9 Things You Need To Be Doing In Order To Improve Your Relationships And Increase Your Results4/24/2018 Kim Peterson Stone, CEO CommonSenseHealth.org Human beings are naturally social creatures and we tend to like to do business and associate with people we know, like and trust. trust noun
This is the foundation of every good relationship. When you trust your team and colleagues, you can be open and honest when sharing your viewpoint and have confidence in the actions you take. When you build trust with prospective clients you are perceived as a trusted connection. You form a bond that benefits both parties over the months, years and decades you are connected. Therefore, it stands to reason that if we try to improve our standing as a person who is known, liked and trusted we are setting ourselves up for a more enjoyable and productive business as well as personal life. When we seek to first build strong and trusted relationships, we eliminate the time and energy spent overcoming the problems associated with negativity and drama, and, instead, focus on mutually beneficial opportunities.
So, what can you do to up your KLT (know, like and trust) factor? Here are 9 ways you can work towards developing those important relationships which will help you build trust and cooperation.
Take the time and make the effort. As technology advances, the value of the Know Like and Trust Factor will be even more important than in years past. As humans, we crave connection. Be one of those connected people who bring real value and genuine caring … as that never goes out of style. Kim Peterson Stone is the Founder and CEO of CommonSenseHealth.org. Since 2009, CSH has been helping clients to establish an online presence and grow their businesses and increase sales using social media and online marketing. Kim has built a network of over 195,000 highly engaged subscribers and fans, for herself and hundreds of thousands more for clients. She speaks, consults and trains on Inspired Leadership and How to Build Quality Business Relationships and Acquire New Clients Through LinkedIn and Social Media. To inquire about booking Kim for consulting or appear at your next conference or event, please click here and to learn more about how you can improve your presence online, increase customer acquisition and build your brand, click here. FINALLY, stop making excuses and get on top of your LinkedIn game with this LinkedIn VIP Intensive training. This is for you if you need to …
And if the timing isn’t right for you to take advantage of the VIP offer, then see if these articles give you a spark that will help get your trajectory rolling in the right direction. 4 Great Ways to Reach Your Goals Faster Ending Procrastination in Order To Achieve Big Goals, Here’s How
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Kim Peterson Stone, CEO CommonSenseHealth.org
Everyone is looking for the shortcut, the quick tip, the ONE THING that will help them get a new job, meet their sales quota, fill that next event, find the perfect candidate, etc., but the truth of the matter is that there are no quick fixes. Ever since internet marketing and social media have become the mammoth anomalies that they are, there have been stories (some are actually true) of rags to riches, becoming millionaires overnight etc. You know, you’ve seen them, right? Have you noticed how many of these people (out of the kindness of their hearts) are selling absorbently priced courses and programs to teach you their magic formula?! So thoughtful of them! Visions of pick and shovel sales people during the gold rush come to mind. But I digress. Having been in the digital world (agency owner) from a business perspective since 2009, my experience has been that creating a profitable presence online isn’t something that happens overnight without some pretty serious skills being brought to the table. Many variables need to be established before jumping in. Things like … What are your overall objectives … short and long term? Selling a product or program online? Tripwire? Membership? Upsells? Sending customers to a brick and mortar location? Clearly identifying your target audience? Performing market research? Growing your mailing list? Building your brand? Then, what is your budget and anticipated ROI, over what time period? Having the resources and a realistic view regarding what it’s going to take to reach your goals will save you the frustration on miscommunication and unrealistic expectations. Once you know WHAT you want to accomplish and in what type of a time frame THEN you can start to determine which approach is best for you. Whether it’s (generally a combination of) ... In person live events - filling via online efforts Facebook ad campaigns Email outreach SEO PPC ETC. The choices are virtually endless and the rules change daily. Bottom line, GET CLEAR then commit to DO THE WORK. Chasing shiny objects or attempting to isolate the ONE THING