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!

Marketing is serious business, and you should always be serious about serious business. Yeah, right…

Logan Crawford portrays a comical news anchor in a series of TV commercials for AT&T’s the Backflip, from Motorola. Crawford is seen “reporting the news that’s important to you…” with impeccable sources such as Facebook and Twitter. The key feature of the Motorola Backflip is advertised as “Facebook, Twitter, text and more, streaming on a single screen.”

The commercial spoofs the common absurdity of social media posts with lines like, “This just in via text message and wall post: “The search is on for cute boots.” Another line reads, “This just in on Twitter and Facebook: A local bachelor has just enrolled in Karate.”

Here’s the paradox; so many social media posts are trivial dribble – and AT&T is using that fact to SELL. We buy from companies that get us to laugh at ourselves. The question is simple; do you take yourself a little too seriously in your marketing and sales presentations. The work of an advisor is serious business, but too often advisors treat every recommendation as if they are a doctor telling a patient they have terminal cancer. As a professional it is perfectly acceptable lighten up, use a little humor, and let your clients see you are real, even when you are making important recommendations. Don’t try to be a comedian, just relax and be yourself.

Good selling!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE AT&T COMMERCIAL

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!

Last evening I had the privilege and pleasure to be in the audience for the National Speakers Association – Minnesota Chapter meeting. Professional speaker Phillip Van Hooser, CSP, CPAE spoke on building a business and serving clients. He spoke from the heart, and has demonstrated every single principle contained in his presentation.

Phillip Van Hooser, CSP, CPAE

Phil spoke of his basic philosophies that guide his life and his business. He discussed career evolution, re-thinking, re-positioning, and re-tooling a business. And in spite of the fact that he is President of the National Speakers Association, he stated unequivocally, “I am not a speaker; speaking is what I do.” Phillip Van Hooser stands upon faith and family as the bedrock for his business and his life.

I cannot fathom hearing a message more relevant and effective than what I heard last night. Any business or organization will do well to hire Phillip if they want to transform the way they lead their employees and serve their customers. Check out Phil at www.vanhooser.com.

Well done, my friend. You are my hero.

Financial advisors commonly look for and attempt to offer the “best performing” investment products, in spite of the fact that one of the basic tenets of the industry is “Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.” An investment wholesaler (a true master of the profession) at a tier-one mutual fund recently shared an interesting thought:

“Advisors don’t really want the ‘best’ fund; they just want a really good fund that they really understand.”

Your job as an advisor is to match the proper financial strategies, products, and services with clients based upon the client’s financial situation and objectives. A part of this process involves selling. Three critical steps in the process include telling the client:

• The Benefits of a Particular Strategy
• How It Works
• Where it fits

In order to explain these aspects of a recommendation, advisors need to truly understand what they recommend. When selling, you need to give the 30,000-foot view to the client and be prepared to answer questions – any questions.  Don’t try to amaze people with your knowledge, but rather provide them with enough information they need to make an intelligent, comfortable buying decision.

Ethical and regulatory guidelines demand that you know your client. Suitability remains a cornerstone issue in the industry. Make sure you truly know the products and services you recommend as well as you know the clients whom you serve.

Your opportunity to build a professional services business depends on you and your sweat equity – as well upon upon the efforts of many others. At this time of year remember the American men and women who allow you to enjoy the blessings of  freedom and opportunity to grow your own business.

Our soldiers need your support. Their sacrifices are huge and many. The strain is showing. In one month earlier this year, more soldiers in Iraq were victims of suicide than were killed by al-Qaeda. These brave men and women (and their families) need our support. My youngest brother died in a non-combat accident in 1984 while serving his second tour of duty in the U.S. Navy, and I will never forget the phone call, the pain, and the grief endured by my family.

If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second.

This takes just 10 seconds and it’s a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you’s.

This weekend I saw the new movie from  Alcon Entertainment / Warner Bros. titled, “The Blind Side.” The movie stars Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, and Kathy Bates, and tells the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless teenager who is taken in by a family and given a second lease on life.  The lessons learned from this movie include the power on one person’s decision to make a difference in the life of another, and a reminder of how grateful I am for everything in my life. Give yourself and your family (and possibly your staff) a gift, and go see this movie.

During this season of Thanksgiving (Why is thanksgiving compartmentalized into a season?) take inventory of all you have for which you should be grateful. Remind those people listed in this inventory of your gratitude for the part they have played in your life.

How does one put something back into life? Can you change the world? Yes, and the best place to start is by giving thanks by choosing to make a difference in the life of just one person.

This time of year businesses send holiday cards to clients, customers, and vendors. Consider picking up the phone this week and calling your best relationships to say thank you, and ask how you can help them now and in the future. Translate your gratitude into actions. Thanksgiving knows no season!

One more thing; please allow me to say “Thank you!” to my family, friends, clients and readers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The November 2009 issue of Fortune Small Business magazine features a story titled, “Best Places to Launch:FSB presents the 50 top towns in America to grow your business.” (The top ten towns mentioned are included in a list at the end of this post.)  Do you live and work in one of these towns, and if not should you move?

This article addresses the question of where to launch a business, and also where to grow a business. So what’s the answer for you if you have an established business?

If you are not happy where you live, by all means consider moving. However, if  like where you live, “Bloom where you are planted.” This quote is attributed to many people, from Proverbs to radio icon Paul Harvey to graphic artist and children’s’ book illustrator Mary Engelbreit. If you choose to stay put and grow your business,  consider the following inventories:

• Inventory your best relationships, and continue to build them
• Inventory your expertise, and continue to grow it
• Inventory your marketplace, and determine its challenges, opportunities and strengths
• Inventory your reputation in the marketplace, and promote it

These steps apply whether you choose to stay put or relocate. A “geographic cure” seldom works if you are trying to “save” yourself. Look realistically at your situation, and make changes that help you succeed in a place that you truly love.

Good Selling!

THE TOP 10

1. Billings, MT
2. Bismarck, ND
3. Fargo, ND
4. Rapid City, SD
5. Sioux Falls, SD
6. Midland, TX
7. Morgantown, WV
8. Dubuque, IA
9. Hattiesburg, MS
10. Missoula, MT

Thanks to Alan VanDelinder of Minot, ND for this.

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:”

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved..
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s,we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”

Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.

Often people hear me say that I may be wrong, but I’n NEVER in doubt. Earlier this year, I started to Tweet on Twitter at www.twitter.com/michaelroby . After seeing others tweet about what time the got up in the morning, or the weather in wherever-they-are, ot the song on the radio at the present time, I made a corporate decision: NOT FOR ME!

However, a marketing strategist suggested I reconsider that position. She said I SHOULD Tweet, but confine my comments to sales ideas, and philosophies on sales, with an occasional musing on life that supports our roles and activities in selling.

I agreed to reengage. I was wrong. So please consider following me on Twitter@michaelroby. I promise not to drone on about the events of the day that are largely noise. My hope is to offer ideas and insriration that help you become even more important to those you choose to serve.

Good selling!