Slideshows From Your LinkedIn Profile

They have been busy over at LinkedIn the last month, releasing an entire new way to leverage this ever-expanding tool.  These new capabilities are called Applications, and there are several available at time of launch with more to come.  One of the most intriguing from a salesmaker perspective is called SlideShare, which allows you to share your most effective Powerpoint presentations to anyone visiting your profile.  You can also use this with PDF’s and other presentation software.  The following provides an effective demonstration of a slide presentation, provided by Guy Kawasaki, entitled 10 Ways to Use LinkedIn.  Click on the link  and let me know your reaction.

This has the potential to be very effective.  The standard rule still applies, it is all about your content.  If you have a finely-tuned, concise and relevant presentation, post it with your profile.  If you choose to be an early adapter of this application, share your links and your results with us by adding your comments.  I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Do You Really Need A Profile On LinkedIn?

As an executive or business professional, do you really need to maintain a profile in LinkedIn?  The example that follows answers that question and should provide plenty of motivation to get your profile built now.

I was talking with a CEO of a technology hardware company in Colorado two weeks ago about providing services for his management and sales teams.  During the meeting I asked the CEO if he had a profile on LinkedIn. Now I already knew that he did not because I always check this out before any business meeting with a prospective client, but that is for another post on another day.  The CEO said no, he thought that those type of sites are for “kids”.  He didn’t have the time or interest in LinkedIn.  We went on to other topics and established some follow up tasks for both of us to accomplish before the next conversation.

Late this week, I received a phone call from the same CEO, telling me to forget everything that he had said about LinkedIn, and he wanted to set up a LinkedIn training session for himself, his executive team as well as his entire sales team to help them get their profiles built and photos taken.  With my curiosity high, I asked why the change of heart.  His response is an excellent example of why every professional needs to be on LinkedIn, at a minimum.

His company was in a competitive situation as one of two finalists to provide products and services to a promising new customer.  Part of the final evaluation process was for the customer to do their own due diligence about the two companies and the executive leadership of each.  During this activity the customer went to LinkedIn to check the profiles and recommendations for each finalist.   They found only one profile listed for my CEO’s company, that of one of their administrative assistants, with a photo that was not representative of the company or it’s business (let’s just say it was from a college event). Nothing else of value came up using search engines on the web other than the company website.  The other finalist was listed in LinkedIn and several other Networking sites, and primarily because of their extensive profiles and listings showed up with significant Google results when searched.  They also had many recommendations for various employees located within their individual profiles.

My customer lost this possible sale to their competition, and one of the reasons that they were given is that they did not compare favorably in recommendations and overall position in the business community or their industry on the web.

Think about it.  With tools like LinkedIn, you are in control of the content and image being presented to the world.  You select the recommendations and the images being portrayed about you and your company.  It is worth doing this right.

1. Your profile is your introduction
2. Your profile is your first impression
3. Your profile is your resume
4. Your profile is your invitation to connect to others
5. Your profile is your press kit

Your profile is your online asset to manage.  How are you managing yours?

Customer Acquisition

Customer acquisition continues to be a primary focus of most organizations.  Whether in a start-up phase or a Fortune-ranked company, inclusive of most every industry including legal, healthcare, technology, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and services, all have a desire and need to acquire new clients and customers.  Done successfully, customer acquisition has proven to be one of the key factors in the success of an organization.  If disappointing results are delivered the impact may be significant and potentially fatal.

Executives are searching for ways to open new doors, speed up their sales cycles, gain new clients and book more revenue.  The economy is dictating that organizations do more with less.  Globalization is creating more competition for customers.  Large companies are moving down market while smaller companies are moving their focus up market.  Traditional methods of client acquisition have been falling short for some time.

With the exponential growth of data available on the web, tools, strategies, process and techniques are available today that possess game-changing possibilities for those that embrace these developments and leverage this new information to enhance the processes used to obtain new clientele.  Enterprise Intelligence, Social Media, Online Databases, Blogs, Mashups, Software delivered via the Web (SaaS), Cloud Computing, RSS feeds, Podcasts, Online Video and more provide a depth of actionable information and capabilities that, if harnessed, has the potential to alter the competitive landscape within a short period of time.

With a backdrop of over 20 years of active involvement in sales and sales management, I look forward to sharing with you some of the most significant tools and technologies that have ever been available to salesmakers.  I look forward to your comments and contribution as we explore this exiting next wave of selling.