The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Chris Brogan’

My mantra for 2012 is living fully.

For the past few years, at the start of each new year, a few bloggers name three words that will guide them for the upcoming year. Yesterday, Chris Brogran and Susan Murphy wrote their three words for 2012. I must admit that twice I wrote three words but didn’t do much with them. I suspect that I didn’t spend as much time as I should, choosing my three words.

After I read All Fall Down by Megan Hart, which I will talk about tomorrow on Booked for Mentoring, while I was having a delayed reaction to the book, living fully seeped into my consciousness, and it seemed appropriate that that’s what I should be focusing on for 2012. I knew without a doubt that living fully is my guiding light for 2012. I often hold myself back and play it safe, and now is the time to step out in a very big way.

I don’t know precisely what living fully will look like for me, but I will figure it out as I go along. Though I tremendously respect the bloggers who are using their three words to guide them for 2012, I’m going to be zagging and instead focus on my phrase living fully. That’s what I need in my life right now.

What will be your guiding light for 2012?

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Whether or not we want to admit it, each of us is a salesperson. We are constantly selling to our bosses, colleagues, spouses, children, family, firnds and so on. In a recent webinar, “The Top 11 Transforming Sales Trends for 2011,” Josiane Feigon, CEO, Telesmart Communications shared 11 transforming trends for this year.

11 Transforming Trends

Smart Trend #1: Customers are Mad as Hell!

Customers are very frustrated these days and are tired of being pushed or prodded. Because they have access to so much information, they are very knowledgeable and do their research. They want a new relationship, more control over purchasing decisions and want to learn in bite-sized pieces. This doesn’t spell the “death of the salesperson,” all it means is changing the way you interact with, and care for your customers.

Smart Trend #2: Nurture & Engage

Research says, “9 out of 10 buyers say that when they are ready to buy, they will come looking for you.”

The sales cycle is longer these days, so while waiting there are several things you can do to nurture and engage them, which include providing the following:

• Webinars
• White Papers
• How-to Guides
• e-Books
• Blog Posts
• Presentations on Slideshare
• Newsletters & e-Zines
• YouTube Videos
• Podcasts
• Case Studies/Success Stories
• Industry Research

Smart Trend #3: Social Surfing Beats Setting Appointments

Research says, “8 out of 10 IT decision makers say word of mouth is the most important source when making buying decisions.”

People make decisions based on what others say about you. Join the conversation on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and on industry related forums.

Smart Trend #4: Your Social Graph- New Job Security

Testimonials matter, so does peer reviews and customer case studies. Nowadays it’s about how many people like you. Create Google Alerts for you and your company so you know what’s being said about you. Ask your satisfied customers to write recommendations for you on LinkedIn and Yelp. Listen to conversations about you on Twitter using the @reply and search functionality. Make sure that you have a presence online.

Smart Trend #5: Write On

Writing is now a mandatory skill so write up! Comment on blog posts, join discussions in forums and in LinkedIn group discussions, have a tweet stream on Twitter and write your scripts for your YouTube videos. Text appointment confirmations since most people have mobile phones. So hone your writing skills, craft good subject lines so your emails get read.

Smart Trend #6: Hey Coach, Watch This!

The sales cycle is longer, the sales process is very different and customers are more enlightened and knowledgeable, so sales managers have to be more realistic in their expectations and they have to spend time motivating the sales force.

Smart Trend #7: The Hip and Hungry Boomer Reps

Because of the economy, there is a lot of available talent. Don’t overlook the more seasoned professionals for younger ones.

Smart Trend #8: Data Grows Up

There is so much information out there that people are overwhelmed and have started to data cleanse. How do people really use data? There are lots of sales intelligence so there is no reason to be uninformed about your customers. Create Google Alerts, join in the conversation on LinkedIn, use Hoover’s Online, and Insight Research Group.

Smart Trend #9: Call Activity Gets a Makeover

Stop counting the amount of calls made, instead spend some of that time creating an online presence and being part of a community of like-minded people on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Smart Trend #10: Going Mobile

You need to understand how to deliver information the new way. More people are using the iPad. It’s time to collaborate and include.

And today, more people are using QR (Quick Response) codes. According to Entrepreneur Daily Dose published by Entrepreneur Magazine, “You should think of a QR code as an easy-to-create, two-dimensional bar code that can be scanned by a smart phone to instantly and effortlessly share targeted content online with minimal exertion by the end user…. But the really cool thing about QR codes is that any business, start-up or entrepreneur can create them online themselves, and in many cases, can do this or free (see Kaywa and ZXing for more information).”

LinkedIn now allows you to use  PingTags, a service that lets you connect to your LinkedIn Profile and generate a QR code for people to scan, says Chris Brogan from CrossTech Ventures.

Smart Trend #11: Virtual Salespeople

Not everyone is in the same office. Many people work at home or in remote locations, so create virtual meetings throughout the sales cycle.

