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[kmaswanson]

Are you in love with the products and/or services you sell?

If you're like most sales people, you have a certain amount of affection for your products or services.

Would it be of interest to you if I told you you're in love with the wrong thing? The truth is, it's not your product or service you should be in love with it’s your customer.

People who fall in love with their products or services aren't as successful as people who fall in love with their customers.

How do you fall in love with your customers? First, you must understand what it takes to be a successful salesperson.

Great sales people ask quality questions.

The best sales people ask clients and prospects plenty of quality questions to fully determine their situation and buying needs. They know the most effective way to present their product or service is to uncover their customer’s goals, objectives, concerns, and hesitations. This allows them to effectively discuss the features and benefits of their product and service that most relate to each customer. 

Successful sales people listen. 

Most sales people will ask a question then give their customer the answer, or continue to talk afterwards instead of waiting for their response. Great sales people know that customers will tell them everything they need to know if given the right opportunity. They ask questions and listen carefully to the responses, often taking notes and summarizing their understanding of the customers’ comments. They have learned that silence is golden. 

Successful sales people are passionate.

They love their company and they exude this pride when talking about their products and services. The more passionate you are about your career, the greater the chance you will succeed. The reason for this is simple—when you love what you do you are going to put more effort into your work. When you are passionate about the products or services you sell, your enthusiasm will shine brightly in every conversation. If you aren’t genuinely excited about selling your particular product or service, give serious consideration to making a change. You are not doing yourself, your company or your customers any favors by continuing to represent something you can’t get excited about.

Successful sales people keep in touch with their clients.

They know constant contact helps keep clients so they use a variety of approaches to accomplish this. They send thank-you, birthday, and anniversary cards. They make phone calls and schedule regular ‘keep in touch’ breakfast and lunch meetings. They send articles of value to their customers and send an email newsletter. They are constantly on the lookout for new and creative ways to keep their name in their customers’ minds.

Successful sales people take responsibility for their results.

They do not blame internal problems, the economy, tough competitors, or anything else if they fail to meet their sales quotas. They know that their actions alone will determine their results and they do what is necessary.

Successful sales people show value.

Today’s business world is more competitive than ever before and most sales people think price is the only motivating buying factor. Successful sales people recognize price is a factor in every sale but it is seldom the primary reason someone chooses a particular product or supplier. They know a well-informed buyer will usually base much of her decision on the value proposition presented by the sales person. They know how to create this value with each customer, prospect, or buyer they encounter.

We all have what it takes to become successful. Are you ready to make it happen?

Other articles you may find interesting.

http://www.briantracy.com/blog/sales-success/key-to-success-sales-career-top-sales-people/

http://bestatselling.com/7_habits_of_highly_successful_salespeople.html

http://socialmediatoday.com/jfouts/1145866/5-traits-social-sales-person

http://www.quicksprout.com/2011/02/15/what-interviewing-31-sales-people-taught-me-about-sales/

[kmaswanson]

Landing Page Commandments

These are 10 Commandments of Landing Pages That Work.

Bind them to your mind, let them flow through your pen …

1. Thy landing page shalt have but one goal

Thy landing page shalt have but ONE goal and the number of the goals shall be one. Not two, not zero, but one.

If thy landing page hath zero goals, it is a “branding” page, and such vanities shall bear no fruit.

If thy landing page hath more than one goal, thou shalt confuse thy visitor, who shall leave thy site in disgust and anger.

Thy copy shalt not be divided amongst more than one goal, for such shall surely drive thy visitor to lamentation and thy copywriter to madness.

2. Thou shalt not litter thy landing page with false imagery

Thou shalt not litter thy landing pages with false images nor unecessary imagery but only that which is gainful and relevant.

Let not a cute kitten, playful puppy, happy child, nor LOLcats appear except as and when they shalt be — in context — perceived as deeply relevant and meaningful.

Neither shalt thy litter thy prose with false imagery nor “creative” allusions that might leadeth thy visitor from the path of righteous goal completion.

