It’s that time of year again.

Once we pack on the holiday pounds and rack up the holiday bills, the New Year pops up to remind us it is once again time for resolutions to improve.

After the standard ‘go to the gym more’, ‘eat less chocolate’, and ‘be more patient’ out of the way, it is time to think about what business resolutions we can make…. Our friend and Executive Business Coach, Jeff Putnam has developed an amazing tool that can help you make a real difference in your business and career.

Are you seeking growth? Do you care about others around you? Do you enjoy making a difference? Are you open minded?

You should be successful at what you do… but you struggle with long hours, too much stress, and you are looking for a new angle to achieve success.

This powerful tool, MindScanPro, will help you refine your thinking to maximize your business scenarios.

Jeff provides professional coaching to guide you in realizing your goals in this New Year. Having an open mind about achieving these goals, and a willingness to look at some new directions are essential. With that mindset, Jeff can truly work wonders.

The business world can be quite cutthroat; we need all the help we can get.

Consider giving MindScanPro a shot, Its free and you never know what might help you accomplish your goals and dreams!

Want a personal introduction to our fav Executive Coach? Shoot me a note via the Contact Us link above and I’ll connect you.

Original Post

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Note: The Name of “My Connection” has been changed to protect the innnocent.  And, he is innocent. So many people just don’t understand how to interact with other professionals in a space without a human face in front of them… I thought I’d share this dialog to help those who are interested in learning more. 

Another note: “My Connection” is currently living in the UK, but he wasn’t born there and English is not his native language.

I’d love comments on how you might have responded in a way that is humane, polite, and educational for “Your Connection.”

The Actual Skype Chat: How NOT to approach a prospective customer

[12:23:09 AM] My Connection: Hello

[12:41:30 AM] My Connection: r u there?

[12:42:06 AM] Lori Ruff: yep – just responding to all the birthday wishes on my facebook profile!

[12:42:14 AM] Lori Ruff: and working…

[12:42:37 AM] My Connection: ok

[12:42:48 AM] My Connection: how are you Lori?

[12:53:50 AM] Lori Ruff: very good.  just working late to try to catch up on some things.

[12:54:09 AM] My Connection: ok

[12:54:17 AM] Lori Ruff: hope you’re well too

[12:54:29 AM] My Connection: yes

[12:54:47 AM] My Connection: Lori I am a Business Development Manager

[12:54:53 AM] Lori Ruff: for whom?

[12:54:53 AM] My Connection: We are a company

[12:55:05 AM] My Connection: UK

[12:55:10 AM] Lori Ruff: which company?

[12:55:25 AM] My Connection: SEO,SMO and Web Development Company

[12:55:33 AM] Lori Ruff: cool.

[12:55:35 AM] My Connection: Besed on UK

[12:55:38 AM] My Connection:

[12:55:43 AM] Lori Ruff: what’s your company?  are you on linkedin?

[12:55:47 AM] Lori Ruff: how can I help you?

[12:56:12 AM] My Connection: websiteaddress.com

[12:56:16 AM] My Connection: my company name

[12:56:21 AM] My Connection: please visit

[12:56:29 AM] Lori Ruff: for what reason?

[12:56:47 AM] My Connection: Lori I need your small help

[12:57:03 AM] Lori Ruff: ok – how can I help you?

[12:57:33 AM] My Connection: Lori I need some project from your end

[12:57:39 AM] My Connection: any project

[12:58:46 AM] Lori Ruff: what do you mean you need a project from my end?

[12:58:57 AM] My Connection: yes friend

[12:59:11 AM] Lori Ruff: yes what?  I’m not sure I understand your question or request

[1:00:32 AM] My Connection: means I need some any web development related project or SEO, SMO project from you

[1:01:26 AM] My Connection: You understand Lori?

[1:02:30 AM] Lori Ruff: oh. I do, yes.  Why would I hire you?  I don’t know you and you’ve given me nothing to “go on” with regards to what you do or offer.  I know SEO is search engine optimization and SMO? Social media marketing?

[1:03:02 AM] Lori Ruff: I don’t hire people for this important work that I have never had contact with or from whom I have no basis of knowing your talent.

