Professional Portfolio

My name is John White. I am a creative and innovative digital marketing and social sales

executive with a proven track record of consistently exceeding goals and producing viral

content that gets shared 1000’s of times across the internet. My specializations include B2B

marketing, viral content creation, email marketing, online engagement, SEO, social media

marketing, and blogging. I have 16,000+ followers of my blogs on LinkedIn, and have been

featured 19 times on Pulse. Three of my articles have gone to #1 on LinkedIn. My blogs have been 1,250,000 views with an

average viewership of 33,000 per article. Additionally, I write blogs for Dice and Career Tool Box. I was recently featured guest

on the global #LinkedinChat on Twitter, and interviewed by the Sales Foundry for a podcast on social media selling via iTunes.

In addition to my blogging endeavors, I am an Enterprise Marketing and Sales Executive for Skybeam. My role is to drive new

sales for our enterprise grade services by creating engaging marketing campaigns including email marketing, digital

presentations, social media, blogs, and online content creation. My marketing content for is used by our enterprise direct sales

team, as well as, by our indirect sales channel partners across 14 states. I am key content contributor to my company’s social

media accounts including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Additionally, also a content contributor to the company website

Faster than Fiber.

I am enrolled at Regis University in their executive MBA program. My emphasis is in marketing. This year completed the

marketing specialization portion of the program. I have 3 general MBA courses remaining and I will graduate in spring 2015.

I live with my wife and 2 daughters in historic downtown Fort Collins, CO. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family,

hiking, camping, playing tennis, and traveling.

Thank you for your interest in my content, and I look forward to chatting with you.

Best Regards,

John White

970-692-3270

johnwhitetennis@gmail.com

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Corporate Leadership

Volume 1: 7 Management Traits that will Make All Your Employees Quit

Volume 2: 7 Management Traits of Great Leaders

Volume 3: Inspirational Leaders vs Micro Managers

Volume 4: 7 Signs it is Time to Quit your Job

Chapter 2: Trending Topics in Business

Volume 1: Is Going Green Profitable

Volume 2: 7 Sings Your Prospective Employer Has a Toxic Culture

Volume 3: Using Social Innovation to Seize Competitive Advantage

Volume 4: Obesity is a Market Failure

Volume 5: Benefits of Being Bilingual

Volume 6: Ethical Business vs Maximizing Profits

Chapter 3: Digital Marketing and Social Media

Volume 1: Use these B2B Social Engagement Tips to Generate More Leads

Volume 2: Maximize Your Branding Efforts Using Twitter

Volume 3: How to Take Your Content to #1 on LinkedIn

Volume 4: 11 Reason Why I am NOT Quitting Facebook

Volume 5: Enhance Your Company’s Visibility Using Instagram

Volume 6: Q&A with Social Media Mega Influencer: Viveka von Rosen

Volume 7: Global #Personal Brand Statement: CONTEST

Chapter 4: Sales Strategies

Volume 1: Best Practices for Selling B2B Tech Solutions

Volume 2: 6 Behaviors that will Cost you the B2B Deal

Volume 3: Does Social Selling Really Work?

Chapter 5: Technology and Communication

Volume 1: Big Data, Can Your Company Support These Bandwidth Intensive Business Applications?

Volume 2: The Future of Enterprise Broadband

Volume 3: iPad Best Practices for B2B Sales Teams

Chapter 6: Productivity Tips

Volume 1: Turbo Charge Your Time Management with These Tips

Chapter 7: In Spanish

Volume 1: Los Beneficios de Ser Bilingue en los Negocios

Chapter 1: Corporate Leadership

7 Management Traits That Will Make All Your Employees QuitApril 28, 2014 

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Have you ever had a REALLY bad boss? Well I have. This individual drove everybody out and the company had to close the regional office, because everyone quit or was fired. I quit after being there for just 6 months; and, only days after being recognized as the region's top new sales professional. I couldn't take it any longer! This job was so bad that I don't even list it on

my resume or LinkedIn profile. Nothing was done to fix the situation, even after several people complained to HR, and one individual recorded a meeting in which he was verbally assaulted and threatened. Here are some traits that my former manager exemplified that led to the shutdown of the office and the mass exodus of employees.

Micro Management

Nobody likes to be micro managed. Be a leader not a micro manager. Be someone that your employees admire and want to work hard for. Do this by leading by example with your work ethic, integrity, and by treating people with respect. Do not constantly threaten people with their job. If this is your idea of coaching your team, then you should not be in management. As the boss you should be the teacher and find ways to help people improve. Managing by

fear will make your employees resent you and the company. The first chance

they get they will jump ship. My old boss locked the back door, so we had to pass by his office every time we left the office so he could keep tabs on us.

Create Office Politics

This manager pitted his people against one another. He told one person one thing that someone said and then told the other person the same thing. Office politics kill morale and as the manager you should be doing things to prevent it not perpetuate it. Don't be vindictive. Create a positive environment where people want to come to everyday.

Lie and Be Unprofessional to Customers

I caught this individual lying to customers on more than one occasion. Additionally, in a meeting with a CFO of a local company, he was so mean and rude that she actually threw the quote across the table at him. Then she kicked us out of her office, said she would NEVER do business with us, and told us to not come back. Yes, this was the low point of my career. It was truly an out of body experience.

Air Your Dirty Laundry at the Office

My former manager was always telling us about the drama that was happening at his house between him and his wife. Imagine that, his wife didn't like him either. It made everyone uncomfortable and resent him even more.

Gripe About Your Employees Working Hard if You Are Not Yourself

We caught him watching YouTube videos all the time in his office. Then he would take every chance he could get to tell us all how worthless we all were and that we weren't working hard enough.

Abrasive Communication

He used to curse during meetings at employees and use public humiliation to put people down. Again, do this and your employees will quit.

Arrogance

Nobody likes someone that is a know it all and can do no wrong. Don't take all the credit when things go right and then be the first to pass blame when things go wrong.

Have you ever had that pit in your stomach develop on Sunday just from the thought that Monday is only a day away; and, you know you have to go back to

work? Well, I am glad I don't have it anymore! That place is my rear view mirror. If your manager exemplifies some of these traits, maybe just anonymously drop a copy of this article on his or her desk.

7 Management Traits of Great LeadersMay 01, 2014 

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A few days ago, I published an article titled, "7 Management Traits That Will Make All Your Employees Quit." Now it is time to look at the other side of the coin. The previous column sparked a tremendous conversation surrounding leadership. Several commentators made the point that they don't think bad leaders are capable of change. I'm not so sure about that. I think people can evolve professionally and as a

leader, just like they do elsewhere in life. Consider this quote from, Vince Lombardi, the legendary football coach of the Green Bay Packers, "leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile." I believe that with some effort put forth everyone can improve their leadership skills. That said, here are some managerial traits that good leaders exhibit that I think will encourage employees to stick around for the long haul.

Be Supportive

A good manager gives his/her employees the tools they need to be successful. A bad manager assigns tasks with little or no direction, and then becomes upset when the employee doesn't meet the expectation. Remember the Seinfeld episode where George doesn't hear his boss' instructions, but he is too afraid of what his boss might do if he asks for clarification? He spends the whole week

pretending to know what to do. Two words come to mind here, lost productivity. Be approachable so your employees feel they can ask questions.

