Business Growth Insights

The best way to increase the number of referrals you receive is to increase your worthiness of receiving them. Part of that has to do with your competence, i.e., how well do you know your stuff? All other things being equal, people prefer to work with experts, not amateurs. But that’s obviously beyond the scope of a single blog post to cover!

The other part of it is your character. Are you someone that people in your network not only know, but also like and trust? Do your friends and associates trust you to treat the people they refer to you well? Show and grow your character, and you’ll receive more referrals.

Character isn’t just what you are, it’s what you do. There is little that rings more hollow than for someone to say, in one form or another, that they are a person of “high character” — honest, a hard worker, helpful, easy-going, etc. — and then have their actions be inconsistent with that. Furthermore, one of the best ways to build stronger relationships is by helping people actually accomplish their goals.

In The Virtual Handshake, we introduced the idea of “Seven Keys to a Powerful Network”, one of which is your character:

Character: Your integrity, clarity of motives, consistency of behavior, openness, discretion, and trustworthiness. This is driven by the reality and the appearance: the real content of your Character, and what each Acquaintance thinks of your Character.

We also point out that:

As an absolute rule, credibility – your Character and your Competence – must underlie your network. A massive network will not aid you if you are selling an inferior product or trying to get a job for which you are unqualified. In fact, a big network will rapidly become a liability, as too many people will be aware of the inferior goods you are peddling. No matter how much your friends like you, they will not recommend you for a job if they see that you are consistently unethical, tardy, sloppy, or otherwise unprofessional.

There’s a line from an old church song that I remember from my childhood: “If your light’s under a bushel, it’s lost something kind of crucial.” If you are a person of character, you need to show that, and LinkedIn is a great opportunity to do that. Here are seven ways that you can actually demonstrate your character on LinkedIn, rather than just talk about it.

1. Answer questions well. Don’t just rattle off a quick opinion – put some thought into it. Provide some additional resources. Refer people to an appropriate expert from within your network. Most of the questions on LinkedIn Answers are from people actually trying to solve a problem or accomplish something, not just looking for something to talk about. What better way to be of service than to actually help someone accomplish something?

2. Add value to introduction requests. If you buy into the idea that LinkedIn is designed for “trusted referrals”, then you need to participate in that. A trusted referral isn’t just, “Joe meet Sally, Sally meet Joe.” A trusted referral adds context to the introduction which will help the two people get off to a good start. How do you know this person? How can you recommend them in the context of their request?

3. Make good recommendations. Don’t just wait for people to recommend you and then reciprocate – be proactive. Go through your network. Who among them do you feel strongly about that you could give a good recommendation to for their profile? When you add someone new, do you know them well enough to go ahead and recommend them? Also, recommendations on your own profile are a great way to show your own reputation, and the best way to ask for an endorsement is to give one. And don’t write empty, generic recommendations; write good ones.

4. Respond in a timely manner. Forward introduction requests right away. The rest, get to as quickly as you can. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m pretty slow in responding to invitations and to introduction requests for me if they are just general “I’d like to meet you” requests. It’s not that I think they aren’t important — I’m just plain busy, and I place my existing clients, business associates and family in front of new networking contacts. But forwarding requests I almost always handle within 24 hours, 2 days at the most.

5. Help your contacts learn how to use LinkedIn effectively. Most people don’t have a clue how to get beyond the basics of a simple profile with their last couple of jobs and connecting with a few colleagues they keep up with. Help them! Go through your contacts list and see which people have less than 10 connections. Drop them an e-mail asking them if there’s anything you can do to help them make better use of the system. Refer them to this blog and the LinkedIn-related Yahoo Groups. Doing so not only helps them, it also helps you and all of your network if more people become actively engaged.

6. Be proactive. One of the most important elements of networking is proactively introducing two people that you know. It’s not readily obviously how to do this with LinkedIn, but you can: from the profile of one of the people, choose “Forward this profile to a connection.” Address it to the other person, but also address it to the first person whose profile you’re sending. By default, recipients will be able to see each other’s names and email addresses, and they’ll both see the same message.

Now take it one step further and use LinkedIn to set up multiple introductions. For example, let’s say you meet somebody new and they’re looking to meet people with an interest in, say, process management. Now, even though you know your contacts fairly well, you may not be able to remember (or even know) which of them have a background in process management, and I’m betting that’s not in your contact management system either. But it is in LinkedIn. Search your network. Find the matches. Copy their profile URLs and send them to the new person you met and tell them you’d be happy to make an introduction. Or say someone you know posts on a mailing list or forum that they’re looking for someone to fill a certain position. Search your LinkedIn network and send them the list of people in your first and second degree and tell them you’d be glad to introduce the ones they’re interested in talking to. Great networking is proactive, not just reactive.

7. Use LinkedIn to enhance face-to-face networking. You can use LinkedIn to fill out a business trip, meet fellow travelers in your network, help you break the ice at a meeting or research a prospective client so you can communicate with them more effectively. Every one of these things helps show that you have a genuine interest in other people and are willing to make the time to develop those relationships.

