Yet, when you look closer, these same businesses do not have superior products or services.  What secret do they use?

Successful small business owners use this secret—plenty of good testimonials.  These testimonials become like a powerful sales force for their businesses.  The average small business owners keep this potential “sales force” locked in their closets.

In this paper, I’ll show you how good testimonials improve your bottom line.   You will also learn the formula for creating good testimonials so you can start making more and better sales right now.  You will learn why Resolutions are so important to your Linkedin page.

How Testimonials Attract and Improve Your Sales

We live in skeptical times.   Customers, especially internet buyers, are very nervous about letting go of their money.  Customers want to believe your claims because they want the benefits your product promises.

But customers don’t want to be hurt or disappointed or look foolish.  So, they resist their urges.   If you don’t overcome this customer skepticism, you lose the sale.  They leave.  You may never know how close they came to making a purchase!

How can testimonials change this picture and help overcome customer skepticism?  Here are some of the ways good testimonials will make a difference in your business.

· Testimonials make you more believable.  Customers trust what others, especially people like themselves, say about the results they receive from your business.

· Testimonials provide a tract record for your business. They show that customers have gone before them and been successful in using your business.

· Testimonials create more customer loyalty.  Once they put their name on a testimonial, customers feel obligated to stand behind their decision, even if it doesn’t turn out the way they proclaimed in their testimonial.

· Testimonials create a sense of security for your customers.  Everyone loves to be part of the “in-crowd”—to join others who are using your product.

· Testimonials cement the selling process. Testimonials raise the excitement of the customer’s interest in your product.  It makes them more eager to purchase by reducing the buying anxiety.

· Testimonials give you insights into why customers are buying your products.  People will state in their testimonials why they bought from your business.   Their reasons may different from your reasons.

How to get testimonials that add to your profits

You have seen the power testimonials can have in your business–no matter what business or to whom you sell.  So why do so few small business owners use this tool in their businesses?

Most small business owners cite a lack of time or the mistaken notion that asking for testimonials bothers the customer.  Or maybe, they just don’t know how to get good testimonials.

As a small business owner, you have spent a lot of money getting this customer to buy from your business. Now you have the opportunity to leverage this customer’s experience into getting more customers to your business.  Why waste this opportunity?

When customers have a good buying experience, they love telling others about it.  When you ask them to help you by giving a testimonial, they feel honored.  They feel they are contributing to your business.  They are happy to help.

For purposes of helping you implementing testimonials in a step by step process, I will assume you have few or no testimonials that give you the power you want in your business.  I will take you through a process that shows how easily and quickly you can start using powerful testimonials to attract more customers and more sales.  Follow these steps and I guarantee you will see immediate improvement in your business.

A System for Getting Testimonials

Step One Focus on your Target Market

Your prospects want to hear from customers just like themselves.  This is the type of proof they want before they purchase.  What group of customers are you going to focus on for their testimonials?  Identify the group now.

Step Two Clarify your Marketing Message

Powerful testimonials focus on your key benefits—those items that make your customer’s life better.  You want to get at least one testimonial for each benefit.  List at least three benefits your product or service provides to your customers.

1.)

2.)

3.)

Step Three A Testimonial Blitzkrieg

You can never have too many good testimonials.  Set yourself a goal for the next 30 days to get 25-50 testimonials.  Make this a priority for your business.  They will be worth their weight in gold.   When you see how easy it is to get testimonials, you will say 25 is too few!

Step Four Create an Ongoing Testimonials System

As you begin using some of these techniques for getting testimonials, start thinking how you can continue to use one or another of these techniques as a regular part of your business operations.  Your ultimate goal is to create a system that regularly and automatically produces fresh and new testimonials—with little or no effort on your part.

April 21st, 2009

This is the second in a series of posts where I am using materials from a White paper I developed on Testimonials.  The information in this white paper applied to your Resolutions on your Linkedin page. Today, I look at the many ways you can get Resolutions/testimonials.  If you want to see the complete paper go here: http://tinyurl.com/cj5yz6 .

Ways to Get your Testimonials?

Long Term Customers

Start by calling your long-term customers or those customers who are repeat buyers.  You know these people well.  You’ve done a lot of business with them.  These are easy testimonials to get.  They will be more than willing to help you.

Tell these customers what you would like them to focus on in their comments—remember your benefits.  This step will produce some immediate testimonials.

Search Your Mail

Search your morning mail, invoice payments or letters for positive comments from your customers.  Many times, people will write a comment when paying their bill.  This can be the source for a testimonial.  When you find something good from one of these sources, call them, thank them and ask them if it’s ok to use their words in your sales and marketing efforts.

