Birds of a Feather Flock Together ... in Business and in Social Media

“A person's worth is measured by the worth of what he values.”
― Marcus Aurelius




One of my goals has been to blog on a more consistent, regular basis - wise advice that most Blog Advice articles recommend.  It is certainly harder than it sounds practical.

I am always bursting with ideas which seem to bubble enthusiastically to surface at 2 or 3 a.m.  when I'm willing myself to fall asleep.  Reminder to self:  "leave iPAD out of bedroom before settling in for my "long winter's nap" because I'm too tempted to check out Pinterest and can't resist clicking on an article that catches my attention." 

Which reminds me on something else:  Reading on my iPAD is cool and sustainable but tests my resistance when an alert crosses the top - turn off alerts Jeannette!

To help this, I started a habit of creating a Blog Title to serve as a reminder of an idea I would like to write about.  Unfortunately, the ideas seem to brew and find a home long before I seem to catch up on writing.   At least by acknowledging my problem or bad habit, I am attempting to reconcile and change it ... "Hello, my name is Jeannette and I am a knowledge junkie."

To get to the point (which I often detour by providing detailed background that makes others wish to yell at me) ... I received notification from Twopcharts last week that it was my 4th Anniversary on Twitter.  WOW, four years and going strong - time has flown quickly. 

I have a number of people who have helped me along my Social Media journey and continue to inspire me whom I would like to acknowledge.  (Finally the point to:  "Birds of a Feather Flock Together").

I know who I almost started with, then realized that it was someone else who introduced me by networking.  Therefore, I need to thank Elizabeth Tommes whom I met at a women's networking group for IT professionals and was a Calgary:  "Top 40 Under 40" Entrepreneur and creative genius in web design and on the forefront of SEO, although her company didn't name it as such.  They didn't even peg it as such.  She has often credited me and humbled me by saying I have mentored her!

Liz recommended I connect with Donna deMan, a career coach and lady who specializes in placing students in practicum positions upon graduation from Calgary's SAIT Polytechnical Institute IT programs.  Donna and I met for coffee and her first impression:  she brought me a bouquet of flowers ... as part of her introduction.  What a lasting and inspiring first impression!

I had just finished launching a National magazine in Canada and was looking for a new career opportunity and Donna jumped into the role of mentor to me.  Her advice:  "Get on Linked In!"  It was brilliant for many different reasons, but initially a wonderful way to reach out to past colleagues and clients.  I certainly didn't expect the "Recommendations" initially but it is an outstanding feature.  Today, it is the first social media site I log onto because Business, Contacts and Networking is something that interests me.  Donna recommended Twitter, but I was reluctant to be honest.  My perception was I didn't want to be professionally associated with something that was what I perceived as a "time waster" and "narcissistic" platform.

Thankfully, I was blessed by jumping in, as is my style when something resonates with me, on Group Discussions on Linked In.  Sales being my game, digital printing associated with my name, and career advice the same .. for why I joined.  I met two people right off that were gems that I am forever thankful for connecting with, continue to do so and would be blessed to MIRL (hah! acronym hell:  "Meet in Real Life") ... Sandy Hubbard (@SandyHubbard) and Mike Lehr  .  Sandy showed interest in my approach on sales, and was instrumental to encouraging me to get on Twitter.  She went further by introducing me to a group of outstanding influencers in Social Media and Twitter called #USGUYS.  Mike inspired me by endorsing a comment I made on Linked In.

These two wonderful nuggets launched me Social Media journey.  The expertise on #USGUYS demonstrated that Social Media was not for flakes but truly some talented people in their own careers of marketing, sales, entrepreneurship flourishing under the comradery (n. Comradery is the spirit of friendship and community in a group, like the comradery of soldiers at war who keep each other upbeat despite the difficulty of their  crucible of combat together....)  When I like something, I get on the bandwagon and become an evangelist  (—n:  an occasional preacher, sometimes itinerant and often preaching at meetings in the open air) with enthusiasm.  Lucky for Twitter and social media, Mike Lehr, an intuition expert and author decided to join me! 

If you ever want to test your theories or philosophies and share your principles ... social media is a platform that compliments your learning journey.  Mike is an inspiration who has gone on from an occasional tip from me to excelling and surpassing me by leaps with a nice, solid, loyal following who wants to hear his message.

