Signing into a social media platform and not contributing is like going to a networking event, sticking your name on your lapel and standing in the corner. You come out of the networking event and say “Well that event stunk.” That doesn’t sound like a good way to make contacts, does it? Well it gets worse. Now imagine going to that event, but you are not standing in the corner. You are walking around and sticking your ear over the shoulder of a group in conversation. Here’s another scenario; somebody walks up to you and introduces themselves but you simply walk away without saying a word. If that’s your way of networking, then stay home, it will save more finger food for me.

If you are getting involved in social media, be sure you are committed to the “social” part. It’s called social media for a reason and that is because you are supposed to socialize; to connect; to introduce; to meet; to learn; to engage. Is it NOT called “Lurking Media” or “Talk to the Hand Media”.

Social media is exactly like a networking event. Here are some tips for being a better networker and getting more from your social media:

• Show up. It sounds silly doesn’t it? But you’d be surprised at how many people want to make new contacts, but never network.
• Introduce yourself, but don’t start your sales pitch. Shoving your business down somebody’s throat is a turnoff. Go stand in the corner with the lurker.
• Before you throw the iron bars of your privacy settings around your profile, remember that this is social media. You don’t have to reveal intimate details, but leave your privacy settings open enough that other can determine if you are somebody they would like to engage. If somebody looks at your profile and finds “Dan only shares his information with his wife and his mom”, then chances are you are going to move along right past Dan to the next person and never give Dan a second thought.
• Ask questions. Be genuinely interested in the person you have just met. Find out about their business, what their challenges are, and why they are there. You may have nothing in common with them, but you also may know somebody who does. The more you are interested in the other person, the more that person will find you interesting. After all, people love to talk about themselves.
• Get involved in topics of discussion or even start a discussion. The more you contribute RELEVANT information, the more you will be seen as the expert on the topic.
• Thank people for engaging in discussion and that you appreciated their input.
• If you really want to make an impact, go out of your way to get back to them with information or a contact that they were looking to make. They will be astonished that you remembered them. They, in turn, will want to go out of their way for you.
• Ask somebody you DO know to introduce you to somebody you would LIKE to know. The person making the introduction is like a bridge over the chasm of unknown-unliked-untrusted.
• Be cordial. If you engage in conversation and you are not comfortable, you don’t have to become their Facebook friend, LinkedIn Contact, or Twitter Follower.
• Be genuine. Successful business people are very intuitive and are able to identify that you are trying to be something you are not.

Finally, and most importantly, each new person you meet will know somewhere around 200 other people. Be careful of whom you are quick to dismiss.

CLIENT:  “How much does it cost?”

ME:  (Eye roll…obviously in my mind, but not detectable to my client).

“It’s not the cost of the unit purchased, it’s the value of the unit used.”

CLIENT: “That’s very good, but seriously: How much does it cost?”

ME:  “Seriously?  Do you want to buy something because it’s cheap or do you want it to buy something because it will work?”

“Do you want to buy cheap, or do you want quality at a reasonable price?”

“Do you want to buy more than you need to get the unit price down, or do you want to buy in order to get results?”

CLIIENT:  “OK, OK it get it! Just tell me the price!”

ME:  “The price is going to be less than it should be, because you will be glad I steered you in this direction.”

Granted, our clients do need to the price. But there shouldn’t be a cost involved. Cost is something for which you get nothing in return. It’s kind of like when my mouth engages before my brain and I throw sarcasm at my wife. That’s going to COST me. But, if I buy her a bouquet of exotic flowers (from my friend at Bloomin’ Genius), I’ve paid a price, but the return on investment is much greater than the price I paid. The value of the unit used is much greater than the cost of the unit purchased.

Now that I’ve taken something romantic and reduced it to a business decision and causing visible eye rolls from you ladies, I hope I’ve also made a clear point. STOP SELLING STUFF BECAUSE NOBODY WANTS TO BUY ANYTHING!” People make a purchase decision because of the potential value realized by using the item they just purchased.  Our job is to bring the value to our clients. I, for example, try to think “Can this product help my client in their business?” or I even ask “Do you think this would help you in your business?”