[1:03:45 AM] Lori Ruff: I’m on some very tight deadlines right now so asking me to go look at your site without telling me why or “what’s in it for me, your potential client” isn’t going to work.

[1:03:59 AM] Lori Ruff: Not just for me, but for most people you communicate with.

[1:04:07 AM] Lori Ruff: does that make sense to you?

[1:04:31 AM] Lori Ruff: I’m not trying to be difficult, just honest. Most people wouldn’t talk this long without knowing why.

[1:04:45 AM] My Connection: Look..Lori We are a separate team in SEO and SMO

[1:05:05 AM] Lori Ruff: just because you tell me you offer those broad services doesn’t tell me how you can help me.

[1:05:50 AM] Lori Ruff: There must be a story about how you’ve helped someone like me.  And do you even know what I need?  You can’t just say “I do SEO” and expect me to understand your industry and why it’s important to me

[1:06:23 AM] My Connection: Look look…Our all client based in USA, Uk, Canada and Spain

[1:07:28 AM] Lori Ruff: so?  That doesn’t tell me why I should spend time talking to you if we can’t communicate.  You don’t seem to have any idea about who I am or what my needs are.  You’re just trying to sell me your services because you need the money, not because of what problem I have that you can solve for me.

[1:08:04 AM] Lori Ruff: I don’t have the income to be charitable.  I only have limited resources and time and money. Why should I spend time teaching you how to communicate with potential clients?

[1:08:58 AM] Lori Ruff: I’m willing to if there is a payback for me. But my family comes first and right now, I don’t have enough time to spend with them.  Spending time with someone I don’t know who doesn’t understand what I need is not my idea of a fair exchange.

[1:09:06 AM] My Connection: If you need some reference from our client so I will provide you our client contact details

[1:10:11 AM] Lori Ruff: I’m not trying to be mean, just realistic. Read what I’ve written so far and listen to what I am saying. I am not spending my time – of which I have VERY little to go look at your site to learn what you do, or to talk to your clients to find out for myself what you can do for me.

[1:10:48 AM] Lori Ruff: You must tell me what you can do for me or don’t even start the conversation. I dont have time and for all the people who never answer your first question, the same is true for them.  You need a new approach.

[1:12:57 AM] Lori Ruff: When you’re ready to try again, please send me a note or Skype me.  Otherwise… I’m sorry but I have to get back to work. It’s already after 2:10 in the morning here and I haven’t been to bed yet.  That should give you a clue as to the value I’ve just given you tonight without even knowing who you are or expecting to ever hear back from you again.  Provide value. Find out what’s important to people. Then when you reach out to them, you’ll have somewhere to start a real conversation that might lead to work.

[1:13:30 AM] Lori Ruff: I wish you the best.  Read this conversation again and listen to what I’m telling you. It’s critical for any success you might go after.

[1:13:36 AM] Lori Ruff: good night for now.

***End of Conversation***

Again, I’d love comments on how you might have responded in a way that is humane, polite, and educational for “Your Connection.”

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Tools are the most important key to help you manage all of your most important social sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  Utilizing tools like HootSuite, TweetDeck, Radian 6, UberSocial, etc., will change how you interact with your connections online.

SYNCH PROFILES

Synching your profiles will save you a lot of time.  Utilize 3^rd party applications to synch your twitter to your Facebook and your LinkedIn.  Synch your blog to post notes to Facebook and create shortened URLs for Twitter. But use care when setting these up! Remember that each platform has a different environment and not all Tweets are appropriate for LinkedIn (as an example).

KEYWORDS

Define words of interest that you would like to follow or generate business from or find connections through.  Keywords are a powerful way to zero in on your target market or industry & to filter posts for specific topics. 

COLUMNS

Through TweetDeck or HootSuite for example, you have the ability to create a series of columns/tabs to view posts that mention your specified keywords almost real time.  It is a great way to find resources and connections and information that you need. Establish columns for your keywords, peers, competitors, and also add tabs or columns for your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter messages such as Direct Messages, Mentions, pending updates, and sent.

