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Will You Try Some New Media Brain Alchemy?

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Best Internet Idea In a Long Time

thinking-heart

Today I my Google Alerts took me to Cloud Alchemy: A Thinking Heart by Suzanna Stinnett that resonates with potential. Will you help me help it grow?

Suzanna describes our online conversation fabulously:

Through these new media tools we have a thinking heart. This is what fuels my own daily journey as a teacher and articulator of new media.

This huge, benevolent, thinking heart. This heart which pulses through the vast onground servers to the vast online cloud.

And then she suggests an Alchemy Lab that connects a brain leader with a social force. Go read it.

I might suggest we find similar great chemistry in the non-profit space
with Beth Kanter and Geoff Livingston

or in the association space with Jeff Hurt and Susan Kuhn Frost

or in the social media sphere with Chris Brogan and Robyn McMaster

Will You Try Some New Media Brain Alchemy?

Write a post that shows a thinking heart.
Link back to this post and to Suzanna’s post.
Challenge other folks to do the same.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

What Will You Do Today to Double Productivity?

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How Can You Get Someone Else Working Too?

Invigoration happens when we accomplish something.
Invirgoration is even bigger when we accomplish something that’s been nagging us because it needs to go somewhere.

Take a look on your desk, on your to-do list … Is there something that if you just do it someone else can be taking it to the next step?

One best way to be productive is to find the thing we can accomplish and pass on for the next person to work on. Then while we’re working on our second task, that person can be working on what we just passed on. I call that double productivity.

What will you do today to double your productivity … even for just a few minutes?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your productivity!!

SOB Business Cafe 07-16-09

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SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking — articles, books, podcasts, and videos about business online written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Levite Chronicles
You are going to talk to some people this week who aren’t completely upbeat.

in over your head
If I do this boring job long enough and well enough, I’ll be promoted to the job that’s fast-paced and exciting. That’s the job I really want.

Talking Story with Say Leadership Coaching
I doubt anyone micromanages intentionally. No one likes to think they are being accused of doing it, and no one wants to be on the receiving end of a micro-manager’s reach.

Virtual Impax
Social Media is shifting the balance of power in the relationship between consumers and the businesses that serve them from caveat emptor (buyer beware) to caveat venditor (seller beware) and the easy to use mass communication tool known as social media is the sole reason for this shift.

Remarkable Communication
Does any of this have anything at all to do with writing, blogging, or communication?
Of course it does, silly!

If you can’t dye your hair pink at the moment, you can still write like someone who does.

Related ala carte selections include

AdRants
Vandalism of a whole new kind?

Middle Zone Musings
And I remember when he wrote his first comment on this blog.

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

How Can Social Media Enhance Sales?

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Social Media CRM
A Guest Post by Jacob Morgan

jacob-morgan1

Nowadays we are really starting to realize and see how social media can be integrated into various business processes and departments. One of the areas that is of greatest interest is sales. In this post I wanted to address a few ways that social media can help with the sales.

Social Media CRM

Social media doesn’t need to replace your current sales process, in fact, it shouldn’t. However, what social media can do is ENHANCE your sales process. Two of the most powerful social media CRM tools in my opinion are Facebook and Linkedin. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why:

  • Instead of making a cold sales call you can use Facebook or Linkedin to get some personal background information about the person you are calling i.e what their interests are, what’s going on in their life, who you BOTH know, where they are working, etc.
  • Not only can you use Facebook and Linkedin to connect with a person directly but you can also get in touch with THEIR friends and THEIR connections. This turns your small network into an extremely vast one.
  • On Linkedin you can see exactly what companies you are connected with and who you are connected with at any particular company. I don’t need to explain why this is valuable…do I?

Ongoing Relationships

relationships button

The traditional process for selling usually involves a severing of the relationship ones the prospect declines (or perhaps accepts an offer). Sure the prospect goes back into the “prospect” bucket for a follow up call in several months but that really doesn’t mean anything. With social media you can keep the relationship and the dialogue going with that person and when they are ready to make a purchase you will know about it. How do you keep the relationship going? Here are a few ideas:

  • Comment on things they share
  • Share things with them that you find interesting or can help you build credibility
  • Send messages on special days i.e. holidays, birthdays, etc.
  • Check out their events to see when/how you might be able to meet

Building Trust and Authority

This is a big one; before I get into explaining this let me first say building trust and authority also takes the most amount of time. A lot of companies don’t understand what building trust and authority really entails and they are under the guise that this can be done in just a few months, not so. I would say give yourself AT LEAST one year before you start to see yourself or your brand START to get recognized as a trusted authority.

Ultimately the best way to begin to build trust and authority is by creating content that demonstrates your knowledge and/or expertise in a particular area. If you’re a master carpet weaver then you need to be out there creating content that shows you are a master carpet weaver (talk about different kinds of carpet, how to get started with weaving, where to buy the best carpets, etc). How does this help with sales? Well, the next time someone ends up looking for a carpet, guess who they are going to come to? Building a relationship with someone is great, but building a relationship with someone where you are considered a trusted authority is better.

What else would you add to this? How has social media helped or enhanced your sales process?

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Jacob Morgan is a social media consultant and the principal at Mighty Mouth Media, a social media consultancy. Jacob is also the author of the soon to be released Twittfaced, a book on social media 101 for business. You can find Jacob on twitter or on his social media blog.

Look for more Jacob Morgan posts in the future. Thanks Jacob!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

Are You Overwhelmed by Internet ADD? What to Do …

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Everyone Else Is Doing So Much More

Do you see everyone around you getting where you want to be and wonder why you’re standing still? Have you given yourself over to that new generation of Internet ADD … ADOS – AD oh Shiny!! ?

The answer is inside yourself and in what you’re not doing.

Talk and move. That’s what every person with a success story has done to achieve it. Only two things — talk and move. It’s the essence of doing.

Want to get somewhere? Do something.

What will you do today to build your success story?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your web presence!!

Great Idea? What’s Your Strategy for Visibility?

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Go Out and Tell People ????

It’s so exciting to have a great idea, a great project, a great new job! How can we share the exciting things we’re doing without constantly talking about about ourselves? No thoughtful person wants to risk turning to “that guy”? No one who’s met “that guy” wants to do business with him.

It helps a lot if we don’t go hunting an audience.

When I figured out that asking folks what they’re doing and how they might help me do better at what I’m doing, talking about my work got easier, more fun, and more meaningful.

What’s your strategy for making your great ideas visible?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your web presence!!