I was honored with the opportunity to present LinkedIN 101 to a room of college administrators this week and thought I would take some of that presentation and pass the cliff notes on to you.

Most of us HAVE LinkedIN but not many of us USE LinkedIN. Whether you use it regularly or not, here’s some basic tips to keep in mind:

• Make sure all your contact information and work experience is up to date
  • Check phone numbers, email, blog links and other websites
• Respond to messages as you would any others
  • Have the app on your phone so you can get immediate notifications
• Status Updates
  • Updates go out to newsfeeds but do not stay on your profile history
  • Share knowledge, its not always all about you or your business
• Posts
  • A post stays on your profile for others read in the future
  • You can see stats on how many people read, liked, commented and shared your post
  • Treat a post like you would a blog post or article
• Groups
  • Join and be active in groups
  • Share knowledge, present yourself as the expert in your field
• Give to Receive
  • Write recommendations for others and ask them to do the same
  • Introduce connections to show that you’re a great resource
• Know Who You’re Meeting
  • Look up the person you’re having coffee with to learn more about them
  • See what they look like
  • Impress them with a few fun facts you know about them
• Stay On Top Of Things
  • Keep your experience and photo updated
  • Congratulate people on job changes and anniversaries
  • Log in and browse your feed at least once a week

Feel free to contact me for more tips or for more information on my presentation.

Happy Networking!

Pet Peeve #17: If I have taken time out of my day to send you a referral, you better take time out of your day to thank me.

Isn’t that how we are supposed to function? The Golden Rule: Treat Others As You Would Like To Be Treated

Its definitely easy to forget to say Thank You. Especially when the reward comes long after the initial introduction, however those 2 little words can play a large part in re-occurring referral business. When people feel appreciated and remembered they will keep doing what it takes to feel that appreciation again.

A Thank You can be as little as a quick text, a handwritten card, maybe a phone call even, or small gift. It does not have to be huge, time consuming or expensive. Just set your Thank You plan in motion and stay on top of it.

Wouldn’t you love it if your business was all referrals? Just remember this…the more Thank Yous you give the more Thank Yous you’ll give. (Get it)

Now its my turn, THANK YOU to everyone who reads, shares and comments on my posts. It means so much to me to know that you’re getting something out of them and its worth my time to keep writing them. It lights a little spark in my heart every time I get feedback. Keep it up!

Happy Networking!

Today’s tip is a little less networking and little more organizing.

Have you ever received that call or text that’s just a number…no name? And you’re like…do I answer? Should I answer? You get that pit feeling in your stomach when you think of stopping what you’re doing to answer it. Or worse, you answer the call with your regular “hello” script and the person on the other end replies with “wth! Why don’t you have me saved in your phone?”

Avoid both these situations TODAY! Stop what you’re doing and go into your phone and find every text that doesn’t have a name assigned to it and save their name. Go through your voicemails and save those contacts.

Then get in a habit of saving those contacts EVERY SINGLE time you get a new one. I promise you’ll thank me.

Want to take it even one step further? Save your contacts first name with a reference of how you know them. Example: I save all my realtors like this REALTOR Casanova Brooks so then I automatically know when my phone rings who he is, how I know him and if I want to answer my phone or not. (I also started adding a fun emoji for some contacts too, like a house, so their name stands out even more)

ALSO once I save all my contacts like this, if I have a text I want to send to all my realtors I just sort my contacts by “REALTOR” and there they all are. I don’t have to think over and over about hmmmm who do I have in my phone.

This may sound time consuming, but I promise, you’ll enjoy it.

Happy Networking!

 

Are you familiar with the term “Sphere of Influence”? If not, here’s a quick review before we move forward: Your sphere of influence is the people closest around you that contribute to your mental, physical and financial well being. That’s not Webster’s definition but for the sake of this post, that’s the version we are using.

So today, I want to remind you that you should ALWAYS BE NETWORKING and growing your Sphere of Influence. What does this mean?

• Networking does not only mean when you are at a “networking event”
• Networking means anytime you are around human beings 😉
• Entertain casual conversations with the parents at your son’s soccer games
• Get to personally know the ladies in your book club
• How about the young gal that always helps you at the bank, does she need a home?
• Chat up your workout buddies at the gym
• Build a relationship with the caddy at your favorite golf course
• How well do you know the gentlemen in your bible study?

My point is, that everyone around you is, and can be, a great referral source. So don’t forget to always be networking with them and growing your sphere of influence. HOWEVER, be cautious and don’t be that annoying guy at the BBQ that comes in flashing his business cards around and selling used cars…Be the guy flipping burgers and handing out cold beers and chatting people up. They will open up to you, I promise.

Happy Networking!