will suck up A LOT of your time and money. Either plan to hire it out, get your staff trained or hire a contractor or employees to help you make it happen. #quicktip Kim Peterson Stone is the Founder and CEO of CommonSenseHealth.org. Since 2009, CSH has been helping clients to establish an online presence and grow their businesses and increase sales using social media and online marketing. Kim has built a network of over 195,000 highly engaged subscribers and fans, for herself and hundreds of thousands more for clients. She speaks, consults and trains on Inspired Leadership and How to Build Quality Business Relationships and Acquire New Clients Through LinkedIn and Social Media. To inquire about booking Kim for consulting or appear at your next conference or event, please click here and to learn more about how you can improve your presence online, increase customer acquisition and build your brand, click here. FINALLY, stop making excuses and get on top of your LinkedIn game with this LinkedIn VIP Intensive training. This is for you if you need to …
And if the timing isn’t right for you to take advantage of the VIP offer, then see if these articles give you a spark that will help get your trajectory rolling in the right direction. 4 Great Ways to Reach Your Goals Faster Ending Procrastination in Order To Achieve Big Goals, Here’s How Kim Peterson Stone, CEO CommonSenseHealth.org
This 2017 year-end recap on Social Selling contains A LOT of data! Here’s an in-depth market analysis by AdEspresso And the 15 best social media marketing tools according to SEOPressor Don’t forget 15 Social Media Management Tools That Can Help Your Business Thrive by Forbes 18 Apps and Tools for Social Media Marketers according to Social Media Examiner And the 11 Best Social Media Management Apps according to zapier I’ve done my share to add to the overall data overload ... You can check out the over 250 articles I’ve written over the years here Let’s get real … there is NO shortage of data out there ... there is, however, a HUGE shortage of time if you are a business owner or someone wanting to make a bigger impact online in order to advance or propel your career. There are tens of thousands of pages to read, hours and hours of podcasts to listen to and tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on testing in order to really dominate your niche. The bottom line is this … if you have a few hours a day to read, implement, formulate campaigns then test results ... and weeks, months and years to perfect your craft, then by all means, dig in! If you do NOT have the time or inclination to try to master social selling on your own (on top of doing what you already do) then commit to getting some help. Whether you are looking to make an impact on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or another platform … the longer you wait, the further you will have to climb when you finally decide to get serious. Before hiring an outside agency to manage your social selling and social media, be sure you know the right questions to ask and what your options are. Then call around, check people out, determine who you feel most comfortable with and commit to giving it a three-month test run. Your investment in time and money will be greatly rewarded when you finally have a grip on this all-important aspect of business and career advancement in 2018 and beyond! Kim Peterson Stone is the Founder and CEO of CommonSenseHealth.org. Since 2009, CSH has been helping clients to establish an online presence and grow their businesses and increase sales using social media and online marketing. Kim has built a network of 180,000 + highly engaged subscribers and fans, for herself and hundreds of thousands more for clients. She speaks, consults and trains on Inspired Leadership and How to Build Quality Business Relationships and Acquire New Clients Through LinkedIn and Social Media. To inquire about booking Kim for consulting or appear at your next conference or event, please click here and to learn more about how you can improve your presence online, increase customer acquisition and build your brand, click here. To see all of Kim’s articles posted on LinkedIn Pulse, click here. Kim Peterson Stone, CEO CommonSenseHealth.org Consistently managing your positioning online can be a challenge. The decision to hire someone in house or hire out these tasks can make or break you. Unfortunately the industry itself can be confusing and you may not actually be purchasing what you think you are, unless you have a basic understanding of what you are looking for and know the right questions to ask. First of all, you need to understand what, exactly, it is that you are trying to accomplish. What are you looking to do? Improve branding? Increase sales? Bring new clients in the door? Increase average order size? Launch new product or service? Build social presence, newsletter list etc.? Then … what the person you are