SCHEDULING

The great thing about these third party tools is the ability to schedule.  You can generate a list of posts, pick the date and time you would like them to post, the social profiles you would like to have the updates posted to and move on to your next task.  So, if you are feeling creative on a Saturday afternoon, develop “timely” posts for the next few weeks.

By spending at least 30-45 minutes a week developing content for your posts, you have the ability to quickly login to the tool, spend about 10 minutes each day to view the most recent updates for your connections, make comments, add additional real time content and your commitment is then complete. 

Note that at this time, scheduling posts through these tools will not allow all the rich content such as images or video, but it will provide the link for the full content. Once you’ve posted via a tool, go to the platform and verify that it looks like you want it to. Then when you post a similar item, you’ll have an idea of what to expect.

So get out there, have fun, commit to a schedule (but be realistic) and build your business! 

Rock On!

Hollie Clere, The Social Pro is a social media manager, trainer and author in the LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog and social media world. You can connect at www.TheSocialMediaAdvisor.com

Related articles

• SIMPLIFY Your Social Media Communications, especially for LinkedIn Users (rocktheworldbook.com)
• Social Media Management Tips (ducttapemarketing.com)
• HootSuite Review (tjantunen.com)
• 10 tools to improve your Twitter experience (browsermedia.co.uk)

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LinkedIn is a great tool to connect with friends, coworkers, and professional acquaintances; but, most importantly it is most used to build your network to access resources for business.  It is very important to maximize your time in this professional social site due to your visibility online.  Your new LinkedIn connections find opportunities to connect with you on a business level because of your activity on the site.  Somewhat like Facebook, but in a professional environment, you can post a status update (“Share an update”), send internal messages, communicate through Groups, create or answer polls and also embed applications in your profile to share in your travel, presentations, video, books you are reading  and other applications to boost your presence in a creative way.

You can easily manage your LinkedIn activity in 10 to 30 minutes a day.  Start by visiting LinkedIn “Home”.  View Updates for the Companies you follow and Individuals you have connected with.  The Home page will also show you statistics on how many times your page has been viewed, how many times you have come up in search results and other helpful profile activity from your network.

GROUPS

By receiving periodic (daily or weekly) email digests from your Groups, you can scroll through the lists of discussions to decide if you would like to contribute to the conversations.  In LinkedIn, you can also do this by visiting your “MyGroups” tab, selecting the group you would like to view, then scrolling through the discussions. Don’t have many groups? Check out the Integrated Alliances LinkedIn group at www.JoinIA.com.

INBOX                 

The message portion of the site is a great resource to quickly contact your network through individual messages, bulk messages and mass email (with a maximum of 50 contacts per message).  Your settings default to receiving messages in your Inbox as well as your primary email account. You can adjust those settings to only view the messages in your LinkedIn Inbox.

 The effectiveness of LinkedIn for you is a direct reflection of your profile presence and your activity.  Build your credibility, maintain a consistent schedule and your activity will derive much success.

Rock On!

Hollie Clere, The Social Pro is a social media manager, trainer and author in the LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog and social media world. You can connect at www.TheSocialMediaAdvisor.com

Related articles

• SIMPLIFY Your Social Media Communications, especially for LinkedIn Users (rocktheworldbook.com)
• Time Management for Social Media – Part 1 (integratedalliances.com)
• Time Allocation in Social Media Series Part 2: Facebook (integratedalliances.com)
• How to Follow LinkedIn Connections on Twitter (integratedalliances.com)
• 10 Tips for Integrating Social Media and LinkedIn in to Your Job Search in 2011 (customerthink.com)

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In the world of posting whatever, when ever, there is a lot to be said about quality time with Twitter.  Twitter can be utilized in a multitude of ways.   Any user can post updates about news, links, promotions, events, topics of interest, engage in customer support and participate in online discussions. As an individual or business, you need to decide how you will engage in this forum.

If you have over 100 people you are following, it can be difficult to keep track of the latest updates as twitter is an active stream of personal opinion, back and forth discussions and buzz about thoughts or activities.  There is one thing for sure; people love to share about themselves on a constant basis.  With this said, you need to allocate a schedule to best optimize your time spent in the Twitter world.  Twitter can be managed in 10 (ten) minutes each day if you establish a routine and stick with it.