Approach your client with their needs in mind, your profit will follow. If you’re out there thinking how to make money, you’re not solving any problems. You may have short-term gain, but will be lacking long-term relationships.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to make a call to my Bloomin’ Genius friend to make a deposit on an investment in my marriage…because my wife deserves it; and she just brought me bacon and dippy eggs. I really am a romantic at heart. (OK ladies, you can stop with the eye rolls!)

During a particularly hectic business day, during a stressful business week, during a less-than-profitable business month, an office manager walked out of her office and screamed to the hard-working staff in their maze of assigned cubicles “Will somebody please tell me what is going on?”

At the time, I thought the manager had finally gone off the deep end. But in retrospect, I can’t help but think what a brilliant question; although I’m still convinced she did take that trip off the deep end. Do you know what’s going on in your business? Do you want to find out?

Ask any five employees with differing responsibilities what your business does. List the answers. Then ask five customers. Then ask five vendors. The fifteen answers now in front of you can reveal a lot about your company. If they are all consistent, then congratulations, you may already know what is going on. But chances are that the people you count on the most are all over the board. Your goal is to get everybody on the same page.

The message you are communicating to the marketplace needs to be concise enough that all employees can work toward accomplishing that message, your customers can tell other customers your message, and your vendors can provide better products and services to better help support that message.

A few months ago, I wrote an article for Dynamic Business (SMC Business Council’s magazine) that has come back to haunt me….IN MY SLEEP!

I wrote about ideas coming from the back of my brain to the front. Well this article came to me about 2:00 a.m. It infuriated me and I never did go back to sleep that night!

I am no economist nor do I care to be. I did, however, stay at a popular hotel chain last night…but I digress.

Before you decide which candidate you are going to vote for, please stop for a few minutes and listen to what they are promising to “GIVE TO YOU” or “DO FOR YOU”. Whatever your favorite issue is, let’s do some simple analysis. Whatever it is you think they are going to “DO FOR YOU”, you better start thinking about what that “DOES TO YOU.” Governmental programs with cozy names that sound like they do something good on the surface are paid for by YOU and ME, not big business and not the rich. Most of these programs also accompany a promise to increase the tax percentage of the highest income earners (the Man) or they require that businesses (again, the Man) provide their employees with Program X. Let’s look at how Program X is funded, shall we?

The Manufacturer who is now required to provide Program X to their employees (Add’l cost I) and their tax burden is increased (Add’l cost II), builds the cost of I and II into the manufacturing cost of PRODUCT. PRODUCT is sold, at a higher cost to the Wholesaler. Wholesaler’s normal markup percentage doesn’t change, but Add’l cost I and II are multiplied by the normal markup which increases the selling cost of PRODUCT. Wholesaler also adds into the cost of Program X into their cost of doing business which means at Wholesaler level there are Manufacturer’s Add’l cost I and II multiplied by their normal markup plus Wholesaler Add’l cost I and II. PRODUCT is then sold to retailer. The same thing happens at Retailer’s level. Add’l cost I and II from Manufacturer (X) normal markup + Add’l cost I and II from Wholesaler (X) normal markup from Retailer + Add’l cost I and II. Then PRODUCT sits on the shelf.

YOU and I walk into our retailer and complain about higher prices! At least we feel better because our favorite politician was elected and is “giving us” what we deserve through Program X. At least they’re sticking it to the Man.

OK, it may not be that simple. Maybe businesses try to keep costs down and run a little leaner. What that means is YOU and I work harder because the extra staff needed is not being hired because what comes along with that extra employee is Program X entitlements. On the other hand, maybe there are a few people who can be trimmed from the payrolls and along with those people go the costs of Program X. That extra person may be YOU or I. Now you’re unemployed but your consolation is the feeling that our favorite politician is sticking it to the Man!

WAKE UP PEOPLE! I’m going back to bed now I got that off my brain.