interviewing is bringing to the table. Someone can claim to have experience in social media, but what does that actually mean? Do they just know graphics? Are they a great copywriter? Can they help you with branding? What experience do they have with the various ad offerings on Facebook or Instagram for example? Which do they prefer and why? Before taking on a new client, I think of it in terms of … if I’m charging a certain amount for this service … I’d better be able to consistently deliver a certain amount in sales above and beyond that amount. This makes it easier for everyone to understand the objectives and stay on the same page, then we don’t get caught up in minutia that really has nothing to do with impacting your bottom line. Posting content on social media is EASY, getting consistently positive results takes SKILL! Some questions that will help you get past smoke and mirrors are .. Give me an example of successful campaigns you’ve run. Can you share a situation that you helped turn around? How long is this going to take to get up and running and what type of results should I expect in what time period? You need to know what this person or organization is capable of accomplishing and determine whether or not the deliverables are in alignment with your goals. Be prepared to train office staff on how to properly answer phones and promptly respond to messages and emails that are created as a result of these efforts. When you hire the right person or contractor for the job you will see a DRAMATIC uptick in lead generation. Make sure you are property equipt to respond, in order to maximize your results! Kim Peterson Stone is the Founder and CEO of CommonSenseHealth.org. Since 2009, CSH has been helping clients to establish an online presence and grow their businesses and increase sales using social media and online marketing. Kim has built a network of 180,000 + highly engaged subscribers and fans, for herself and hundreds of thousands more for clients. She speaks, consults and trains on Inspired Leadership and How to Build Quality Business Relationships and Acquire New Clients Through LinkedIn and Social Media. To inquire about booking Kim for consulting or appear at your next conference or event, please click here and to learn more about how you can improve your presence online, increase customer acquisition and build your brand, click here. To see all of Kim’s articles posted on LinkedIn Pulse, click here. Kim Peterson Stone, CEO CommonSenseHealth.org Why are you on LinkedIn? Is it to ... Attract new business partners? Reach new clients? Find fantastic new employees or contractors? Create a phenomenal group of peers to bounce new ideas off of? What if your sales team had background information on clients BEFORE walking in the door (where they went to school, where they previously worked, personal interests, mutual connections etc.)? How could that impact your results? I know, I know you’re thinking … You don’t have enough time It’s too complicated It doesn’t work It’s a fad Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and you must do what’s best for you and your business, but know that 530 Million professionals globally and $28.8 billion in cash (Microsoft paid for LinkedIn assets .. in cash … in 2016) needs to weigh into your thought process as you map out your strategies for year-end and into 2018. Here’s the thing. The old way of doing business is gone. The new way involves transparency, relationship building and offering value up front. You not only need to know HOW but WHAT types of information (content) will resonate with your prospective client, employer, partner or employee. So, how DO you pull it all together? Here’s an hour-long webinar (prepare to take notes and ACTION) that will give you what you need to start making a much bigger impact on LinkedIn. Stop waiting and wondering and START taking action that gets RESULTS! Kim Peterson Stone is the Founder and CEO of CommonSenseHealth.org. Since 2009, CSH has been helping clients to establish an online presence and grow their businesses and increase sales using social media and online marketing. Kim has built a network of 170,000 + highly engaged subscribers and fans, for herself and hundreds of thousands more for clients. She speaks, consults and trains on Inspired Leadership and How to Build Quality Business Relationships and Acquire New Clients Through LinkedIn and Social Media. To inquire about booking Kim for consulting or appear at your next conference or event, please click here and to learn more about how you can improve your presence online, increase customer acquisition and build your brand, click here. To see all of Kim’s articles posted on LinkedIn Pulse, click here. Viewing Profile one of the most used features on LinkedIn is Who’s viewed my profile. It allows you to see who’s been viewing your profile and allows others to see when you have viewed them! You have the ability to choose ...