Neither shalt thee fail to disclose thine affiliations, lest the FTC rain down upon thee like a plague of locusts.

3. Thou shalt not take the name of an authority in vain

Thou shalt not take the name of an authority in vain, for such false endorsements shall land thee in the court of man forthwith.

Further, thou shalt honor thine own name by keeping thy promises, in headline, subhead, graphic, offer, delivery, and guarantee, that thy days on the Internet shall be boundless and fruitful, and thy reputation pure.

4. Honor thy whitespace

Remember thy whitespace, to keep thy landing page scannable and readable.

For thy visitor doth not read in earnest, nay, preferring to skim and skip and scan.

So break up thy text, and include ye in all things subheaders and bullet points and simple sentences anon, so thy visitor may find succor in thy text.

5. Honor thy host, bandwidth, and client

Honor thy web host, thy bandwidth, and thy client, that thy load times shalt not be excessive and the patience of thy visitor shalt not be exhausted.

For thy visitor is Busy and Impatient, and hath not time to waste waiting for thy site to load.

But yea, if thy page doth load quickly, thy visitor may tarry and thy bounce rate shalt surely dwindle.

6. Thou shalt not kill

Thou shalt not kill thy visitor’s interest with boring copy.

Thy copy shall flow like a river unto the sea, carrying thy visitor along in the gentle current of thy persuasions to the port of goal completion.

Thou shalt not kill thy visitor’s trust with unbelievable claims.

Thy claims shalt have proof, and trust marks, and yea, testimonials and demonstrations sufficient to support and prove thy remonstrations beyond faith and suspicion. By this ye shall overcome all objections and prosper.

Thou shalt not kill thine integrity with suspicious associates, nor thy reputation through excessive returns and unresolved support issues.

7. Thou shalt not adulterate thy premise

Thou shalt not adulterate thy premise nor offer by dabbling in external irrelevancies, but shall remain faithful to the visitor and goal throughout thy prose and yea, unto the end of thy landing page shall it serve thee.

Maketh thee no mark upon thy page that doth not contribute towards thy goal.

8. Thou shalt not steal

Thou shalt not steal thy visitor’s attention, time, coin, and bandwidth, but shall inform, educate, and persuade only after receiving consent and permission.

Thy shalt deliver value in all things, and thou shalt not engage in any activity of scam nor spam, nor even the appearance thereof.

Collect ye no information unnecessarily, for each such imposition burdens thy visitor with doubt and fear.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness

Thou shalt always speak the truth about thy product, thine offer, thy guarantee, and thy competitors.

Thou shalt not bear false witness in any event, for surely thine integrity is worth more than gold. And if it be not so, remove thyself from the Internet.

10. Thou shalt not covet

Thou shalt not covet thy visitor’s cash, nor his credit card, nor his email address, nor his phone number, nor anything that is thy visitor’s.

Thou shalt provide value in fair exchange, and in all things eschew deceitful schemes and trickery.

Thanks to Steven A. Lowe for this awesome post!

[kmaswanson]

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© 2012 WordStream, Inc., a Google AdWords PPC and Search Engine Marketing tools company.

[kmaswanson]

Managing mobile as part of the maretking mix.

[kmaswanson]

Doing Business Online in the 21st Century

Times have changed. The online space is incredibly competitive and the environment in which businesses compete online is changing at a rapid pace. Yet many business’ website development processes remain unchanged from the turn of the century.'

To achieve Web visibility in the current environment, the website development and promotion life cycle must evolve and begin using a more holistic approach.

Why is this important? Consider the following list of disciplines and respective professionals required to develop and promote a website in today’s competitive landscape.

Web Design / Development

Graphic designers to create a visually appealing website.

Programmers to ensure that various design and process elements work together.

Web usability experts to ensure site visitors are able to complete tasks intuitively.

Conversion optimization specialists to ensure maximum conversion potential by website visitors.

Content Developers

Writers and copywriters to develop content and email campaigns.

Photographers and graphic designers to create appealing visual content.

