Jacci Adams

Be a part of it!

I belong to AmSpirit a professional networking group and to two local Chambers of Commerce.  There are opportunities in each group where we are able to give a quick commercial and tell what a good referral is.  This is what I hear the majority of the time:

• “Hi, I’m Pete the plumber.  A good referral for me is anyone with pipes.”
•  ”I’m Angie Accountant.  I’m looking for people who need help with their taxes.”

I don’t know about you, but when I hear the generic words “anyone” and “people”, absolutely no one comes to mind.  However, when the plumber says, “A good referral for me is the facilities manager at Get Well Hospital.”, my brain kicks in and causes me to think, “Who do I know at the hospital I could refer this person to?”.  Or, I don’t know anyone at Get Well Hospital, but I do know the Director of Operations at Community General.

It’s even better if you have the name of the person you are trying to get in touch with.  Many of us use Social Networking sites like LinkedIn.  A quick search of our connections and we can see if we know anyone to refer our fellow members to. (

What do you need to do to start asking for and making better connections?

One of the first things you should do is segment your connections into three categories:

1. Connections you already have.  Define who they are, what they have done for you, what you have done for them and how you intend to keep them.
2. Connections you need to have next.  Define who they are, what you want from them, what you can do to attract them and how you intend to connect with them.
3. Connections you want to have in the future.  Define who they are, what you want from them, what you can do to attract them, how you intend to get in front of them and how you intend to connect with them.

In order to get the types of quality referrals you want and make the networking groups you belong to work for you, you’ve got to do a little work yourself.

How To use LinkedIn to Find Prospects and Turn Cold Calls into Warm Calls

1. Click on the Advanced Search Icon in the top right of the screen.

 

2. Type in the industry keyword/title for the people you are trying to reach (Chiropractor,  Radiologist, Realtor, Business Insurance, Sports, Manufacturer)

 

3. Enter the zip code of where you want to be and a mileage radius of where you are willing to go.

 

4. I can go for my first connections, but I want to find out who else is out there.  Maybe start out with your second connections.

 

5. For the 3rd level connections and above it provides a first name and last initial. If you click to get the full name, LinkedIn wants more money.  Here’s where you have to get creative.

 

6. Click on the company website.  Look for the “About Us”.  Now you can find the person you were looking for’s information.  You get all the background you need.

 

7. So, now we can Google the person.

 

8. What do we know now?
1. Where they went to school
2. The business they are associated with
3. How long they’ve been in practice

 

9. So how long did all of this take?  A couple of minutes.

 

10. Now look for the “link”.  What do you have in common with this person?  In the example case who do you know that went to that school, lived in that town, played that sport?

 

11. So now you have what you need to make that initial call because you have something in common.

 

12. You can do this or you can continue to “dial for dollars”.

Find the link.

According to Jeffrey Gitomer – “Social Media is the new cold call.”

Don’t have time to do the research yourself use:

www.oDesk.com

www.fiverr.com

Gary Vaynerchuk author of “Crush It!” and now “The Thank You Economy” shares the importance of using Social Media marketing. The video is an long but well worth your time. It’s OK to skip The Kardashians this one time.

Gary Vaynerchuk delivers the Wow Key Note at the RE/Max 2011 Meeting from My Social Start on Vimeo.

Take the time to view this great talk to understand the impact of Social Media. It is 1:03 mins. long but well worth it.

I read Dear Abby almost every day.  This one made me laugh out loud, especially the signature “Emotionally Abused”, get real!   I couldn’t help but share this.

I have a 13 year old daughter who attends Catholic school, so this really hit home.  This is pretty much her life.  We read the article together and she was OK with everything because she has been raised with these expectations.   She’s the one who did the underlining.  To her that was the most excessive thing.   She knows she’s not going on any car dates before she’s 16, and yes, we will be checking the driver’s license.

So no, I’m not an emotional abuser, looks like I’m only a strict tyrant, and my daughter still loves me.

Business Benefits:

• Help establish brand
• Discuss a product personally
• Pitch products in a more human, two-way method
• Listen to customer opinion
• Answer customers directly
• Gather informal market research
• Garner trust by making businesses appear personal

Personal Benefits:

• Build reputation
• Display your resume
• Find a job
• Share information with like-minded sources
• Establish yourself as an expert
• Showcase your talent, be it in writing, photography, film or broadcasting
• Cull prospecting leads for sales and marketing
• Develop and enhance relationships

An excerpt from Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude

Where does positive attitude come from?

Positive attitude comes from within.

Positive attitude has nothing to do
     with what happens to you.  
It’s what you do with, and how you
     react to, what happens to you.

So what’s the YES! Factor?

Picture in your mind the feeling of crossing the finish line first, or winning a game, or making a big sale, and at the end making some gesture of triumph, like raising your fists in the air and screaming, “YES!”

Can you picture it?  It’s a happy and joyous moment, a winning moment, a positive moment, and that’s why you scream “YES!“  Wouldn’t it be great if every moment of your life was like that?  So, what’s preventing it?  The BIG Answer: YOU!

The reason that YES! is easier to understand than positive is that YES! is an experience that you’ve had many times.  You won the race, got the raise, your team won the game, you landed the client, and you screamed “YES!”