Sandy's introduction amongst guru's enabled me to meet "The Grandfather of Social Media"  Josepf Haslam  @Josepf whom I even went on to interview for a Blog (NOTE:   you know someone's a pro and leading edge on Twitter when their handle is their first name after the @).

I apologize, I took a detour again.  Seriously, it comes to my main point:  Birds of a Feather Flock Together ... in Business and in Social Media.  That underscores what I have been telling my children for years:  "You are the company you keep"

Lucky for me.  I am so honored to connected with magnificent talent, expertise and inspirations through Social Media.  On my 4th Anniversary I posted on Facebook that if I had a Fairy Godmother she would grant me the opportunity to meet my connections described as Friends for coffee IRL (acronym hell:  "In Real Life").

In the past week, some of the folks whom I followed right off the bat are REALLY being recognized for their contribution on social media, or their area of expertise, here are a few:

Have a question about your social media strategy? Ask our expert!
www.linkedin.com
Ric Dragon is CEO of DragonSearch and author of Social Marketology, an award-win...ning book on best practices for creating the most ideal social media strategy for your particular needs. Need advice about your social media strategy, or have a general question about social media ...See More

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OptioneerJM shared Ann Tran's photo.
April 1

Humbly happy to have first article published by Entrepreneur.com Yay!

Want To Gain Influence on Social Media? Get To Work http://entm.ag/1hX1XDj
 
 
Which I went and took my own advice and commented:
 
"I'm always thankful that Ann Tran was one of the first social media personalities I followed on my social media journey.  She is very gracious and inspiring to many as her following showcases.


There are lots of great reminders and tips on how to create/increase your following and establish credibility as an Influencer and Ann hits on the key points.


One thing I've discovered intuitively is trying to understand the messages that people identify you with and stay on point.  I have a few passions:  imagery, photography and art that I promote, follow, share on Pinterest, Google Plus, Facebook because they stimulate my interest and visual appetite."

**********


This Blog would become endless if I would name everyone who has helped me trigger this fascinating learning journey.  Most, if not all, know who they are because we interact regularly and exchange inspiration often.



There are a couple of other cool observations I've made about Social Media and specifically on messaging:

  1. Be careful what you say because once it is out there, it is connected to you, your personality, your professional wisdom (or mistakes)
  2. It is a great way to reinforce your philosophy and remind yourself of what you attribute to make yourself a more positive person.
  3. Which underlines 2 - try to keep your messages positive and avoid the trap of bashing anyone or anything publicly.
  4. You don't need a large number of re-shares, likes, followers to be identified with quality or influence.
  5. When the time is right, you will receive acknowledgement that you are creating a message that people want to pay attention (a year ago on my Birthday, the CEO of KRED sent me an email to tell me I attained the Top 1% Influencer status)
  6. You can try to work the system but the system will work you .... in other words:  you don't have to try hard if you are consistent, on message (after you figure out what messages people seem to like from you).  You don't have to spend the number of hours it appears that some are online.  They are scientifically understanding the optimum times their audience will be receptive to their message - making it look easy!
  7. You ARE the company you keep!  If you promote quality, you will attract quality. 
  8. Birds of a Feather Flock Together ... in Business and Social Media as in life.
  9. If you don't ask, you won't get ... aka don't follow someone and expect them to follow you back if you haven't engaged or asked them.  I try my best to follow someone back who directly asks me.  Nor should you expect someone to follow you just because you shared a message. 
  10. Develop your online profile:  what is the message you want associated with you? 
  •  I cross-section all my platforms with "Helping others strive beyond average to remarkable" to be who I want to be identified for.
  • Have a photo for pete's sake ... and from this decade preferably!
  • Connect your platforms, loop them together:  there are great sites that help you do so:
                           ABOUT ME http://about.me/jeannettemarshall
                           XMEE  https://xeeme.com/optioneerJM
                           GOOGLE PLUS https://plus.google.com/u/0/105222907836628340919/about
                           TRUST CLOUD https://trustcloud.com/!/Jeannette%20Marshall
                           FACEBOOK PAGE     https://www.facebook.com/pages/OptioneerJM/185055671514600

11.  There are sites that measure your online influence, if it matters to you, your occupation (i.e. if you are in Marketing you should be on the bleeding edge of social media to increase  personal worth to your organization) :


12.  There are sites that you can test your expertise based on reactions to your answers:

  • LINKED IN:  Join Groups that are affiliated with your area of expertise
  • QUORA:  Answer Questions by topic, etc.  Once you get traction, you could be asked to answer specific questions.  For example, I am frequently invited to answer on sales  http://www.quora.com/Jeannette-Marshall

13.  My lucky number :o)  (The day my husband was born and our Wedding Anniversary)  Regardless of your pre-conception of what Social Media is all about:  don't knock it til you join it. 