Nobody is ever going to buy your product unless they believe that what you are offering is actually going to do what you say it will. If you are a service provider, nobody will use your service unless you convince them you are for real. This is called credibility. If you are having trouble gaining new clients, try increasing your credibility factor. One way to accomplish this is to Google along with your name with your company’s name. What do you find? If you find nothing, then do something! Almost anything you do within your industry gets recorded by somebody, somewhere and listed on their website. Potential clients hear your voicemail (because they never take your call), and they MAY try to Google you to see if you are for real. If your Google results are very favorable, challenge them in the voicemail to Google you to find out more information. If you Google your name and you find something, start reading what you find. Maybe you don’t want your clients to know about that “incident” at the tailgate party. If that’s the case, don’t throw that challenge to your clients (but enough about me, let’s get back to the article). Your activity within your industry will also help to reassure your existing clients that you are doing the right things to continue to be the best to serve them better. Don’t count on your clients to find out on their own time. Let them know what you are doing and why you are doing it. While these industry activities do benefit you, remember that the ultimate beneficiary of your hard work and dedication is your client. And that is why you do what you do.

Get out a pad and paper and list the first 4,000 people that come to mind…I’ll wait.

OK, I’ll settle for the first 400…

The reality is that if you take the time you can come up with 200 or more people. Now, what if each of those 200 people was a potential client? That would be cool. What if I told you there is a way to get your message in front of 4,000 people on a weekly basis? That would be WAY cool! It’s called networking, and it’s a great way to have instant credibility with somebody you don’t even know.

When a colleague refers you to a third person, a certain degree of your colleague’s credibility is transferred to you through their existing relationship. In short, I trust Joe and Joe refers Kim to me, then there’s a very good chance I can trust Kim. There are several networking events through local organizations. SMC Business Councils has great networking opportunities you should consider as well as your Chamber of Commerce. There are also some great organizations dedicated solely to networking and referring. I belong to a networking organization (BNI) which meets weekly. I deliver a different message every week to at least 25 of my colleagues. If each of my colleagues knows 200 people, then every week my message can potentially reach 5,000 clients and I have instant credibility with 5,000 people I don’t even know. But there is a catch.

Any time a colleague gives you a referral, you better do everything you can to follow up quickly and professionally. The credibility that was transferred to you through your colleague is now on the table like chips on the blackjack table. Your friend is taking a chance on you and trusting you. You have the power to double his client’s trust in him or losing that same amount of trust. A referral is not to be taken lightly. If you follow through, you not only gain a new client, you now have access to their 200 friends. It doesn’t take long to exponentially increase your circle of influence.

After a big snow, I love it when my kids wake up and say “Dad, it snowed last night. Look at the snowman that moved into our front yard!” Yeah, that doesn’t happen. It’s usually something like “Dad, it snowed last night. Can you help us build a snowman?”

Well, as I explain to my kids, we can try. If the snow is not right, it won’t stick together. If there’s not enough snow, you can’t make a snowball big enough. The conditions have to be right to snow and the consistency of the snow has to be right. Good news; the snow is great for a snowman….let’s get started. First we have to gather a couple hands full of snow and mold that into a rollable, round little ball. Then we take our snowball place it in the ground close to where we want the finished Frosty to stand. We start pushing the ball around and around as it gathers more snow and gets bigger and it becomes easier to push and continues to grow and grow. At a certain point, that snowball gets harder to push and you make a decision. Is that base big enough to support the size of a snowman you want? OR, do we get somebody to help us to push that ball to make an even larger base to support a bigger snowman? Either way, the foundation is in place.

Remembering how we built the first foundation, we can either build on that or start the foundation of another snowman. Maybe we can have our friend work on the first snowman while we start on the foundation of a second snowman.

“DAD! GET TO THE POINT! WE JUST WANT A SNOWMAN! WE’RE GETTING COLD!”

Treat your business like you are building a snowman. A snowman doesn’t build itself just because you proclaim you are building a snowman.  It’s a heck of a lot easier if you do it under the right conditions. You need to be careful to make sure you get it started properly. Once you get the ball rolling, be sure to keep the ball rolling. At some point, you’ve got to make some personnel decisions. But a solid foundation is the key.

“DAD! WE’RE JUST SELLING STUFF FOR SCHOOL!”

OK, let’s go get some hot chocolate and hot coffee. Coffee is also VERY important when starting your business.