Understand and Harness the Power of Praise

Positive reinforcement is one of the most effective tools for a person in a leadership role. One of the biggest complaints from people that hate their jobs is they never receive any credit for a job well done. If you want your employees to like working for you and to perform their best, try giving them an atta a boy every once in a while when they do well. Nobody likes to work in a thankless environment.

Lead By ExampleIf you want your employees to take you seriously you must lead by example. If they question your work ethic, integrity, or skill to get the job done, then they are far less likely to do their best work themselves. As a leader you need to be blazing the path for success. If you are one of those

managers that comes in late and leaves early, then you might want to rethink the example you are setting for your employees.

Show Appreciation by Hosting Some Team Building Events

Too many companies have cut out the Christmas party. Even if you don't do a Christmas party, you should put on some events throughout the year to show appreciation and increase morale. If there are budgetary concerns just do something simple. My company has an employee pot luck once every couple of months. Employees bring in dishes from home and then management buys the rest at a local grocery store. It is far from extravagant but the employees really enjoy it. It is a great way for the employees to get to know one another and feel a sense of community at the work place.

Listen to Your Employees

Make sure your employees’ voices are heard. In order to foster an environment of innovation, management must be open to their employees’ ideas. Nothing

stifles progress more than shooting down your employees every idea. Pretty soon they will not even offer them. This will lead to stagnation within your company. Also, consider distributing an anonymous employee satisfaction survey. This will measure the temperature of your employees. If there are action items that need to be addressed they can be identified and action can be taken to improve the work environment. Companies that don't survey their employees are running the risk of never knowing what the problems are within the company. Thus, they have no way of fixing them.Be Generous by Offering Incentives for LongevityStudies show that companies that offer incentives for longevity have a greater retention rate. Whether it is a raise, bonus, additional time off, a better title, or a combination of the aforementioned, incentives for long tenure should be a part of your employee retention strategy.Be AuthoritativeJust like in my previous article when I discussed how nobody likes a micromanaging jerk, they don't like a wimpy pushover for a boss either. You can be authoritative; and, still go about it with integrity and respect. Your employees need to know that there is someone very competent at the helm. I guarantee you that Lombardi's players knew who the boss was, and they respected him for the hard work he put in. 

Well there you have it. Last time, many of you said that you learned the most from a negative experience on what not to do. Can we learn just as much from a top performing manager as we can from the worst one? I also heard from a lot of you that were like me, and; had an experience with a bad boss. Have you had an experience with a good boss that has helped you develop your own management style? If so, what attributes did they exemplify?

"Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase it, we can catch excellence." Vince Lombardi

Inspirational Leaders vs Micro ManagersOctober 09, 2014 

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My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to make them better. - Steve Jobs

Recently, I published two articles regarding corporate management strategies, and the impact they have on a company's effectiveness. The first article titled, "7 Management Traits that Will Make All Your Employees Quit," addressed how poor management can lead to a high employee turnover rate. In this article, I told the story about how a bad manager I had in the past caused all the employees to quit and led to the shutdown of a regional office. In the second article titled, "7 Traits of Great Leaders," I discussed the flip side of the equation on how good management encourages employee retention, increases productivity, and promote innovation. The response I got from readers was tremendous. The articles inspired a very fruitful conversation surrounding the qualities between effective leaders vs failing managers.

“People do not quit companies, they quit their managers.”

I heard this comment over and over again from readers. People chimed in from all of the world regarding their personal experiences with a bad manager. It was interesting to hear the stories on bad management. Clearly, bad management is an epidemic in the corporate world. Companies need to invest in mentoring their managers; and, giving them the training they need to be a leader and not just a

boss. Consider these fundamental character differences between leadership vs management.

I also heard many stories from readers that have been inspired by having a great leader in their career. A positive experience with a leader creates tremendous loyalty to their company, and inspires people to do their best. The impact a great leader has on their employees sticks with them for their entire career.

Bad managers can leave emotional scars on people for many years. However, there is also a lot that can learned from them. Bad managers teach people what not to do once they get into a management position.

In late 2013, Gallup released the results of their two year long study regarding the state of the American worker. Part of the study involved polling 1 million employed U.S. workers from all over the USA. The data from the survey confirmed that the No. 1 reason people quit their job is due to bad management. Another of the findings from Gallup, is that the productivity of poorly managed employees is 50 percent less than well managed. Additionally, well managed employees are 56 percent more profitable than poorly managed. Clearly, bad managers can cause a substantial negative hit to the company bottom line. Poor management also leads to low employee morale, causes employees added stress that can sometimes lead to serious health issues, decreases productivity, and leads to high turnover. Great leadership promotes a company culture that is rich in innovation which increases the company bottom line and helps create a sustainable business model.

Of the approximately 100 million people in America who hold full-time jobs, 30 million (30%) are engaged and inspired at work, so we can assume they have a great boss. At the other end of the spectrum are roughly 20 million (20%) employees who are actively disengaged. These employees, who have bosses from hell that make them miserable, roam the halls spreading discontent. Gallup CEO Jim Clifton

I love this quote from Gallup's CEO! However, when I was dealing with a bad boss, I not only roamed the halls at work spreading discontent, I was spreading discontent everywhere I went. In my case the bad situation at work began negatively affecting me in all areas of my life.

The Bottom Line:

Great leaders inspire people and make the company money and bad leaders tear down people and the company, piece by piece. Companies need to be able

to recognize the signs of bad management. Then take action to either improve the manager's skills, or find someone else that would be a better fit for the role. What has been your experience with a great leader or a bad manager? Were you inspired by the great leader? Did a bad manager teach you "what not to do?" Please continue to move this very important conversation forward by adding in your personal experiences and opinions below.

Featured on: Leadership & Management

7 Signs it is Time to Quit your JobJuly 21, 2014 

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A while back, I wrote an article titled, "7 Management Traits that Will Make All Your Employees Quit." The article produced an amazing conversation surrounding the traits of both effective and ineffective managers that is now 1800 comments deep. Many people were very gracious to share their personal experiences and stories from their careers. In that article, I described a brutal management style that led to all the employees in the regional office to either quit or get fired. In case you missed it here is the link: 7 Management Traits That Will Make All

Your Employees Quit

Today, I am going to share with you the story of the day I quit, and provide a few of the signs I experienced that told me it was time to get out of there. When I left this company, for the first time in my life I didn't give two weeks notice. Nor did I type up a thoughtful resignation letter thanking them for the opportunity like I had with other companies I left in the past. When I got to the office on the day I quit I was both nervous and anxious, because my boss was very unpredictable. He had shown violent tendencies in the office, as well as, told stories about his violent past. I think the crazy and violent stories he told us

were designed to intimidate us, and it worked. I had no idea how he was going react to the news that I was quitting. I made sure to get to the office before he did so I could have all my stuff packed up and ready to go. When he got there I told him right away. He became very upset and irrational. He threw out some major verbal insults my way. However, at least I got out of there without him inflicting any physical violence on me!

Yes, I know that leaving without giving a two week notice is very unprofessional. However, the company had shown me no respect, and degraded me to the point that I honestly could not stay there a second longer. The day I quit that job was one of the most liberating experiences in my life. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. As I was leaving, when I got to the lobby area I had a quick decision to make, take the elevator or the stairs. I quickly decided to take the stairs as I could hit them running. I didn't want to wait for the elevator! The feeling I got once I made it to my car and started to drive away was amazing. I truly felt a sense of freedom like I had never felt before!

