Too Busy to Market, Too Busy for Success!

Too Busy to Market, Too Busy for Success!
As small business owners and entrepreneurs it's easy to
fall into the habit of believing you're too busy to market.
However, this is like saying that you're too busy to
invest in your ongoing success.

I think it's human nature to forget about our marketing
when we've got clients coming in but as soon as the flow
slows down a bit (which it will), we panic and start
looking frantically around for ways to get more clients
coming in.

By making time regularly and consistently to market, you
ensure that you continue to find and keep your most
profitable clients. This is what will give you long-term
success and growth in your business.

So, how exactly do you make marketing a top priority?

Here are 4 suggestions to try...

1. Make sure you have a marketing action plan

When you have a roadmap that tells you where you're going
and how to get there, then actually doing something becomes
much easier. When you have a plan of action, you don't
have to waste time scrambling around every time you try a
new marketing activity.

A marketing action plan allows you to spend less time with
your marketing and be more focused at the same time.

2. Create a marketing action calendar

Having a calendar that plots out each marketing action acts
as a great visual roadmap. You can see at a glance any
"holes" or overlaps of strategies and timing. I plot
everything on my marketing action calendar - from
newsletter submission dates, blog posting schedule, special
email reminders, networking events, teleseminars and so on.

Having a marketing action calendar lets you stay on top of
the marketing you've committed to.

3. Schedule marketing appointments with yourself

Set aside at least a day a week to work on marketing your
business. Schedule this into your day-timer, PDA or
calendar and don't break it! Consider it as important as
appointments you schedule with your clients. Take this
time to evaluate and track your marketing activities,
research new opportunities, tweak your sales goals, write
an article or blog post, conduct a client survey, and so on.

By scheduling appointments with yourself, you MAKE your
marketing a priority.

4. Do bite-sized marketing chunks throughout the day

You can deal with the bigger chunks (planning, writing,
tracking, etc.) of marketing during your weekly scheduled
marketing appointment with yourself. However, there are
lots of little bite-sized marketing tasks that you can do
between appointments or when you need a break from working
on a large project.

Here are some bite-sized marketing tasks that can be done
in 5 - 10 minutes:

* call up a client and ask for a testimonial

* sign up for your next networking event

* call a program chairperson about setting up a speaking
engagement at an organization you're interested in

* email a potential referral source to set up a meeting

* jot down an outline for your newsletter content

* call a new client to find out if they have any questions
on their recent purchase

* send an article, with a note, to a client you know is
interested in the topic

* order a thank you gift, on the web or by phone, to be
sent to someone who just referred a client to you

* submit an article you've written to an article directory
website

* send a handwritten note to someone you met at a meeting
recently

* write up something for your blog and post it

* check out a company's website that you are interested in
possibly doing a joint venture with

Incorporate these 4 tips into your everyday work schedule
and you'll soon find it easy and profitable to make
marketing a priority.

----------------------------------------------------
Jody Gabourie, The Small Business Marketing Coach, delivers
simple, innovative and powerful marketing strategies to
help business owners find and keep their most profitable
clients. To learn more about how she can help you take your
business to the next level, and to sign up for her FREE
special report, ezine and articles, visit her site at
http://www.JodyGabourieMarketingCoach.com

Corporate America Turns Out the Lights - Surprising Reduction in U.S. Corporate Energy Usage

Corporate America Turns Out the Lights - Surprising Reduction in U.S. Corporate Energy Usage
A huge shift is occurring in the way corporate America
views energy usage.

In a March ChangeWave survey of 1,400 respondents
knowledgeable about their company's energy spending, more
than one-in-five (22%) reported their company is Very
Concerned about reducing its energy usage. Another 35% say
they're Somewhat Concerned.

The increased levels of concern are ushering in a
transformational shift in U.S. corporate energy consumption
' with an astounding 26% of respondents saying their
company has used Less energy than normal over the past six
months.

By comparison, only 16% say they've used More energy.

In a related finding, nearly a quarter of respondents (23%)
report their company's spending on energy efficient
products and technologies will Increase over the next six
months; three-times the percentage that see a Decrease (8%).

"The perfect storm of rising energy costs and concern over
global climate disruption is forcing companies to rethink
the most basic ways they use energy," said ChangeWave
analyst Joshua Levine. "A tremendous shift in corporate
perception is occurring and it's going to impact virtually
all industries and create investment opportunities in the
process."

To track the corporate race towards greater energy
efficiency, we asked respondents which technologies and
products their company is actually using. Two technologies
' solar power and LED lighting ' stand out far above the
rest.

Alternative Technologies - Here Comes the Sun

Corporate use of "off-the-grid" energy technologies is
gaining momentum, with 8% of respondents saying they
currently use alternative sources to generate power. Going
forward, better than one-in-five (21%) say they'll install
and make use of alternative energy sources within the next
five years.

The shift to alternative energy is great news for solar
power, which dominates the landscape.

Solar is far ahead of other alternative energy options,
both in terms of current corporate usage (51%) and future
planned users (72%). Wind Power is relegated to a distant
second for current (24%) and future users (19%).

Solar Flares

According to the survey, an unattractive payback period
(24%) still ranks as one of the big barriers to corporate
use of alternative power technologies, second only to
initial capital investment (39%). And when asked how long
they think it will take to achieve a payback for their
current solar energy investments, the consensus estimate
among respondents is seven years (for future solar energy
investments it's 6.4 years).

But despite this, with crude oil prices hitting new
all-time highs the solar industry clearly has momentum and
is helping bring about a transformational shift in
corporate energy use.

"Solar's rapid expansion on the corporate energy efficiency
front is good news for companies in the solar food chain,"
says Josh Levine. "Polysilicon producers, solar cell
manufacturers and solar installation firms are all likely
beneficiaries of the trend toward the sun."

Adding to solar's attraction is the near certainty of
continued tax credits.

U.S. lawmakers appear likely to pass an extension of a key
solar industry tax credit. The bill, if passed, would
extend the 30% commercial tax credit by eight years, the
residential credit by one year and would remove a $2,000
cap on residential systems. Importantly, utilities would be
able to take advantage of the credit for the first time.

According to Levine, the companies best positioned to ride
this solar wave are the major photovoltaics manufacturers
like First Solar (FSLR), SunPower Corp. (SPWR) and Suntech
Power Holdings (STP) ' each of which are leading the solar
energy industry ever closer to the "Holy Grail" of
alternative energy economics ' grid price parity.

LED Lights Up

Along with solar power, there is another standout in the
corporate race towards energy efficiency.

Overall, the survey points to lighting as the single
easiest area for businesses to reduce their energy usage.

It is little wonder then, that energy efficient lighting is
the top product/technology companies will be purchasing
over the next six months to improve energy efficiency.

