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Chip’s website Chip’s blog LinkedIn Training On Twitter

Okay, your friends have been saying for months that you need to sign up for Linkedin, the social networking site built for business professionals like you.  The day isn’t even over when you whip open your gmail (please don’t tell me you use Outlook…) to find a Linkedin join invitation from one of those pesky friends. To heck with it you take the plunge.  Four weeks in you have connected with 10 old work buddies (man, you hated that job!) and 20 others you have no idea who they are.  Crickets break the silence as you blankly stare at the monitor wondering, “now why am I doing this?” Read on…

Raymond “Chip” Lambert is a professional trainer, business coach and all around business development specialist that I met while following a group of Twitterers talking up a conference where Chip was presenting.  The rain of positive comments about Chip’s expertise on creative ways for businesses to use the LinkedIn professional networking site led me to tap Chip to share his insights with our community. Get ready because you are sure to walk away with the answer to those crickets.

Give me a quick overview of your business

[Chip Lambert] I train successful professionals how to leverage their book of business and existing relationships to build their “Ideal” business.  I do this through time-tested business development strategies and new social media.  Knowing how to close a prospect is a critical skill - but so is acquiring that prospect in the first place.  Most successful people are sitting on a gold-mine of potential referral business, but they are not mining it because they are caught between “selling” and “servicing”.  I help people to break free of that trap and move to the next tier of success.

What are the mistakes most people make using LinedIn as a business development tool?

[Chip Lambert] They think that because they are “there” something will happen.  There is a parallel offline - networking events.  People show up and assume that because they are “there” that something will happen.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  LinkedIn is a technological infrastructure for what successful people have been doing for generations - building and WORKING their networks.  It takes strategy and consistent action to really make LinkedIn - or any social media for that matter - work for you.

Say you have 100 direct LinkedIn connections and thousands more indirect…how does one effectively communicate with the network so that people understand what you do and what you are looking for?

[Chip Lambert]  This is a several pronged asnwer: 1 - Write a stellar profile.  People read them. And update it as you and your business change.  LinkedIn notifies the people in your network when it changes - this drives them back to read your updates.  Tell them who you are, why you are on LinkedIn, what you are looking for and what you have to offer.  Then tell them what you want them to do next - provide them a next step - ie. follow the link to you blog - read it;  sign-up for your newsletter - with a link to do so; etc. 2 - use the “What are you doing now” status update feature.  It keeps you in front of your connections regularly.  If you have multiple social media properties - link the status update features with http://hellotxt.com or http://ping.fm.  That way all of your networks or properties are updated simultaneously.  LinkedIn isn’t the only game in town - it has its place.  Mass marketing strategies don’t work here.  But driving them off linkedin can.

What are some third party tools that can add efficiency to managing your LinkedIn account?

[Chip Lambert] Hellotxt.com - Ping FM.  RSS reader - for subscribing to important threads or questions inside linkedin.

What parting words do you have to help people better use LinkedIn?

[Chip Lambert] Get strategic - the tactics fall out of the right strategy.  If you are looking for clients, get clear about who and search them out.  If you are looking for JV or Channel Partners, take some time and set some parameters and get to work.  To get the most from LinkedIn, get active - not passive.

Your Thoughts

Whew, I told you Chip knows his stuff but enough of our rambling. How do you make use of the LinkedIn community? Do you have questions about LinkedIn that we did not answer?  Comment below and let us know.

My company recently donated the development of a new website to a local non-profit and while explaining the workings of the new system to the founder I blurted out, “how do you plan to let people know about your new site?”  After several seconds of silence and head scratching, I shared these thoughts below.

1. Notify your mailing list:  Send an email announcement to your mailing list asking subscribers to visit the new site and forward the url to contacts they feel could use your services.  This works particularly well if your site is filled with useful “Ah-Ha” moment, educational content instead of pushy sales pitches.
2. Send a Press release:   Send a press release to your local media announcing the site launch.  Remember the media does not care about your business, so make your site launch pitch relevant to the publication’s audience. If you are pitching your story to the newspaper’s business section try an angle like, “Local firm beats recession using new web strategy…” Nowadays papers are always interested in recession beating stories.
3. Reach out to hot prospects:  Send a website launch announcement to any hot prospective clients currently in your sales funnel. Again, make it relevant to your contacts, many of whom really don’t care that you have a new website but they might be interested in new features that would benefit them as a client.
4. Tap online, social networks:  Spend a bit of your social capitol and partner with Twitter, FaceBook and LinkedIn fans on a meaningful announcement to their online spheres of influence.