I had decided to pick up my daughter from daycare, and take her up to Horsetooth Reservoir (pictured here) to go swimming! The next few days were spent relaxing with my family and preparing to move on professionally. This is important, If you quit your job make sure to schedule some time to relax and spend time with your loved ones before starting the new job. If you need help with transitioning or finding a

new job check out Mae Chapman's plan.

I'm not advocating quitting your job. However, if you are experiencing some or all of the symptoms I have listed below, it might be time to weigh your options:

1) You can't sleep at night due to the stress and thought of having to go into work the next day. The stress and lack of sleep really began to negatively affect my health.2) The stress from the job makes you irritable and cranky around your family and friends. I was no fun to be around during this time. This job was so stressful

that it started tonegatively affect the relationships with my loved ones.3) The job has zapped all the life out of you. You are tired all the time and lack the motivation you once had. This can happen when your company has no

policy or no intention of ever implementing a work/life balance program for employees.4) You don't agree with the corporate culture or the direction the company is headed. In my case, the culture was a turn and burn environment. They had a high pressure environment, and we lived in constant fear of losing our jobs. There was no value placed in sales professionals, and the place was a revolving door.5) Your ideas are not being heard, and your work is not valued. Many companies do a very poor job of recognizing their employees for their hard work and accomplishments. They don't have any concept of the value in saying thank you.6) The "good old boys club" at the top has made it impossible for advancement. Nobody likes to work in a situation when they know where there is no chance that they can advance within the company. If you see a pattern of upper management hiring their friends over more qualified candidates this is a sign that your company has a "good old boys club."7) You are the victim of verbal abuse, sexual harassment, or other types of illegal behavior. At the job I quit, I was bullied and verbally abused by my old boss. HR was no help and upper management turned a blind eye to it. DO NOT put up with this!For me quitting that poisonous job was the one of the best decisions I ever made. Today, I'm in a much better place professionally at Skybeam   . I am far less grouchy and stressed. Additionally, I am sleeping much better, and my family likes me a lot more these days. Why did you quit your last job? Was it because of any of the scenarios I described above? Has the grass been greener at your new job or do you regret your decision to leave?

Featured on: Your Career

Chapter 2: Trending Topics in Business

Is Going Green Profitable?October 01, 2014 

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Sustainability is a trending topic within companies of all sizes throughout the world. Many companies have come to the realization that traditional methods of doing business are not as effective as they once were. Thus, they have turned to sustainability to seek more effective ways of doing business.

Sustainability in Business Defined:

Sustainability in business occurs when the economic, environmental, ethical, and social facets of an organization are working together synchronously to obtain maximum efficiency and social responsibility for the long term.

Executive Overview:

There is a movement to look to the tech industry to find more innovative and efficient production methods to enhance profits and position the company for

long term growth. Consider these facts and trends regarding sustainability within the global business arena:

• 76 percent of executives surveyed say sustainability contributes positively to shareholder value in the long term, and 50 percent see short-term value creation (McKinsey & Company).

• $1 out of every $9 under professional management in the United States now involves an element of ―socially responsible investment‖ (Geoffrey Heal, Columbia Business School).

• Over 2,600 organizations registered sustainability reports with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) through 2010 .

• Over 3,000 organizations voluntarily submitted data regarding greenhouse gas emissions to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in 2010

(Oracle.com)

To accomplish sustainability companies must consider the needs of all stakeholders including their customer, employees, shareholders, and the communities in which they operate. Running a socially responsible company, improving performance, and increased profits are the upsides of sustainable business. Challenges will include incorporating sustainability into the company culture, decision making, operations, and materials. Additionally, new roles would need to be defined to ensure that sustainable business practices are being implemented, monitored, and tracked.

Potential Gains from Sustainability

So, why are so many companies investing in the future by deploying sustainable business practices within their company and what are some of the perceived benefits? There are many potential benefits to implementing a sustainability strategy:

· Reduced Costs in Doing Business· Enhanced Operational Efficiency· Improved Worker Safety· Less Waste· Improved Community Relations· Enhanced Worker Productivity· Encourages Innovation within Company

(iveybusinessjournal.com)

Consider these case studies and the associated benefits: 

Advanced Composite Structures: Lean Manufacturing

“Using the Value Mapping Process, New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership analyzed and reviewed the production process and the layout of the company’s production area. ACS was able to eliminate excess movement, materials, and tooling to help create a more streamlined product flow. The company reduced costs by 65%, increased production from 20 units per shift to 45 units per shift, reduced its production facility size by 73%, and reduced scrap rates from 24% to 1.8%.”

Besam North America/Assa Abloy: Energy Management

“NC State University Industrial Assessment Center and the NC State Industrial Extension Service’s E3 (Economy, Energy, and Environment) initiative collaborated to provide Besam with targeted energy, waste, and productivity surveys. Besam followed several recommendations from the energy management survey, including replacement of metal halide lighting with fluorescent fixtures with occupancy sensors, installation of high efficiency lamps and electronic ballasts with occupancy sensors, reduction of compressor air pressure, and repair of compressed air leaks. Total annual savings from these efforts was 233,555 kWh/$25,776.”

Bureau of Land Management: Energy Savings Performance Contract

“The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM) successfully implemented an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) with Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) to implement energy efficiency improvements at remote BLM sites. This $3.6 million project covered small BLM facilities across six western states (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Wyoming), which make up half of the states that the BLM covers. In addition to energy savings, BLM achieved the following emissions reductions.”

(EPA.gov)

Concerns Regarding Sustainability

Sustainability practices can be costly to implement. Many times the past data needed in order to properly measure the effectiveness of the programs is not available. In order measure the effectiveness of sustainability companies will need to add additional head count. Additionally, the metrics that need to be measured can be complex and confusing on how they relate to business. There

is no guarantee that consumers will respond positively towards sustainability efforts.

There are many parts to sustainability and its applications can be quite complex. Here are a few questions that I recommend your organization consider:

How will you know where to invest our resources first? Will the measures taken and resources used towards long term sustainability cause a decrease in effectiveness in resolving short term or immediate issues?

Many companies share the concern that by investing in sustainability to fix long term problems that they will suffer losses in the short term. The ROI for sustainable programs can often times be a long-term gain. The concern is that long term gains will be mitigated due to lost revenues in the short term.

Employees have be trained to on the sustainable practices implemented. Training employees a new skill is costly in both the resources needed to implement a new training program, and lost productivity by taking away employees from their day to day job responsibilities. (WSJ.com)

How Does One Go About Implementing a Sustainability Program?

Most companies don't have experts in sustainable business already on their staff. Thus, it is essential to consult with outside experts in sustainable business. Consult with an independent sustainability firm that will able to help develop a plan and implement sustainable solutions into your business that will be within budget and one that will help to address both immediate business needs, as well as, long term goals. I recommend bringing in 3 firms to evaluate their services, and the impact they can make. From there, you will be able to decide on a partner for your business that will best meet your specific business needs and provides the best ROI for your budget.

Recommendations on a Sustainability Plan

With many companies seeing declining profits, increased competition, and ever evolving market demand, I strongly recommend your company consider a sustainability strategy. With increased competition there is a need to become more innovative to continue to be competitive in the marketplace. A sustainability plan will inherently make your organization more innovative, and give you the ability to stay current with market demands as they evolve over time. Within all companies there is a need to look inward to do a comprehensive evaluation of processes and work flows in a concentrated effort to seek more

cost effective ways of doing business. It is my firm belief that the potential gains with implementing sustainability far outweigh the potential losses.

