Sharing on social media

Though a bit wordy, this is a good article on the impact of marketing/selling via social media vs sharing/building relationships with "like-minded" people. 

Thus, the process of Know, Like and Trust speeds up. 

I suggested read for the weekend - "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie.

Follow-through

Follow-through. The energy it takes to work your database can be exhausting for many of us. 

In a lunch and learn yesterday we were discussing the differences in being "victory vs defeated" focused/oriented (the overall subject was "hope").

This morning, thinking about my database, how I haven't been near as diligent in my practice to "never-waste-a-handshake," I realize that, in the context of the lesson I taught from Maxwell's book "Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn," that maybe I don't have enough HOPE.

Maxwell writes about being energized vs tired; Victory focused - you're energized, Defeat focused - you're tired.

So, by applying hope, will this change? Will I be more energized to do the follow-throughs, work my Contact-Circle Worksheets?

I recognize mining a database is heavily shaded in the admin area and outside my sweet-spot (I'm a high D/I, Choleric/Sanguine), but it's a period-the-end task to "never-waste-a-handshake."

Applying HOPE to the process. I'll let you know.

PS - I'm also pondering the stop vs never aspect of wasting handshakes. Which sends the better message?

Data mining to end the year well

A good marketing exercise is to casually look through the names of people you've met. These names are "ideally" in a database/CRM, but are likely in numerous places; business cards lying in/on your desk, contacts in phone, contacts in Outlook, emails, friends/connections on Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/Pinterest/etc.

Casually looking is a minor form of "Mining." Mining a database is a daily activity for Professional Marketers. You're likely a Business Owner or Sales Person that should practice Professional Marketer activities.

What is 'mining a database?' I'm going to give you a rambling approach to this, again, on the minor side.....

Data-mining, for many an entrepreneur, starts with thinking through the meetings, names, cards, emails you've had, collected, sent, received...reconnecting in your head and on paper with the people, who they are, what they need, what you can provide them, how you fit together, where's the win/win, is there a win/win. Data-mining is looking at the data you have and learning from it, extracting information and transforming it into understandable information...it's finding needles in haystacks.

Data-mining can be very sophisticated, but it doesn't have to be. A glance through my database this weekend showed me a list of people I could possibly add value to through an online tool.

Data-mining is a primary discipline Professional Marketers are constantly practicing. I'm using it in my Process as I finish-up 2013. I'm looking at "what" I could have done better, "where" I can improve and "how" it will need to come about.

I'm asking what, where and how questions about the past, not why and when.

I'm thinking about "if" I'd done some things differently, what that would "feel" like right now.

Once I have all that down, asked myself good questions, pondered and reflected....then I'll start working on 2014.

CRMs and Processes; mining your database.

What CRM(s) do you use? Do you still use a paper version to supplement your software?

Are you on LinkedIn and not sure how to benefit?