LinkedIn® provides professional services marketing and sales people with a wonderful tool for building and expanding relationships and growing business. Consider the following tips for maximizing the use – and profitability – of one the top business building tools on the Internet.

This daily game plan has 8 steps and takes 15 – 20 minutes.

1. Comment on Comments – Show your connections you are paying attention.
2. Make recommendations – If you have not made a recommendation for a connection, DO SO if at all possible. Please make sincere recommendations; remember, your name is on the line. If you cannot recommend someone in good faith, don’t do it.
3. Make your profile publicly available – While you can set the information which is publicly available to non-members/contacts, be careful with blocking too much information as this will also be unavailable to the search engines. As a minimum, consider providing enough information for the search engines to index your profile and cache the external links you have listed! In terms of optimizing your profile, the main goals are normally to rank for your own name, company name and possibly industry keywords related to this.
4. Comment on Profile Updates – Congratulate others on promotions and awards, inquire about other changes, and always offer assistance.
5. Check your Inbox – Respond to requests and messages in a timely manner.
6. Look in the “People You May Know Section” – Find new connections and leads.
7. Check Your Groups – Look for new discussions, answer questions, and look for other items of interest. Ask questions to gather information and open new relationships.
8. Use LinkedIn® Answers – This can help to build up your reputation within a field. For SEO it also builds the number of internal links pointing to your profile from within LinkedIn, therefore helping to strengthen your profile in the search engines!

A word of warning: LinkedIn® is a tool, not a religion. Relationships are still made person-to-person, not digitally. You can receive an introduction or introduce yourself on the web, but true relationship building comes from personal interaction. LinkedIn® and other social media sites help maintain and grow relationships. In a busy world, that is truly priceless!

One of the factors that differentiate things that we succeed at, and things that we fail at, is focus. In the workplace, if you manage or even work with others, you know how critical an ability it is for a team to focus.
Focus is critical for client meetings as well. Ever come out of a client meeting and say, I forgot to…!” Consider using a Client Meeting Agenda. Nothing formal is required, but a little additional planning prior to your meeting makes certain you don’t forget anything. Take a look at the following question headings and items that you might include on such an agenda:

• Items to cover today
• Areas of Need
• Additional Products/Services To Recommend
• Introductions Requested
• To-Do Items As A Result Of This Meeting

Using a short form – even if you write in the details – makes certain nothing is left to chance and nothing is forgotten.

Good selling!

Many firms have a “packaged” proposal system. While proposals are all over the map in terms of structure, most contain huge amounts of information, with numerous charts and graphs, volumes of copy, and endless disclosures. Whether you present financial plans or individual product presentations, proposals generally contain enough information for a doctoral dissertation. It’s all about disclosure and dictated by the compliance department.

Some clients want the bottom line. Other clients look for detail. And after all, isn’t the presentation about the client? How do you build a presentation and presentation strategy that always provides you with the tools you need to deliver whatever information your client needs to make an intelligent buying decision?

Consider making a summary of recommendations for your presentations. Take the detailed analysis and spreadsheets, and put them in an appendix.

If your client channels Jack Webb and wants the facts – just the facts, or if the client is an actuary with graduate degrees in statistical analysis and engineering, you will be prepared to provide the information needed to fulfill your obligations to communicate in a manner best suited to your client and provide appropriate and complete information. Provide the summary, and give the clients as much detail as they need. Your closing ratio will go up because you are adapting your communication techniques to your clients needs.

Good selling!

Let’s make this short and sweet:

• What is one activity/project/behavior you want to START doing in 2010?
• What is one activity/project/behavior you want to STOP doing in 2010?
• What is one activity/project/behavior you want to KEEP doing in 2010?

If you list and follow through on these three items, you are ahead of most people.

Good selling!

December is upon us; time to complete your business plan for next year! A big part of your business planning process is goal-setting, however goal-setting involves much more that predicting/forecasting/(maybe guessing!) production goals.

It has been said that the best way to predict the future is to create it. While many circumstances are beyond your control, you possess the ability to design and create the vast majority of your personal and professional future. Your world – your life – will never be perfect. I define a Perfect World as one where you intentionally have done everything possible to create a better world for you, your family, your company, and your clients. Your professional objectives are (or should be) a byproduct of your personal objectives.

You control the vast majority of the circumstances that effect your personal and professional life. We use an exercise in our Premier Advisor Program™  called The Perfect World Matrix™. Answer the following questions to help build a qualitative and quantitative picture of your “Perfect World.”

• Describe your ultimate Personal Perfect World™. (Can include health, family, recreational, free time, social, community service, and spiritual goals, along with anything that adds to your quality of life.) Use additional pages if necessary. The more detailed, vivid and comprehensive your vision, the more passion you will attach to attaining your Personal Perfect World™.
• How many free days would you want per week? _____    Per month? _____ Per Quarter? _____
• Describe your ultimate Professional Perfect World.™  (Includes production, sales, markets, business activities, staffing, and continuing education.) Use additional pages if necessary. The more detailed, vivid and comprehensive your vision, the more passion you will attach to attaining your Professional Perfect World™.
• If you could do three and only three activities, what would those activities be?
• If you could do three additional activities, what would those activities be?
• If you could delegate three (or more) activities, what would those activities be?
• What revenue-producing activities do you consistently need to do extremely well in order to achieve your goals?
• What flexibility do you want and need in your professional activities?
• What do you need from your team in order to create your Perfect World?

