PERSONAL REALITY: You wake up, shower, shave (M), put on makeup (F), brush your teeth, and comb/fix your hair (if you have any). Every day like clockwork.
Those are personal habits. Rarely (if ever) missed.
What about business habits? Personal, business habits?
BUSINESS REALITY: Do you have the same consistency in your daily business habits? And I wonder how many of your daily habits take the long-term view. Or are you just trying to make sales to make quota? Big mistake.
I want to talk about one element of your personal business habits: Your personal outreach, your daily outreach, that builds attraction, personal brand, authority, known expertise, recognition, position in your industry, Google rank, social media presence, top of mind awareness, and reputation. Oh, that.
Sounds like a LOT of work. But actually it takes LESS time than your morning bathroom routine once you’re set up and rolling. And these are habits that create attraction. Real attraction.
The cool part is it costs (almost) nothing. All you have to do is allocate the time, and (most important) commit to DAILY OUTREACH.
Here’s the master list of available resources that you must employ and deploy:
• LinkedIn. Your prime professional outlet for finding, attracting, building, and staying in touch with business connections. OUTREACH: Be personal and creative. Don’t use the lines and messages provided by LinkedIn – use your own words. Post something of value, and ask your connections to share it with THEIR connections.
• Facebook. A place to create one-on-one dialog with customers – especially by responding to their praise and concerns. OUTREACH: Post positive service stories and videos. Respond to issues within two hours.
• Twitter. 140 characters that put your character on public display. Make every character count. Have something profound to say that your followers would be compelled to send to THEIR followers. OUTREACH: Tweet a value message at least twice a day. One that your followers would find interesting enough to re-tweet to THEIR followers. The object of Twitter is to be re-tweeted by your followers, thereby exposing you to new people (customers).
• Blog or personal website. A starting place, a landing place, and a jumping off place for stories, ideas, opinions, photos, videos, training, and anything else your customers or followers would find BOTH interesting and valuable. On a blog you can mix business and personal, as long as it’s not offensive. Your posts can be subscribed to and delivered by email. OUTREACH: Blog with a minimum of a weekly, if not daily, post. You have unlimited space for text, photos, and videos. Your blog is an opportunity for people to realize both your intellect and your passion.
• YouTube. Video is the new black. This is a chance to convey messages, training, subject matter expertise, testimonials, and offers of value. Your viewers can subscribe, and your posts can be cross-pollinated on your blog, your Facebook page, and your LinkedIn profile. All for the low, low price of: FREE.
• E-zine. A weekly, informational piece that can contain SOME promotional material, but MUST have mostly helpful information. If you need an inexpensive template and delivery platform, go to www.aceofsales.com.
• Group text messaging. A newer form of communicating to customers and prospects that hasn’t quite found its way. But like all forms of connection, branding, and selling, it will soon emerge as a powerful method of “instant offer” and “instant information” that, unlike other forms of outreach, commands instant viewing.
I’m offering myself an example of what to do. Everything in this outreach formula is based on what I do personally. Study me. Emulate me. My outreach is based on value. My outreach is working.
MY PERSONAL EXAMPLES: On twitter I am @gitomer. On Facebook I am Facebook.com/jeffreygitomer. My blog is salesblog.com. My youtube channel is youtube.com/buygitomer. On LinkedIn search my name: Jeffrey Gitomer. My ezine is published on salescaffeine.com. My website is gitomer.com.
JUST DO IT: You’d think that with all these career building, low-cost or free opportunities, benefits, and life building assets, that every salesperson on the planet would be the MASTER of these outlets – and you would be wrong – drastically wrong – and most likely, PERSONALLY wrong.
MOTHER GOOGLE: All of your “outreach” builds your Google search-ability, ranking, and visibility. The foundation and fulcrum point of your reputation rests on Google. Most of the time Mother Google is the perfect platform and reference point, UNLESS you try to fool her by manipulating your status.
NOTE WELL: Outreach is a lifetime process. When done well, it builds every aspect of your brand and reputation. And over time it creates the real law of attraction – a law based on value offerings, in spite of what you may have read or heard elsewhere.
Yes, my friend, there is also a face-to-face aspect of outreach (to be covered in future columns).
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of 12 best-selling books including The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling. He just published two new sales books, available exclusively on Amazon’s Kindle: Win Now! and The Sale Re-Defined. They will change the way you think and sell. His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at salesman@gitomer.com.
