Tips For Building Your Reputation Online

I’ve been writing a lot this year about building reputations online.

It's a topic that more and more people are interested in.  

One of the reasons for this is that businesses know they must make better use of the online world in order to get the business they need. 

However, most businesspeople are frustrated by the fact that they put in lots of effort and don't achieve results.  

There's a good reason for this.  It's just not as easy as it once was to be noticed online.

There are over 2 million new blog posts published every day.

How are you going to make sure that your material is found by the right people online?

Well, one of the things you can do is to adopt a systematic approach to blogging and building online content. The challenge is that there is so much you could do, that it can all get a bit overwhelming.

Don't worry. I’ve now narrowed things down.  

That’s good news, I think. I’ve also created a formula.  That’s even better.  You can follow the steps and achieve what  you want.

Here’s the process.

First you need to create great online biographies. That’s because people always want to learn something about you when they come across you online.  We focus first on LinkedIn, and then move on.

Second, you need to build your authority.  That means writing really useful blog posts or authority content so that your readers will see how you can help them.  (Notice this has nothing to do with the old approach to blogging where you share your opinions and your world view with the online world.)

Third, you need to write a book or more than one book.  There’s nothing quite like being an author to demonstrate your authority.

Of course, you need to take action offline as well.  However, whether you’re an employee looking for ways to help your career, or a business person looking to be more successful – this approach works.

Click on the term Bios, Blogs and Books to learn more.

Are you leaving employment to start a business?

If you are, then you face an immediate challenge.

What should you be doing each day?

There’s no shortage of tasks you could focus on, but the question is:

Which are the right tasks?

Managing Your First Month In Business

It’s early days but when you’ve left employment and you’re still getting used to being in business you will struggle with your scheduling. 

That’s a shame because there are make-or-break activities that need working on.

• You need to think about who you serve and how you serve them.

• You need to think carefully about who you’re going to do business with and how you’re going to get your first piece of business.

• You need to think about how you’re going to promote your business so that it will grow.

• You need to think about how – exactly – you’re going to make sales.

That’s as well as doing all the things that land on your plate every day.

How will you decide what to work on and what to put to one side?

Starting A Business The Smart Way

You need a plan and a timetable that will make sure you don’t neglect what really matters in your business.

You can find a list of vital 21 activities to complete in your first month in business by clicking on the link below.

Leaving Employment To Start A Business

You’ll also find guidance on how to help yourself to get the right things done.

The advice is taken from The Solo Success Start-Up Guide by Margaret Adams.

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Margaret Adams.

Starting A Consulting Business - 100 Tips

Just started out on my odyssey.

I'm writing 100 tips to help those starting a consulting business to get things right during their first year in business.

Actually the tips apply to businesses at all stages in their development.

You can use them in an established business and in a business development unit.

I've called the first tip, tip zero. If you're just starting out, then you need to do this before you begin.

If you're established in business, then do this every time you launch a major new programme.

You can read the advice by clicking on:

Starting a consulting business – Time to change career

Starting A Consulting Business

Starting a consulting business can be a daunting task, especially in 2010.

It's a task that takes a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of commitment.

If you're looking to do that they you will need to think carefully about what you want to achieve.

You will also need to plan your progress carefully.

When I support organisations and individuals I encourage them to build their businesses around six pillars of success.

You can download a pdf of the six pillars of success by clicking on this paragraph

When you think about the six pillars you need to think first about your vision.

Everything starts with your vision and your profit plan. You need to work out what people are prepared to buy.

Then you need to think about your key messages to your marketplace. You must have something to say that the world wants to hear.

Your reputation, your image and your brand are all important, too. The more you are respected, the more people will trust you.

Fourth on the list is your approach to marketing. There are so many ways you could work. Just find one that works for you.

Your website and your use of social media matter, too. You need to attract interest and convert interest to action. That's sales.

Finally, you need to think about your products and services.

Strange isn't it, that these are last on the list? Yet, most people think about these first.

Do you like this model?

Planning for austerity in FE

Times are tough and getting tougher.

At such times some businesses stop trading. Some retrench. Some cut back. Some take stock and reinvent themselves.