And while Compact and Regular Florescent Lighting had the
highest market share over the past six months ' LED
Lighting (21%; up 7-pts) is set to be the clear momentum
leader going forward.

We note that the biggest barrier to the more widespread
adoption of LED lighting technology is price. Nearly
three-in-four respondents (74%) say their company would
only consider switching all of its lighting with LED if the
cost were lower than $5 per bulb. But despite pricing
issues, the survey definitively shows LED lighting as a
prime spending area in the world of corporate energy
efficiency.

This is a boost for major lighting firms like Philips
Electronics (PHG) and General Electric (GE), who are the
leading LED manufacturers and distributors. However, Levine
believes the smaller pure-plays in LED lighting technology
are poised to be the biggest winners.

"Among the handful of innovators that have developed LED
technologies, Cree Inc. (CREE) stands out as a likely
candidate to be eventually acquired by a lighting giant,"
says Levine. "The light fixture market is a 2.5 billion
unit market worldwide, and Cree's technologies are clearly
addressing this enormous opportunity."

----------------------------------------------------
For the latest ChangeWave news on technology trends and
companies, visit: http://blog.changewave.com
The ChangeWave research network is composed of 15,000
highly qualified business and technology professionals.
Members are surveyed on a range of topics, and the findings
are converted into quantitative and qualitative reports.

Take Advantage of Improved Information to Develop More Profitable Business Models

Take Advantage of Improved Information to Develop More Profitable Business Models
I have found that most people will make the same decision
when presented with a fairly complete data set. Improve the
information available to individuals, and they will make
better decisions. Better results will follow.

One of the most significant developments of the last few
years has been the development of databases that sit on top
of the information systems of customers, suppliers,
partners, and the company itself. Business Objects, a
pioneer in business model innovation, has been important in
making these improvements.

These data (called business intelligence) are accessible to
people throughout the information ecosystem that supports
the business (the company, and its customers, partners, and
suppliers), and any business user can ask their own custom
questions and get immediate answers without having to
involve anyone from the information technology staff. This
innovation of shielding business people from the complexity
of the back-end system while opening up access to the
information is helping to drive effective decision-making
down in an organization closer to the customer, and making
the company more competitive.

Although the idea of empowering knowledge workers has been
around for awhile, only in the last few years have business
intelligence solutions turned this potential into reality.

This sort of data integration then fits nicely with the new
communications tools like work sharing programs and e-mails
that can tie together large numbers of people to work on
the same task without being in the same location at the
same time. In addition, many forward-thinking companies are
beginning to deploy business intelligence on mobile
devices, such as PDAs and cell telephones.

The traveling workforces of executives, sales people, and
customer service representatives, as well as line workers
of all kinds, can now always have business intelligence and
communications at their fingertips.

With these two changes, new business models can emerge that
build on human curiosity and intelligence to allow people
to "serve themselves" in a wide variety of markets in the
same way they do now in the supermarket. The rise of
discount broker Charles Schwab on the Internet is a good
example of this trend.

The information that a customer can access on the Schwab
Web site exceeds what a full commission broker could look
at only a few years ago. Schwab has used this linkage of
knowledge and communications to become the market leader in
discount brokerage, even though its trading services are
priced higher than many of its competitors.

Where can you apply improved information to create a more
profitable business model?

Copyright 2008 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved

----------------------------------------------------
Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a
strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is
coauthor of seven books including Adventures of an
Optimist, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The
Ultimate Competitive Advantage. You can find free tips for
accomplishing 20 times more by registering at:
====> http://www.2000percentsolution.com .

How to Thrive through This Recession, Jack Canfield Style

How to Thrive through This Recession, Jack Canfield Style
We're hearing a lot about the economy lately. In fact, just
this week, Alan Greenspan actually said "the r word" by
announcing that the United States is in a recession. Our
last recession, from 2001-2003, was due to the collapse of
the dot-com bubble, the September 11th attacks, and
accounting scandals such as Enron. There were also
recessions in the early 1990s and early 1980s.

In fact, for the last 30 years, the U.S. has gone through a
recession once every decade. There's no indication that
this will change in the future. Burying your head in the
sand will certainly spell disaster for your business.
Gritting your teeth to weather the storm will only increase
your blood pressure and keep you up at night.

The good news is that a recession is not a depression. It's
unlikely that we will ever go through something like the
Great Depression again. However, it's quite possible that
this will not be our last recession. To be successful, you
need to become informed about what a recession is and what
steps you can take to thrive in the midst of one.

What is a Recession, and What Can You Do about it?

A recession is a period of temporary economic decline
during which trade and industrial activity are reduced. It
is identified by a decline in a country's gross domestic
product (GDP), or negative economic growth, for two or more
successive quarters. In short, a recession means a steady,
prolonged decline in sales.

As a small business owner, you've experienced a decline in
sales before. It's a normal part of any sales cycle.
Question is: When you've had a drop in sales in the past,
what did you do? Did you just wait, hoping for things to
get better? Or, did you take decisive action to nip things
in the bud and turn things around? If you are a successful
small business owner ' someone intent on creating a
constant and steadily increasing cash flow ' then you know
the importance of taking informed, resolute action.

Jack Canfield, too, knows about decisive action. He's
famous for his rags-to-riches story of how he committed to
contacting five people a day to promote his book, Chicken
Soup for the Soul. The key to his success was his
commitment to action. Not just any old action, mind you.
Aligned, well-thought-out, purposeful action. Jack knew he
had a monumental task in front of him: promoting an unknown
book by an unknown author. Each day he took action to
increase name recognition, forge connections, and build
sales.

Five Simple Steps for Thriving through a Recession, Jack
Canfield Style

1. Get back to basics

Recessions are good for all things that begin with "re."
Re-group, re-organize, re-view. Revisit the fundamentals
that have already made your business a success. Revise your
mission statement to stand for what your business is really
all about. Reject rejection. Practice Jack's "Rule of
Five": Every day, do five things that will move you toward
your goal.

2. Clean up your act

Recessions are a great time, Jack advises, to clean up your
messes. Now, when sales are slow, finish anything that is
incomplete. De-clutter your office and organize your files.
Make phone calls to bridge any disconnects that may have
occurred between you and your customers. Magnify your
success energy by focusing on what you want to happen, not
what you are experiencing.

3. Focus on your connections and relationships

Recessions are the perfect time to forge new connections
and strengthen long-standing relationships. Practice
uncommon appreciation. Review your agreements with clients
and confirm your commitment to them. Speak first and with
integrity. Be impeccable in your communication. Meet for
breakfast instead of over the phone. Supplement emails with
handwritten cards and notes.