“WHAT’S HAPPENING?”

At any given time you will see this question, “What’s Happening?”  How you choose to respond in 140 characters is up to you.  What you decide to post should have importance to you and should encourage discussion.  Let’s say you are getting ready to promote an event for your company.  Your marketing department agrees on the language and you are ready to post.  It would be a good idea to provide a link (or shortened URL) in your post for others to visit and get more information.  Maybe there is a video you would like to share with your followers.  You shouldn’t post just the link on your page without giving them some reason to want to click the link.  Take careful measure to look at each word you select, correct any spelling errors and double check your links to make sure they are going to the right place.  Remember that it is easier to hit Backspace, than it is to remove a post from a server.

FOLLOWING

Now comes the task of finding out “What’s Happening” with your connections.  There are many different ways to do this.  The first is to skim through the list of New Tweets.  If there is something that interests you, you may choose to respond, or maybe not.  Either way, limit your twitter post review to the first page or two of posts.  Commit to it and move on.

The other way to look at updates is to utilize the search tool.  Maybe today you are interested in discussions about your favorite restaurant, so you would search that topic and see posts specific to that topic. One Tweeter recently searched Twitter for “LinkedIn Expert” and located @LoriRuff. She asked Lori to present “Why LinkedIn?” on a teleconference call to their group of arts facilitators.

LINKS

Be careful with clicking links and be sure you are cautious to only open links that look like they came from your connection.  By keeping up to date with posts from your connections, you will know their online personality, so it will be easier for you to filter a post from a user who is spamming or inadvertently passed along a malicious link.

DIRECT MESSAGES

Much like with Facebook Mail, Direct Messages (DM) aren’t frequently checked by all of your connections.  It is good to send email through your standard email service if you have to say something more than 140 characters.  DMs tend to be spammy as well, so quickly filter through this inbox to see if there is a personal message you would like to respond to. 

@MENTIONS and RETWEETS

Be sure to check your @Mention to see who is “mentioning” you in their posts.  This is how Lori learned that someone wanted to offer her an opportunity to present to their group!

It is a good idea to RT (Retweet) that post or send a DM (Direct Message) to that individual thanking them for the @Mention.  If you see a post that seems suspicious, you can also block it and mark it as spam.

Retweet a connection’s post if it interests you and/or fits your regular theme or topic.  From time to time you may want to include your thoughts about that post – if you have enough space to do so.

If you find the best means to quickly look for updates that you are interested in viewing, take effort to limit your discussion and post time in an efficient way, you will find that twitter is a fun and productive tool to keep up to date with your connections. Just don’t get lost out there!

Rock On!

Hollie Clere, The Social Pro is a social media manager, trainer and author in the LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog and social media world. You can connect at www.TheSocialMediaAdvisor.com

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When exploring the world of social media you will find that it is easy for the social sites to claim time you have allocated to work. It is best to put into practice time allocation to optimize your online schedule. With Facebook, you have probably connected to family, friends, coworkers, business partners and a myriad of other individuals that you find yourself “living life” with online. The ability to visit their pages to view pictures, post comments on their status updates, read notes and view videos; you can quickly become inundated with the absence of time.

 Events will show you if someone has invited you to something, items that are current in your calendar (should you use it through the site). By selected “See All” the list will quickly populate in a single view. It is good practice to give your friends a Birthday greeting, but don’t allow yourself to scroll through their myriad of Birthday posts. Give your greeting and move forward.APPS

A lot of people use Facebook for the applications such as games and other widgets. If you are using the site for extra entertainment, be sure to schedule a separate time later in the day for your “free time”. Applications such as games shouldn’t be utilized during your 10 minute schedule.

VIDEO and LINKS

Be aware of the risks of viewing a video posted online. There are times when profiles get “hacked” and if you are not clear whether your “Friend” has posted the link themselves (generally they would include a message with the post to indicate their interest in it), then just stay clear from clicking these links. From time to time even trusted posts may have contaminated code embedded which could cause havoc to your computer. Be cautious and aware of the things you decide to view.

