I'm going to let you eavesdrop on a conversation I've had with hundreds of people in the last few years. It comes up while talking about networking and their social media presence: Me: "So who are your ideal clients? Who's the target market you want to work with?" Really Well-Meaning Professional: "Everyone! Which is why I'm totally confused about why I don't have more work!" It's sad but true that I usually have this conversation with professionals who are struggling to find success in their chosen field. It doesn't matter if they are a small business owner, a service provider, or a salesperson for a large company. Someone who … [Read more...]
On LinkedIn, Show and Tell Should Be: Show, Don’t Tell
LinkedIn profiles are really cool. Think about it; you get to have a website that it as all about you. It highlights your experiences, your skills, your education... your story. But most of us aren't that experienced in telling (and writing) our story. So we get flustered when we are putting together our profile. One of the most common traps people fall into when writing their LinkedIn profile is that they approach it just like they were writing a resume. This has a lot of negative effects, but one of the biggest mistakes is that people fall back on using resume-speak: the jargon and empty phrases that are used when putting together a … [Read more...]
Why You Want LinkedIn Endorsements
The Skills and Endorsements section on LinkedIn has become a staple of the LinkedIn profile. Because you can have up to 50 Skills listed, it can be challenging to decide upon a strategy with them. Which do you list, which do you highlight, how do you get your network to endorse you? While those are valid questions, don't let them stop you from using this section. It's a keyword bank that the system uses to return better results when users search. Here's my advice: While you are deciding what your strategy is, add some skills so that you can start building endorsements. LinkedIn Endorsements Matter From a networking and … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Network When You’re Shy
Networking can be tough when you're shy. Building new business relationships can be hard when just the idea of attending a professional event to network fills you with dread. You're not alone - it's common for people to spend most of their time at events with those that they already know precisely because they are nervous about making new friends. But this prevents you from taking advantage of the full benefits of networking. You want to consistently add new people to your network - because they have new information, new ideas, new contacts, etc. You don't have to be the life of the party and meet everyone to be successful, but you … [Read more...]
5 Rules from Zombie Survivors for Business Development
An undead zombie is shambling towards the lone survivor, arms outstretched, low moan coming from its chest. The plucky hero raises a machine gun in an attempt to ward of the attack and fills the zombie full of lead...but the zombie keeps coming! Because the hero didn't shoot it in the head! And everyone who's seen a zombie movie knows that the brain is a zombie's weak point! ...It's frustrating to watch the characters in a zombie movie make the same fundamental mistakes over and over again. It's just as frustrating to watch sales people and business development reps fail to take care of the basics when they meet with prospective … [Read more...]
How to Ask For Help On LinkedIn
One of the challenges with using social media for business is that it's so new. LinkedIn has over 500 million professionals on it, but it's not even 15 years old yet. It makes perfect sense that we're still grappling with how to actually use the platform in our day to day business lives. Especially because in business, there's a lot on the line. We know that if we post an embarrassing picture on Facebook, a few of our work friends might see it. But if we make a mistake on LinkedIn, all of our professional connections will see it and it could hurt our career. I was recently talking about how to ask LinkedIn connections for help with a … [Read more...]
The Magic Number of Networking Connections
I often get asked about the ideal number of connections you should have in your professional network. The topic often gets muddled because our first impulse is to equate networking success directly with the number of connections we have. I’m here to tell you that you don’t need a huge number contacts to have networking work for you. It’s much more important that you have strong relationships with the people in your network. But if you are really looking for that magic number of connections, here it is: One more than you have now. That’s the key to success. What’s really important isn’t the overall number of connections, but the … [Read more...]