4. Be smart with your money

Recessions are the natural time for small business owners
to review their financials. Take a look at your cash flow.
Collect on any outstanding accounts. Don't fall into
lackful thinking by clutching and holding onto your money.
Spend wisely. Make sure your bills are paid. Above all
else, give more. Keep your energy flowing by finding a way
to serve others.

5. Step back

Recessions are the ideal time to practice stepping back in
order to keep things in perspective. Instead of
energetically aligning with all the fears, doubts, and
anxieties associated with a recession, step back and move
to higher ground. Don't get caught up in others' panic.
Soar above it all to a place where clarity can be gained
and perspective maintained. While you're at it, take others
with you. As Jack says, "When you lift up others, they will
lift up you."

No one likes feeling uncertain about the future. Yet
nothing is ever certain, whether or not we're in a
recession! By taking decisive action now, you can
positively influence your future. When this recession ends,
don't let your company be one that just managed to survive.
Practice Jack's Rule of Five and thrive.

----------------------------------------------------
Dr. Susan L. Reid is a business coach and consultant for
entrepreneurial women starting up businesses. She is the
author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The
Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success. Susan
provides intuitive small business solutions, powerful
attraction marketing tools, inspiration, and direction.
Visit http://www.SuccessfulSmallBizOwners.com and download
your copy of her latest free business success article.

Coaching Myths

Coaching Myths
Truth or myth? What do you think?

"Everything's fine we don't really have any problems and so
we don't need any coaching."

Many people believe that coaching is about putting wrong
things right. They would argue that things must be pretty
poor in the organization if it needs armies of people going
round solving other peoples' problems. If coaching is
required then it should be a short-term solution and the
coaches should move on when things have been sorted out.

"I'm not a manager or team leader so I don't have anyone to
coach."

We know that coaching is a people development tool so, by
definition that means we must have people to coach. What
then is the point of developing good coaching skills if we
do not currently operate as a manager, supervisor or team
leader and do not have any people reporting to us?

"I haven't time to coach."

If we think for a moment that a typical team will have at
least 6 to 8 people working in it, then we can begin to see
that the team leader's task is almost hopeless. 6 to 8
people, all wanting coaching every six weeks or so, in
sessions lasting up to an hour. How would we do any work?

"I can't coach - I've no expertise in the underlying
subject."

How can we coach somebody to do something we can't do
ourselves? How can we keep up with all the changes in the
way people do their jobs? How can we expect people to take
us seriously as managers if we're not prepared or able to
do what we ask them to do?

"I went on a course about this, but then it was called
feedback. That's all coaching really is."

For many people, coaching is something that happens as part
of the organization's Performance Management or Appraisal
system. In some organizations coaches have been known to
sit behind a colleague whilst they're dealing with a
customer and make notes on the things they did well or
badly. Usually, the individual and the coach would then
retire to a quiet area where the coach could run through
the list and make suggestions for improvement.

"This is just a fancy new name for what I've been doing for
years - training people!"

Can we really see any daylight between coaching and other
methods of developing people? Coaching is ultimately about
making people better at what they do, but then so is
teaching, training, mentoring, counselling etc.

In fact, each of these statements is a myth.

"Everything fine we don't really have any problems and so
we don't need any coaching."

Coaching is a marvellous tool for problem solving and
whilst in most cases people will seek coaching because they
have a problem to solve, it would be a mistake to limit it
to this purpose alone.

Some managers suffer a sort of 'prodigal son' mentality and
spend all of their time and energy addressing the poorest
performers. But let's not assume that people who are
currently performing really well do not have vast reserves
of potential that might be released through coaching.

Even the best performers benefit from coaching. We need
only look at the world of sport to know that this is true.

"I'm not a manager or team leader so I don't have anyone to
coach."

Typically coaching is delivered by managers to staff or by
team leaders to team members and this is usually because
companies and other businesses are organized in a
hierarchy. But it doesn't have to be this way.

Anyone can be a coach. The skills of coaching are not in
anyway connected to age, status, experience or job role.
Similarly, coaching can be delivered in any direction and
should not be limited to a top down approach from team
leader to team member. Why not have nurses coaching
consultants, printers coaching designers or classroom
assistants coaching teachers?

"I haven't time to coach."

We might respond to this by suggesting that there isn't
time not to coach! We must however recognize that coaching
is in many ways an investment that pays back in the medium
to long term. It can be very difficult for managers to
decide whether to take the time and coach an individual
through a problem or to deal with the situation themselves.
This is a matter of choice and taking responsibility.
Effective managers base their decision on an evaluation of
the needs of the situation and the people involved and make
an informed choice. Less effective managers will tend to
see it as part of their role to solve all of the team's
problems themselves, perhaps in the mistaken belief that
this is the essence of strong leadership.

Managers who coach however are constantly generating
responsibility and building trust with the teams and
individuals they manage and as such are able to take on a
more authoritative style when the need arises without
alienating the team or damaging trust.

"I can't coach - I've no expertise in the underlying
subject."

We need expertise to teach but not to coach. In coaching,
expertise can be quite dangerous as it provides a huge
temptation to slip back into telling people what to do,
giving advice and 'rescuing' people rather than letting
them learn.

Where we find ourselves coaching people in matters we have
expertise in, we must work hard to resist this temptation
and remember that coaching is about helping people to lean
and to become independent and resourceful. This is to
everyone's benefit over time.

"I went on a course about this, but then it was called
feedback. That's all coaching really is."

Well-constructed feedback can be extremely valuable to
people as they try to improve performance in any area.
However, it is limited to what we can observe and notice
and this is of no consequence if the performance issue is
to do with how people feel.

Poorly constructed feedback can do lasting damage and
reinforce limiting beliefs. Coaching avoids the pitfalls by
concentrating on the needs and experiences of the person
being coached.

"This is just a fancy new name for what I've been doing for
years - training people!"

Training has its place of course, and when done well, is an
excellent way of arming people with the basic skills and
knowledge they need to perform in their roles. Coaching
comes into its own when we want to develop performance and
allow people to utilise the full extent of the knowledge
and skills they have gained through training.

Unlike training coaching derives its agenda from the needs
of the individual, takes place at work (which is where
learning really happens) and can be more or less be
delivered anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

----------------------------------------------------
Matt Somers is a coaching practitioner of many years'
experience. He works with a host of clients in North East
England where his firm is based and throughout the UK and
Europe. Matt understands that people are working with their
true potential locked away. He shows how coaching provides
a simple yet elegant key to this lock. For a bumper load of
coaching tips and tricks - including FREE resources - visit
http://www.mattsomers.com

Top 5 Tips for Handling References Professionally During Your Job Search

Top 5 Tips for Handling References Professionally During Your Job Search
Do you wonder about how best to leverage and submit your
references during your job search? Here are some tips to
help you:

1. Never submit your references with the resume. You want
to have a face-to-face meeting with the employer, or at the
very least, a telephone interview, before providing
references. The purpose of the resume, at least at this
stage of the job search process, is to generate enough
interest to get you called in for an interview. By listing
references on your resume, you just give the recipient of
your resume another opportunity to screen you out before
you have a chance to sell yourself in person. Also, avoid
the old and overused phrase "references provided on
request." It is taken for granted that you will provide
references on request. There is no need to state on your
resume that you will do so. Listing this on your resume
just takes up valuable space that could be used for more
important data.