Audio and video content developers due to the increasing popularity of podcasts and online videos.

Website Marketing

Search Engine Optimization professionals to improve the website’s visibility in organic search results.

Search Engine Marketers to implement and manage pay-per-click and other online advertising channels.

Social Media Professionals to leverage the power of social networks, community sites and other social media tools.

And, of course, we cannot leave out the primary stakeholders of the project — the business owners and management team, including the marketing department and public relations professionals.

It is this collection of various professionals and the different skill sets they possess that calls for a holistic approach to website development and promotion. But there’s more.

Each and every one of these stakeholders has specific needs and requirements that must be supported by the website. Absolutely none of these requirements are individual entities that do not in some way require the support of other website design or development elements, or impact these design and development elements themselves.

This is where the transition to a holistic approach becomes so important. The integration of all these various needs and requirements into the website requires the individual elements to support each other, for the common good of the entire business.

The implementation of a holistic Web development and promotion project is no different than any other business initiative. A clear understanding of the business’ objectives is the primary prerequisite.

Once objectives have been determined, establishing the budget for the new or redesigned website is the next priority. In many cases, due to budgeting constraints, it is at this stage of the process that prioritization of business objectives becomes necessary. By this stage, your business should have a clear understanding of why the project is to be implemented, what is to be achieved and how much the company can afford to make the project a reality.   The holistic approach requires strong project management skills due to the extensive number of professional disciplines required to complete the project. The first task the project manager will be required to complete is the identification of the development and promotion team members.

Team development must be prioritized. The primary principle of a holistic approach is the identification of what website elements are required to support the needs of the various promotional efforts to ensure the site is both highly visible on the Web and able to fulfill the business’ and website visitors’ needs.

This may appear to be common sense. However, in my experience, this is often not the process that is taking place. All too often, the website goes live prematurely. Only then is the question is asked, “How are we going to promote this website?” This scenario often creates the need for website revisions following the perceived completion of the project — a waste of both time and resources.

Once the development and promotion teams have been determined, team members must identify the strategies they plan on implementing within their areas of expertise. Team members must effectively communicate these plans and outline their future requirements to ensure that allowances are made for the inclusion of their proposed strategies in the website’s development stage.

The communication of future strategies is critical, and one of the most overlooked steps in the website’s development life cycle. This is the primary reason websites often need revisions after they have gone live. It not only creates additional costs to the project, but is also likely to have a detrimental effect on the website’s performance. When businesses are faced with a website that underperforms, the situation often snowballs out of control — by this stage having spent the budgeted sum and received little or no ROI.

This usually creates the situation where business managers are resistant to spending additional resources on a website that has failed to perform to expectations. Yet, if the additional resources are not found to complete the necessary revisions, the site will never be able to achieve the business’ goals and objectives. The holistic approach to the website development and promotion life cycle is really nothing more than common sense. The reason why a holistic methodology has become so important is the increasingly complex nature of the business website.

Gone are the days of the simple brochure website. Businesses and site visitors have high expectations of what every online presence should deliver. Ensuring that a website is capable of meeting these expectations requires the implementation of a holistic approach to manage the multitude of website development and promotional requirements.

[kmaswanson]

The High Cost of Low Trust in Relationships

 Stephen Covey's recent book, The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything, offers a theory that trust, whether high or low, is the variable in the standard formula for organizational success. According to Covey, research clearly shows that high-trust companies elicit far greater loyalty from their primary stakeholders. He goes on to say that losing customers, which usually occurs due to lack of trust at some level, is also very expensive, as the cost of acquiring a new customer can be as much as 500 percent more than keeping an existing customer.

The following story illuminates the high cost of low trust. At the foundation of every personal interaction, family, organization, economy, and even culture is one fundamental value: trust.

An old woman took a very limp parakeet to her veterinarian. As she placed her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm so sorry, your parakeet has died." The distressed owner wailed, "Are you sure? I mean, you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."