A large part of attitude achievement is the visualization.  It’s easier to visualize YES! that it is to visualize positive.  When something great happens, no one screams, “Positive!”  Everyone screams YES!  That’s the difference.  That’s the YES! Factor.

Want more insight to your attitude, attitude self awareness, action, attributes, achievement, and fulfillment check out Jeffrey’s book here.

How often do you cut off your prospects in mid-resopnse?

One of my favorite sales gurus, Mike Brooks, offers this advice.  Stop interrupting!

There you are sitting with your prospective client, you’re on the edge of your seat, ready to jump in with the product that will solve all their problems.  You ask a question.  The prospect begins to answer, but you know what they are about to say and you interrupt with an answer.  You weren’t really listening, you were just trying to sell, I mean help, her.  Even helpful interruptions can come off as rude and leaving the prospect feeling like you don’t care.

So how do you break yourself of this bad habit?

Use your mute button.  Immediately after you ask the prospect a question, push the mute button.  This forces you to allow your prospect to keep talking.  With the phone muted, even if you try to cut her off, she won’t be offended by the interruption.

“Once you hit mute, leave it on for a couple of seconds even if you think she is done talking,” Brooks says.  “You’ll be amazed by how much more information your prospect will provide you if you just shut up and listen.”

After practicing this on phone conversations with prospects it can be transferred to your face-to-face meetings as well.  Yes, it does require a little more discipline.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about this, but I tried it and it works really well.  Thanks Mike.

The Total Social Media System

Social Outbreak™ Opens for Business on Wednesday Aug 17th

The Total Social Media System, the cutting edge Facebook lead generation application created by Social Outbreak™ will be available world wide starting on Wednesday Aug 17th at 12 NOON EDT!
(Please check Time and Date for the time in your location.)

A limited number (500) of enrollments will be accepted every day starting at 12 NOON EDT.

Hear all the details on “CATCH THE BUZZ” with Scott Arvin CEO and Chris McMahon VP of Marketing on Social Outbreak Online Radio

You are most welcome to join us for a live demonstration and overview of the system at any of the following times:

WEDNESDAY August 17th
10PM EDT

THURSDAY August 18th
1pm EDT
8pm EDT

FRIDAY August 19th
1pm EDT
6pm EDT (Leader update call)
10pm EDT

To attend the presentations, please click here and enter password: getitnow

If you are unable to attend a live presentation, you may watch the videos on this page in your own time.

My Total Social Media fanpage will also be kept up to date with all developments.

The link to secure an account with Social Outbreak™ will only be activated at 12 noon EDT on 17 August 2011 and will only be active until the 500 enrollments for the day have been accepted. If you are not able to enroll due to the slots having already been taken, please try again at 12 noon EDT the following day!

Please click on the image below to get started:

I often meet clients and prospects outside of my office.  Usually at Panera Bread, Blake’s Café & Cupcakery, and Bob Evans because they offer free WiFi.  However, there are times when we need to meet in other locations that don’t offer WiFi.  This means I have to spend an additional $20-$30 more a month for a wireless card I only need occasionally.  It doesn’t make financial sense to me for occasional use; daily use, yes.

Since I’m already paying for data service on my cell phone, I was pleased to find out how to save some money by using my cell phone as a modem for my laptop.  The June Fabrics PDA Technology Group created the PdaNet application for all types of smart phones.  You can use PdaNet for free, but once the 14-day trial expires, it will start blocking secure websites.   Each type of smart phone has a different set of installation instructions as well as pricing.  The example below is for Android phones.

I recommend purchasing the full version, it’s only $23.95 for a single license.  However, they are currently offering a limited time special for $15.95.  This is a one time fee.

It’s a very simple process.

1. Go to www.junefabrics.com
2. Select PdaNet for Android
3. Select download and follow the instructions.

I use physical tethering with the USB cable that came with my phone.  They also offer the ability to use Bluetooth DUN, but I haven’t been able to get this to work.
Please visit www.junefabrics.com for the instructions specific to your smart phone.

Things to know:

• Can’t be directly downloaded from the VZW app store onto your phone.
• Text messages or calls disrupt the data transfer.
• Check your data plan, if it’s not unlimited, it may cause usage overage charges.
• Is this legal?  Check your plans terms of service.  The whole idea behind PDAnet is to connect for occasional use and not have to pay that extra money.  If you are constantly on the road with a laptop and need access wherever you go, it’s best to invest in a wireless card or Mobile Hot Spot.

How many of us put off exercising because we don’t think we have enough time?  I used to feel that way until I found this video.  It’s only 8 minutes.  I know I can find 8 minutes at some point in my day to do this. Can you?

8 Minute Energy Boosting Workout – Makes a great morning or lunch time workout. The moves are easy enough for most. I can easily see myself memorizing the moves and going for a second set later on in my day.

There are also two other short workouts one for AM and one for PM.

7 minute morning work out -  A bit more advanced than the 8 minute energy boosting video. It consists of several sets of push-ups.  My suggestion is to start with as many reps as you can and work your way up to the 10.  This can really help you get going in the morning.

5 minute PM workout – This helps you to relax from your very stressful day with lots of stretching.  Great to do before bed.

How did I find out about these videos? Through Success magazine . It comes every month with a free CD.