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Additional Reading

PINGTAGS Adds QR Code Access to Your LinkedIn Profile by Chris Brogran

Using QR Codes to Promote Your Business by Entrepreneur Daily Dose

To get the information you need requires asking the right questions, but how do you know what the right questions are? Surprisingly, this post was inspired by Chris Brogan‘s blog post “Rethink Your Web Presence.” The post is about whether or not your website is achieving your goals for it, and he asks six questions from the perspective of the user.

Who do you want me to be?

How will I know that I belong?

What do you want to show/tell me?

What do you want me to do?

How will we keep this relationship going?

How shall I talk of you to my friends?

This post got me thinking about a few things:  how we get the wrong answers because we didn’t ask the right questions,  how we didn’t achieve our objectives because we didn’t meet the needs of our users. For internal and external clients, how can you give them what they need? I think the answer is to listen actively to what the client is saying, and ask lots of questions to grasp what’s being said. It is my experience that many times what clients say they need is not what they really need, and the supplier has to ask many questions to identify the true need. As an information professional with over 15 years experience, I have seen this time and time again.

One trick I use, which I learned in computer science years ago, is to always reinterpret to the clients what you heard them say. This works all the time. And with the prevalence of email, after the meeting send an email outlining what you heard. If you are mistaken, the client will let you know.

Sometimes you’ll not know what the right questions are, but if you are prepared for the meetings and listen hard, more than likely you’ll figure it out. Another technique which is used by many consultants, is to ask, “If we were sitting here three years from today, what would have had to happen for you to be satisfied?” And you would adjust the time to shortly after the project ended.

And if you have a website or a blog, it would be great to answer Chris’ six questions, I intend to. And while you are in the doing mood, read Penelope Trunk‘s post, Five tips for asking better questions. Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

Photo Credit: Bing via Apture

Note: The section written in red font was written later.

In Your Best Year Yet by Jinny Ditzler, the author asks 10 questions for us to answer to have our best year. Since 2010 is just around the corner I thought that I would list the 10 questions here again. See the post Is This Your Best Year Yet?

1. What did I accomplish over the past 12 months?
2. What were my biggest disappointments?
3. What did I learn?
4. How do I limit myself, and how can I stop?
5. What are my personal values?
6. What roles do I play in my life? (Father, wife, teacher, student, writer, consultant and so on)
7. Which role is my major focus for the next 12 months?
8. What are my goals for the next year?
9. What are my top 10 goals for the next year?
10. How can I make sure that I achieve them?

Make sure that you focus on your personal and professional life. I will answer these questions as well in preparation for 2010. This year was a very tough year for me in every sense, but my growth has been phenomenal. For us to enjoy the sweets, we must endure the bitter.

In My Business Wish List for 2010 social media strategist Chris Brogan shares with us his business plan and what he wants for 2010. Verbalizing what you want makes it concrete and you also do not know who will be able to help you realize your goals. Chris suggested that his readers do their list and link to the blog post. After you have answered the questions, and it would be helpful if you read the book, Your Best Year Yet, develop your 10 goals for 2010 and link to this post if you are able to.

Note: The link to Your Best Year Yet is an affiliate link

I like Chris Brogan who has helped me a lot indirectly. I subscribe to his blog and I learn a tremendous amount from him, and I often become aware of what I don’t know that I didn’t know that I didn’t know (wrap your head around that). I like his helpful and caring style.

What I want for The Invisible Mentor Blog is to build a community of people who share with each other. I am very passionate about reading and learning, and books have been great mentors to me. There are many lessons inside great books that we can apply to our lives. Sadly, most people do not read as much as they should.

My intent is to provide book summaries of books that impact, as well as interviews of successful people who we can learn things from. Use the information from the book summaries and interviews and find ways to integrate them into your life. Spend some time going through old posts to see what you have missed.

Older Posts Worth Reading

Want a Mentor? Be a Mentor
Summary of Technique for Producing Ideas
Could You Swear to It?
How to Analyze Information
Timeless Ideas Worth Exploring
Stepping Into Your Greatness, Are You a Leader or Follower?
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, What’s Your Story?
The Way of Strategy – A Review of he Book of Five Rings
If Estee Lauder Were a Blogger, What Would She Say?
Thinking Without Borders

And, I would greatly appreciate it if you helped me to spread the word about The Invisible Mentor Blog. Please comment and also let me know what are some of the things that you’d like to see.

Back to Chris Brogan, I watched a 10 minute presentation by him “Why Serendipity is Underrated” and in it he asks us five questions to ponder, which are timely for thanksgiving:

How do we share?

How do we extend experiences and relationships?

How do we collaborate?

How do we wire new networks people wise?

How do we develop relationships that yield?

and I would like to add another question that I think is important

1. How do we give thanks, or let people know that we appreciate all that they do?

I will think about these questions and I hope you will too. Here is Chris’ presentation.