Note: if you select Private profile characteristics or Private Mode you will not be able to view Who’s viewed my profile unless you upgrade to premium LinkedIn Sales Navigator (as of June 2017). Recommendation: If you are using LinkedIn for heavy duty prospecting set to Private Mode, you don’t want to appear as if you are a stalker. However, if you want a prospect to know you have checked them out, set yourself as Transparent ‘Your Name & Headline’. How to: go to Privacy & Settings > Privacy (from top menu) > Select Profile viewing options > it will bring up three options, select Private Mode > Save changes. As it states in the Settings & Privacy section of your LinkedIn account you are, in fact, the boss of it, so grow your knowledge and start to harness the benefits of what being a power user on LinkedIn can bring! Kim Peterson Stone is the Founder and CEO of CommonSenseHealth.org. Since 2009, CSH has been helping clients to establish an online presence and grow their businesses and increase sales using social media and online marketing. Kim has built a network of 170,000 + highly engaged subscribers and fans, for herself and hundreds of thousands more for clients. She speaks, consults and trains on Inspired Leadership and How to Build Quality Business Relationships and Acquire New Clients Through LinkedIn and Social Media. To inquire about booking Kim for consulting or appear at your next conference or event, please click here and to learn more about how you can improve your presence online, increase customer acquisition and build your brand, click here. To see all of Kim’s articles posted on LinkedIn Pulse, click here. Kim Peterson Stone, CEO CommonSenseHealth.org Who you hang out with and bounce ideas off of really, really matters. Recently I’ve had conversations with peers with regard to ethics, character, and forward motion concerning business ventures, alliances, partnerships, and clients, who to hire, who to fire and industry trends. Having that group of peers who are positive, focused and give you honest and unbiased feedback is critical in my humble opinion. Making the decision to fire a client, make a pivot with your business or career or move into uncharted territory can be terrifying! The value of bouncing ideas and concepts off of a trusted group of peers can save you time, effort, energy, money, heartache and time. As Michael Hyatt so eloquently puts it … Relationship-based learning communities can be invaluable in the areas of “1. Learning. Getting connected with a good group can accelerate your learning, provide key insights, help you find important resources, and teach you best practices. 2. Encouragement. Whether it’s business, family life, or our faith journey, life can be tough. A good peer group can give you the validation and support you need to keep going and rise above the tempests. 3. Accountability. We need people who can speak into our lives and help us when we’re veering off track. The right peers are essential for this. And of course, it’s not just about what you get. You can offer the same learning, encouragement, and accountability to others in the group.” After running Masterminds, sitting on boards and benefiting immensely from my peer group, I can say from personal experience that I agree wholeheartedly with Ken Blanchard when he said: “None of us is as smart as all of us.” Kim Peterson Stone is the Founder and CEO of CommonSenseHealth.org. Since 2009, CSH has been helping clients to establish an online presence and grow their businesses and increase sales using social media and online marketing. Kim has built a network of 170,000 + highly engaged subscribers and fans, for herself and hundreds of thousands more for clients. She speaks, consults and trains on Inspired Leadership and How to Build Quality Business Relationships and Acquire New Clients Through LinkedIn and Social Media. To inquire about booking Kim for consulting or appear at your next conference or event, please click here and to learn more about how you can improve your presence online, increase customer acquisition and build your brand, click here. To see all of Kim’s articles posted on LinkedIn Pulse, click here. Kim Peterson Stone, CEO CommonSenseHealth.org How are you planning to wrap up 2017 and blast into 2018 with positive momentum? What skill are you planning to improving upon now, which will pay you dividends as we move into the new year? Skills that will help you with ... Creating new opportunities? Customer acquisition? Customer retention? This is such a great time of year to reflect on what worked, what didn’t … and make the time to do something that your future self will thank you for. While everyone else is out partying, overindulging and slacking off in the improvement department, be one of those that use your time wisely. Master a new skill that will give you improved results moving forward. One option is to FINALLY stop making excuses and get on top of your LinkedIn game with this LinkedIn VIP Intensive training. This is for you if you need to ...