Third Party Endorsement

Every business has other businesses they work with.   Go to these businesses and ask for a testimonial about your business.  Exchange testimonials about their business.  Third party testimonials have the additional quality of showing how your business is part of much larger business network.  This impresses the customer.

Industry statistics

This type of “testimonial” starts to stretch the envelope on testimonials but it has its place.  For example, national studies show that when a business has sales training, they increase their profits by 16%.   That does not say anything about your sales training, but that statistics show a 16% increase when a company gets sales training.  This type of testimonial will help some customers buy your product.

Customer Call Backs

After every sale, call the customer to see how they like the product.   Have a series of questions that leads the conversation in the direction you want.  When you get some good comments, thank the customer and ask if it’s ok for you to use their comments.  As a side benefit, you will learn a tremendous amount of information about your business.  It’s wonderful feedback and takes only a few minutes for each sale.

Networking

It is common practice at most business networking meetings to give others members of the group a verbal testimonial when someone has used their service.  “I want to tell you what good service I received from Jane last week when I went to her bank to switch over my account.”  Typically, Jane nods her head and says, thank you.  Go to the person after the meeting and ask if you can write down what they said about you and your business and if you can use it in your marketing efforts.  Don’t let an opportunity like this slip by.

Photo Testimonials

Use photos of your customers using your products or services—make sure they are smiling!  If you provide a service, have someone take a picture of you doing the service.  I know a financial adviser, who gives workshops to seniors.  He had his picture taken at a workshop, then used the pictures in brochures to advertise his workshops.

Have a contest with your customers to send in the best picture of them using your product or service.  Give the winner a free dinner.   Always, let people know you may want to use their picture for marketing purposes, call back the winners, thank them and again ask permission.

Customer photos with written testimonials are doubly powerful.

Audio and Video Testimonials

Present you testimonial in audio form.  You can easily create a customer hot line where customers can call in at any time to comment on your product or service.  This could be a dedicated line with an answer machine. Make it easy for the customer to give you a testimonial.  Some customers find it easier to call in comments, rather than write comments.  These audio comments or video comments can be used on websites or turned into a testimonial CD.

Ask Before you Start the Project

This is a great systematic way to generate an ongoing stream of good testimonials.  Make your request for testimonials part of the package you are offering the customer.   As part of the details with closing the deal, you ask, “I assume that I will do a great job for you.  If I do xyz will you be willing to give me a testimonial about the job?”   I have never had a customer turn me down when I have made this offering.

This technique gives a different impression of you.  The customer realizes that it’s your intention to do a good job.  They will happily want to write a testimonial about that job.  This is also a wonderful way to systemize a testimonial system to get ongoing referrals in an easy, no effort way.

Customers Feedback Forms

There are many versions of customer feedback forms.   These forms help you direct the types of questions you ask about your products and services.

“Did you enjoy our product?  What was the best thing you liked about the product?  What was the thing you leased liked about the product?  What other comments would you like to make about the product or your buying experience.  May I use your comments in my efforts to help other customers?”  (Enclosed a self-addressed envelope)

Keep it simple for the customer.   You may also wish to give them some reward for taking the time to complete the form.  Giving rewards is perfectly acceptable because you are asking the customer to do something extra.

Expert or Well Known People

Expert testimonials can be two types.  You can find expert opinions that speak to one or more of your benefits but are not speaking directly to you particular product.  Doctors speak about conditions necessary for weight loss programs. Your program has several of those conditions.  Like industry statistics, these become a form of endorsement or testimony for the generic use of your product.

The second and more powerful testimony comes from an expert who has actually used your program or service and wants to tell others about it.  Who hasn’t read reviews on a back of a book cover to help you decide to purchase the book?

Movie stars and athletes have been using their names to sell products for years.

Conduct an Interview

Have a third party conduct an interview with some of your customers.  This could be a professional, a PR person or a friend.   They invite the customers to offer their comments about the recent purchase. Customers feel free and easy sharing comments to a third person.

You can use these interviews in their audio or visual form or you can transcribe them and edit them into useful written forms.

These are powerful testimonials.  Even when you use a professional , your costs will easily be offset by the return these types of testimonials will bring to your business

Surveys and Questionnaires

Surveys and questionnaires receive mixed reviews as a technique for getting testimonials.   Remaining anonymous is usually a chief characteristic of surveys.  This would defeat one of the primary qualities of good testimonials—using the name and address the person giving the testimonial.   Without the name and address you sacrifice the power of the testimonial.

Their Name in Print

One popular reward you can offer for a testimonial is getting your customers name in “lights.”   You address the customers, “I was wondering if you could help me.  I want to thank you for being a wonderful customer and ask for your help.  Could you answer the following questions?”  You give them some simple directive questions to answer and tell them this may result in using their name on your website, in your brochure, etc.  Everyone loves their 15 minutes of fame!