2. Former or current direct supervisors make excellent
references, but clients, your former employees, co-workers,
and vendors you have interfaced with often make great
references also. If you have people willing to endorse you
whose names are recognizable in your industry or profession
and who will add credibility to your job search, by all
means include them--and do so prominently. But, don't
neglect to include references from people at all levels,
particularly those in positions that represent the people
you would have to interact with on a real-world, day-to-day
basis in your next job.

3. As much as possible, you will want to maintain
connections with "old" colleagues and other people that you
worked with or associated with in past jobs. While the most
current references will often hold the most weight, having
no references from past employers can look suspect.
Recruiters may wonder, for example, if you left your past
employer on bad terms or if you had or have trouble
establishing strong professional relationships. If you
have lost touch with old colleagues, you might try looking
for them on LinkedIn or other professional networking sites.

4. Contact each person that you intend to list as a
reference and ask for their permission. Never provide
someone as a reference unless you have discussed it with
them first and briefed them on your current job search.
Verify the contact information for each reference and ask
for permission to list a telephone number and email
address. When relevant, you will want to list the name of
your reference, along with their current job title and the
company at which they work. While mailing addresses are
rarely necessary, you should include at least the city and
state (or country, if the reference is an international
one). You should also include the preferred telephone
number and email address for the reference.

5. Bring a professionally typed and formatted list of
references with you to the interview, preferably with a
font and formatting style that is consistent with your
resume. To really stand out from the competition, you can
make your references list a powerful part of your overall
marketing presentation by including a brief background of
how the person knows you and for how many years, along with
a summary of the qualifications and achievements that your
reference can speak to. If you worked together on a key
project, for example, this would be the place to mention
it. Formatting your references in this way transforms a
simple listing of references into a references dossier, and
will give you true competitive advantage once the selection
process begins, as very few (if any) of your competitors
will provide references in this memorable and highly
professional way.

----------------------------------------------------
Nationally certified resume writer and career coach,
Michelle Dumas is the director of Distinctive Career
Services LLC. Through Distinctive Documents
http://www.distinctiveweb.com and her Executive VIP
Services http://www.100kcareermarketing.com

Michelle has
empowered thousands of professionals all across the U.S.
and worldwide. Michelle is also the author of Secrets of a
Successful Job Search http://www.job-search-secrets.com

Does Your Firm Have a Compelling Position?

Does Your Firm Have a Compelling Position?
Based on studies conducted by the American Marketing
Association, the CMO Council, and Booz Allen Hamilton:

• Salespeople are spending approximately 40% of their time
preparing customer-facing deliverables while leveraging
less than 50% of the materials created for them by
marketing.

• Only 10-20% of salespeople create deliverables that are
both compelling to their customers and consistent with
their corporate brand.

• 85% of a company's external BRAND image is determined by
direct interaction between the sales force and target
buyers. Not surprisingly, 85% of PURCHASE decisions are
influenced by this direct interaction.

A "NON" compelling position!

Think of a lighthouse for a minute. This lighthouse is on
the shore of a very rocky coastline. The lighthouse has a
critical job to do with its messaging system. Ships
passing by rely on the lighthouse to provide direction and
safety. But, imagine for a moment that this lighthouse is
very "different." It has tiny little feet! And, when it
sees a ship coming, it reacts by running up and down the
shore hollering and screaming, attempting to shine its
light in the right direction to get the attention of nearby
ships. Unfortunately, for these ships passing by and for
their weary crews, the lighthouse has created a very
dangerous dilemma. There is simply no way to gauge which
maneuvers to make because there is no stable consistent
messaging from the crazy lighthouse. Many firms operate
just like this lighthouse! They follow a shotgun approach
to their messaging and how they position themselves in the
marketplace. They send out inconsistent communication
about what they do best, what sets them apart from the
competition and why. Their sales people are lost and can't
produce results because they are not given consistent
messaging from management to communicate to potential
customers. These firms, like the ships in the example, end
up on the rocks because of it. Brand positioning is about
identifying your brand's real value and competitive
difference and communicating this information consistently
to customers so that they have good reason to buy your
products and services. Think of Timex! "Takes a licking
and keeps on ticking." A solid message and position
communicated clearly and consistently over a period of time
becomes foundational.

Communicating sameness is a waste of time and money!

Let's look at two common mistakes of brand positioning:

1. Lack of Differentiation: Highlighting what may be true
but what is not a key differentiation point (i.e. "you'll
like working with us"). Differentiation defines the
compelling reasons to buy.

2. Lack of Focus: A generic marketing message to a generic
target market. Remember the old adage "jack of all trades
master of none". Customers need to know what your unique
solution is and how it solves their unique pain points.

And remember, that what positions a brand, is not simply
concrete, tangible and easily defined. Coke's brand
position is refreshment and fun times, not just cola.
Apple's brand position is built around great innovation and
beautiful design, not little black or white boxes.

----------------------------------------------------
With more than 20 years experience in corporate turnaround
environments, John Males brings expertise to clients in the
areas of management, sales and negotiations. His customers
include some of the world's most successful firms and
recognized brands. John can be reached at
info@fathomtraining.com or http://www.fathomtraining.com

Three Key Office Systems You Need to Manage Your Business

Three Key Office Systems You Need to Manage Your Business
These days we are so overloaded with information that it's
easy to lose sight of the basics of running a business, and
you very quickly become overwhelmed and suffer from
information overload! Just take a look at some of the
ebooks, products, ecourses etc. you have stored on your PC
- I bet they all relate to marketing your business, getting
more clients, increasing your income etc. but I bet NONE of
them tell you how to manage your business!

Building a successful long-term profitable business isn't
about "marketing" your business, it's about "managing" your
business - the marketing comes once you have your
management systems in place.

You cannot begin to market your business if you can't find
the information you need, don't know who you are marketing
to, and don't know where you are in your business.

So, let's go back to basics and take a look at the 3 key
office systems you need to "manage" your business before
you can start to "market" your business.

Filing Management System

Creating and maintaining a filing system is the very
foundation that your business is built on, so this is the
very first system you need to put in place - an efficient
and effective filing system.