Does your company have a sustainability strategy? If so, how is it working out? If not, what has holding you back from doing so? Please join this conversation below.

Featured on: Green Business

7 Signs Your Prospective Employer Has a Toxic CultureSeptember 23, 2014 

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A while back, I published two articles that combined produced over 1,000,000 views, and sparked a tremendous conversation surrounding corporate cultures, management styles, and effective vs failing organizations. In case you missed them: 7 Management Traits that Will Make All Your Employees Quit and 7 Signs it is Time to Quit Your Job. In these two articles, I told the story of a toxic work environment that I endured that resulted in all of the employees in my regional office to either be fired or quit in less than a year. There were some signs throughout the interview process that should have thrown up red flags and sent me packing. However, I chose to ignore them. If you ignore them too and enter into a company that has a toxic culture, here are a few rather unpleasant side effects that I experienced that you might too:

High Stress Anxiety Attacks Insomnia Loss of Professional Motivation Pit in Your Stomach Feeling on Sunday Nights Damaged Personal Relationships

Here are the warning signs that I ignored. Hopefully, by me putting these out there, they may be of assistance to some of you in your career advancement endeavors, and you willavoid making the mistake I did.1) Your future boss speaks poorly about current staff in the interview.In the interview with my prospective boss, he was very negative towards his current staff in the way he talked about them. He used flattery towards me but put down his current team by saying things like, "I can't wait to get a real sales executive in here that can show these yahoos how its done." Consider this quote from Gregg Stocker, author of Avoiding the Corporate Death Spiral.

Ask what the company's problems are and what their causes might be. If the answers to these questions consist of blaming others in the organization, especially those on his or her team, the person lacks trust in others."

2) Your future boss comes across as self absorbed.

If your boss keeps talking about how great he/she is during the interview they might be self absorbed. Working for a self-absorbed boss ensures that your work will go largely unnoticed and he/she will use every opportunity to take credit for any of your success without giving you the credit deserved.

3) The interviewer is late.

The second interviewer was a senior manager. He showed up 15 minutes late for the interview. This individual appeared disorganized, and it seemed like he had not even reviewed my resume prior to the meeting. I was struck by just how unprofessional the interviewer was.

4) The company has a history of high turnover.

Make sure to do some research regarding the turnover rate for not only the company you are applying for, but the specific position. A good starting point is Glassdoor.com. It will enable you to see what their current and former employees are saying anonymously. If you want to take a step further you could even do an advanced search on LinkedIn to find employees in your position and reach out to them for feedback. Most people are happy to help out and if you're headed for a train wreck they will gladly give you a heads up. To my own credit, I did do research. However, once again I ignored the warning signs.

5) They put a lot of pressure on you to take the position.

In my case, my prospective employer put a lot of pressure on me to take the job. It was like they were trying to hard close a deal. I got emails and phone calls

practically begging me to go to work there. Then they put an aggressive deadline on me that forced me to make a decision much faster than I was comfortable with.

6) You're not sure if your values align with the company's.

If after going through the interview process and doing research on the company, you are questioning the company's values. Think long and hard about whether or not you will be able to be happy working at a company where your personal values may conflict the company's way of doing business. Weigh how much of a conflict it will be, and whether or not it is worth the compromise you would have to make. Trust your gut on this one. Initially, I got a bad feeling regarding this company's culture. I talked myself into thinking otherwise.

7) The offer letter contains a lower salary than what was communicated to you verbally.

When I received my offer letter, it was $5,000 less than what had been offered to me over the phone. I quickly pointed out the discrepancy to their HR Coordinator and they fixed it. However, again this was a sign of things to come in regards to the way they did business, not only with their employees but their customers as well.

If you read the first two articles and made it to this point in this one, you are probablywondering. "how in the world did you ignore these warning signs and end up taking this job?" Well that is a very valid question, and one that my wife asked me several times since. There is one reason and one reason only, MONEY. I was blinded by the almighty dollar. They offered me a

higher salary, better commission structure, and substantial signing bonus. At the time my wife and I were remodeling and putting a major addition onto our home. We were paying for construction costs, mortgage, rent at an apartment (the project was too substantial for us to live there with a small child), and daycare. Needless to say, we were a little short on cash, and the opportunity to make more money right away was very attractive.Life lesson learned: Money is not everything. There are other things to contemplate when considering a job offer like your peace of mind and happiness. Money should never be the only reason you are taking a job!

To sum this up, if your prospective employer possesses a few of these warnings signs you should think long and hard before accepting the offer. If they possess all of these interview warning signs, get out of there as fast as you can!Now I will turn it back over to you all. Job seekers, did you find this helpful? Why or why not? To the people that have worked at or are currently working at a company that has a toxic culture (And I know you're out there because I heard from 1000's of you). 

Featured on: Careers: The Next Level Company Culture Leadership & Management

Using Social Innovation to Seize Competitive AdvantageOctober 13, 2014 

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Social innovation is an emerging global movement to find new and innovative solutions to the challenges that plague our society. Social innovation is based on people working together in new ways towards a more efficient and sustainable world. Many companies have developed new technologies that have changed the world by improving health care, education, nutrition, and housing. These

companies have used social innovation to not only improve the world, but to gain a competitive advantage within their marketplace.Here are two such companies:

Clif Bar is a leader in the energy bar marketplace in the United States, Canada, and the UK. They have developed a solid reputation as the go to energy bar within the outdoor

sports world. Sustainability is at the core of their corporate strategy and is firmly embedded within their company culture. Clif Bar defines their mission regarding sustainability on their website:

“Our food will be made with sustainable, organic ingredients; baked with clean, renewable energy; packed in environmentally friendly packaging; and delivered by transportation that doesn’t pollute.”

Employees’ receive incentives for behaviors that embody the company’s sustainability initiatives. The company recognizes actions such as riding your bike to work, purchasing a fuel efficient car, and making green improvements to homes.

Their focus on sustainability has given them a distinct advantage within the marketplace. Clif Bar’s ingredients are over 70% organic. In this interview Kevin Cleary, President of Clif Bar, discusses how his company’s social innovation initiatives created a level of trust and authenticity that consumers in the health

food market place appreciate. He credits his company’s focus on social innovation and sustainability as the key brand differentiators that has created loyalty from their customer base. (McPhersen, Susan)

OtterBox is the recognized global leader in protective cases for world’s most popular smart devices from Apple, Samsung, Motorola, and more. They have been protecting devices of “clutzy tech users” from all over the world for over a decade now. OtterBox as an organization is focused on innovation and entrepreneurship that embodies sustainability. So

much so, that they created, Otter Cares, an arm of their organization that pushes their social innovation initiatives forward. Otter Cares describes their mission as:“We believe one young and inspired mind can change the world! The OtterCares Foundation champions innovative education that inspires youth to become entrepreneurs and philanthropists who create lasting and impactful change in their communities.”With the growing adoption of tablets in schools, administrators now have a critical need to protect the substantial investment they make into this technology. OtterBox has become the go to choice with schools for protective cases for their tablets. Thus, the Otter Care division has aligned itself in their mission to support education via their social innovation initiatives like the one seen in the associated video where they provided free school supplies for 1700 students! This is a great example of a social innovation where the initiative not only supports the community, but it enhances the company’s competitive advantage within a key market segment. (OtterCare.com)

Additionally, OtterBox’s focus on innovation and intrapreneurship within its company values has enabled them to stay firmly ahead of their competition giving them a distinct competitive advantage in their marketplace. OtterBox has innovated faster than their competition which has given them a brand image as having the highest quality and most cutting edge protective equipment available in the tech marketplace.Social Innovation Best Practices:

1. Develop a social strategy and vision for the company. Determine the social initiatives that align with the company values and mission that your product or service can help solve.