Offer to Write it for People

There is nothing wrong with helping the customer write a testimonial.  You can say, “I know that you are very busy.  I’d be happy to draft something you can use.  You can edit or change it.”

Many customers prefer this method of giving a testimonial.  They want to say nice things about your business but they don’t know how to articulate them.  They don’t know where to start so they put it off in their busy schedule.  They promise to give you a testimonial.  You wait and wait, not wanting to bug them.  Helping them write it overcomes this bump in the road and allows you to get some very pointed testimonials.

Personal Testimonials

You can use personal testimonials.   You may need these especially when you are just getting started in business.  When I wrote my book about how to buy carpet, I had a good friend provide a testimonial for me.   She said in the testimonial, “I did not use Al’s book, but he has worked on our house in the past and his experience and insights were wonderful.”  In short, you can trust Al, the person. While these are not as powerful as product testimonials, they have their place.

Use testimonials as Success Stories

On your website or other marketing materials, you may have the occasion to share success stories with prospects.  These can be very powerful, especially when a customer does not know a lot about your product.  Design the success story in the following manner.

Describe the problem the customer was experiencing.  Provide some details about the problem—so the reader can identify with it.   Then tell how your product or service solved the problem.  The third section is the quote from the customer about your business.  This simple three step process is very effective because in step one and two you create a clear problem-solution scenario.  The customer testimonial becomes reinforcement to that scenario.

April 24th, 2009

Let’s now apply the information about making powerful testimonials to the Making and Receiving Recommendations for your Linkedin Page.  I’ll start with Making a Recommendation.  If this is your first Recommendation, it is always good to spend a few minutes reviewing what other people are using for Recommendation.  You can learn what you like and dislike about these Recommendations by looking at the work of others.

You can initiate a Recommendation from your profile, from the profile of the person you are recommending or in direct response to a request you receive from the other person.  Here are the directions from Linkedin for using these three options:

To recommend a person from your profile:

1. Click the ‘Get Recommended’ link found in the ‘Recommended By’ section of the profile.

2. You’ll be taken to a page that allows you to ‘Mange recommendations you have received’ or ‘Make a Recommendation’.

3. Under the ‘Make a Recommendation’ section, enter a contact’s first/last name and their email address or click the ‘Select from your connections list’ link. Scroll to the lower part of the page.

4. Choose a category: service provider, business partner, colleague or student.

5. Follow the instructions provided based on the category you selected.

To recommend a person from their profile:

1. Click ‘Recommend this person’ found in the upper right hand corner of the profile. You will also find a recommendation link in the Experience section under the position for which you want to recommend them.

2. Choose a category: service provider, business partner, student, or colleague.

3. Follow the instructions provided based on the category you selected.

To recommend a person in response to a request:

1. Open the message in your email client or from the Received Recommendations page in your LinkedIn inbox.

2. Click ‘Write Recommendation’.

3. If this is an original request, you will be directed to a page where you can compose and submit your recommendation.

4. If this is a request to replace an existing recommendation, you will be taken to a page where you can edit the previous recommendation and submit the revised text.

Once you have completed the name the person and identified your relationship with them (you are given a number of choices), then click on Continue and you are taken to series of questions to complete before you write your recommendation.

What to Say?

Write the recommendation using the framework discussed in previous posts.  Make it exciting.  Be specific about the work done by the person, the strengths and responsibilities demonstrated by the person and the results or benefits produced.

Submit your Recommendation to the person.  They will have the opportunity to review it, accept it or ask for revisions.  Most people will accept what you write, however, they can ask for revisions to clarify points they want in the Recommendation.

I’ve found the best method is to email or call a colleague and offer to exchange Recommendations. They supply one for you and you supply one for them.  In this way, you can specify what each person would like in a Recommendation.   You can always send an email with a draft of your recommendation.   The other person can send it back to you with the changes they would like.  Then you put the revised Recommendation through the Linkedin process.  This is an easy way to quickly generate recommendations.

You can Withdraw your recommendation.  Situations changes; jobs may change.  You are allowed to withdraw your Recommendation.  When you do this, it is permanently removed from Linkedin and the recipient is not notified.  To withdraw a Recommendation go to your Managing your Recommendations and click on Withdraw Recommendations.

April 22nd, 2009

This is the third post from a my special report on using testimonials to generate more profits in your business.  What is true of testimonials is true for resolutions.  Today, I look at elements involved in a good resolutions or testimonial making.  Enjoy.  If you want to see the entire report, click here  http://tinyurl.com/cj5yz6.

Most testimonials are dull and boring.   If you are going to add this ingredient to your business, why not use the best?  Use the following framework to make testimonials a powerful tool in your business.