With a proper filing system in place you will very quickly
and easily be able to find the information you need, when
you need it.

Contact Management System

After you've got your filing system all straightened out,
you then need to set about organizing your contacts. This
is another crucial area of managing your business. If set
up correctly your contact management system allows you to:

* Keep a note of clients, potential clients, and colleagues
contact information.

* Easily and effectively follow-up with a prospect.

* Locate critical client contact information quickly and
easily.

* Build your business.

Financial Management System

The is the final key office management system you need to
put in place for managing your business. Once you know
where you are in your business financially, you will be
able to much more effectively market your business.

Having up-to-date, critical, financial information
available at your fingertips allows you to efficiently
manage cashflow and be able to know straightaway if you can
take advantage of opportunities that come your way.

So remember, go back to basics and first "manage" your
business before you "market" your business.

----------------------------------------------------
Online Business Manager & Virtual Assistant, Tracey Lawton,
teaches professional speakers, coaches, and authors how to
operate an efficient, organized, and profitable business.
Learn how to create an efficient and organized office in 7
EASY steps, and receive free how-to articles at
http://www.OfficeOrganizationSuccess.com

Strategic Partnerships Are Like Marriage, How to choose them for Greater Success

Strategic Partnerships Are Like Marriage, How to choose them for Greater Success
You might not know it, but strategic partnerships abound.
Think about your own life. Are you married? Committed to
a significant other? If so, you are living in a form of a
strategic partnership. Both individuals bring something to
the relationship that the other values and sees as being
beneficial. It's similar in business. A strategic
partnership should be a relationship in which both parties
bring something to the relationship that each considers a
valuable asset.

When you decide you're ready to take the leap into a
strategic relationship, contact your potential strategic
partner and go out for a brainstorming session. Decide if
you think the relationship will benefit both of you and
how. Spell out how each of you thinks the relationship
will work, and who is responsible for doing what and when.
Strategic partnerships can become a source of discontent if
things are not clearly outlined in the beginning.
Sometimes, there are people who say they're looking for a
strategic partnership, but they're really only in it for
what they can get out of it.

A strategic partnership is just that ' a partnership in
which each party brings something to the table and is
willing to work to make sure the other partner is satisfied
in the relationship. A strategic partnership can either be
like a great marriage or a marriage gone badly; either way,
it will take work and a commitment on the part of each
business involved.

Just like you don't want to rush into marriage, you
probably don't want to rush into a strategic partnership.
Date for a while. Try a couple of projects before you
commit to a long-term relationship. Make sure the other
party is as committed to the relationship as you are and is
willing to do their share. The great thing about a
strategic partnership is that, hopefully, you'll be
partnering with someone who has a different set of
strengths than you do. Learning to capitalize on each
other's strengths and minimize each other's weaknesses is
one of the reasons strategic partnerships are so valuable.
Like a marriage, you can learn to work together when you've
found the right strategic partner.

Be creative when you think about potential strategic
partnerships. Do you do pedicures? How about partnering
with a person who sells sandals or women's clothing? Are
you a make up artist? How about partnering with an image
consultant? Or having the image consultant partner with a
tailor? One cosmetic consultant creatively partnered with a
travel agent because she had a product line that would take
a normal bag of makeup and reduce it to 4 purse size pieces
for the woman who traveled. There are no limits to
strategic partner opportunities when you begin to think
about who touches a market that is similar to yours.

As in any relationship, you may hit a few bumps in the
road, but if you've done your homework and chosen someone
who is like-minded in their philosophy, you will be able to
weather the storm and make your partnership work for you.

----------------------------------------------------
Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A strategic
Collaboration Marketing consulting firm. He empowers
business owners to discover and implement Integration,
Alliance, and Joint Ventures marketing tactics to solve
specific business challenges. He demonstrates how to create
your own Collaboration Marketing Strategy to increase your
sales, conversation rates, and repeat business.
Contact: christian@christianfea.com
http://www.christianfea.com

Tissot Watches Bring Affordability Into Luxury Timepieces

Tissot Watches Bring Affordability Into Luxury Timepieces
There is nothing quite like having a luxurious timepiece on
your wrist. It gives you the gratification of having a
piece of style and class to sport. The problem with many
luxury timepieces is they are just outlandishly expensive.
But Tissot watches have brought affordability into the
picture.

Tissot watches have been around for over 150 years now and
have continued to offer excellent value and prices for
those looking to by a high class Swiss watch. You do not
have to worry about purchasing some knock off watch or
cheap replica that is not going to get the job done.
Tissot offers everything that the finest watches have to
offer, but at a reasonable price.

The company has recently become a part of the Swatch group,
which also includes brands such as Omega, Longines, Rado,
and Calvin Klein. Coincidently, this group of watches
accounts for 25% of all sales within the industry. And a
big reason for this is because of the genuine Swiss watches
at affordable rates.

These watches are designed for the low to mid price range
of Swiss watches. Typically, these are the first watches
someone would buy who are looking for a Swiss watch. The
reason for this is because it gives people a taste of the
genuine style while allowing them to pay far less than some
of the other watches on the market.

While it does vary according to the model and style, you
can find Swiss made Tissot watches for as little as $240.
There are chronographs, sport watches, and luxury
timepieces you can enjoy for $200 and up, which is
virtually impossible to find with any other Swiss made
watch.

If you were to look at a Movado watch that is similar in
style to a Tissot watch, you can expect to pay nearly three
times as much. A number of Movado watches start at around
$600 for a single luxury timepiece. If you are a collector
or are looking to spend money on a watch, go for it because
Movado offers excellent watches. But you can get the same
appeal from a Tissot watch for far less.

It all depends on your tastes and what you are willing to
spend on a single watch. For some, it is outlandish to
spend so much money on something that simply tells the
time. For others, having a watch on their wrist that is
glamorous like a Movado is the only way to go. But Tissot
watches have opened the door to a whole new world of
luxurious timepieces at an affordable rate.

----------------------------------------------------
Tissot Watches (http://www.watchesonnet.com/Tissot.html )
have always been an affordable swiss luxury watch. To find
a Tissot that fits you please visit watches on net
(http://www.watchesonnet.com )

Mistakes with DVD Production and Content Management

Mistakes with DVD Production and Content Management
There is an interesting trend emerging that reflects a
number of growing complexities related to managing CD and
DVD production, as well as the production and management of
other content such sales, marketing or training materials,
software or other content that people are trying to send
out to their target audiences.

Businesses are up against many challenges including the
fact that typically the CD or DVD replication is just one
component of a larger project. Pieces are usually procured
via several vendors. There are growing complexities to
managing content.