Thank you for reading my Blog.  I count you as one of the fantastic people I am associated with ... just by the fact that you are on a knowledge journey and  continue self-improvement like me!  We certainly are "Birds of a Feather" together!




"I flock around with some amazing people"
~Jeannette Marshall (@optioneerJM)

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B2B, SMB, B2C, ABC ~ Acronym Nightmare (Sales Speak)

"Wealth, like happiness, is never attained when sought after directly. It comes as a by-product of providing a useful service."
~Henry Ford 

I have gone on record to have a strong dislike for acronyms.  The reason being, far too often, sales professionals, their managers, technical and/or operations team have a lingo of their own, cloaked by acronyms.  Unfortunately, unless you live in their world, they may as well be speaking in code for all that it makes sense to their audience.  Too many people fall into the habit of using acronyms that can discriminate or turn off their prospects. 

The title of this Blog did use acronyms that are popular amongst professionals and businesses created as a universal language amongst club members of “Business Speak”.  Allow me to enlighten and explain what they mean:

1.    B2B: Business to Business: (Source: Wikipedia) Business-to-business (B2B) is commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer.   B2B branding is a term used in marketing.

2.    B2C: Business to Consumer:  Wikipedia identifies as Retail which is the sale of goods and services from individuals or businesses to the end-user aka the consumer. The consumer is the one who pays to consume the goods and services produced. As such, consumers play a vital role in the economic system of a nation. In the absence of effective consumer demand, producers would lack one of the key motivations to produce: to sell to consumers. The consumer also forms part of the chain of distribution.

3.   SMB: Small-to-Medium Business:  This is usually a key identifier on the size of a company or sales professional target of set of types of businesses they identify as customers and potential customers (aka prospects).  Each organization can vary on their own interpretation on how they identify Small to Medium Business. Often it used to disquished by the size of the company (i.e. Small – 10 to 200 employees and Medium 200-1000 employes.  They are usually owned by private owners or investors, and sometimes employee owned.

4.   Enterprise or Major Accounts are very large scale corporations that can have between 1000 to 250,000++ employees spread globally, multiple countries, lead by a CEO who reports to a Board of Directors supported by a team of executives that fall under an organization chart reporting to the CEO.  The CEO is held accountable by an elected Board of Directors who drive investments by shareholders with a strong eye on profitability.




When it comes to selling B2B, B2C, SMB or Enterprise customers – what is similar and what can be different?

Time.  Whether you are trying to engage a decision maker who is an owner of a small B2B (SMB) company or an executive for a major corporation, B2C or Enterprise - they're all limited with their time and the attention they will afford you, if at all.  Therefore, you better do your homework, craft insightful questions that are meaningful ..... don't dare to waste their time. 
The good news is that either owners or executives will pay close attention to you if you uncover a problem that they may not have identified as a need yet.  Strive to bring forward creative and innovative solutions that help them (examples of some of their problems):
  • More profitable
  • Drive revenue
  • Be more competitive
  • Increase customer satisfaction
  • Decrease/avoid employee frustration
  • Eliminate administrative headaches and hassles
  • Increase employee morale
  • Identify time wasters that can be eliminated or streamlined
  • Create efficiencies: Streamline how their business operates
  • Increase awareness/improve their brand
  • Handle growth
  • Manage negative growth
  • Help educate others:  employees, customers, media
  • Improve technology:  advise them on solutions that may impact intimately
  • Decrease costs
  • Educate:  inform them on trends in their industry, their location (country/city)
  • Creativity - solutions/technology/marketing/social media that helps with the   aforementioned
  • Improve appearance/quality/messages that attract new customers
  • Promote customer loyalty/referrals
  • Manage change

You will do yourself, your team, your company but mostly your CUSTOMERS a huge service when you examine your widget or service and draw out those bullets, and investigate what you have to offer that will solve any of those problems or needs shared as strong examples.