Guess which ones are best placed to make the most of the current situation and to respond to new situations as they arise?

Of course, it’s the businesses that reinvent themselves.

Reinvention is just another way of talking about aligning yourself with your market.

In business, when the market changes, the rest of us have to change, too.

As colleges and other providers look to reinvent themselves, there's a very important question to ask.

What exactly does the market want?

Most organisations out there want, first, to survive and second to be ready to take advantage of opportunities as they appear.

This means your organisation needs a value proposition that is built around two themes.

• How will working with your organisation help an employer to be more likely to be around in two years’ time?
• How will working with your organisation help an employer to be well placed to seize opportunities in the coming months?

The answer is no longer built around training, qualifications or even skills. Neither is it a response built around helping employers to meet legislative requirements. Today, the answer to the question has to be about helping the employer directly.

Most people in business know that there are three things their customers will buy.

These are:

• Guidance and support on how to make more money.
• Guidance and support on how to keep more of the money they make.
• Guidance and support on developing their capacity to do the two activities above.

Now’s the time to re-examine your key message to employers.

Does our key message address all three of these issues?

If it does, you can expect your business to grow even in difficult times. If it doesn’t, then promoting your products and services is going to be an uphill struggle at any time, even when you’re “selling” free programmes. It will just be more difficult now.

Two action points come out of this.

The first is to make sure you are offering to deliver real value to employers. The second is to make sure that employers recognise the value you are offering.

So check out how you promote your organisation to employers and if they see things in the same way that you do.

Do this quickly, because it's part of your process of planning for austerity, and today no one in FE has any time to waste.

If you would like to reproduce this article for your own newsletter, click here for details.

Your customer pipeline (3) - Is it helping you to build your business?

Customer pipelines are great marketing tools. People love the concept of the customer pipeline. It’s a very popular search term on the internet. There are lots of new readers finding this blog as a result of searching for “customer pipeline”.

All of this is excellent . . . but is using the concept of the customer pipeline helping you to build your business?

• You already know that you can differentiate your customers, using your customer pipeline.
• You know that your customer pipeline can help you to be clear about the quality and depth of relationship you’re likely to have with individual employers.

Now let’s think about the customer pipeline and your business.

Your customer pipeline saves you money because . . .

Using your customer pipeline well helps you to save money because you can get away from “fingers crossed” marketing. That is marketing to every one on your list and hoping – or keeping your fingers crossed – that some of your efforts work.

Once you’ve used your customer pipeline to help you to differentiate between your different customer groups you can decide which groups merit having large or small amounts of marketing money spent on them.

This allows you to spend less on reaching all your contacts and to focus spending on the two groups where you have most to gain from your marketing efforts.

These groups are:

• prospects with whom you have a well-established relationship who have not yet bought from you
• customers who have done one piece of business with you and who you want to encourage to make that second purchase.

You’ll spend less by being focused because you will be working with smaller groups and you’ll be working in a more targeted way.

Alternatively you could spend the same amount of money but undertake more targeted and more relevant marketing. You’re almost certain to get a better return on your investment in this case because your approach is tailored to the specific circumstances and needs of defined groups of employers.

Your customer pipeline saves you time because . . .

Used well your customer pipeline can also save you time and, as you know, time is money.

If you build your relationships with the employers in your customer pipeline who you have identified as your advocates you can save lots of time and money. All you have to do is to ask your advocates to refer you on to others.

It sounds simple but most providers don’t ask for referrals.

Those providers who do ask don’t ask often enough or in the right way.

Yet, your advocates are longing to tell the world just how good you are.

Spend some time helping your advocates to help you and you’ve just recruited a skilled and motivated free sales force.

This means you can spend less time on bringing in new business and more time on the important task of building relationships with employers.

Making your customer pipeline work for you

Now you’ve got your customer pipeline set up you need to take steps to make it work for you.

Your customer pipeline could just remain a mechanism for establishing your relationship with each employer on your list. On the other hand it could become a valuable key account management tool and a generator of income.

It’s got the potential to be more than a great metaphor, so use your customer pipeline well.

See also:

Your customer pipeline - why it matters

Your customer pipeline (2): Building friendships

Have you created your customer pipeline?