Companies that have five to ten employees, versus hundreds
or thousands of employees, are typically responsible for
producing several different marketing pieces that need to
be managed along with CD or DVD manufacturing. This might
include brochures, manuals, user agreements, data sheets,
stationary, or presentation folders or sales and press
kits. These are usually digital or offset printed materials
and packaging that are often produced through a number of
vendors.

This is when problems usually occur with quality control
issues. For example, if a manual is produced by one company
and the DVD is being produced by another vendor, there is
often no cohesiveness between the two. What iof the colors
don't match. It is usually just one person handling it all,
including shipping, coordination and logistics of managing
a multitude of vendors.

The better solution is to have a fulfillment house handle
it all. This will help keep branding and quality control in
check via one stop shopping that leverages the budget.
Copmpanies get the best bang for their buck.

What's more, the best fulfillment sources today offer
solutions under one umbrella that they can order off of one
website storefront or e-commerce site. This is basically
like accessing and or controlling a store front, or an
online catalog where people can actually go online and
access the specific content that they need. The internal
audience is usually the sales team, or corporate
communications teams who need sales and corporate
collateral, such as business letterhead and cards. VARS can
get their own versions of materials needed and external
customers can go in and get what you want them to see and
order. Then of course there are materials for HR, the
technical department and training.

Look for an e-commerce solution that anyone can use and set
it up based on your company's rules, or structure. You will
see a return on investment in a short perdio of time, and
those managing the program will no longer be stressed due
to the challenges print and DVD production outsourcing.

----------------------------------------------------
Kristin Gabriel is the marketing communications director
for Acutrack, Inc. (http://www.acutrack.com). The company
enables customers to create, publish and deliver custom
content for CD and DVD duplication
worldwide. Acutrack's proprietary On Demand production
produces and ship custom packaged CDs or DVDs one at a time.

Plenty For Everybody - Project Team Success Depends On It

Plenty For Everybody - Project Team Success Depends On It
Project team success depends on a number of variables, but
the one that shows up as most important involves the
willingness of team members to collaborate. And
collaboration requires a belief that there is plenty for
everybody. And it's tough to spot as the reason a highly
qualified, highly resourced, experienced, interdisciplinary
team just did not click.

A story to illustrate, followed by eight recommendations
for project team selection and success.

A client asked me to work with a team that just didn't meet
expectations. A critical project, lots of resources,
clearly defined roles, clearly stated objectives,
experienced people that could see the problem from many
sides, more than enough time and money resources and top
management visibility; this team had it all. And yet,
output just didn't meet what was expected - the team
members agreed expectations were high, but achievable.

So what was the problem? In many of these kinds of
situations there are any number of factors that can lead to
poor performance. But lack of collaboration and sharing is
always at or near the top. In this case, it was the single
over-arching reason for the lack of performance. In this
team of six high achievers were two that had been highly
successful as individual contributors, but had little
experience - or interest - in working in a collaborative
setting. Their input was critical to the team, but they
were reluctant to provide much, unless they received credit
and recognition for their individual contributions. The
other four members of the team were used to sharing, had
been successful at it, and assumed all team members shared
that value. Wrong. These two highly successful individual
contributors saw the others as competitors - competitors
for credit, recognition, rewards.

They really didn't believe there was enough for everybody.
And because of that belief, there wasn't. Every member of
the team ended up keeping their cards and self interest
close to their vests, and little information and sharing
occurred. Little leverage.

It only takes one or two negatively competitive types on
any team to really screw it up. That had happened with this
team.

I'd like to report that the two "not enough for
everybody's" were turned around.. They weren't. They were
released from the team and replaced by two people with the
ability to collaborate and share - and the team ended up
meeting expectations.

The belief that there is plenty for everybody is the
cornerstone to collaboration and sharing. With the belief
that there is plenty for everybody, there will be! Without
it, there never can be enough. It's the difference between
a glass half full or half empty. It's the difference
between optimism and pessimism. It's the difference between
sharing and hoarding.

So what to look for in project team members to ensure that
collaboration and open communication will occur?

1 - It goes without saying that experience, education,
industry experience, technical skills, are all critical - I
don't care how collaborative and sharing someone may be -
or how much they may believe there is plenty for everybody
- if they aren't perceived as bringing "chops' to the
table, they can't contribute, and the seeds of discontent
may be sowed among the other members.

2 - Look for people who are successful and collaborative
not only in their work, but outside their work as well.
Collaboration skills can be learned, but instinctive
collaboration and sharing provide a huge head start. There
is no better way to build collaboration skills than to work
on volunteer committees, boards, church groups, non profit
organizations.

3 - Remember there is no "I" in "We." Look for how
accomplishments sre described. Does the person refer only
to themself, or are they generous in their recognition of
the contributions of others.

4 - In describing accomplishments, spend time getting to
the need for sharing and collaboration in their
accomplishment. Are they aware of the contribution of
others. Do they seek out individual contributor roles or
roles requiring group skills and abilities?

5 - Get an example of when they were a good follower - what
does that mean to them? How did they perceive their own
performance in supporting roles to others? Have they
demonstrated the willingness and ability to follow someone
else, and be supportive?

6 - Look for people who participate in collaborative and
team sports or activities - where the group is dependent
upon each othet for success. This does not mean golfers and
tennis players and skiers don't make good collaborative
teammates, but basketball, football, baseball and softball
team membership provide more chances for supportive and
sharing behavior.

7 - Look for "givers" - people who contribute without
calculation of immediate reward. An example of this quality
is the mentor who gives to others without expecting
promotion, publicity or a raise in pay.

8 - And once the selections for the team are made,
institute a group recognition and reward structure - give
the team credit and recognition. Picking out team members
for special recognition is OK if something unique happens,
but too much of that behavior can breed competition in the
team - and that kind of competition reduces sharing and
collaboration.

Look at your own beliefs and the beliefs of your
organizations. If you see "me" behaviors - and you will,
work to establish the belief that there is plenty for
everybody.

----------------------------------------------------
Andy Cox helps clients align their resources and design and
implement change through the application of goals focused
on the important few elements that have maximum impact in
achieving success - as defined by the client. He can be
reached at http://www.coxconsultgroup.com and E Mail at
acox@coxconsultgroup.com

Sales Is As Easy As ABC

Sales Is As Easy As ABC
A. You can`t build anything without a solid foundation.
The A is for Attitude - the foundation of all successful
sales people. Without a positive attitude and belief in
yourself, your organization, It`s products and services and
the market, there is no foundation upon which to build
success.

Sales professionals need to reflect, confirm and take hold
of their attitude, realize it is theirs, develop it into a
millionaire`s attitude, overcome fear and be able to deal
with rejection, increase productivity and save time and
money.

Sales professionals need to reflect, confirm and take hold
of their attitude toward the organization`s mission
statement, products and services and team members, while
developing an owner`s mentality.