2. Incorporate social innovation into the company culture so that the employees embrace the efforts. Just like in the case of Cliff Bar and OtterBox.

3. Embrace innovation and intrapreneurship so that employees can bring forth new ideas to solve social problems that can lead to new business opportunities for the company. (Googins, Brad)

Has your company embraced social innovation? I'd love to hear from in the comment section!

Featured on: Social Impact

Obesity is a Market Failure

July 16, 2014 

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Obesity rates have risen substantially across the world for 34 straight years, and there are now close to two billion overweight individuals in the worldwide. Since the 1980's the market has been flooded with cheaply made food that is aimed toward high profit margins and not the health of consumers. Fast food options have become far more prevalent, and seemingly everywhere you look. Organic and

healthy food is typically priced higher then processed mass produced food.

This is the reason the obesity rate is so much higher amongst the lower income levels. The fast food marketing machine is geared towards this demographic. Take a look at the correlations between the two maps I posted below. The first map shows the states with the highest obesity rates, and the second map shows the states with the lowest income levels. There is a tremendous amount of correlation between the two. The states with highest obesity rates typically also have the lowest income levels. States that have lower levels of obesity tend to be higher earning. Being obese can hinder a person's ability to perform their job or obtain a better paying job.

Obesity Rate in the USA

State by State Poverty Level

There have been many policy attempts made by governments all over the world to curb obesity. Most of which have failed. Most recently Michelle Obama has led the fight against obesity in the USA with her attempts to improve school lunches and reduce soda sizes. While some applaud her efforts, many view them as an infringement of rights by taking away choices, and the imposing a liberal agenda on society. The problem remains that mass produced unhealthy junk food is the most profitable to produce. Until this is fixed, I don't see any improvements being made to the obesity epidemic. Obesity will continue to be a major market failure for the foreseeable future.

What is your take on this issue and what can be done to reverse the trend? What role if any should policy makers have in fixing this epidemic? Please join in with your comments below.

Featured on: Food & Beverages Healthcare

Benefits of Being Bilingual in BusinessMay 22, 2014 

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My parents sent me to Spain as a teenager to be an exchange student. Boy am I glad they did. The experience opened my eyes to the world, and enabled me to learn a second language. By the time I finished high school, I was fluent in Spanish.

Being bilingual not only makes traveling a breeze and exponentially increases who you can be friends with, it provides many benefits in the business world. Here are a few that I have seen first hand in my career.

Increased Size of Target Market

Want more customers? When you learn another language, the size of your target market automatically increases for which you can sell your product or service. There are an estimated 500 million Spanish speakers worldwide, making it the second most spoken language in the world. Of that 500 million, 50 million reside in the USA. So, whether your company is looking to grow internationally or expand into new domestic markets, knowing a second language increases who you can sell to.

More Marketable to Employers

In today's competitive job market being bilingual is a tremendous value add to employers that separates you from the other pile of resumes. The more diverse your skill set is the more hirable you become. Bilingual employees are in high demand in almost every business sector: health care, law, business, education, construction, criminal justice. (to name a few) Globalization is in full swing and worldwide markets are becoming more interdependent. Thus, the need for bilingual employees continues to rise.

Higher PayStudies from Rosetta Stone have shown that bilingual employees earn on average 10% more in their salary than those that are monolingual. I have found this to be true, as I have received bilingual pay differential with almost every company I have worked for.Win Instant Rapport With Clients

Learning a foreign language is no easy task. For this reason, people instantly love you when they realize you have taken the time and effort to learn their native language as your second language. I have been the beneficiary of this many times in my career. On a cold call several years back, I one call closed a customer over the phone because of my Spanish speaking ability. I reached the company CFO, and the call was going nowhere fast. I detected a Spanish accent and out of no where switched the conversation to Spanish. It was the perfect 180 degree turnaround that I needed. By then end of the conversation, I convinced her to switch their company mobile voice and data services, and enter into a 2 year business agreement with my company! This sales cycle usually takes at least two meetings, a formal proposal, and weeks if not months of negotiation.

Being multilingual is of course even better. For this reason, I am in the process of learning Portuguese. Brazil is a huge emerging market! Can you speak more than one language? How has it benefited you in your career?

Featured on: Business Travel

Ethical Business vs Maximizing ProfitsOctober 06, 2014 

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While most companies earn their profits from ethical business practices, there are some that choose to maximize profits unethically.Having worked in customer facing positions throughout my career, I have had the difficult challenge of having to deliver “bad news” to customers on many occasions. This happens when the customer thinks they are owed something from the company, but a decision is made by higher ups that the business practice is within the moral boundaries of the company, so no action is owed to the customer. This can be a difficult situation to be put into. You must deliver these types of messages very strategically by gently explaining why your company’s actions or lack of action are justified within the company’s policies and guidelines. There was one occasion in my career that stands out where I had to put my foot down over delivering a message that I felt crossed ethical

lines. I felt strongly that the message I was asked to deliver by my manager to the customer was in violation of both the company’s ethical principles, as well as, my own moral compass. The customer was right and I knew it. We owed them a substantial credit on their account. I had to make the tough decision to risk my job by siding with the customer and not my manager. I stood up to my manager and told him that I would not be delivering the message to the customer. I stated my moral objections as to why I was refusing to do so, and why I thought the customer was owed a credit. In order to get the credit applied, I ended up having to go over his head to the next level of management. The problem was my manager was way above his credit limit for the month and going over his credit limit would raise red a flag with management. These types of ethical dilemmas arise in companies every day. Making ethical business decisions can be clouded by personal bias and a desire to prevent short term losses.Executive Overview

Many companies toe the line between doing profitable business and being ethically responsible. Sometimes the line gets crossed in effort to maximize profits. Companies that cross too far over the line can face legal repercussions that can prove costly and damaging to the brand. A recent example of this is, Recreational Data Services (RDS), a small Alaskan software company won a $51.3 million settlement over GPS giant, Trimble Navigation. Trimble was forced to pay the Alaskan company for lost earnings after being found guilty of stealing confidential information and creating a carbon copy of an RDS project.

A CEO’s job is to maximize revenue streams to satisfy pushy shareholders that demand a high ROI for their investment. However, they must also weigh the cost between pushing for profits and being an ethical organization. (Ephermajournal.org)

Internal Tensions Created By Ethical Conflicts

Tensions within companies over ethics vs profits usually arise when a company is forced to choose between remaining profitable or doing ethical business. When lost profits begin to occur companies become desperate and then they are at risk of choosing unethical business practicesto stay in business. These types of dilemmas can create internal and external tension within a company. Gone are the days where the only responsibility of the company is to turn profits. Today, they not only have to answer to shareholders, but to their stakeholders within their community of which their business hinges on. (Ephermajournal.org)

Can Ethical Companies be Profitable?