The vet sighed, shrugged and left the room and returned a few moments later with a black Labrador retriever. The parakeet’s owner watched in amazement as the dog sniffed the bird from top to bottom, then looked at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head from side to side. The vet patted the dog’s head and took it out and returned a few moments later with a cat. The cat jumped up on the table and also sniffed the bird from top to bottom and shook its head, meowed softly, and jumped down from the table and left the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but this is definitely a dead bird." Then the vet left the room and returned with his bill, which he handed to the woman. The woman, still in shock, took the bill. "$150" she cried.  "You’re charging me $150 just to tell me my parakeet is dead!?" The vet shrugged. "I’m sorry, if you'd trusted my word, the bill would only have been $20 but what with the lab report and the cat scan, it’s now $150."

[kmaswanson]

Email Checklist (maybe this time it'll work!)

Provided by Seth Godin.

Three years ago this week, Seth posted this checklist, in the naive hope that it would eliminate (or perhaps merely reduce) the ridiculous CC-to-all emails about the carpool, the fake-charity forwards, the ALL CAPS yelling and the stupid PR spam.

A person can hope, right?

Feel free to send this to those that need to read it:

Before you hit send on that next email, perhaps you should run down this list, just to be sure:

Is it going to just one person? (If yes, jump to #10)

Since it's going to a group, have I thought about who is on my list?

Are they blind copied?

Did every person on the list really and truly opt in? Not like sort of, but really ask for it?

So that means that if I didn't send it to them, they'd complain about not getting it?

See #5. If they wouldn't complain, take them off!

That means, for example, that sending bulk email to a list of bloggers just cause they have blogs is not okay.

Aside: the definition of permission marketing: Anticipated, personal and relevant messages delivered to people who actually want to get them. Nowhere does it say anything about you and your needs as a sender. Probably none of my business, but I'm just letting you know how I feel. (And how your prospects feel).

Is the email from a real person? If it is, will hitting reply get a note back to that person? (if not, change it please).

Have I corresponded with this person before?

Really? They've written back? (if no, reconsider email).

If it is a cold-call email, and I'm sure it's welcome, and I'm sure it's not spam, then don't apologize. If I need to apologize, then yes, it's spam, and I'll get the brand-hurt I deserve.

Am I angry? (If so, save as draft and come back to the note in one hour).

Could I do this note better with a phone call?

Am I blind-ccing my boss? If so, what will happen if the recipient finds out?

Is there anything in this email I don't want the attorney general, the media or my boss seeing? (If so, hit delete).

Is any portion of the email in all caps? (If so, consider changing it.)

Is it in black type at a normal size?

Do I have my contact info at the bottom? (If not, consider adding it).

Have I included the line, "Please save the planet. Don't print this email"? (If so, please delete the line and consider a job as a forest ranger or flight attendant).

Could this email be shorter?

Is there anyone copied on this email who could be left off the list?

Have I attached any files that are very big? (If so, google something like 'send big files' and consider your options.)

Have I attached any files that would work better in PDF format?

Are there any :-) or other emoticons involved? (If so, reconsider).

Am I forwarding someone else's mail? (If so, will they be happy when they find out?)

Am I forwarding something about religion (mine or someone else's)? (If so, delete).

Am I forwarding something about a virus or worldwide charity effort or other potential hoax? (If so, visit snopes and check to see if it's 'actually true).

Did I hit 'reply all'? If so, am I glad I did? Does every person on the list need to see it?

Am I quoting back the original text in a helpful way? (Sending an email that says, in its entirety, "yes," is not helpful).

If this email is to someone like Seth, did I check to make sure I know the difference between its and it's? Just wondering.

If this is a press release, am I really sure that the recipient is going to be delighted to get it? Or am I taking advantage of the asymmetrical nature of email--free to send, expensive investment of time to read or delete?

Are there any little animated creatures in the footer of this email? Adorable kittens? Endangered species of any kind?

Bonus: Is there a long legal disclaimer at the bottom of my email? Why?

Bonus: Does the subject line make it easy to understand what's to come and likely it will get filed properly?