If you can hold yourself to a standard, even by setting up a clock or alarm to notify you when your 10 minutes is up, you will be able to build a routine you can stick with. It is easy to spend more time than necessary on Facebook, so plan ahead and be realistic with your commitment.

Rock On!

Hollie Clere, The Social Pro is a social media manager, trainer and author in the LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog and social media world. You can connect at www.TheSocialMediaAdvisor.com

Related articles

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Having just returned from the 12th Annual Reboot Privacy & Security Conference, I am struck by and encouraged by the variety and sheer number of people, professionals who are interested in “saving the world”. These people include business professionals, corporate entities, government agencies, and other interested parties such as the ACLU. So often when Mike and I speak and train to audiences large and small the overwhelming topic of concern is  privacy: personal privacy in an online world.

So when I attend these conferences, where the majority of people in the room are privacy experts–true experts–I approach the topic from a user’s perspective. Users typically have little knowledge of or education in all the aspects of privacy online and off. What the user does know is their own individual privacy tolerance, their own comfort level, what they are not comfortable with, and how they feel. Most often I advocate enhanced education for users, the standardization of privacy controls across platforms, and an increased level of discussion revolving around psychographics rather than demographics. Psychographics are determined by your actions and how you do things rather than what you are or where you are.

Jeff Wacker, a Fellow & Futurist at HP was closing keynote. He indicated that for the privacy professional and end user alike there are four key points to note: transparency, education (www.PrivacyMatters.ca), choice (the opportunity to opt out), and accountability (from all parties). With all parties working together to be transparent, to demand transparency, to educate, to be educated, to offer a choice, and to make a choice, and to hold ourselves accountable in a matter our role, we will make progress that allows each individual to maintain a sense of privacy that they are comfortable with. All of this while knowing that the information we choose not to keep private or to keep private will not be misused or used in inappropriate ways.

As The LinkedIn Diva, I encourage not just business professionals, but end users as well, to view all of their online actions and choices through a lens of their personal privacy comfort level. A great way to do this is to build out your professional profile on LinkedIn and to include personal interests and character to help you define where your professional comfort level is.

Rock On!

Lori Ruff, The LinkedIn Diva is a speaker, trainer, author and radio host catering to the needs of  LinkedIn and social media professional users.
You can connect at www.LoriIsOnline.com.

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I’ve never highlighted a business credit builder program. I’ve always thought they were a scam. But here’s what I know about Darrel Hornbacher and his business, Midas Financial: in over ten years of doing business, he’s never had to refund money even though he guarantees his products and, he’s never had a Better Business Bureau report against him or his company.

So, if you’re a small or mid-sized business looking to enhance your credit during these economics times, read on and consider reaching out to Darrell. He’s helped lots of business owners and he can help you too. Note though that this is not some scam or scheme, it’s an honest and credible way to build your credit so you can survive when life throws you the unexpected.

Here’s a special message from Darrell:

I am now self funding a new payment plan for my guaranteed Business Credit Builder.  If you couldn’t afford to enroll in this program in the past, now is the time.  I’ve reached a new sales plateau so my cost has went down.  Plus I want to reach the next discount plateau as soon as possible.

So here’s the deal:

• $795 down !
• 6 easy payments of $200 each !

What do you get?  A perfect business credit score with all three credit bureau’s and $150,000 in trade and cash credit WITHOUT THE USE OF A PERSONAL GUARANTEE OR YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER!

If this sounds even remotely interesting to you, (and it should), give me a call and we’ll talk about it.

Have a great day,

Darrell Hornbacher

Midas Financial Company

6042 Blue Ridge Drive, Suite D
Highlands Ranch, CO  80130
303.513.8664 (P)
303.997.7413(F)

www.midas-financial.com

www.darrellhornbacher.com

www.thesmallbizcollege.com

You have created your social media presence, your branding is consistent and you find yourself spending hours each day on any given social media site scrolling, searching, reading and posting for hours on end.  But the question begs to be asked, is this how the social media world was intended or is there a better way to coordinate your time in these spaces?

