Monday, November 21, 2016

Linkedin -- It is dynamic. Not static

Just read Stephanie Sammons' book; Linkedin to Influence. And I have some AHA moments.

Linkedin is NOT static.
It is not a place to ADD more connections in count, and forget about them.

It IS a place where you can ACTIVELY ENGAGE your Network, EXPAND your connections, and build your INFLUENCE.

The way you do it:

1) Build a STRONG profile.
Show (not tell) your expertise by:
- posting slides (powerpoint) on SlideShare.net
- write high quality posts on regular basis, and ACTIVELY share them.

2) Engage

- follow influencers, publishers, journalists for hot topics (or to get ideas. But, honestly, I am not into group-think or group-talk.)
- re-share quality info found on Linkedin or other online sources.
- read, comment, share posts that you like. Your activities will be seen by all of your connections, hence keeping you on top of their minds.
- engage your audience by thanking, commenting, liking their comments.

3) Build / Expand your Network:

- tag your connections, so that you can quickly pull up people of the right group; i.e. current clients, hot prospects, CPAs, etc. for easy mass-emailing.

- regularly "touch" your connections; by following / commenting on their activities, and share useful articles especially articles on how-to.

- Searching (or Advanced Search) on people, company to find out more about them. Click on the "hamburger bun" to search by people, company, etc.

-  Search your connections' connections. You can do "keyword "search such as title "CEO, owner" or do "advanced search" to add more filters; such as function "sales, business development", company size of different "number of employees" and etc.

- Reach out to your connections' connections by inMail. Mention Shared Connections or shared interests.

Different social media platforms have different characteristics:
- Facebook is about -- fun. fun. fun.
- Linked is about -- useful. useful. useful.
- Twitter is a place where -- everybody talks and leaves the room. No one listening. It is -- rapid pace!

At the end, nothing beats face-to-face connection.
Linked in just pull away the veil of 6-degree-separation. It allows us to see the invisible links, hence facilitates us connecting with our connections' connections.






Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Cold Calling or Social Media?

Last week, I wrote a blog on a success story on cold-calling.

I used to think that Social Media is just that -- for socializing. It kept the "author" busy. It created a "sense of engagement" with the audience -- but is it really? It did not result in sales, which translated into money.

Recently Dr. Sam from Strategism came to talk to our Small Business Program class at Golden Gate University (sponsored by -- Chevron!) His topic was Business Development. He didn't like cold calling nor door knocking which he did in early years. His company now makes $7 million in sales.

And what works for him is -- YouTube.
And he loves it!
He said with these social media / online tools, he can reach audience all over The States.

Strategism does IT, project management coaching and consulting. For him, reaching NEW clients is the key. Finding untapped NEW areas and quickly MASTER the skills are the other keys.

So, what marketing method works?
It turns out to be: know your clients!
Know where they look.
And find them where they are.

---

The methods I used are:


1) Postcards campaign -- I want to proactively reach out to the targets vs. passively waiting while the targets reach out to half a dozen of providers like me.

2) Cold Calling -- I think being able to talk with the business owners is a HUGE plus. From the tone, you have a sense of how the other person is like. It establishes  human-connection.

3) Getting involved with organizations / communities where my target audience are  - since I seek to work with contractors and architects, I go to AIA SF (American Institute of Architects) to do presentation on Quickbooks regularly as a way to build reputation.

4) Get people to TALK about me: I host meetup and mastermind to bring people to me, so that they will TALK about me. I also GO to places where my TARGETS gather, such as AIA SF, so that I am always on top of their mind. 

When interviewing Gordon Chong FAIA for a class assignment, in response to my incessant questions on "Where do you go places to meet people?"
He said, "You don't just go places to meet people. You keep going. You become one of them. You belong. "

4) Publish quality materials to educate -- I started posting slides from previous presentations on slideshare.net. And I also write blogs. These materials once published will do marketing 24/7 forever. It is a great investment. 

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Is Cold-Calling Dead?

In September, I got a voicemail; "Hi, this is Virginia. I just moved to SF from LA with my sister. I worked with CPA firm before. I did write-up, taxes -- personal, corporate, partnership and I also did training. Do you have a part-time job?"

She sounded like in her 50-ish. The specific of her skills was very helpful.

I thought: She sounded wonderful! But over qualified -- for me. She would be under-utilized. Plus I did not have extra work. But, I really appreciated her gut in cold calling!

I called her back, just to welcome her and to praise her for her gut!

She told me a bit more on what she could do and was VERY enthused.

I told her that I did not have the extra work. And she would be under-utilized.

She persisted, "Do you need someone a few hours a day, or a few days a week?"

I was impressed by her enthusiasm and easy-goingness.

After hanging up, I called Walter Louie CPA; my long-term strong allied. Walter owns a small CPA firm. I knew he has been trying to find a replacement for his former office manager who left for her hometown in Colorado for some months. He said she was his "left and right hands."

He said, "Wow! I would like to talk with her!"

I hung up and called Virginia right back.

I said, "Call Walter's office. Tell the person who picks up the phone "Terry said Walter would like to talk with me."

Virginia kept me posted on her contact with Walter. She affirmed my respect for him; "He is a nice guy!"

Later, she got food poisoning and was out for a week.

When she called again, she said "I am working at Walter's office. Today is my day 2. The system is different. I have a learning curve. Walter knew that. I called just to thank you."

It was just slightly more than a month from the day she called to the day she started working at a CPA firm, with a knowledgeable, respectable CPA. A good job and  a good place to be.

So, who says cold-calling is dead?