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Nice to see that Klout is growing up. Influence is after all, in the eye of the influenced. It’s my opinion that who is talking about you, has more value than how much you are talking.

This new measurement would be more difficult to game than the traditional Klout profile scores. It also adds an element of fairness, since Klout, as we know it, penalizes anyone who gets to involved in offline activities to tweet 20 times a day, not to mention those points lost when you’re sick or on a vacation from the digital world.

Nice work, Klout!

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AtomicTweets® Facebook Profile pic tells us something about it’s philosophy and tactics. 

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Picaso said, “good artists copy, great artist steal”. Steve Jobs admits to shamelessly stealing great ideas and building upon them. Picaso and Jobs are icons of originality and creativity. They both caused us to think differently (excuse the pun). Was their work truly original, or were they simply able to recognize patterns, and reorganize those patterns in creative ways?

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Except for seasoned social butterflies, everyone’s first networking event can be unsettling. You may be the type to dive right in and start talking to the first person with whom you make eye contact. Or, you may be the the type who needs to take their time observing what other’s are doing, and ease into the flow. Either way, once you are ready to connect with another human being, don’t make these mistakes.

1) Walk up to someone with your business card in your hand and begin telling them the name of your company, how great your company is, and why they need to be a client. If you handled dates this way, you wouldn’t have many of them!

2) Talk about your position and your products/services incessantly. It would be more efficient to hand out flyers and move on to the event in the next town.

3) Give the same sales pitch to the same person for the 5th time, just because they’re willing to listen. If they’ve heard your pitch enough times to recite it back to you, they  probably aren’t interested. If they ever are interested in your product, they probably won’t buy it from you!

3 Better Ways To Network

1) Identify a person or group you feel you can relate to. Introduce yourself and ask the other person about themselves. Initiate a conversation that isn’t a sales pitch. Look for some common ground that may or may not be business related. Build a relationship that doesn’t depend on gaining a lead right then and there. Don’t monopolize the other person’s time. If you hit it off and want to have an in depth conversation, ask for their card and permission to call or email to arrange a meeting.

2) Spend more time listening than talking. The more you listen, the more you’ll learn about the other person and their needs. People appreciate someone listening to them, and are more likely to listen to you when you tell stories about your kids, or tell them about the new widget your company has developed that would solve that problem they mentioned earlier.

3) A certain amount of persistence is part of sales. How many times to approach a potential client can vary depending on the sales cycle of a product or service. Develop a sense of timing that matches that cycle. If a client has just purchased a widget with a 2 year sales cycle, it won’t do you any good to give them a sales pitch every month at the local networking event. Use that time to build a relationship. Send them an occasional newsletter, and keep them posted on new products and developments at your company. Provide expert advice with no pressure. It’ll pay off in the future.

Posted via email from JoAnn Lefebvre | Comment »

Except for seasoned social butterflies, everyone’s first networking event can be unsettling. You may be the type to dive right in and start talking to the first person with whom you make eye contact. Or, you may be the the type who needs to take their time observing what other’s are doing, and ease into the flow. Either way, once you are ready to connect with another human being, don’t make these mistakes.

1) Walk up to someone with your business card in your hand and begin telling them the name of your company, how great your company is, and why they need to be a client. If you handled dates this way, you wouldn’t have many of them!

2) Talk about your position and your products/services incessantly. It would be more efficient to hand out flyers and move on to the event in the next town.

3) Give the same sales pitch to the same person for the 5th time, just because they’re willing to listen. If they’ve heard your pitch enough times to recite it back to you, they  probably aren’t interested. If they ever are interested in your product, they probably won’t buy it from you!

3 Better Ways To Network[[posterous-content:pid___0]]

1) Identify a person or group you feel you can relate to. Introduce yourself and ask the other person about themselves. Initiate a conversation that isn’t a sales pitch. Look for some common ground that may or may not be business related. Build a relationship that doesn’t depend on gaining a lead right then and there. Don’t monopolize the other person’s time. If you hit it off and want to have an in depth conversation, ask for their card and permission to call or email to arrange a meeting.

2) Spend more time listening than talking. The more you listen, the more you’ll learn about the other person and their needs. People appreciate someone listening to them, and are more likely to listen to you when you tell stories about your kids, or tell them about the new widget your company has developed that would solve that problem they mentioned earlier.