When you read the title of this article, you’re probably thinking “Who is letting this idiot write these articles.” Well, you can blame it on my clients…just hear me out.

I just came off one of the busiest months I’ve had this year. Yes it was a good month. It was a very good month. But, when I woke up this morning, I realized there was no emergency to tackle today. No clients needed that last minute project. Ahhhhh some down time. time to relax a little; take the day off; maybe some golf.

NOT SO FAST CHIPPY! Down time is when we need to work ON our business, instead of working IN our business. Working IN our business is what we find ourselves doing (but should avoid) when business is booming. Working ON our business is critical at all times, but should particularly be exploited when we are a little slow.

Marketing plans, goal setting, sales strategies, or even a good business book are all things that need to be addressed at some point at least once a year, if not once per quarter. The more we give these areas the attention they deserve, the more our business will keep us busy. Every business has a series of cycles during the year from high times to low times; peaks and valleys. We need to work ON the business to look at those valleys to find the shortest path to the next peak, keeping valley time to a minimum.

Just as we invest dollars to build our retirement portfolio, we also need to spend time to build our business portfolio. Maybe we could also spend a little of that cash we had budgeted for marketing to help in that effort. What? You cut that out of the budget during the last slow time? Well, that’s a good topic for another article, but in the meantime, shame on you.

So while you have the time, and time is money, at least spend it ON your business. Your handicap may go up, but so will your profit. One more thing; when you’re done, I’m free around 5:30 for a quick nine holes before dark.

If you’re like me, you work hard to keep your business going. When you do have down time, are you jittery and feel like you should be doing something; anything to work on your business? I totally understand.

Maybe it’s the whirr of the Briggs and Stratton engine or the smell of the grass or the fact that I’m ignoring my business for an hour, but I come up with my best ideas for my business when I am mowing the lawn. It’s to the point that I keep a notepad and pen in my back pocket while I mow in anticipation of those ideas springing and sometimes gushing from the back of my brain. Some ideas are good – some great – some are even useless for now. I write them all down to get them on paper. Once on paper, ideas tend to take a life of their own. By jotting ideas onto paper, I move them from the back of my brain to the front of my brain where they are more accessible.

Two other times are prime idea generators - in my shower and in my sleep. Neither is very convenient for writing the ideas down, but I try. The common thread for idea generation is nothing. That’s right, doing nothing. We pump our heads so full of information and try to get so much done during the day that we forget to relax. We even forget how to relax. While we are pumping the information into our brains, it is being processed, assimilated, stirred around, mixed up and then sits in a staging area as an idea. All that the idea needs at this point is our attention, a window of downtime, for it to present itself.

We need to learn to relax and get away from our typical daily activities. The ideas will come as long as you’re not working at it.

So I would like to take this time to extend an invitation to you. My lawn is waiting for any takers. Come on Huck! It’s fun!

I once asked a friend to accompany me to a motivational seminar. He said “All of that stuff is common sense. I don’t need to pay to hear somebody tell me what I already know.” He was right. He did know all of that “stuff”, but he didn’t practice it. Heck, I knew most of that stuff AND I didn’t practice it. I also knew that there was some stuff I didn’t know. If we don’t intend on using the stuff we learn, then we really may be wasting our time…MAYBE NOT.

Common sense means nothing unless our common sense becomes our common practice. Training seminars are full of practical tools, but tools only help us if we use them. However, we can’t use our tools unless they are available in our toolbox. The more we use a tool, the more we find uses for that tool. The more we use common sense, the more common the practice becomes. But that’s where the tool to sense comparison ends. We can go to the hardware store and buy the big toolbox and fill it full of tools. In contrast, common sense is acquired over time by reading, listening, attending seminars, and networking. It takes even more work to turn sense into practice. It takes dedication, commitment and desire to be better. 

A tool gets dull and wears out the more we use it, but sense gets sharper and stronger the more we put it into practice. It all starts with realizing there is more to learn and more tools to acquire. My toolbox has plenty of room and I’m building my tool collection. If I use them enough, I just might master them. Think about it. After all, it makes common sense.

Now has anybody seen my adjustable wrench?