From time to time you may find yourself overwhelmed with the daunting task of logging into your spaces, finding connections, building relationships with these connections and maintaining a current presence.  It can be challenging to find the time, to make a commitment and give you a realistic schedule.  Spending hours upon hours building your network each day, completing the work you have already tasked for the day; your time quickly disappears.  You instantly realize that something has to change, a plan needs to be developed to avoid the “time suck” and commit to optimization of our schedules in the right way.

So what does this even look like?  How can someone really develop a social media routine that works?  Does limiting the time on any given site provide a benefit or hinder your presence and activity?  These are all realistic questions.

Over the next few weeks we will be diving into what this looks like.  We will look at specific social media spaces such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. You aren’t alone in this journey and your time is of greatest value.  Let’s support each other in this adventure; focusing time, money and attention to building business, managing client retention and successfully maintaining social media presence within a consistent schedule.

It is possible my friend!

Rock On!

Hollie Clere, The Social Pro is a social media manager, trainer and author in the LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog and social media world. You can connect at www.TheSocialMediaAdvisor.com

There is so much talk about leadership skills and some people–I think–attack it like they do learning any other skill, with their head rather than with their heart. There are a several books that come to mind when I think about transformational leadership. One is “Leadership and Self-Deception” published by The Arbinger Institute and another is “Time to Think” by Nancy Kline. There are many others the common theme of which is that true transformational leadership—practicing a lifestyle that brings about true positive, lasting change—requires one to change their own thinking and actions without expectations that require the same from anyone else. The only mind we can change is our own.

I think that many times people are blocked in their thinking and creativity because of perceptions or assumptions; I work to help people remove those barriers, freeing them to unleash their genius. I say that with my whole being… I have found genius in every person I met. It doesn’t matter what background they are from, what economic status or intelligence level, if they are disabled, or at what point or place they find themselves in life. If I am quiet and listen for it, people will tell me where their pain is and how they can overcome that pain to reach a new “ah-ha” to open their minds to new possibilities. That is my idea of Transformational Leadership.

So… why post this to a social media blog? More obviously than ever before, individual people have the opportunity to become transformational leaders right where they are. What an incredible opportunity many of us have to step into this brave new world via social media vehicles to become the leaders we once only dreamed we could become.Strike while the iro is hot. Influence others in a positive way. Be the change you want to see in the world. You can make it happen!

For more, you’ll have to meet me…

Lori Ruff, The LinkedIn Diva

Originally posted September 3, 2008 on TalentBar

Follow-up post by Ben Simonton on TalentBar

Here’s an example of the rich media you can add to your LinkedIn profile followed by quick and easy steps to make your LinkedIn profile status update ROCK!

1. On your account settings, make sure your settings are set to “show rich media in your status update.”You can find this under Twitter settings. You’re looking for this checkbox language: “Show rich link display where possible (picture, page title, and short description).” It should be set this way by default but if this process isn’t working for you, this is the first place to look.

2. Next, when you update your stauts from within LinkedIn (easiest on your home page), there is a blue button to “Attach” a link.

3. Add the url and attach.

4. Next (really important!) you can edit the attachment, including which image—if there’s more than one—as well as the image title and content.  We try to make it specific to our update. Then click the blue “Preview” button and add your status (the first 140 characters will also show on Twitter if you click the Twitter checkbox).

5. Ask a couple of close friends who are in an industry targeted to your message to like it and comment on it to get it in their streams as well.  For example: when you put up cool stuff and I like it, people in my network see I liked or commented on your status.

6. Make sure your watch their updates and return the favor unasked!

7. If you want to view your status comments, you can do so from your “View my profile page. Sometime you can’t see your current status, but you can see your ‘previous’ status update in the “member activity” stream on the right column of your “View my profile” page.

Again, make it relevant and keep it professional.  If you have Twitter update your status, turn it off (or select, only tweets with “in”) so you don’t go through all this and then lose it to something less relevant.

P.S. if you click the picture above, you’ll be taken to Joel Comm‘s LinkedIn profile.  His question was the impetus for this blog post so click through, ask him to join your network and tell him I sent you.  He’s the best social media speaker I’ve ever had the privilege of seeing.  He not only knows his stuff, he’s excited to help folks learn new skills to improve their business and to inspire them. He has inspired me for years and I’m grateful.