3) A certain amount of persistence is part of sales. How many times to approach a potential client can vary depending on the sales cycle of a product or service. Develop a sense of timing that matches that cycle. If a client has just purchased a widget with a 2 year sales cycle, it won’t do you any good to give them a sales pitch every month at the local networking event. Use that time to build a relationship. Send them an occasional newsletter, and keep them posted on new products and developments at your company. Provide expert advice with no pressure. It’ll pay off in the future.

Posted via email from JoAnn Lefebvre | Comment »

Except for seasoned social butterflies, everyone’s first networking event can be unsettling. You may be the type to dive right in and start talking to the first person with whom you make eye contact. Or, you may be the the type who needs to take their time observing what other’s are doing, and ease into the flow. Either way, once you are ready to connect with another human being, don’t make these mistakes.

1) Walk up to someone with your business card in your hand and begin telling them the name of your company, how great your company is, and why they need to be a client. If you handled dates this way, you wouldn’t have many of them!

2) Talk about your position and your products/services incessantly. It would be more efficient to hand out flyers and move on to the event in the next town.

3) Give the same sales pitch to the same person for the 5th time, just because they’re willing to listen. If they’ve heard your pitch enough times to recite it back to you, they  probably aren’t interested. If they ever are interested in your product, they probably won’t buy it from you!

3 Better Ways To Network[[posterous-content:pid___0]]

1) Identify a person or group you feel you can relate to. Introduce yourself and ask the other person about themselves. Initiate a conversation that isn’t a sales pitch. Look for some common ground that may or may not be business related. Build a relationship that doesn’t depend on gaining a lead right then and there. Don’t monopolize the other person’s time. If you hit it off and want to have an in depth conversation, ask for their card and permission to call or email to arrange a meeting.

2) Spend more time listening than talking. The more you listen, the more you’ll learn about the other person and their needs. People appreciate someone listening to them, and are more likely to listen to you when you tell stories about your kids, or tell them about the new widget your company has developed that would solve that problem they mentioned earlier.

3) A certain amount of persistence is part of sales. How many times to approach a potential client can vary depending on the sales cycle of a product or service. Develop a sense of timing that matches that cycle. If a client has just purchased a widget with a 2 year sales cycle, it won’t do you any good to give them a sales pitch every month at the local networking event. Use that time to build a relationship. Send them an occasional newsletter, and keep them posted on new products and developments at your company. Provide expert advice with no pressure. It’ll pay off in the future.

Posted via email from JoAnn Lefebvre | Comment »

Except for seasoned social butterflies, everyone’s first networking event can be unsettling. You may be the type to dive right in and start talking to the first person with whom you make eye contact. Or, you may the the type who needs to take their time observing what other’s are doing, and ease into the flow. Either way, once you are ready to connect with another human being, don’t make these mistakes.

1) Walk up to someone with your business card in your hand and begin telling them the name of your company, how great your company is, and why they need to be a client. If you handled dates this way, you wouldn’t have many of them!

2) Talk about your position and your products/services incessantly. It would be more efficient to hand out flyers and move on to the event in the next town.

3) Give the same sales pitch to the same person for the 5th time, just because they’re willing to listen. If they’ve heard your pitch enough times to recite it back to you, they  probably aren’t interested. If they ever are interested in your product, they probably won’t buy it from you!

3 Better Ways To Network

1) Identify a person or group you feel you can relate to. Introduce yourself and ask the other person about themselves. Initiate a conversation that isn’t a sales pitch. Look for some common ground that may or may not be business related. Build a relationship that doesn’t depend on gaining a lead right then and there. Don’t monopolize the other person’s time. If you hit it off and want to have an in depth conversation, ask for their card and permission to call or email to arrange a meeting.

2) Spend more time listening than talking. The more you listen, the more you’ll learn about the other person and their needs. People appreciate someone listening to them, and are more likely to listen to you when you tell stories about your kids, or tell them about the new widget your company has developed that would solve that problem they mentioned earlier.

3) A certain amount of persistence is part of sales. How many times to approach a potential client can vary depending on the sales cycle of a product or service. Develop a sense of timing that matches that cycle. If a client has just purchased a widget with a 2 year sales cycle, it won’t do you any good to give them a sales pitch every month at the local networking event. Use that time to build a relationship. Send them an occasional newsletter, and keep them posted on new products and developments at your company. Provide expert advice with no pressure. It’ll pay off in the future.

Posted via email from JoAnn Lefebvre | Comment »