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SAVVY
SELLING - SEPTEMBER
23, 2005
By Michelle Nichols
Finding
Your Way on the Web
No matter what your line, Net
knowhow is essential these days.
Here are two books that can
ground you in the necessary
tools
The Internet is like steroids
for selling. There are multiple
ways to use it to increase your
sales. Beyond e-mail, you can
have a Web site, start a blog,
join a chat group, search for
potential clients, and meet
new customers through online
networks. On Jigsaw.com, you
can even trade names and information
on clients like baseball cards.
I'm not a tech guru, so I like
tech books that are written
in plain English. There are
two new ones about using the
Internet to cultivate your business
that I recommend -- both filled
with stories and examples, which
I prefer to abstract theories.
The first is The Virtual Handshake:
Opening Doors and Closing Deals
Online by David Teten and Scott
Allen. It's about using online
networks, such as LinkedIn,
Ecademy, Ryze, and Meetup. I've
known Scott for several years,
and his knowledge of this topic
is impressive.
SEVEN STEPS.
Teten and Allen offer seven
keys to building a powerful
online network: your character,
your competence, the relevance
of the people in your network,
the information you have about
those in your network, the strength
of your relationships, the number
of people in your network, and
the diversity of those in your
network.
The beauty is that these ideas
can be used for either online
or offline networks. For starters,
rate your network in these seven
areas. Then develop one area
at a time, maybe one per month.
Just think, seven months from
now, your network will be larger
and stronger.
Let's look deeper at these
seven keys. While some of them
are more subjective, several
of them can actually be measured
numerically.
It's interesting that the authors
lead the list with the attribute
of character. When online, some
people mistakenly believe that
their spelling and grammar don't
matter, or that it's O.K. to
blather or gossip. Wrong!
POSITIVE IMAGE. Your
online persona reveals so much
about you -- your attention
to detail, trustworthiness,
dependability, honesty, and
clarity of thought. When it
comes to your character, perception
is reality. It doesn't matter
how you perceive your character.
Rather, it's how others think
and feel about your character
that counts.
Competence is also a matter
of perception. If you have impressive
credentials, like you were first
in your class, No. 1 sales rep
in your region, or have 20 years
of experience, let folks know
in a modest way. You will be
perceived as more competent,
and people like to do business
with winners.
Relevance can be rated numerically.
If you're a widget manufacturer,
a network of folks who buy and
sell widgets is more valuable
than say, a network of unpublished
authors. That's not to say that
those with lower relevance scores
can't help you. They will take
longer to lead you to a sale
because they can refer you but
they can't buy from you directly.
DATABASE STEW.
How much information you have
about your network can also
be rated numerically. For example,
in your database, do you just
ask for their e-mail addresses
or do you want to know 13 pieces
of information about them? If
you have 50,000 folks in your
database and yet don't know
anything about them, you really
can't connect to anyone in that
database stew.
The strength of your relationship
can build over time as you get
to know the people in your network
and they get to know you. Be
aware that if you don't deliver
what you said you would, you
will weaken your relationship.
The diversity of your network
can come from your network's
industry, ethnicity, gender,
location, age, experience, background,
hobbies, and more. Think of
the plight of those businesses
that only sold to Enron or WorldCom,
or who had all their clients
based in New Orleans. Personally,
I seek out diversity in all
aspects of my business and life
because I want to hear viewpoints
and experiences that are different
from mine. This allows me to
connect with people from a broader
scope of backgrounds.
THE BEST CONNECTIONS.
After Scott's book arrived,
I called him up and asked for
one great idea regarding online
social networks. He says he
only uses LinkedIn for his 75
or so close friends, so that
all the connections have high
strength. He purposefully doesn't
strive to have 500 names linked
to him because that would dilute
his relationships.
If a stranger asks him to link,
Scott asks them to e-mail and
chat for a while first. Later,
he might add them to LinkedIn.
In this way, he demonstrates
the value of the connection
both to himself and to those
select few in his network.
If you're specifically interested
in using your Web site to sell
more powerfully, I highly recommend
The Ultimate Guide to Electronic
Marketing for Small Business:
Low-Cost/High-Return Tools and
Techniques that Really Work
by Tom Antion. I also know Tom,
and he's the guru of Internet
marketing, which is only covered
in a small sliver of Scott's
book.
EASY TO READ.
In small, logical steps, Tom's
book teaches you how to build
a Web-based business. If you
follow the instructions page
by page, by the end of the book
you'll have the skills of an
Internet titan. The book is
also full of links to other
resources, so it's like a fat
tome in a thin body.
I once had a beginner piano
book that started with a picture
of a piano and the caption,
"This is a piano."
This book starts just as simply,
so anyone can follow it. If
you're tech savvy, there's still
plenty of meat for you. If you
want, you can skim over the
first section or two and dive
right into search-engine optimization
and other meaty topics.
As these two books demonstrate,
the Internet offers powerful
and effective tools to nurture
your business. Just don't lose
sight of the fact that people
still buy from people. Unless
you're committed to being the
low-cost provider in every situation,
build your connections -- both
online and offline -- and you'll
experience an explosion in connections,
introductions -- and sales.
Happy selling!
Michelle Nichols is a professional
sales speaker and consultant
based in Houston, Texas. She
welcomes your questions and
comments. You can visit her
web site at www.savvyselling.com
or contact her at michelle.nichols@savvyselling.com.
Her direct line is (281) 610-6307
and her
toll-free number is (877) 352-9684.
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