Sale professionals need to reflect, confirm and take hold
of their attitude towards the market, knowing how they are
perceived, while profiling the ideal prospect and fully
understanding their competition

B. Sales professionals could have a fantastic attitude,
but a positive attitude alone is not enough to guarantee
long term sales success. You need goals and an action plan
to get you where you want to go. The B is for Behavior -
the daily actions that are required to accomplish goals.
Goals and behaviours from a personal, organizational, and
market targeting level. Without these goals and behaviors
there is no motivation, no ownership mentality or drive to
go the extra mile.

Sales professionals need to learn the relationship between
consistent positive behaviours and success. The first step
is to learn this on a personal level. Sales professionals
need to identify and develop personal goals and action
plans based on why they come to work.

Sales professionals then need to follow the same procedures
to develop goals, action plans and behaviors for
organizational objectives while improving their time
management skills.

Sales professionals need to know how to target their sales
efforts through the 80/20 rule and the ABC target model
while obtaining pertinent industry, organizational and
client information.

C. This is the area where traditional sales training has
placed all its efforts - on sales techniques. In this
ongoing, non traditional sales approach the C is for
Competency - the capability of following a sales results
system with the appropriate sales competencies to build and
maintain long term relationships. Without a sales results
system and without the sales competencies, time is wasted
and there are no meaningful sales results.

In order to build a long term relationship, one must first
establish rapport. Sales professionals need to learn about
the relationship selling model, the components of the
rapport pie and how to build rapport in the first 30
seconds of meeting.

Once rapport has been established, questions can then be
asked. Sales professionals need to learn why questions are
so important, the type of questions that should be asked
and how to deal with questions from the prospect or client
without giving free consulting. When asking questions,
sales professionals must listen effectively, and learn how
to qualify opportunities by setting the parameters,
uncovering buying motivators, financial ability, decision
making processes and summarizing prior to making a
proposal or presentation, referred to here as a
prescription.

Sales professionals need to learn how to prescribe
solutions specific to the customers needs, letting the
customer buy, retaining the account, keeping competitors
out and developing the account to its maximum potential.

Now that the prospect has purchased the solution, Sales
professionals need to maintain the relationship, develop
the account for more business and how to obtain new
prospect introductions and referrals.

The Bottom Line: Sales is as easy as ABC. Sales people need
to follow a proven Sales Results System, or sales process.
Businesses today cannot succeed without sales. Without
sales there are no transactions. Without transactions there
is no revenue. Without revenue, there is no business, no
jobs, no bottom line. Sales is the bottom line!

----------------------------------------------------
Bob Urichuck is an International Speaker, Trainer and
Best-Selling Author. Learn personally from Bob in the areas
of Sales, Motivation, Leadership and Team Skills. Bob
presents a series of great ideas and strategies with
combination of facts, humor, and practical concept in a
high-energy and self-discovery process that you can apply
right away to achieve results. Subscribe to Bob's Free
Newsletter, worth $297, visit http://www.BobU.com Now!

Should Your Company Use Internet Fax?

Should Your Company Use Internet Fax?
The operation of any company will usually entail many
decisions that will determine the success or failure of
your business. Choosing how you set up your company's
communication system will no doubt be one of those crucial
decisions you will have to make.

How your company communicates with its clients, employees,
business partners, suppliers, shipping agents... are all
vital to the running of an efficient business. Your
communication system should be integrated, seamless and
available everywhere.

Simply put: you must connect all your operations together
into one useful network where none of the patrons listed
above should be left out. Everyone should be connected and
easily reachable; no matter the time of day or the location.

One obvious component of any company's communication system
will be the Office Fax. However, the old traditional fax
machine is slowly being replaced by a new kid on the block.
For the reasons listed above and below, many companies are
choosing to go with Internet Fax as their preferred method
of faxing. If you're not familiar with online or email
faxing some background information might prove helpful.

Internet Fax is simply using the Internet and your email
system to send and receive faxes, anywhere anytime. It is
mobile, paperless, efficient and you won't get any busy
signals. Plus, there is no need for a second phone line.

Internet Fax is an extremely fast, convenient and simple
way to send and receive your faxes. In order to use
Internet Fax you have to sign-up to a Fax Service Provider
where you get a local or Toll-Free fax number and an online
site to send and receive your faxes. Your fax provider acts
as a mediator, handling all your faxes whether they are
coming from a standard fax machine or from another Internet
Fax user. Faxes are sent as email attachments usually in
TIFF, PDF or JPEG formats. Most services also let you store
your faxes online so they are available wherever you have
the Internet and these days that's just about everywhere.

Internet faxes are private and secure with SSL and PGP
encryption. Most if not all companies are compliant with
such privacy regulations as Gramm-Leach-Bliley & HIPAA in
the United States and PIPEDA in Canada. Your faxes sent and
received via email can be protected through PGP encryption.

Internet Fax also has some special benefits for companies
that work in remote locations or away from the office such
as real estate agents, engineers, onsite builders and
contractors, traveling sales agents... just to mention a
few.

Plus, keep in mind, Internet Fax is completely scalable to
meet your company's needs. You can have or expand to
different fax numbers for each department or salesperson in
your company without the cost of installing all those extra
phone lines.

Then there is Fax Broadcasting where you can send the same
fax to thousands of agents or clients quickly and easily.
This is not to be confused with JunkFaxes which are similar
to email spam. Fax Broadcasting can be a very important
factor in the competitiveness of your business.

If you do choose Internet Fax there are many well-known
online fax providers you can use such as MyFax, eFax,
RapidFax, TrustFax, and Send2Fax. You should also consider
some lesser known fax providers such as Metrofax out of
Seattle and Faxage out of Denver; sometimes going with a
relatively smaller company will give you better individual
service... you or your company won't get lost in the crowd
or in the large numbers.

Also, many companies and individuals like to consolidate
all their phone/fax services into one provider. RingCentral
is a popular choice since it gives you virtual phone and
fax services all rolled into one.

If you do use an Internet Fax services make sure you shop
around to find the best plan that is suited to your needs;
plans range from a very modest $20 a year to around $10-$15
a month. Each plan will have a different number of faxes
that you can send and receive. Rates are usually based on
minutes... so multiple page faxes will cost more with with
5 cent per minute the average cost. Keep in mind,
International faxes will usually cost more.

Since Internet Fax involves the web and computers, it can
be totally automated to meet your needs. It can be used to
connect and integrate your whole working network. Also
remember, Internet faxing is the wave of the future, if you
want your company to remain completely competitive in this
brave new computerized world you must have online fax.

Like any business decision, it really comes down to one
sticking point, it is not a matter of whether you can
afford to use Internet Fax but whether you can really
afford NOT to use it. It's Your Call?