If I had to pay 42 cents to send this email, would I?

Chris Anderson has come up with his own list as well.

[kmaswanson]

The History of Search

Searching has evolved over the years with our constant demand for wanting information faster. Many of us can remember the days when a phone book and rotary phone was the best way to find people and information. In today’s world, with the Internet and search engines, we have access to information we need from anywhere in the world, and all of this can be done with a simple click of a button or a swipe of a finger.

The information below is mostly accurate and a great depiction of the timeline except for one caveat. The Internet was not born in 1991 by Tim Berners-Lee. He did create the WWW which has evolved into what we know it as today. I also believe that AOL created huge consumer visibility for "keyord" searching but isn't mentioned below.

[kmaswanson]

My First Facebook Daily Deal

Today, April 26, 2011, I found an email from Facebook in my inbox for my first Facebook Daily Deal. The email itself was clear and easy to interpret but after reviewing the actual deal on Facebook, I realized the location was in Texas and I live in Minnesota.

So exactly how is Facebook targeting people with these "Groupon" like ads?

Facebook’s first local deals product was announced as part of Facebook’s overarching locations feature, Places. Mobile checkins were linked to deals; in this way, Deals served as an incentive for Facebook users to integrate Facebook Places in their daily lives — and they were also an incentive for marketers and major brands to put more money into the Facebook platform. 

However, the new Deals will be less like a Foursquare deal and more like a Groupon voucher, which means the user will buy a certificate for a certain product or service at a steep discount, typically half off its retail price, then redeem it later.

Perhaps most importantly, users will be able to buy Deals using Facebook Credits, paving a smooth path between a virtual currency and real-world goods and services as well as with their credit card.

[kmaswanson]

Thinking About Building A Mobile Application?

Before you spend a dime on building an app, think about completing the following four steps:

Create a mobile version of your website. This isn't an app, but it will come in handy when you build one. A mobile site will give you a presence on all smartphones, regardless of operations system, and provide valuable insights into how people interact with your brand and content on a mobile device.

Think small. Just as phones are not computers, apps are not websites. The best apps are elegant and easy to use, and perform one or two core functions that make users' lives simpler, better, or more fun. Remember: Smartphone apps are designed to perform on screens no bigger than the palm of your hand.

Decide on or two key features to include in your app. Successful apps tem to have a real core function but don't include the kitchen sink.

Browse the various app stores for similar apps and read the user reviews. Apple's iTunes, BlackBerry's App World, and Google's Android Market webpages make browsing and searching apps by keywords rather easy.

[kmaswanson]

HEADLINES FROM THE YEAR: 2059

Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world, Mexifornia, formerly known as California.

  White minorities still trying to have English recognized as Mexifornia's third language.

  Spotted Owl plague threatens northwestern United States crops and livestock.

  Baby conceived naturally! Scientists stumped.

  Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage.

  Iran still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least 10 more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.

  France pleads for global help after being taken over by Jamaica. No other country comes forward to help the beleaguered nation!

  Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be importedlegally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking.

  George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2060.

  Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only.

  85-year $75.8 billion study: Diet and exercise is the key to weight loss.

  Average weight of Americans drops to 250 lbs.

  Global cooling blamed for citrus crop failure for third consecutive year in Mexifornia and Floruba.

  Japanese scientists have created a camera with such a fast shutter speed they now can photograph a woman with her mouth shut.

  Abortion clinics now available in every High School in United States .

  Senate still blocking drilling in ANWR even though gas is selling for

4532 Pesos per liter and gas stations are only open on Tuesdays and Fridays.

  Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative.

  Supreme Court rules punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.

  A Couple Finally Had Sexual Harmony, they Had simultaneous Headaches.

  Average height of NBA players is now nine feet seven inches with only 3 illegitimate children.

  New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters and rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2060.

  IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75 percent.

  Floruba voters still having trouble with voting machines.