And if timing isn’t right for you to take advantage of the VIP offer, then see if these articles give you a spark that will help get your trajectory rolling in the right direction. 4 Great Ways to Reach Your Goals Faster Ending Procrastination in Order To Achieve Big Goals, Here’s How Either way, don’t hesitate, don’t delay … use the rest of 2017 to finish strong and set yourself up for a solid new year filled with options and opportunities! Kim Peterson Stone is the Founder and CEO of CommonSenseHealth.org. Since 2009, CSH has been helping clients to establish an online presence and grow their businesses and increase sales using social media and online marketing. Kim has built a network of 170,000 + highly engaged subscribers and fans, for herself and hundreds of thousands more for clients. She speaks, consults and trains on Inspired Leadership and How to Build Quality Business Relationships and Acquire New Clients Through LinkedIn and Social Media. To inquire about booking Kim for consulting or appear at your next conference or event, please click here and to learn more about how you can improve your presence online, increase customer acquisition and build your brand, click here. To see all of Kim’s articles posted on LinkedIn Pulse, click here. Kim Peterson Stone, CEO CommonSenseHealth.org
Here’s a little gem that unfolded recently with a (soon to be former … clients can be fired too) client which offers a profound lesson in how NOT to do things. My company was hired to provide marketing services and sales generation. To date we’ve increased gross sales 35+% over prior year for this organization. Time to hit it hard in 4th quarter in order to start the new year strong. YAY!!! Go Team!!! Here’s what went down. Marketing: Negotiates reduced pricing with supplier X with the intention of moving towards better overall pricing in 2018, increasing sales along with margin Puts together and promotes special pricing offer campaigns for clients Clients love it, sales increase Business owner: Does not use monies generated from promotion to pay supplier X Chooses to purchase competing product at a higher price because she has terms with supplier Y and not with supplier X Racks up bill with supplier Y Arbitrarily spends cash generated from deal struck with supplier X Does not meet lower price tier objectives Creates cash flow crunch Squashes future up sales coming from clients who took part in promotion Too many more bad juju items to list Solution presented from business owner? Let’s do more marketing !! What?! Communication, understanding and getting buy in to overall objectives is so key to actually accomplishing healthy business growth and development. When the company mission statements are “fly by the seat of your pants” and “who gives a rip” you can have the most stellar sales acquisition strategy and execution but it will not result in long term success. Customer experience, customer retention and employee and partner respect and appreciation are all a big part of the equation. Here’s to the raising of standards. “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” - Peter Drucker Kim Peterson Stone is the Founder and CEO of CommonSenseHealth.org. Since 2009, CSH has been helping clients to establish an online presence and grow their businesses and increase sales using social media and online marketing. Kim has built a network of 170,000 + highly engaged subscribers and fans, for herself and hundreds of thousands more for clients. She speaks, consults and trains on Inspired Leadership and How to Build Quality Business Relationships and Acquire New Clients Through LinkedIn and Social Media. To inquire about booking Kim for consulting or appear at your next conference or event, please click here and to learn more about how you can improve your presence online, increase customer acquisition and build your brand, click here. To see all of Kim’s articles posted on LinkedIn Pulse, click here. Kim Peterson Stone, CEO CommonSenseHealth.org In business, we are taught, encouraged to … 1. Define clear business goals – establish sales and earnings targets 2. Develop clear action plan priorities – the game plan towards goal achievement 3. Set clear measurement milestones – the feedback required to stay on track. But what happens when … Financial partners back out at the last minute Trusted employees are caught stealing from you You take on too much overhead (office space, equipment etc.) right before the market tanks Staff/partners don’t follow through on their commitments Gossip and backstabbing become the norm Managing inventory and cash flow presents unexpected challenges Answer? You have to take a step back and look up. Who’s at the helm? What is the mission? How are you focusing and training staff? Is there any direction at all? Probably not. This is NOT the time to think “Hey, let’s step up our marketing in order to get more $$$ in the door!” It’s the time to step back and evaluate where you are, how you got there, where you really WANT to be and what it will take to make that happen. I see so many companies making the same mistakes over and over. It’s literally like they are swimming in circles (without seeing it themselves) and they think that increasing sales will fix the problem. It won’t. Plug the holes first, then make repairs before you head back out to open water. Marketing won’t work when you can’t build trust and relationships with the new clients coming in the door. FIRST … Get help, clean house, hire better, train better, build a team, get everyone on the same page, keep the lines of communication open, get everyone involved, help everyone feel respected and supported. These things need to happen BEFORE you press the marketing GO button. Kim Peterson Stone is the Founder and CEO of CommonSenseHealth.org. Since 2009, CSH has been helping clients to establish an online presence and grow their businesses and increase sales using social media and online marketing. Kim has built a network of 170,000 + highly engaged subscribers and fans, for herself and hundreds of thousands more for clients. She speaks, consults and trains on Inspired Leadership and How to Build Quality Business Relationships and Acquire New Clients Through LinkedIn and Social Media. To inquire about booking Kim for consulting or appear at your next conference or event, please click here and to learn more about how you can improve your presence online, increase customer acquisition and build your brand, click here. To see all of Kim’s articles posted on LinkedIn Pulse, click here. |
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