Okay, I have “talked” enough…What is your experience?

“Do your Twitter?” “What do you mean you aren’t blogging?” “You must be crazy not to have a Facebook fan page!” These questions and similar statements fill the air these days at networking functions, within the blogosphere and on the pages of trendy business publications. Succumbing to the temptation to jump at the “riches for free” promise of social media will sink your business’s ship faster than my daughter’s rubber ducky with a hole in it. Let me tell you she loves that ducky.

Use more practical tactics first

Truth be told if you aren’t already engaged in a business generating system that uses more practical means of winning new customers stay away from social media because it will suck the air right out of your business. Where social media is short on financial investment it requires a tremendous amount of time to acquire a following and to then convert your followers into dollars for your business.

Before Jumping In Head First!

Below are some business building systems you should be working well in advance of an active social media push.

1. Public Relations: Pitch stories about your company to newspapers, TV news, bloggers and work to position yourself as a trusted source for media in your niche. You will be seen
2. Email Marketing: Take the time to build a strong opt-in email list (500 or more contacts) to send monthly email newsletters to.  In addition use email autoresponders to automate the delivery of valuable information to prospective customers (ex. An email course, 5 days to a better “whatever” with a product mention carefully woven into the message stream). Contrary to popular belief, email marketing is not dead!
3. Seminar Marketing: Organize in-person, live seminars for your prospect audience to position yourself as the go-to expert. In addition to generating leads, seminars are powerful list builders.
4. Referral Lead Generation:  Exchange leads with 3 to 5 awesome businesses who sell a complimentary service to your customers.
5. Strategic Alliances: Become an outsourced provider of services that other businesses in your market need but don’t have the in house capability to deliver.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a Facebook hater; heck I am thinking up my next blog post as I type this article. What I am saying is build your core marketing and sales system first then enhance it with a well planned social media strategy. As PT Barnum once said about focus, “A constant hammering on one nail will generally drive it home…”

What do you say?

It is a known fact among marketers that very few people, if anyone will buy from you at your first meeting.  To get prospects to commit you must send regular messages to reinforce your value and position your company as the one to purchase from. My rule is 8:16, eight communications within a 16 month period before a prospect will do business with you. It stands to reason that getting prospects onto your opt-in mailing list is critical. Doing so eases your prospect’s commitment anxiety (less fear associated with a newsletter than plunking down cash) and for you it gets them into your sales communication funnel.

A clever way to use your mobile phone to grow your opt-in list is to add a mobile-friendly version of your mailing list registration form to your website.  Now when you meet people at networking events, speaking engagements or while shopping at the mall you can use your phone to access your mobile page and easily allow your friend to join your list and willingly become part of your sales (or referral) chain.  In addition to feeding your list, I bet you get a few “wows” as well and you are certain to be remembered. When you use this tactic be sure to bookmark the mobile registration page for quick access.

What is your best approach to growing your mailing list (comment below)?

Apple Tablet Device

Okay, if you are like me (what am I saying!?) you plan on having multiple browsers, phone gizmos and Twitter applications open to follow the announcement event for the new Apple Tablet which is touted by futurists as being game-changing bridge technology for the consumption of media (books, magazines, newspapers, audio and video).

I was helping a friend this morning pull togeter a list of sites that will be providing live event coverage and thought to myself, why not make my readers’ lives a easier as well so here goes.  Make sure to have your pocket protector when you watch…Below is my short list.

1. Engage Net Live Coverage (Most Reliable):  www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/live-from-the-apple-tablet-latest-creation-event
2. Technologizer:  http://technologizer.com/appletablet/
3. Ars Technica (Live Blog): http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/01/tablet-live-event-liveblog.ars
4. MacWorld Live Coverage:  http://www.macworld.com/article/145805/2010/01/apple_event.html?lsrc=top_1
5. Huffington Post:  www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/26/apple-tablet-announcement_n_436859.html

Feel free to add to my list below.

NBA Bobcats Back Office Tour With My Mentees

I know I know I am endlessly going on about the Twitter revolution, website strategy, the latest video tools or some other new media related topic but I want to shift gears a bit with today’s post.  As a business owner and citizen I feel an obligation to reach out to those coming behind me and as such I have chosen to participate as a mentor in the West Charlotte High School Emerging Leaders professional development program.