[kmaswanson]

iTunes Connect Update

If you are company that has an app on iTunes, please be aware that iTunes Connect will be shut down from Thursday, December 23 to Tuesday, December 28 for the holidays. Do not schedule any pricing changes to take effect during this time because any changes scheduled between these dates will make the app unavailable for purchase.

Note: Any app with an available date scheduled during the shutdown will not go live until iTunes Connect access resumes on December 29.

[kmaswanson]

Can Social Influence Search?

So much has been written about security issues related to “hackers” mining social data on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare but little has been written about the revolutionary effect it has had on businesses.

While many businesses still can’t see the value of participating in these networks, what if you mined this data to uncover how people were talking about your industry or category for search engine optimization?

If you want to know what people really think, go to where the people are. Start listening in on communities to see what keywords and phrases they use and then use these for your content strategy to drive traffic to your site. When social and search are integrated together, you get an idea of not just what people are looking for and talking about, but how to drive your content strategy.

According to eMarketer, only about a quarter of B2B marketers were monitoring social channels for help choosing keywords for their paid search campaigns, suggesting many companies may be passing up opportunities to find out how customers naturally talk about their products and services.

According to the survey, B2B marketers’ No. 2 goal for social media marketing—after building brand awareness—was increasing traffic to a website, which social media’s natural synergy with search marketing is helping to achieve. Their next goal, generating leads, can in turn be reached through both social media itself and improved search efforts, both of which, according to HubSpot, bring in more leads.

The majority of search marketers have recognized the importance of social media to their search engine optimization efforts, according to a November 2010 study from search marketing software provider SEOmoz. Nearly 71% of respondents said they use social media as part of their SEO strategy. Social media marketing can be an excellent driver of content visibility, by helping to keep content fresh and abundant, and also by increasing the number of inbound links a site receives.

In addition, almost three in 10 search marketers had used badges, widgets or embeddable content to build links, all of which are typically used to help socialize content and make it easier for users to share with their networks. About the same number had attempted to create viral content, which relies heavily on the social web for distribution.

It can take several weeks or months for new website content to get top organic ranking on a search engine, especially if it's in a crowded category. But there are techniques marketers can use to boost organic rankings. Social content with inbound links as well as user-generated content within a blog or other social page helps boost organic search visibility.

Search engines recognize when a site adds new content often and may reindex that site multiple times a day—one of the reasons many consumer sites have added blogs and user communities to their content mix. On the b2b side, companies that don't have the time or bandwidth to monitor such activities can include end-user ratings and reviews, he said.

Marketers should also frequent and comment on industry blogs, which may in turn encourage those industry bloggers to link to the marketer's blog. They can also tweet about new social content, analyze where people are coming from and understand who your key influencers are. The people who are talking well about your brand—those are the sites you want to be pushing people to and talking about on your Facebook page and own blog posts.

Last, marketers shouldn't overlook their ability to direct traffic back to their site by participating in online discussions. In the blogosphere, users share their own experiences and content with each other, and marketers should be doing the same. In some cases, this means marketers are commenting on threads and links that are related to their companies, so they can "seed" communities with links. Users are searching more and more through 'non-search engines' like social networks, ratings and reviews sites, blogs, so a marketer needs to think about creating visibility in these alternative 'search engines' as well.

[kmaswanson]

The Secrets of Networking Revealed

Never Eat Alone and Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time

By Keith Ferrazzi with Tahl Raz and reported by David Magy

  Networking – a term that has been almost solely (although wrongly) linked in job hunting. When this book was suggested to me, I assumed the book, judging by its title, would simply be another networking book. Because I enjoy books on this topic, I thankfully took the time to read it. My prejudgment could not have been further from the truth. 

  The book starts with the following quote by Margaret Wheatley: 

  Relationships are all there is.  Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop pretending we are individuals that can go it alone.

  This quote sets the tone for the remainder of the book. An additional tone setting premise is the author’s lesson on generosity. He simply states that when you help others, they often help you and that real networking is about finding ways to make other people more successful (giving more than you get). 