----------------------------------------------------
For more information on Internet Fax Services try this
handy online Comparison Guide: http://www.onlinefaxguide.com
Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing
try here:
http://www.bizwaremagic.com/internet_fax_service_guide.htm
Titus Hoskins 2008. This article may be freely distributed
if this resource box stays attached.

Written Rapport the key to help you sell more off the page!

Written Rapport the key to help you sell more off the page!
Discovering the steps to securing more sales

By Jacqui Tillyard

The key to success for any sales situation is to know who
you are aiming your message at. If you are preparing
written marketing/sales materials you need to speak the
language of your ideal client and let them know you
understand their situation and can help them solve their
challenges with your product or service.

Before you can begin to do this you need to get into their
head! What are they thinking, what words do they use? Are
they technical, informal, slang, street? What problems are
they facing and how can you help them solve those problems?

Remember selling is an emotional process and the more you
can subtly appeal to prospective buyer's emotions, the
better the chance of the sale. People buy based on what the
product can do for them, the emotional benefit.

'Written rapport' is having the knack of getting the
benefit message across on paper, saying the right thing to
the right people in the right way to ensure the sale is
completed. It can be the basis for long term relationships
with good customers. Emotions are evoked with benefits so
you need to establish exactly what the benefits are of your
product or service. People buy for pleasure or to avoid
pain! So you need to find out whether you offer a pleasure
factor or solve a pain.

Understand this and your own belief will sky rocket in:

Your company Your products and services Your customers
Yourself

Whenever you address a prospective client whether face to
face, at a meeting or via a sales letter or online, you
have to create an emotional desire which sparks their
interest to read or listen further.

Rapport can be built by showing understanding. It can be
created by knowing exactly what to say, how to say it
(convincingly and confidently)

It can become easier if you are face to face as you can
read their body language, encourage eye contact, smile
without looking like a killer crocodile and remain sincere.
However you no longer have the physical impact if selling
off a page so need to encompass elements into your writing
which show empathy with a prospect's feelings, needs and
wants.

Get this right and the prospect can pay attention to your
message like and trust you.

Within the sales letter you might ask them questions to tap
into their situation, then as it progresses, offer a
solution based on this with your product or service.

When you are referring to the solution always talk features
and benefit of your service or product.

Good phrases: State Feature.... which means that.... And
the real benefit to you is....... State benefit based on
what they have told you is the problem And remember to be
honest and tell the truth, never make unsubstantiated
claims about what you can do, it will catch you out and you
will lose out long term.

----------------------------------------------------
Would you like more options to improve your sales
conversion rate? Jacqui Tillyard offers a range of coaching
solutions to help you achieve business success. Is it time
you realised what potential you might have? Visit
http://www.jacquitillyard.co.uk

Discover FREE simple steps
to fast forward your business. Jacqui Tillyard-NLP Rapid
Result Expert, Realising Your True Potential Today.
http://www.jacquitillyard.co.uk

jacqui@jacquitillyard.co.uk

Using Social Media For Business—A Beginner's Guide

Using Social Media For Business—A Beginner's Guide
On the topic of social media applications, there seem to be
three types of people: the super users, the avoiders, and
the people that say, "I know I need to, but which ones and
why?" Most business people probably fall into the last
group: the ocean of people who lie between the
early-adopter über-geeks and those mind-boggling
creatures who only check their email once a week or so.
Yes, there's potential there for good things to happen...if
you're actively using the right applications.

The number of applications and communities is overwhelming.
Many of the most popular ones, like MySpace and YouTube,
aren't going to be all that helpful for professional
interaction. That's not true for every industry, though, so
it's worth asking around and seeing what your communities
are using. If your colleagues, contacts, and customers are
all using some other method of connecting, by all means go
participate there. The point of this is for you to be able
to make useful, meaningful connections and interact.

LinkedIn is a simple, useful tool for any professional.
This is the business networking equivalent of being listed
in the phone book. It doesn't require very much attention
and can provide a great deal of benefit. Spending half an
hour building your profile lets you put your CV out there,
easily find your network of contacts, and be visible for
the sort of notice you want to receive. If you want to do
more, there are great community features. People can
recommend you and your work. You can ask questions through
LinkedIn Answers and get answers from people who actually
know what they're talking about. If you need to hire
someone or are looking for a job, it's an ideal place to
put out feelers. You won't get clobbered with email from
LinkedIn—just one summarizing any updates your
contacts made during the week—so use your real,
regular address to ensure that you don't miss out on
something important.

If you want to add something more interactive, more
personal, and a bit more relaxed, Facebook is your next
step. The service has exploded in the business sector
lately, which is probably due to all the people who used it
in college and have moved into the workforce. It's a good
way to connect with people in your industry through groups
and keep on top of events of interest. It's more social and
casual than LinkedIn, but less messy and far more
professional than MySpace. You can talk about events and
ideas through group and event pages, instantly notify
people of changes to meet-up plans, and more. This has the
added benefit of being useful in your personal life. If you
don't already have a ton of friends on Facebook, you
probably will soon enough.

Among the tech elite, Twitter is the place to be right now.
Maybe you read about it after its usage during SXSW was all
over the internet. Be warned that it's a love it or hate it
thing and can be addictive. Twitter is a micro-blogging or
micro-chat service where you can make posts of up to 140
characters. You can follow people and see their "tweets",
they can follow you and see your "tweets". Only follow the
people you really enjoy or benefit from—CEOs, the
A-list bloggers, the professional contacts—and don't
feel like you have to follow everyone who follows you. If
you participate and have a similarly-minded network of
people that follow you, Twitter can be a very powerful
tool. What's even better is that you can ask questions and
get answers from people who actually know. Need to know
which spam filter for your blogging software is best? Ask
your Twitter network. You can use the service through web,
text messaging, and a host of widgets and services. While
you can monitor tweets constantly, you can also take a
break for a couple of weeks, come back, and not be behind
or swimming in a sea of things that require your feedback.

If the reason you haven't tried any of this already is
because you don't want to put your life online where
everyone can see it, relax. You're in control of what you
put up and how much information you give out. Be judicious
in what you put on your profiles, but don't be afraid of
having your life be a little bit public. The benefits of
giving people a face to put with the name and a sense of
who you are far outweigh any risks you are worried about.
These services don't just build connections, but they do
the important work of humanizing us in our online
relationships. In the end, it's all about the relationship
anyway, isn't it?

----------------------------------------------------
Specializing in marketing technology-based companies since
1987, and active in Internet marketing since 1992, John
Rasco's skills as a marketer, team leader and strategist
are key to successful client engagements. Founder of
RefreshWeb, John has an entrepreneurial gene, a creative
bent and a passion for challenging projects. More at
http://www.refreshweb.com