Rock On!

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I have written several posts featuring the 10 most connected women on LinkedIn. Yesterday, I was at 17,999 first level connections. It was such a cool number that I had to take a screen shot. After accepting 43 invitations today, I’m now over the 18,000 mark.  Can you believe I forgot to get a screen shot of the actual 18,000? I was accepting invites and replying and just got carried away with the new possible opportunities!

Although I was pleased to have moved up the overall list by 15 places, I remain the 9th most connected woman on LinkedIn.  But that’s OK. There are still only 10 in the top 150 and that last spot changes the most. It would be nice if there were more women in the top 150 people, so, if you’re an open networker and would like people to connect with you to help you move up, leave a comment below with a link to your LinkedIn profile.

The second step is to read the original post that provides some helpful network growing tips and follow them!

Third, connect to the super-connected women listed below. Tell them you found them here and ask for their favorite network growing tip.

Finally, be patient and keep working. This isn’t something you achieve overnight.

.

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The reason people network is to meet other people: people who can help them in business and often people who become friends. As I work in the online and real world social networking space, I am also often asked, “Why can’t I find someone who loves me?”

I say: “Stop looking!”

We’ve been told, and it’s often true: do what you love and the money will follow.  I’m telling you to do what you love and the love will follow too!  Focus on your passion, on your dreams, on what you love. When you do that, you’re happier, calmer, and more attractive.  As you work in your passion, you’ll meet other people who are passionate about the same things.  You’ll start spending time together. You’ll start to notice each other. There will be more to the story.

Do what you love…

Have you followed your passions and met the love of your life in the process?  Do you have a rest of the story?  Share it with us, encourage people who need to hear that it can happen.

Clue Number One:

If you’re in it only for the money, for the sale, for the gig, you’re in it for the wrong reason and you’ll not find the success you could have otherwise. Some really successful social media gurus aren’t employed in or making a living in the industry!

How do I know if you’re only in it for the money?  Here’s a real example.

Today I received a LinkedIn Message from a fellow group member. We tell people to use groups for lead generation. So far, no problem.

Here was the message (with names hidden to protect…well, you get the idea).

SUBJECT: Technology Contact

FROM: [NAME], Vice President at [COMPANY] Equipment Finance

DATE: September 22, 2010

NOTE: You and [NAME] share a network or group.

Hi Lori,

I’d like to be a technology contact for you. I am in the IT Finance arena with [COMPANY]. I wanted to see if you wanted to connect here on LinkedIn. If so, please send me an invite t

o [EMAIL].

Feel free to pass my info to your friends about the $295 IBM and Dell notebooks on my profile page.

Thanks and good luck.

[NAME]
VP [Company]
[EMAIL]

So what do you do with that?

Here was my response, delivered in the form of a LinkedIn invitation as requested. (After all, he reached out to me. I might as well accept and offer some value. Keep in mind you only have 300 characters for a LinkedIn invitation so I had to be concise!

[NAME]

I’ll send an invite, even though you sent me a message asking for 3 things before you thought to even start a relationship.  A vendor relationship, a LinkedIn invite (which is free for you), and a referral for you (with no prior experience).

I wonder if you even looked at my profile… seriously!

I hope I don’t have to spell it out more than that.  You DO NOT ask for me to be your customer before you’ve even introduced yourself to me. You DO NOT ask people to send you a LinkedIn invitation unless there is no other option (a certainly not with a sales message). You DO NOT ask people to “pass my info to your friends” as the icing on the cake of this very ill-informed message. Finally, he closes his message with “Thanks and good luck.” Again, I say, Seriously? Good luck with what? my efforts to sell for a person who doesn’t care who I am?  Let’s get a clue…

For more examples of the subtleties of communications, read my previous post here.

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Let’s take a phrase we’re all familiar with: “The doctor has me on this program.” This statement implies that “the doctor” bears the responsibility for the success of the program. After all, “he” has me on it.