Where do you go from here? Spend some dedicated time – time without interruptions or multi-tasking – to design your Perfect World. Align your behaviors to match your Perfect World and it will appear! Call or email if you would like more information on CxC Matrix Marketing’s Premier Advisor Program™.

Good selling!

In case you had not heard, FINRA regulates what financial advisors can and cannot do and say on social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIN, and Twitter. Of course, this relates to business, not your love of Kentucky Basketball and fishing, or whatever else you do for fun. In the true spirit of regulatory agencies, the FINRA web “page” on this topic has…

• 5 Pages
• 2,235 Words
• 12,298 Characters

…not including links, headers, banners, and footnotes.

Some of the highlights include:

1. Know the rules.
2. Tell the truth; don’t exaggerate, state past performance, or predict the future.
3. If you are advertising, get it approved BEFORE you post. Keep copies for three years.
4. It doesn’t matter if you send email or post from home or a mobile device; it counts.
5. If you send something or make something available to 25 or more people, it is advertising.
6. A Chat Room is no different than a seminar.
7. Make sure you list the name of your firm, and keep your contact information current
8. Treat electronic communications as you would any other written or verbal contact; DISCLOSE ALL MATERIAL FACTS.
9. Be careful about linking to other websites; check with your firm before creating links.
10. Check with your individual firm for guidance regarding state registration issues.

A few comments are in order. Websites and social media are tools, not a religion. They support your business development and client service efforts; they do not replace them. Be reasonable about what you do and say electronically, just as you would face-to-face or hard copy. If you are reasonable and your firm is not, don’t roll over and make your case. In the end YOU are their client, but you must abide by the final decisions of the compliance department.

Electronic and social media can make a huge difference in your client relationship development and marketing. Resources are everywhere on electronic marketing and relationship development. Learn all you can, apply what you learn, and use electronic and social media wisely.

There you have it, in…

• 1 Page
• 342 Words
• 1,716 Characters

Good selling!

(NOTE: As always, know the regulations, as well as your B-D’s rules. Click here to see the FINRA Regulations.

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Check out my recent article in Advisor Today on AdvisorToday.com., a publication of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA).  Want to develop a game plan for your next sales conference or training event? Click here to read the article.

Today is my birthday, and it is a “milestone” birthday; fifty-five. At this point in life, as I contemplate the passing years I see certain events I viewed as “coincidence” as anything but coincidence. It never ceases to amaze me how life continues to remind me there is no such thing as coincidence.

This morning I was reading an article by Maria Shriver in AARP:The Magazine about her journey through Alzheimer’s with her father, Sargent Shriver.  In the last line of the article, when responding to how she deals with her father’s illness and the possibility that someday she could have Alzheimer’s,  she simply says, “I live in the moment.” Later in a comment about the Masters Golf Tournament, former PGA golfer and current ESPN golf-analyst Andy North stated that the way you keep cool when faced with the prospect of winning a “Major” golf championship is to “stay in the moment” on each shot.

These back-to-back “coincidences” reminded me that the present is all we really have. The past is but a memory while the future is pure potential. We plan for the future but the only piece of time that is truly ours is “right now.” We can’t change the past, but we can learn from the past and have a hand in creating the future if our plans are congruent with how we choose to live in the moment.

So what are you doing right now? Simple; you are reading this article with the hope that you will learn something that will benefit your business. This investment of time provides the potential for unbelievable return if you take this concept and focus on being completely present in each moment of the day. Don’t waste the time spent reading this by not moving towards your goals by executing behaviors that support those goals.

So how do you create maximum ROI on the last two short minutes?  Where do you go from here?

• Review your scheduled activities for the day.
• Ask yourself if the activities you have planned support your objectives.
• Execute the most important activities first, and choose to be in that moment.

One last question; do you really think it was coincidence that you read this article?

Good selling!

Last week I did a series of public investment seminars for David Milbrath, a financial advisor with Investment Centers of America.  David’s main office is in Springfield, MN and we did a general seminar for all of his clients, as well as presentations to two of his corporate clients.

One of those clients was Mathiowetz Construction.  Mathiowetz has “proudly served Southern Minnesota since 1924 with quality, dependable earth-moving construction.” We were scheduled to present during their annual “Safety Week” meeting, at which  they gear up for the coming construction season.  One of the companies disciplines is that all employees go through a series of warm-up and stretching exercises before beginning work for the day. ALL of their employees do the same, even the office staff. In fact, they stretched to open up the day’s meeting! This commitment to discipline carries through to all facets of the company.

Examine the disciplines and traditions you have in your firm.  Do you always practice and maintain your commitment to quality and meeting your clients needs first? Do you prepare yourself and improve your skill sets?

Mathiowetz is a great employer with great employees that do great work; hard work of which they are proud.  Be proud of what you do.

Good selling!

An article written by Paul Hochman in the February issue of Fast Company magazine discusses the future of wireless electricity.  That’s right – wireless electricity.  This technology resides in the present, not the future. The article features wirelessly rechargeable tools, cell phones, and other consumer electronics.  Terms such as “Inductive Coupling,” and “Radio-frequency Harvesting” provide a peak of the future in products that become available in three to eighteen months!

Consider this question: Are you selling and serving your clients using the tired techniques and technologies that worked in the past?  When I mention technologies, I speak of the personal branding, sales processes, and relationship marketing programs that provide clients with exceptional service, create significant increases in sales growth, and differentiate you from the competition.

Step back and take a look at every aspect of your business.  Ask yourself what you can do to incrementally improve all aspects of your business.  Implement processes that take advantage of new ideas and technologies. Those incremental changes contain the keys to rapidly growing your business.