If you're in sales or management, you ARE a brand. (More common name, Reputation.) No matter. The market (everybody who knows you) has perceived then assigned a brand VALUE to your name. We do it ourselves when we talk about someone else. Examples; He's a great guy or She really knows her stuff. You can also tell by how many and what kind of clients who will see you or how many calls have you had about a job?
Since (a) there are now fewer qualified clients and (b) nobody has time for anybody, the old reliable face-to-face call is a luxury. You don't have time to waste on unqualified long shots. Now there are so many ways to extend your Brand - positively - and they cost next to nothing.
I'd say to every MM, DOS, GSM, LSM, AE, BMOC - whatever - that you are just crazy to pass up the available 21st century Social Networking Tools. Do yourself a favor and create an account in . . .
-
-
Facebook.com. Primarily social, but CEOs list themselves. You'll find many of the industry's glitterati. I get leads from this and Linkedin.
-
Plaxo.com. A great way to keep your database up to date and keep your cute mugshot in front of, who knows.
If you're concerned about security, you can make each element of information as public or private as you wish. No home phones or addresses needed. Then look to . .
If you're already using these tools, show them to clients and encourage them to also create an account. What if all this could bring a couple clients to you - or your clients.
I wrote about LinkedIn once before and the CEO of an online company sent a note saying he didn't use any of them because he didn't want everybody to see his Rolo-dex (ancient database). I thought, why not? To me, networking is a good thing and I want everybody to see who I do business with - I'm proud to brag about my clients.
The rare downside is hearing from old school buddies who you hardly knew (or liked) who are now selling stocks, who will tell you It's a great time to get in the market - there are some real bargains right now and if you act quickly I can get you into Nouveau Kielbasa Partners Ltd, and . . . I digress.
I suggest that you try them for a few weeks. You can get out with 2-minutes of key clicks.
Go see my LinkedIn Account at http://www.linkedin.com/in/tazmedia.