It isn’t always apparent.  Often it takes time to be talking to the right people in the organization while cross-referencing your research on them, their industry, government regulations, local political atmosphere, that may present you with what you already have in your back pocket from your own operations team, service personnel, technical resources, customer service, web feedback, etc.


No where have I said anything about price!  You can decrease the cost of doing business for a company by streamlining their processes with a solution that provides a service or technology that solves a function performed by employees who find it unpopular, makes them miserable when they have to do it, or are more valued doing something that is more directly linked to their skills and what you’re paying them.  Your solution can offset the cost of saving profit drainers.  Smart executives can grasp on to this concept.  Unfortunately, middle managers are more often gathering information, asking you more and more questions, asking for estimates upon estimates that only spells price shopping.  If you are being wise, selling smart, you have identified some of the pain areas, for example:


·        Keeping track of data

·        Keying information manually

·        Doubled up efforts

·        Difficult to operate

·        Too reliant on a third party that is unreliable

·        Susceptible to human error


All you are doing is asking relevant questions that are directly impacting their business.  You can be sincere and excited when you put in the time to do the research then ask what are their goals or what are their biggest headaches.  When you are able to go back with what looks like a “no brainer” solution, guess who becomes the “Go to Guy or Gal” … yes YOU!
"Basically you are selling a world as an actor, right?  I mean, it's like a sales person:  if you believe in your product, you know your product, you will sell it a lot better."

~Paul Walker(Fast and Furious)


I highly recommend checking out this slideshow by Harvard Business Review (HBR ... grrrrr Acronym, lol) on the "Trouble with Sales People": 


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VISUALLY SPEAKING

"Create your own visual style .. let it be unique for yourself yet identifiable for others."                                                  
~Orson Welles
 
Social media dynamics are more profound when it allows you to simply reTweet, share, Google Plus the images that appeal to you.  I started to share on an ongoing basis the photographs and images that appealed to me from primarily #Pinterest .  I adopted a new sidebar on my Blog of images that I liked on Pinterest.
 
Prior to that, I was invited to post on a group PIN of "Best of Pinterest".  As time elapsed and momentum eclipsed what I thought was phenomenal imagery transformed to an opinion that mattered by the momentum of those who re-PINned, shared, liked what I thought was the best of the best of photography. 
 
What wasn't obvious to me was what appealed to my visual stimulation would appeal to so many others.
 
What is NOW obvious to me is that we all have a creativity nestled within ourselves, but it is only the brave photographers and artists that are able to open up what we find amazing or extrapolate our own vulnerabilities to expose ourselves, our creativity to being examined, microscoped by others to critique what we identified as unique and visually phenomenal at the time.
 
It is with distinct pleasure that I share some of the images that resounded amongst many - photographers, imagers, creative types that shared themselves and I identified as some of the best:
 

 

 

 
 

 
 
There you have it.  These are a compilation of some of the best images I identified on Pinterest that appealed to me.  Luckily, many others agreed and re-PINned and shared.
 
That is what I love about Pinterest it allows me to curate what I visually find appealing.   I was honoured when invited to post to the "Best of Pinterest" and did so.
 
What I'm not telling you is that I also have a board "ArtWOW" amongst many.  What I found disturbing was an inbox email from Pinterest: I just received notification from Pinterest about a complaint that I was infringing on a copyright on a Marilyn portrait that I shared. I did apologize to the artist but also pointed out: "FYI Pinterest is a phenomenal way to showcase your artwork and by ensuring your images have a stamp by you on them, will insure that the credit goes to the proper person. If you put the copyright mark on it, it can also serve as protection on legal matters, prevent reproductions. I'd be commending people who are willing to broadcast and share your talent rather than complaining."

Don't post or share anything that you don't want to be shared.  Hide and conceal your talent where others won't post or re-share what they find appealing.  If they do, don't complain when others are sharing your talent.  Hide out, protect your copyright.  However, don't expect others to give you credit on your creativity.  It's quite annoying when we're trying to promote your talent and you complain.
 


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