Ethisphere an independent center of research promoting best practices in corporate ethics and compliance, recently released its 2014 list of the world’s most ethical companies. The list contains many globally recognizable mega corporations such as T-Mobile USA, Delphi, GAP, Microsoft, Schneider Electric, and more.

Ethisphere defines an ethical company as the following:

World’s Most Ethical Company honorees not only promote ethical business standards and practices internally, they embed the theory of “conscious capitalism” into everything they do, every employee they hire, and every partner they bring into their network to ensure they deliver long-term value to key stakeholders including customers, suppliers, regulators, and investors. By leading their industries in compliance, corporate governance and social responsibility, the World’s Most Ethical Companies effectively align ethical business practices with performance and shape future industry ethical business standards.

Ethics also play an integral part in the way small businesses operate. With today’s online review sites and social media, there is a lot of transparency for SMB in regards to their business practices and their reputation within their community. Thus, doing ethical business is of utmost importance for the company’s bottom line. If you take a look at the most profitable and well known small businesses in your community you will notice a trend in that they generally all have good reviews on sites like Yelp.com, and have a positive image on social media sites. (etishpere.com)

Characteristics of Unethical CompaniesFrom my research on this subject I found many several commonalities in companies that are unethical. Unethical companies are typically focused on short term gains. They have not developed a sustainable business strategy that allows them to think long term. Additionally, unethical companies are typically followers. They are lacking in innovation. This often leads corporate misrepresentation. It can be as simple as a salesman who overstates the benefits about his company's products, or it can be as severe as blatant false advertising. Unethical companies are plauged with poor decision making and mismanagement.Is it possible for companies to legislate ethics?

Try as they might companies will never be able to get all their employees on the same page ethically. This challenge is even greater for global organizations.

There are many factors that play into the moral makeup of an employee such as their cultural background, age, level of education, and their childhood upbringing. However, just as societies implement a set of laws that govern behavior, companies can legislate certain ethical standards within their culture. Most companies will have an ethics clause within the contract they use to bring on new employees. If employees violate the ethics clause within their contract they can be subjected to discipline or terminated. For example, I drive a company vehicle. Even though my own morals tell me that I can have one beer and safely drive home. After one beer, I know that I am well below the legal limit and fine to safely drive a car. However, the ethics clause in the contract I signed with my company states that it is prohibited to consume any amount of alcohol while driving a company vehicle. It is well known that anyone caught drinking alcohol and driving a company car would be terminated. (Global Ethics University)

Final Thoughts:

There is a trend that kept coming up in the research I did. Companies that are doing unethical business are typically focused on the short term gains. Companies that have figured out ways to be both ethical and profitable have mastered a sustainable business model. In the example I gave from my career, my manager’s ethical perception of the situation was clouded by his desire to not give out any more credits that would cause him to go further over his credit limit. He was focused on a short term loss instead of doing what is right by the customer, and ensuring a profitable long term business relationship. Given the many examples out there it is clear that companies can be ethical, socially responsible, sustainable, and very profitable all at the same time.

Have you ever worked for an unethical company? What was the experience like? Please feel free to weigh in on this topic with your opinions below.

Featured on: Leadership & Management

Chapter 3: Digital Marketing and Social Media

Use These B2B Social Media Engagement Tips to Generate More LeadsSeptember 21, 2014 

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Are you an old school sales rep whose go to prospecting method is still cold calling? Are you just "on LinkedIn," but never post anything or engage your network? Do you think Twitter is just for teenagers? If you answered yes to any of these questions, I highly suggest you continue reading, and consider adding a few of my social selling techniques to your prospecting strategies.

1) Post regularly to gain visibility within your network and stay top of mind.It is okay to post your company's marketing materials. However, make sure to blend it with some value based information. Nobody likes to be product blasted.

In order to be effectivein building relationships with people on LinkedIn you must be reciprocal. Engage with your network by commenting, liking, and sharing their content via LinkedIn. Retweet their Tweets via Twitter. Do NOT just put out your own content and ignore everyone else's. If you share your network's posts they will be far more likely to share yours. Every share and like from your connections broadcasts your post to their network as well. This greatly increases the distribution of your content, and increases the chances of someone seeing it that has a business need for your product or service.2) Don't just be "on LinkedIn." Maximize its potential!Many sales people under-utilize LinkedIn in favor of old school techniques like cold calling. Are you still cold calling over the phone without knowing the name of the person within the company that you need to speak to in hopes that the gate keeper transfers you to the right person? Calling up blindly without knowing the specific name of the person is a dead give away that you are a salesman, and will guarantee that your call gets transferred to a generic mailbox that nobody ever checks. Calling over the phone is still an effective way to get appointments and generate leads. However, combining it with social selling techniques like the advanced search feature on LinkedIn will make you far more effective. Use the advanced search feature to find the name of the person within a company that you need to speak to prior to calling. By doing this you will be making warm calls instead of a complete cold call. Advanced search gives you many ways to filter your search to find the exact person you need. If you prefer to prospect in person, then either do research prior to leaving the office or use the LinkedIn mobile application from your smartphone when on the go. As they say, "cold calling is dead."

3) Never miss an opportunity to connect with a potential customer on social media.

Connect on LinkedIn with every single prospect you speak to and follow them on Twitter. If they have a blog it is a good idea to follow them there as well.

Connect with them even if they told you they are not interested. By getting as many potential customers and key contacts within companies into your network increases the likelihood that you will close them down the road. The old school technique would be to put the person in a tickler file on Outlook, and follow up in 6 months to a year. By then, that person has practically forgotten who you are. Adding them into your LinkedIn network enables you to engage with them, build their trust, and stay top of mind. This will increase the chances of them not only remembering you, but buying from you in the future. Oh and lastly, don't be the person that sends a generic connection request. Type out a custom request and give them a value pitch on why they should connect with you. This substantially increases the likelihood of them accepting your invitation to connect.

4) Shoot past the gate keeper with a direct message to your prospect's inbox.

Most company's have a highly trained gate keeper whose job it is to make sure your call never gets through. Email marketing is an effective way to avoid the gate keeper and send a message directly to your client. Develop a value based monthly newsletter to send out to both perspective and existing clients. If you don't have their email address consider using LinkedIn's Inmail. 5) Make sure your LinkedIn profile

reflects your brand image.Just like you make sure to be dressed for success when you leave home for the

office, make sure your profile is up to date and looking good. Invest a substantial amount ofeffort into your profile so that your are projecting a professional image that you would want the entire world to see. Make sure

the content on your profile shows that you are an expert in your field. Do so, by posting links, blog posts, videos, articles, awards, or anything else that will build your credibility. Many of my past clients have looked me up on LinkedIn and viewed my profile prior to buying from me the first time. A bad or incomplete LinkedIn profile projects an image that you are not serious about your career, and puts doubt into the mind of a potential customer regarding your effectiveness. 6) Build credibility by getting recommendations on LinkedIn from past clients.

The best way to Increase credibility with future clients is by getting your past and current clients to give you a recommendation. Don't confuse this with endorsing skills. I am referring to a written reference by a client that you can display on your profile. The more well known the client is within your business community and target market the more weight it carries. Getting recommendations from clients will help you build your professional brand as an expert, and reassures new clients that you will be able to deliver a top notch customer experience. I have 35 recommendations from clients, co-workers, and colleagues on my profile. I have leveraged these recommendations MANY times to gain an edge. Being able to say the following to a potential new client is worth its weight in gold:

Don't just take my word for it. Take a look at my recommendations page on LinkedIn to see the impact I have on my client's business and the exceptional level of customer service I provide.

