Entries from May 2010 ↓

When you are selling a product or service to an organization its said you should always direct your efforts at a specific person, not just a title.  How do you do that?  You can’t just call the secretary and ask for the HR director’s name right?  Thats where LinkedIn can help.  Head to LinkedIn.com and click advanced search towards the top right.  Here you can type in someone’s title, company and voila! You have a name to prospect.  Now lets say you have a specific product that appeals to a certain title.  For example, you have a product that appeals to Safety Managers.  Click the advanced search, type ‘safety’ into the title and choose a 30 mile range.  Bingo, your new prospecting list.  If you really want to get crazy, check the box for 2nd connection.  This will show you Safety Managers that know one of your friends or colleagues.  For a how to checkout the youtube video.

Building relationships
Blog readers are likely to be your best customers, and knowing them better will help you to find more like them.

Establish prestige and trust
Sharing your expertise through your blog 1) shows your clients that you know what you are talking about and 2) gives them a reference point for all things related to your expertise.

Increase your web site traffic
More content on your site will increase the chance of exposure via search engines.

Linkability for SEO
As well as the direct traffic benefit of leads, links are important in bringing in search visitors. The more linkable your website, the better your search results will be.

Building trust and familiarity
By starting with compelling information and resources, and by encouraging repeat communication, you build familiarity. Over time, this creates a strong bond of trust, making sales so much easier.

Help Branding
This positive attention and these value-based, long-term experiences don’t just create trust. They help to create a stronger, better brand. This leads to word-of-mouth advertising, which is one of the best forms of promotion you can get.

Grow a community
Through discussion, interaction and comments, you can help forge a sense of community that can be strengthened both online and off.

Offer better service
Your blog provides multiple routes for customers and prospects to get in touch.