I struggled for a time wondering just how to make a meaningful connection with young men less than half my age.  I realized that in my life’s walk I meet many people engaged in interesting pursuits and exposing these young men in my charge to a few of them might prove beneficial.  Okay, I am getting to my point.

With the help of Bobcats Franchise Relations VP Ed Lewis, Bobcats associate Eboni Wilson and Gerald Johnson of the Charlotte Post newspaper I was able to organize a tour for 2 of my mentees of the Charlotte Bobcats back office operations. One of my “apprentices” is a student-athlete, so I thought it would be good to plant the seed that there is more to professional sports than running and catching.

Eboni conducted the tour of a lifetime covering all aspects of the “business” including retail/merchandising, player operations, hospitality, finance, marketing, broadcasting and the other disciplines necessary to make an NBA franchise a profitable concern.  While her lively stories were great, it was lounging in the $250,000 luxury corporate suite that was the days high point. Relaxing in the plush leather seats my mentees, Bryton and Joseph inserted a few questions into the conversation for good measure which Eboni earnestly fielded.

The bottom line here is that our youth have value but many of them don’t realize it.  Spending a little time, exposing them to our worlds and to our truths might motivate some skinny kid into believing he can be President. Just know that our children will be what they see…

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About the author:  In addition to being your new media coach John Easton is the President of Eastonsweb Mulitmedia helping clients turn their website browsers into buyers.  Download John’s special report free, the Definitive Guide to Explosive Website Performance.

I bet if I asked you how your business gets customers (or lead generation) you would likely respond, “Referrals mostly…word of mouth”. Now if I were to ask how you get those referrals you probably wouldn’t have an answer beyond the obvious, “you know, customers like what we do and they tell others.” I call this the hope and pray strategy and it doesn’t work so well unless you are owed a favor from on high.
 
If this scenario seems familiar you are missing out on the lead generation power of using a true referral system that if implemented properly could generate so much business you likely wont have to do any other marketing. At the heart any successful referral system is a group of between 3 to 5 professionals (not clients) who sell a complimentary product or service to the same customers as you. Once your team is formed they must be taught to spot and communicate to your target audience.

Your website is the perfect platform to school your lead sharing dream team and whip them into shape. Create a page on your site dedicated to this end and include the following information in your online guide.

1. Best Customer Profile:  This section will include the age, gender, business size and other defining characteristics of your best customer.
2. Trigger phrases:  These are thoughts people will reveal during a normal conversation that will help your referral partners recognize a prospect’s need for your services. With my business if someone says, “I can’t update my website when I need to,” or “we do good work but we just need to get the word out,” this is the time for my referral partners to insert us into the conversation, “I know someone who can help with that…”
3. Referral process:  If your referral system offers reward incentives for leads this is the place to disclose what they are and how they work.  Also you will want to describe how you will treat the lead once referred.  Remember your referral partners have a lot invested in their relationships and they need to be assured that you will take good care of their “friends”.

Now go out there and build your online referral guide and soon you will be where you belong; sitting on the beach sipping those cocktails with those funny little umbrellas. How do you get referrals?

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About the author:  In addition to being your new media coach John Easton is the President of Eastonsweb Mulitmedia helping clients turn their website browsers into buyers.  Download John’s special report free, the Definitive Guide to Explosive Website Performance.

You know your business, not websites; so how are you supposed to select from the many website development firms in the market?  Your website should work harder than just being just a pretty face.  Bottom line, your site should produce results and not every firm is able to deliver on this promise.  Most graphic designers and do-it-yourselfers can get a site up and it might look good but if you need to attract customers and generate sales leads investing in the right pro is critical. Below are some important criteria to evaluate the firms you come across.