  There are, of course, key reminders and lessons about networking that often seem to be forgotten. While I will list a few of these in a moment, it is the book’s discussion on balance that was one of the themes that took me by surprise. For those of you that know me, I am often labeled a networker and/or connector. I commonly have networking conversations with people in transition who, early in our conversation, admit that networking was on their ‘back burner’ while they were immersed in their work/career.  They sometimes boast of their LinkedIn page, but not of actually talking/meeting with people. 

  When we get busy at work (out of ‘balance’), our tendency is to bring our lunch and eat at our desk.  Talking with people often turns into simply attending the mandated meetings on our calendar (all work related). While sometimes necessary, the fact that this often becomes a habit commonly leads to dissatisfaction or disengagement at work. Our stress level rises and studies show (as pointed out in the book) that individualistic cultures typically report higher stress levels than people who work in more community-oriented cultures. Connecting with others is invigorating and, as research proves, brings us greater happiness in all aspects of our lives. When our lonely lives catch up to us, we often turn to self-help books. We need to take this same time/energy and connect with the people that bring us to a better mental state and place

  The author talks about being front and center in someone’s mental rolodex. To do this, you need to take action – and he almost prescribes a way. While somewhat mathematical, the lessons are clear.

·         People you are contacting to create a new relationship need to see or hear your name in at least three modes of communication. 

·         Once you have gained the recognition you sought, you need to nurture the relationship with a call or e-mail at least once a month.

·         To transform a contact into a friend, you need a minimum of two face-to-face meetings (and out of an office setting). Maintaining a secondary relationship requires two or three ‘pings’ a year. 

 Now to those basic, but important and often neglected, reminders on networking:

Starting with the end, JUST DO IT!  Set a goal for yourself relating to reconnecting with a friend/colleague or meeting with a new person – either daily or weekly.  (Daily does sound overwhelming; weekly is very achievable.) 

Don’t schmooze . . . . . have something to say and say it with passion. You’re only as good as what you give away.

 Be transparent. People respond when they know you are dealing straight with them.

Don’t be TOO efficient. Nothing comes off as less sincere than receiving a mass e-mail addressed to a long list of recipients. 

While written in 2005 (wow – 5 years ago!), the use, importance and prominence of technology is not lost on the author. That said, he ends by reminding that we as human beings are social beings. Our success is not contingent on technology; it is contingent on whom you know and how you work with them. Use technology to find new ways to connect with people, not as your interactive device.

  The final paragraph contains one more reminder: “What’s important probably won’t come down to a job, a company, or a cool new piece of technology.  It will come down to people.”

[kmaswanson]

20 Most Common Passwords - The Social Network Threat

Weak passwords and insecure personal information puts companies data at risk. People often use names of family members, birthdates, and other personal but easily accessible information for passwords. Facebook lists "hometown" or place of birth along other random things that can be used to hack profiles.

Are you guilty of using any of the following 20 most common passwords:

123456

12345

123456789

password

iloveyou

princess

rockyou

1234567

12345678

abc123

Nicole

Daniel

babygirl

monkey

Jessica

lovely

Michael

Ashley

654321

qwerty

If you find this information helpful, please share it with others.

[kmaswanson]

Everything you ever wanted to know about the size of the Internet

[kmaswanson]

Facebook Was Listening

If you're a marketer, or starting a new business, you know how frustrating it is to set up a Facebook page when you aren't 100% sure of what the name will be. Facebook heard this and built the option to edit your page name in the "edit page" function.

Along with this new feature, it streamlined the overall editing process as you'll see in the screen shot below. To see if you have the new admin interface, access it by clicking “Edit Page” on a Page you administer, or via the Ads and Pages home page navigation link. Instead of a long list of settings and applications options, you will see navigation links in the Page editor’s left sidebar allowing you to Manage Permissions, edit Basic Information, select Applications, conduct Marketing and more.

Of the pages I administer, it appears only pages with less than 100 followers have this option. Per www.insiderfacebook.com, Facebook is saying it will be rolled out to others over the next several months.

So I'm curious, do you think this feature will be as helpful as I do?