7) Use social networks to build new relationships and enhance existing ones.Social selling is about building and maintaining business

relationships. Customerstend to buy from the people that they like and trust. One of the best ways to gain trust from a potential client it to use your existing network to gain referrals. When identifying a potential client check to see if they are connected with anyone in your network. If they are, leverage your existing connection to gain an introduction. Don't forget about your existing network. As sales

professionals we are constantly being told to go after new clients. Well that new client could already be in your network.8) Use your blog to increase your sphere of influence.

Blog about what you want to be known for. Demonstrate your expertise via your blog posts.

9) Utilize SlideShare.Broadcast your company's marketing materials across social media. Slide share

convertsyour content into a easily shareable link that can be distributed using virtually any digital

media platform. Now with the new SlideShare.net application on Android, I have all of my presentations with wherever I go via my Samsung Note II. Consider following other professionals on Slideshare that are in your industry or an industry you want to learn more about. There are some people out there that are putting out some amazing presentations. By following their work you will sharpen your own digital marketing skills.Have you used any of these techniques? How have the results been? Are there other social selling tips you would add to my list that have worked for you? Comment below...

Featured on: Sales Strategies

Maximize your Branding Efforts Using TwitterSeptember 03, 2014 

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Did you know? Twitter is now up to 271 million monthly active users, and there are 500 million tweets coming out daily! Twitter has a global presence with users spread out to all corners of the globe.

Twitter's mission statement:

To give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers.

Twitter is a unique social platform, that when used effectively, can be a tremendous asset in growing your personal brand. Are you using this incredible tool to grow your personal influence? Do you have a personal branding strategy on Twitter in place or are you just "on" Twitter? If you are just "on" Twitter then you are missing out on a huge opportunity to brand yourself among your colleagues, clients, and industry leaders.

The first step to branding on Twitter is to implement a personal branding strategy. When developing your strategy here are a few things to consider:

Your target audience and the type of followers do you hope to attract The message you are attempting to send to your followers about your

professional brand Clearly define your goals in terms of what you are trying to accomplish

Make sure that your profile is complete and ready to attract followers from your target market. In order to do so, you will want to put a powerful personal branding statement as your header. Need inspiration on developing a personal brand statement? Check out the many wonderful brand statements submitted from professionals all over the world for the recent Publishers & Bloggers: Global #Personal Brand Statement: CONTEST. The effectiveness of your brand statement will be a big determining factor in your ability to attract new followers.Secure your Twitter handle and make sure that it is effective in conveying your brand message. My Twitter handle is @juanblanco76. What's that, you don't think my Twitter handle reflects a brand message? Sure it does! I am fluent in Spanish and an expert in the Latino marketplace. Every time someone interacts with me on Twitter they are reminded of the fact that I am bilingual. Whether your account is for your business or a personal account, having a strategic Twitter handle that reflects your brand is critical.Become known as an industry expert by sharing value based content. Twitter is a great place to share your blog posts, company marketing materials, YouTube videos, or any other digital content that will enhance your image as a thought leader among your network. Utilizing Twitter for content sharing will greatly enhance the viewership, and get your message out to a

wider audience. Make sure to use strategic hashtags to help your Tweets reach an even broader audience outside of your followers. Once your content starts getting favorited and re-Tweeted you will see the ripple effect take hold and the views on your content will skyrocket. The more you Tweet about the topics you want to be known for, the more impact you will have on your followers. Don't be shy! Tweet away!Follow both your current clients and perspective clients. One of the bi-laws of Twitter effectiveness is to SHARE other's content! Don't make it a one sided relationship. Make sure to interact your followers on their Tweets, and re-Tweet when appropriate. Engaging your target market via Twitter will help you stay top of mind with clients.Integrate Twitter into your other branding efforts. Make sure to link your Twitter account with your LinkedIn account. Add your Twitter handle to your email signature. Attach it to your website and to your blogs. Using Twitter sends a message to your clients that you are up to speed on technology and current trends.Share some personal Tweets as well. Twitter is an opportunity for you to get to know your network better, and for them to get to know you. It is a proven fact that people do business with people they like. Many times a personal Tweet about something non-business related will catch someone's attention if it is about something that they too are passionate about. Well done non-business related Tweets can be a valuable tool to build rapport with clients.

Now it is time for your reaction to this article. Did you find this article helpful? Why or why not. Does anyone out there have any personal branding tips via Twitter that they have used that you would like add? Please comment below.

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Careers: The Next Level Social Media

How to Take Your Content to #1 on LinkedInMay 05, 2014 

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Within 30 days of receiving publishing credentials on LinkedIn, I had amassed 645,000 views on my first 8 articles. During this time, I increased my profile views from 135 the month before to just over 6000 in April. That is an increase of 3921%! My number of followers jumped from 1650 to 7000. My posts were shared worldwide over 37,000 times. I received over 10,000 likes and thousands of comments on my posts. I used the additional exposure on LinkedIn to land a valuable public speaking engagement, increase leads for my company, close business deals, gain priceless validation on my work from CEO's at large companies, and increase my global network by thousands of professionals both inside and outside of my industry.To date, 3 of my articles have gone viral worldwide. In case you missed them, here they are:1) 7 Management Traits that Will Make All Your Employees Quit.2) 7 Management Traits that Will Help Retain Talented Employees.3) Valuable Business Strategies Every Company Could Learn From OtterBox.

What did I do to take two of my articles to #1, and get such a huge month over month increase in all my LinkedIn KPI's? Here are 10 tips to help you do the same:

1) If you have not done so already, apply for your own publishing privileges on LinkedIn. The process requires you to upload two pieces of your original writing material. LinkedIn also review your profile. The process took about two months for me. A wise man recently told me, "that if you are not promoting yourself, good luck, as nobody else is going to do it for you."

2) Join the maximum number of groups allowed on LinkedIn (50). Put out your posts on as many groups as possible that are a good fit for your material. However, don't let it be a one sided relationship. Make to sure to comment, like, and share other's content in your groups. This

will only helps your exposure within the group. Other

members are more willing to share your content if you engage with them on their own content.

3) Use Twitter to broadcast your posts. There is a huge business audience on Twitter. Every time they favorite or retweet you your material goes out to thousands more people. Use hashtags in your posts in front of key words. Much like Google's algorithms that use keywords to rank your website on search lists, Twitter uses the hashtag along with key words to increase the distribution of a tweet out to a broader audience, which will exponentially increase the number of views on your content. Hashtags are not just to look cool with the younger generation! Unlike Facebook and LinkedIn, popular posts don't get re-circulated automatically on Twitter. Studies show that the average shelf life for a Twitter post is fifteen minutes.

What's that? You don't have time to update Twitter multiple times per day? Me either! That's why I use Hoosuite to schedule my Tweets, and; automatically send them out at the scheduled times throughout the day.

Of course, other social sites are very effective to grow the viewership on your LinkedIn content. However, I found that with Twitter, I got a substantially higher response rate to my posts.