Think of your character as being like a muscle — if it doesn’t get enough exercise, it will atrophy. So go give your character a workout at the LinkedIn gym!

Scott “Social Media” Allen is a social media strategist who’s been helping individuals and businesses transform virtual relationships into real business since 2002. He’s coauthor of The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online and The Emergence of The Relationship Economy, as well as a resident expert at American Express OPEN Forum and Business.com. In partnership with OneCoach, Scott will be presenting a six-part course on “Social Media for Business Growth” starting on August 18. Click here for more information.

This article is based on a portion of the OneCoach Expert Interview with Robert Grant, Facebook Expert and Marketing Mastermind. OneCoach business coaching clients can access the recording of the interview on our web site.

Social media is now being implemented as a strategic marketing tactic in business and is taking the world by storm. Facebook, for example, is close to 300,000,000 users. It’s now accounting for 70% of the entire Internet population. The average user is logging on 4 times a day. The average visit time is 20 minutes. 8,000,000 people per day are joining Facebook fan pages. It’s the biggest social media platform on the Internet and no matter what industry you are in, members of your target market are using Facebook.

Depending upon your business niche, there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of other social media sites that you could be using to find your ideal clients. Understanding the trends in this rapidly growing industry will help you understand how to get the best return on your investment of both time and money.

The mistakes people make in social media:

• They only think about themselves. If you want to be successful in social media, money has to be a natural consequence of you contributing. It’s all about connecting with people and building relationships.
• They don’t realize that it’s an open community. Every word you say goes viral. It’s heard by the person you are communicating with, your network, and their entire network. Go out there and contribute first. Don’t be viewed as a taker. Relationships are first and business is second. Get a solid core network.
• They think it’s about building the “Facebook phone book” which means adding anybody. When it comes to the masses, that’s what groups are for. Have a quality network. If you build a quality-based network, then as your relationships build their network, you can start leveraging a massive reach.

This “fad” is not going away…

• You have to educate yourself in social media. It makes a lot of things from the past obsolete. When you are thinking about connecting with prospects, they’re online following other people. Think about your product or services. If your customers are online, then you need to figure out where they are online and how to start the engagement process.
• If you don’t want to pursue social media yourself, then get help doing it or get it done for you. This is the new killer application to use if you want to see your business survive and thrive. When you become the early adopter, which is now, start leveraging your knowledge, strategies, and tactics over the next 30 to 90 days. You will position yourself as the thought and product leader in your niche.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this article to see what you can do to utilize social media in your business. It’ll be available on Monday, 4/12, so be sure to check back!

Almost everything we buy has an emotional as well as a practical reason. When we buy something, our subconscious level is as active as our conscious one, because deep inside, everyone feels the need to stop pain and to increase happiness.

The majority of us, when we buy something, are trying to fill an emotional void. We are attempting to get closer to happiness and to a life free of problems.  This is why we buy what we want as much as, or even more than, what we need, to get rid of the pain or to feel happy. There may be exceptions to this — it’s doubtful that you feel an emotional connection to your laundry detergent or toilet paper — but any items that require a decision-making process definitely fall into the “emotional connection” category.

Here we show you the 6 basic human necessities that touch on the pain/happiness equation.  Our advice as business coaching experts is that when you are trying to sell a product or service, link it to one of these, and you will get the person to connect emotionally with your proposal.

1. First necessity: Certainty
   If you can prove to people that your product or service will bring certainty to their lives, they will buy it.  It can be the certainty of love, security, health, self-respect, financial freedom, or peace, you name it, just know your potential clients’ desires.
2. Second necessity: Variety
   While there is a small group of folks that we would classify as “creatures of habit,” most people need variety to feel alive.  The same, over and over again, bores them. We travel, read, meet people, and try new foods, among other things, in search for variety. Some people hate routine, so present your product or service as a routine breaker.
3. Third necessity: Significance
   Significance is a great buying motivator; however, this word has a very subjective meaning. People have different views and experiences in regards to what is significant for them. You have to clearly identify what matters to your potential clients in order to present the significance your product or service may have for them.
4. Fourth necessity: Connection
   Connection is vital in a person’s life. We have the need to feel deeply connected to our family, friends, community, society, and country. How can your product or service enhance that connection?
5. Fifth necessity: Growth
   Life is about growth. People need to grow every day in order to feel alive, successful and prosperous. One can grow emotionally, professionally, spiritually, financially, etc. If your product or service supports a person’s growth in any area, there is a big chance they will buy it.
6. Sixth necessity: Contribution
   Everyone has a purpose in life. Everyone was born to fulfill a mission, and this is why everyone needs to know that his or her life matters.  Human beings have the need to make a difference and to contribute to the wellness of the world in some way. Your product or service will connect deeply with your customers if it offers them an opportunity to tap into their helping soul.

Life is a list of goals. Personal and professional aspirations motivate us to act every day in order to attain a result that will put us ahead in the game of life. Maybe you want to lose weight, stop smoking, become a manager, get a degree, or find a life partner; in every case, you are aiming at a goal.