Compare this to: “My doctor wants me to follow this program.” The responsibility now becomes my own. Compliance, and ultimately success or failure, is up to me.

It’s an example worth thinking about, and it shows the power of words in social media.  That subtlety my friends, is one difference between a good social media consultant and a great one.

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Google Alerts recently pinged me with yet another article on “How to Cash In on Social Media,” this time in the New York Post.  Imagine my shagrin to read it was about which companies might go public in the coming year and which are embracing social media. Not just Facebook, LinkedIn and Zynga (think Farmville and Mafia Wars), but also Akamai, Teradyne and Yellow Pages (now known as SuperMedia).
It is human nature to desire to have some part of ourselves understood, some part of our mutual existence, if not all. We say we “connect” because we understand each other. Actually, we connect when we know someone has had an experience similar to ours.
Even the familiar whine of our teenagers, “no one understands me.” We all seek someone who knows what we’re going through. On facebook, on Twitter, and online, there are people who understand some part of our experience.
The meteoric rise of social media and the reason it is here to stay is not because of fads, but rather because of our desire to be understood. Social media is built on relationships.  It is not until it is approached while paying homage to that great truth that anyone will ever be able to “cash in” for the long term.

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Since December of 2009, I have asked Cricket for service. You decide if the grade I give them is justified.

I purchased a broadband card and a PayGo phone.I wanted the phone for emergencies and to loan to travelers who stay with us. I charged it, put it in a baggie and tossed it in the glove box. New phones came with $5 of free service (about 5 days on the daily plan) that I was assured didn’t expire.

As for the broadband service, it was touted as free after a mail-in rebate as long as you had a number of month’s of service. I never got a bill.  I called twice to ask about it; I was told that I would receive it via mail. When I called the second time, I argued that I had the card for almost two months but was again told I should receive my first bill any day.

A few weeks later the card stopped working.  I called technical support but they couldn’t find my account and suggested I go into the store or call customer service. I didn’t have time then so put it aside. A few weeks later I received a postcard declining my request for a rebate because the service was canceled.

Brilliant. I was hoping to find time to get back to the store, but it wasn’t high on my priority list.

Until a Couchsurfer.org guest from Poland was staying with us. Their son was ill and they didn’t have a cell phone.  I went to the car to get the phone and  made a test call (arguably something I should have done before I put it in its place). Rather than completing the call, I was notified that the phone had to be activated before it could be used. Ok. So I called to activate it.

Now I was informed that there was no $5 credit on the phone because it wasn’t a new phone. The system didn’t say why, but again the customer service agent recommended that I go to the store to try to sort things out. I kept wondering why they wanted to drive customer service issues to the store where they are trying to sell new services. I’m just saying…

So I hopped in my wheelchair, trucked down to the store, and after trouble getting a parking place and getting in there and waiting, I was greeted by “Kelly”. Kelly looked up my phone but said it belonged to someone named Kathy. I asked her to look up my account, but there was only one person with my name who lived in a city where I’ve never been. I asked if they could either activate the phone or replace it with one that could be activated.

the answer? No, not without the phone number that was assigned to the phone, the paperwork from the purchase, or I had the option of adding $5.00 to my account.  I was floored. What account exactly could I add the $5.00 to?  The mysterious Kathy. I asked for a manager mistakenly assuming that someone there could really help me. I was told there was no one else that could. I said “since you can’t and there is no one else who can, just give me back the phone I paid for and I’ll just go home and never do business with Cricket again.

As I wheeled out of the store I heard her call out, “Thank you miss! Have a nice day! Next, please…” Indeed.

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Chris Strom is a web designer/developer living in Denver, Colorado.  His company specializes in web design and development, internet marketing through SEO, PPC and email, and graphic design.  He has been working with WordPress since 2008.  You can see examples of his company’s work at www.CStrom.com.

We met Chris through the Denver WordPress & Social Media Meetup group. Chris not only presented, but lead a vigorous discussion at the monthy gathering. Our styles mesh well and, as we were close to completing the WordPress material, we asked him to lend his insight to the chapters on the topic. All of the work on WordPress 3.0 is his direct contribution.

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