LaunchPad - INW

Spokane Regional Networking, Social Media, Professional and Business Development

The Life of a Salesbaby - Year 5, Month 4

Sales Career - Year 5, Month 4

At this point we can hardly ignore that to compete effectively in today's market we must embrace social media. Instead of a way to compete, though, I would rather look at it as an essential element of being there for my current and future clients on their terms.

When and how do they want to engage? When and how do they want to get to know me better? What do they want to know? Where do they want to meet with me? How do they want to access this information? Where do they want to buy? The answers to these questions answer the big question: Why social media?

Because consumers demand it. And, correct me if I'm wrong, anyone with products and services should be catering to what their consumers are demanding.

So, there it is. I need to have a strong online, social media presence. How do I determine what that is and how do I achieve it? I don't know! I really don't. I have read blogs and articles. I've listened to some gurus. But I am by no means an expert. Here is what I AM doing: LaunchPad, Linkedin, facebook, and twitter. I've only been using my personal facebook profile, but I am in the process of creating my professional page and I'm also developing a professional website. I'm committing to blog regularly - hey, I'm worth listening to, right? (Please agree here.) I try to be as active as I can, and convey in my tweets, posts, and discussion forums that I am a caring, positive, professional person. I'm working on ways to turn the social media experience into face to face interactions that people want. Is this enough? Maybe, maybe not. And that wasn't necessarily a rhetorical question. Your feedback is welcome - I'm just a newbie at this social media stuff.

Happy tweeting, posting, blogging, etc.!

1 member likes this

Comment by Kierik Kyle Haynes on December 27, 2011 at 2:27pm: Hello again, not stocking you just reading you blogs because I like the way you write and think. The best way to answer a blog such as yours is by understand the truths about what you are saying. That being said, I can say that you have alot to say here and I can't really answer them because only you have the key to your questions and thoughts. Maybe when you wrote this post you had trouble identify them, but if you were to read it now you would have a better idea of what you were questioning or thinking. I found the more I wrote in my journal, the more I learned the patterns to answer those difficult and challenging question I ask. Dr. Stephen R Covey wrote the book " The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," in which helped me understand how to be more effective.

Habit 1 Be Proactive- in which you are because you wrote this blog.

Habit 2 Begin with the End in Mind - you are thinking of demand the consumer are asking for.

Habit 3 Put First things First - social media is first prior these days.

Habit 4 Think Win-Win - your comments suggest you are doing everything possible to keep in the social arena. Sounds like Win-Win to me.

Habit 5 Seek First to Understand - I feel you understand the demand of the social media to stay connected to the consumer to know what products and services the are looking for.

Habit 6 Synergize - you know the cycle of service in which have demonstrated fully in your blog.

Habit 7 Sharpen the Saw - this is the part that's the most important in which most people forget to do. You must continued to blog about subject that are dear to you because people like me want to read more of your thoughts. Some will read, some will like, and maybe one will write something that gives hope that someone is out sharpening your saw.

Thanks for writing and keep it up.

Kierik

Comment by Tambra Ostrander on January 1, 2012 at 7:38pm: Thanks again for your comments. Do you have a twitter profile? Mine is https://twitter.com/#!/tambraostrander . Have a terrific New Year!