1. Identify their specialty:  Building a website that works requires a firm to assemble multiple skills (business knowledge, creative-design and technical programming ability among others).  There are many graphic designers posing as website developers and even more fly by night hacks but they typically only bring creative skills to the dance.
2. Content management:  I cannot overemphasize the importance of being able to make frequent changes to your website.  Your customers, your market, your goals and your strategy will change and you need to be able to adapt quickly so a built in content management system is a must have tool in today’s market. Make sure yours does not restrict your design flexibility nor the features you want to add.
3. Portfolio of work: Visit the company’s website and take a look at some of the work they have done.  Try to see beyond just the look of the featured sites.  Consider the tools and features that would attract a likely customer, as well as get them to take the next step.  If you see consistently sound logic here, chances are a similar thought process will be brought to your project.
4. Proven ability to listen:  Again, your website success is all about meeting goals.  To this your developer must prove that they are willing to take the time to understand the way your organization and market work, as well as your company’s goals.  Without this understanding your project will not achieve its full potential. They should do less talking and more listening.
5. References: Ask for and contact references but be sure when you meet to discuss the goals for the site and whether or not those goals were met.
6. Hosting options: All websites live or are hosted on servers and website developers either own their own or outsource hosting.  Be clear on their hosting source and the criteria for evaluating the provider (server uptime, customer service effectiveness, storage space and price).
7. Other relationships: The professional relationships your web developer brings to the table can be just as important as their technical proficiency.  A good web developer is a gateway to business development resources that can aid your company’s growth (marketing, advertising, lending, copywriting, graphic design, sales support, etc.).
8. Other services:  Just building your website alone will not make you successful.  You have to do a lot of work to attract your best customers and get them to purchase.  Offering or referring additional services is key to your success mix.  Search engine optimization (SEO), website maintenance, pay per click ad consulting and related service offerings can rapidly increase your overall effectiveness.

Your website developer is at the core of your overall success.  Use this guide to make the right investment decision.

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About the author:  In addition to being your new media coach John Easton is the President of Eastonsweb Mulitmedia helping clients turn their website browsers into buyers.  Download John’s special report free, the Definitive Guide to Explosive Website Performance.

I recently suggested to a client considering a website redesign that she survey  the sites of industry leaders as a brainstorming exercise to stimulate thought around how she might want her new site to look and interact with visitors.  She quickly realized that none of the sites stood out in any meaningful way and the exercise forced her to consider what made her business different and realized that she had no idea.

What makes you special?

If you don’t know what makes your business extraordinary here is a guaranteed way to come up with your million dollar value, what truly sets you apart and make it so gripping that your site visitors will be compelled to do business with you. Are you ready? Ask three to five of your “best” customers the following two questions and you will get more useful information than you would investing time and money in focus groups or elaborate surveys. Ask your customers why they decided to do business with you and then what frustrations they faced with your industry. 

The feedback will change the way you do business, I promise!

In addition to uncovering your uncommon value, you will zero in on the problems that others in your industry are not addressing. In most cases you will be able to lift your marketing tagline, slogan, even your website copy right from the responses.  Here’s what my client said when I posed her the question,” you don’t just build websites; you care about the client’s result,” which speaks volumes. 

Always remember that you cannot position your company, it is your customers and prospects who manage this task, so why not ask them for a little free consulting advice and don’t be surprised when you become the go-to resource in the process.

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About the author:  In addition to being your new media coach John Easton is the President of Eastonsweb Mulitmedia helping clients turn their website browsers into buyers.  Download John’s special report free, the Definitive Guide to Explosive Website Performance.

As you build, redesign or manage your existing website I am sure you are factoring in your competition’s moves but let me insert a radical idea to challenge your thoughts about who your real competition is.  As a small business you are not competing so much against the guy down the road.  In reality you are competing against the possibility that your visitor might do nothing.

That’s right doing noting, customer apathy is your business’s greatest threat and to succeed against this adversary you must communicate an irresistible promise then “win” the right to ask your prospect to move on to the next step in the process.

How do I win the right to make an ask?

For starters avoid making your site a simple listing of everything you offer.  People don’t buy hammers or subscribe to newsletters. What they do buy is relief for their pain and the excitement from a mouth-watering benefit.  Instead of pitching your newsletter as, “sign up for our free newsletter”. Everyone offers that these days. Address your visitor’s concerns up front, “why should I subscribe?” “What’s in it for me?”

A better way to inspire a subscription would be to say, Let us save you the frustration of hunting around for (xyz solution) and provide your email address so that we can send you strategies that we have field tested and proven as solutions to your problem. We know that by “test driving” the benefits of these no cost tips you will understand the value of using our full line of services.

One Final Thought…

Keep a swap file handy, a list of problems your target customers face that your product or service is the Tylenol for.  If these concerns are addressed in your copy you can sit back as your website delivers a flood of new customers.

Now get moving. Your competion isn’t sleeping.

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About the author:  In addition to being your new media coach John Easton is the President of Eastonsweb Mulitmedia helping clients turn their website browsers into buyers.  Download John’s special report free, the Definitive Guide to Explosive Website Performance.