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 If you have been on several “social media” platforms as a firm or individual for some time but feel that you’re barely scratching the surface, this guide will help you boost your results significantly because: its goal is to help you develop B2B relationships more efficiently, instead of “selling” yourself and it shows you how to use B2B-oriented platforms in concert to increase leverage. If you would like some background on the profound distinction between “selling” yourself and focusing on relationship, “ Social Business Disruption of B2B Sales & Marketing” crystallizes it in 8 minutes. Continue reading B2B Executive’s How-to Guide to Social Business
 For years, now, I have beseeched all the executives and “knowledge workers” I know (that’s thousands) to blog, so please consider this as part of that campaign—with benefits (because this is a how-to post). Here’s why: In the Knowledge Economy’s pervasive digital networks, you are invisible unless you come across people’s screens regularly. And, while you are invisible, your potential business partners are seeing people who do flit across their screens. If you aren’t there, you are in a bloody ocean that gets smaller every year. Don’t go in, the water is not fine. Please understand that I’m stating this as a simple fact. I’m sure you’ve read books like The Long Tail, which describe how we are all publishers now, that is, those of us who decide to use the free tools at our disposal. Continue reading Three-Step Executive’s Guide to Blogging
How to attract and maintain the attention of Connections you care most about
 Old habits die hard, and so it is with the ingrained assumption that “content sells.” Yes, having a current LinkedIn Profile replete with keyword combinations relevant to your High Interest Connections is very important, but it’s back seat to giving your Connections personal attention. Here I’ll address your protest that “I don’t have time!” by sharing some ultra-efficient processes for interacting on LinkedIn. Read on if you want to outperform 99% of other LinkedIn members. Continue reading Triple the Value of Your LinkedIn Network by Interacting
 CSRA’s Relationship Value Map is a simple but invaluable tool you can use to organize your social networks to meet your personal or business goals better. I designed it when working with individual executive clients in 2009, but CSRA uses it with enterprise clients as well, especially those with direct (B2B) sales forces who need to prioritize their relationship building activities. Continue reading Using the Relationship Value Map to Optimize Your Social Networks
 In An Offer You Can’t Refuse, Lydia Dishman interviews CEO Justin Moore, who discusses his business leadership “lessons learned” from watching The Godfather. It’s a solid post, but very thoughtful and insightful comments take it into classic territory. That said, the post didn’t hit the bullseye for our context here—B2B relationship building—so here goes with the pieces I think it missed. I invite you to add yours in comments. Continue reading Reputation and Business
In The Ironic Truth About Sincerity, Seth Godin juxtaposes sincerity and performance, and he comments on how they influence trust. It’s a nice riff that gets one thinking, so here I’ll do a deeper dive into how these two elements of trust work together to facilitate or sabotage B2B relationships and sales.
I’ll also link to an even deeper treatment for those who want to open yet more doors. Continue reading The Impact of Trust, Relationship and Human OS on B2B Sales
ZDNet reports on “research” that finds that websites provide 7 times more sales leads than “social media.” Unfortunately, the writer doesn’t appreciate the self-irony in the second paragraph: “A company’s corporate website was found to be the top source of new sales leads online — second only to personal referrals..”
As B2B continues to adopt social business, more word of mouth, i.e. personal referrals, happens online. Another reason I’m calling out this post is that it misinforms readers by treating “sales leads” as a homogeneous category. Our clients don’t care about general adoption; what’s more relevant is adoption by their prospects. This post treats all leads as the same, so it’s really the equivalent of informational fast food.
To end on a dour note, misinformation can work to your advantage because your rivals may read it and believe while you can see through it, invest and pull ahead.
In Why Lie?, Seth Godin points out that prospects of (B2B) salespeople often lie because they do not want their decisions to be questioned by salespeople: “… when we announce that we’ve made the decision to hire someone else, or when we tell the pitching entrepreneur we don’t like her business model, or when we clearly articulate why we’re not going to do business, the salesperson responds by questioning the judgment of the prospect.”
Great insight, but it pre-supposes a lack of trust that is totally outdated and unnecessary. Let’s review how this comes about and how to disrupt the whole cycle. Continue reading The Cost of the Trust Gap—On Seth Godin’s “Why Lie?”
Private equity firms are learning that “private” can be a disadvantage in the era of digital social networks. G7 voters are frustrated by prolonged poor economic performance, falling prosperity and growing income disparities. P/E firms are an all too convenient target, and US presidential candidate Mitt Romney is bringing unwelcome exposure to the industry. There is a strong populist theme to U.S. and European politics, which sets the scene for a prolonged era of criticism, precisely when the industry is struggling, and firms are closing.
Smart P/E firms will be grounded and strategic about building trust among lawmakers, their publics and other stakeholders, and using digital social networks could play a key role in educating stakeholders and interacting with readers with transparency and principles, thereby building trust and dampening criticism. Specifically, P/E firms should: Continue reading Romney Spotlight Reveals Trust Gap Between Private Equity & Public
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