In order to enjoy a balanced life, there are 6 areas in your life for which you must define goals:

- Finances
- Relationships
- Contribution
- Health
- Spirit
- Business

Once you define a goal, you start working to attain it and begin to see some progress, but at some point, something happens and you get stuck or find yourself back where you started…this might get you down, but it is quite normal.

Most people don’t attain their goals not because they’re not motivated, but because they don’t know how to define attainable goals and keep working to get there. As every successful business coach will tell you, that’s the difference between successful people and the ones who must struggle to survive. Successful people know how to define and attain goals. Surround yourself with successful people and you will see the patterns.

Here are the 6 requisites every successful person meets to attain his or her goals:

1. Dream big
   Think out of the box and establish ambitious goals. Do not set goals thinking that there is a limit to what you can achieve. The only limit is yourself and the past conditioning you allow to stop you from getting what you want.
2. Write down detailed goals
   Successful people know that writing down their goals initiates the process. This is why you have to be specific, because what you write down is what will begin to happen. Your achievements will be as accurate as what you wrote, because you are appealing to the universal laws and are setting your mind to work as focused as possible. So don’t write down that you want a new car; explain that you want a new full extras, silver BMW, with black leather seats, a full warranty and full service for life.
3. Your goals must be in harmony with your values
   You will attain your goals easily if you are working on something you value, because it means you are aligned with your purpose in life. First, define your values and second, base your goals on them.
4. Your goals must include two things:
   a. A specific plan to attain each
   b. The correct beliefs and mindset
   Without these, you will never attain your goals, thus, clarify your beliefs and think about what actions will lead you to attaining your dreams.
5. Check your goals daily
   Before you get out of bed, before you eat your breakfast, check your list of goals. Visualize your life once you attain them: how does it feel? Check them before going to bed at night too. What you are doing is programming your brain to work on your goals subconsciously, and to expect them to become a reality.
6. Never lose hope
   You never lose, even if you don’t get what you wanted. In case your dream doesn’t become a reality, remember that you still have what you learned in the process. Experience is crucial to advancing in life. As long as you focus on what you want, you will find the way to get there, in spite of the problems or setbacks you may encounter.

Having a blog is a wise marketing strategy…if you know how to make it rock. If you are a small-business owner, you have probably already considered starting a blog, or you may have even tried it in the past without much success.

Here are 10 straightforward tips for writing a blog worth reading:

1. Clearly define the purpose of your blog
   The legitimate reasons for starting a blog are endless, and there’s only one bad motive: the fact that everyone else has a blog. You have to be clear about why you are starting a blog, and you must define your audience in detail. You should also outline how the blog will complement your marketing strategy.
2. Choose the perfect theme
   The quality and quantity of your blog’s readers may be impacted by its theme. A good theme will make you look like an expert and will allow you to share valuable knowledge with the audience. Remember, the theme isn’t just the way your blog “looks” but also includes plug-ins, add-ons and widgets that enhance the usability of your blog.
3. Write the way you speak
   A blog is different from a magazine, from a brochure, and even a website. A blog is like chatting on paper. You have to befriend your readers and allow them to know you. To achieve this, you must write the way you talk.  Use ingenious punctuation to reproduce your ideas as if they were being spoken. Blogs with personality are far more likely to attract regular readers!
4. Write to help people read
   It is easier for readers to grasp short paragraphs, and they usually scan the text, thus, use simple vocabulary, sort the information in bullet points or numbers (ie: the post you are reading), and focus on one topic per post — mixing messages will cause confusion.
5. Use keywords effectively
   The right keywords will keep the topic in line and will make your blog attractive for search engines. This is another great reason to know the purpose of your blog…the clearer it is, the more coherent and interesting your posts will be.
6. Shuffle things around to surprise your readers
   Change your approach in every post. In some instances, you may just list the facts, while in others you may voice your opinion. Sometimes you may be funny and some others you may touch serious matters. Talk about opposing views to yours and deal with them. Whenever you’re able, include photos or videos to add interest.
7. Come up with killer titles
   Think twice about your title before publishing your post. The title is the element that draws the reader’s attention: make it concise, descriptive, and witty, include your keywords, play with the words, and intrigue your audience. That’s how you’ll grab your readers.
8. Establish regularity with your posts
   You have to update your posts as much as the audience expects you to. Most readers expect new content frequently; every day may be difficult for you, but you can establish a regular schedule of twice a week or three times per week that works for you as much as for your readers. Consistency is key.
9. Link often
   Include links in your posts that take your readers to websites or material that could interest them. This will make you credible and will set you as an expert. You can build a network of partners if you link to other interesting blogs and websites that will link to your blog as well.
10. Connect with your audience
    Read the comments your readers write and address them, either with a comment back or by writing a post about what they are saying. Your readers can give you lots of interesting and relevant topics to write about. You can be sure they will read what you post, because you have just proven that you are paying attention.

Do you have a successful blog with a steady readership? Have additional tips for us? We would love to hear them! Please feel free to leave your comments below!