Framework of a Good Testimonial

· I am a customer just like you.

· I had a problem and I wanted the same benefits as you.

· I wondered if there was a solution.

· Now, I know there is a solution.

· This solution will also work for you.

Testimonials that follow this thought process lead customers to buy your product!  The following are 10 rules for creating powerful testimonials in your business.

Proven Techniques to Power Testimonials

1.  Start by listing the benefits of your business–those things that make you unique and special.  Get testimonials that speak directly to these benefits.   Your prospect wants to hear about how you are going to make their life better.

2.  Avoid the “Rah, rah, Bob is great” style of testimonials.  Customers get very little from cheerleader comments.

3.  Try to obtain your testimonials as close as possible to the customer’s greatest satisfaction from your product or service.  This is when they are most excited to tell others about what they have experienced.  That excitement carries over into their testimonials.

4.  Get testimonials come from a credible person who has nothing to gain from giving the testimonial.  Testimonials from experts or famous people add power to your testimonials.

5.  Make sure the testimonial is specific and detailed.  It’s much better to say “I realized a 19% increase in profits,” rather than “I improved my profits.”  Which statement do you find more believable?

6.  Use the person’s own words in the testimonial, even if they aren’t grammatically perfect.

7.  Make it easy for customers to give you testimonials.

8.  Include the name and the city where the person lives.  Adding a photo or audio gives the testimonial even more power.

9.  Get the customer’s permission to use the testimonial.

10.  Thank your customers for the testimonials.

Conclusion

If you’re not using good testimonials in all of your marketing and sales materials, you’re keeping your “best sales person” in the closet.  You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get this sales force working for you.  When you start using good testimonials, you will start seeing more customers, better customers and more loyalty in your business.

April 25th, 2009

Don’t Be Casual

Do not take the task of getting Linkedin Recommendations casually!  When you started your Linkedin presence, you started with goals on how you want this program to fit into your personal and business life.  If the Recommendation section on Linkedin pages is the second most review part on any Linkedin page, then you want to make your Recommendations to fully support the goals you have for your Linkedin program.  Think of your Recommendations as pillars that support your Linkedin bridge.

Get Recommended

Linkedin provides you with a simple process for getting Recommendations.  Before you start you should determine what type of Recommendations you are looking for and from whom you want to get those Recommendations.   For some Recommendations, you may need a two step process.  The person who could give you a wonderful recommendation may not be on Linkedin.  So first go through the process of having them join Linkedin so they can give you a Recommendation.

To start the process go to your Profile page, Recommendation Section, and click on Get Recommended.  You will be brought to a new page.  Then click on Request Recommendation. Here you will be asked to choose what you want to be recommended for?  Find the option that best suits your purposes.  Then you are asked who you want to ask for the recommendation?  You can ask up  to 200 Linkedin participants.  You then are invited to create your message.

This is a critical piece.  People will give you want you want, if you ask them.  Left on their own people will generalize and give you glowing remarks that may have little to do with your goals for Linkedin.  Share with them what you would like to hear from them.   Ask them to be specific, talk about your strengths and responsibilities and the specific results or benefits you produced.

This may make you feel uncomfortable because you are asking other persons to do you a favor.  Why not ask them to do the favor that will benefit you the most?  A simple statement like, “It would be helpful if you could tell people about, XYZ and how you achieved XYZ because of my products.”  People actually appreciate guidance from you.  It makes their job of writing a Recommendation that much easier.

Even if you are sending a Recommendation request to a number of Linkedin participants at one time, they each will receive an individual invitation.

Revisions—The Extra Step

When you receive a Recommendation, you are given the opportunity to make revisions.  Use this opportunity.  If there are revisions you would like, ask the person to make them and suggest what you want done.  Take this extra step.  People will cooperate especially if you share with them what you are trying to accomplish on Linkedin.   In a job interview, I once checked some references the person gave and when they were not glowing comments, I moved on to other candidates.  You want your Recommendations (since you help create them) to put you in the best possible light.

Manage Your Recommendations

Clicking on Get Recommendations will also show you a page that keeps track of Recommendations made and received.  You are given several ways to manage your Recommendations.

Ongoing Recommendations

I tell small business owners to make getting testimonials for their business an ongoing effort in their business.  You can never have too many customer testimonials.  I give the same advice about Recommendations.  You can never have too many Recommendations.  Always be getting fresh Recommendations.

Remember each time you add a new one all your connections are notified that you have received a new Recommendation.  If you did this once a month, your name would be visible in front of your connections. (Al Hanzal has received a new Recommendation)  Your connections will see it and many would click on it to see what it says.  All while you are sleeping!!