4) Use a catchy picture attached to your content. This one is huge! The picture draws people in and is many times the reason they click on your post. All three of my articles that went viral had catchy pictures, with Lumbergh from the Movie Office Space and Vince Lombardi the legendary Green Bay Packers coach on the "7 Manager Traits" articles, and then a picture of OtterBox's very unique and cool lobby. I mean, who doesn't like a picture of an office that has a huge metal slide with swimming Otters along side and an employee espresso bar?

5) Network with others that are in your industry and that are putting out their own

content. I have met several other bloggers that are putting out great material, have a large network of followers, and are looking to engage in mutually beneficial relationships with other bloggers. Once you have seen the value in

each other’s work, begin sharing their content across your network, and have them do same with your content to their network.

6) Distribute your content at work. This one can be a little tricky. However, when the post is work related, it is absolutely appropriate to distribute it there. If your material can be a value add to a specific team or project, not only will they help with distribution by sharing it, you will gain exposure to other areas of the company. Word of mouth can be a very powerful marketing tool. I know that I picked up a significant lift in the viewership of my posts from my co-workers sharing it across their networks. When your coworkers endorse your work it adds substantial credibility.

7) If there are people in your LinkedIn network that you think would benefit from a piece of your content, send it to them directly. When sharing your content there is an option to share with your network, groups, and individuals. Make sure to do all three. In regards to sending it to individuals, include a brief professional message stating what the content is that your are sharing with them, and what value they should expect to gain from reading it. This is a great way to stay top of mind with your network, and expand relationships with those

that you would like to be doing business with that you are not currently. Occasionally, sending valuable content will help you stay in front of them of, and increase your credibility with your prospective customers.

8) Interact with your audience. When you are lucky enough to get a comment on your post, do your best to engage with them by responding to as many of them as you can. I have learned a tremendous amount from interacting with the readers in the comment section. In one of my articles a reader aptly pointed out a typo in the article. I took advantage of the little edit button that comes along free with my account and went back in and changed it. So what, the first 5,000

viewers saw the typo. The next 495,000 never knew it was there! Boom, take that print media! In all seriousness, interacting with your audience shows them that you appreciate the time it took them out of their busy day to read your post. Doing so builds a relationship with your audience which increases the chances that they will continue

to read your subsequent posts, as well as, share your content with their own network.

9) Put out quality content that your target audience will relate to and take value from. This may seem obvious. However, putting out content that will resonate with an audience is easier said than done. Once you begin blogging, you will become more of an expert in your own fields of interest from the research you put in while writing each article, and the quality of your content will improve over time.

#10) Follow up with the people that view your profile. Profile views are like a warm lead. If the person that views your profile can add value to your network, add them as a connection. Do not send them a generic stock message. Make sure your message is customized, "Thank you for taking a few minutes out of your busy day to view my profile. I would be honored to be a part of your LinkedIn network. Please consider adding me so that we can collaborate professionally at some point in the future." This is a great way to grow your network and follow up on potentially valuable leads. The other choice is to not contact the people that view your profile, and ignore the opportunity knocking.11) Send a professional message out to your top 100 power networkers using

the mostviewed connections feature. This list can be found under the who's viewed your profile tab. Once you are there click on the "how you rank for profile views tab," in the upper right. Then click on "your connections" tab on the left underneath your

profile picture. Make sure that that the message you send is reciprocal in nature by offering to help them by sharing their content, website, following them on Twitter, etcWhy send a message out to your top 100?

A) They are your most influential connections. When they share something people take notice.

B) They typically will have massive networks. A share from someone in your top 100 can go a long way in terms of expanding the reach of the number of eyes on your content.

12) If you have a global network that includes people in different time zones, make sure to repost your content late at night. This way people that are in a different area of the world that is active on LinkedIn while you may be sleeping has a chance to see it. Don't want to stay up late at night? Refer to #3 and use Hootsuite to schedule your posts.

Now I'd be curious to hear from you. What methods have you used to grow your own network on LinkedIn? Please add to the conversation below!

11 Reasons NOT to Quit FacebookAugust 28, 2014 

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Recently, there has been a lot of discussion and articles written on LinkedIn about reasons to quit Facebook. Some of these articles have received millions of views and sparked conversations running

thousand of comments deep into the thread. It seems to be kind of hip and rebellious to quit Facebook. Some of the authors like to demonize Mark Zuckerberg. In their posts they put up horrible looking pictures of Zuck that are clearly just catching him at his worst possible look. The list of complaints range from those that cannot tolerate Facebook’s privacy policies. To those that are mad because they were forced to download a separate app on their smartphones for FB Messenger. For me, Facebook is a vital tool both personally and professionally. While I admit, I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook, and I have come close to canceling my account on a couple of occasions. Especially, when I made the mistake of accepting a random friend request from someone in high school that went horribly wrong.However, even in spite of having a run in with a stalker, I have remained loyal to Facebook. There are several reason why I like Facebook, and will continue to use it going forward.

1) Great tool for those that don't get out much. If you are really busy like me Facebook can be my only view to the outside world at times.2) Customizable news feed allows me to stay in touch with what is important to me. My news feed enables me to get updates on breaking news stories, local events, things that are trending, and content from sources I want to see. Yes, I get there are paid adds, etc. Thats's why they invented scrolling.3) Facebook is fantastic for sharing pictures and other digital content. I love being able to share pictures easily with my network. Yes, most of the pictures I share are of my two cute daughters ages 1 and 5. It is also great for sharing links with beautiful looking previews.4) Stay in touch with friends overseas. I remember in the 90's it took a month or more for my letters to reach my friends in Spain, and forget calling them because that used to cost of fortune!. Now, I can view their pictures, comment on their status, and chat with them in real time and its FREE. There really isn't much of a better altnernative to Facebook for international messaging. There was WhatsApp. However, we all that Facebook paid a huge sum to acquire them not too long ago.5) Adding another app is not that big of a deal to me. So, what you had to download another app to do the messenger. Maybe, it was a way to make the platform more stable by offloading the substantial added traffic that their instant messenger creates?6) Personal group of trusted friends and family can be leveraged for insight. Except for the occasional random from high school turned stalker, I don't accept friend requests from people outside of my close circle of friends, colleagues, and family.7) If you are in business you would be crazy to quit Facebook. Facebook has 800 million active users! The target market for your company lies somewhere within those 800,000,000.(Viual.ly)

8) I have found memories of the past in high school, college, road trips, concerts, games, hikes, and camping trips. Besides, Throwback Thursday is fun.

9) Easy party invitations. Facebook makes putting out party invitations a breeze.10) Music! I can easily track the happenings of all my favorite bands in one place. I have a lot of friends who are professional musicians in various areas of the world. Facebook sure does make it easier to hear their stuff when I am 1000's of miles away.11) Funny videos. Ok, there are some really lame ones too. However, when I am having a bad day or need a laugh, I know I can rely on a someone posting a funny video on Facebook to lighten my mood.At the end of the day, for me, the good far outweighs the bad with Facebook. How has your experience been? Are you ready to quit because they "forced you to download an app you didn't want gosh darn it!" Or do you see the value in the platform like I do? Weigh in here...

Featured on: Social Media

Enhance Your Company's Visibility Using InstagramSeptember 15, 2014 

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We live in a very visual world. Gadgets that are visually stimulating are dominating the tech marketplace, from high definition flat screen monitors and TVs, iPads, larger screen smartphones, and now even smartwatches. Our interpretation of the world we live in and the way we take information is largely visual. Is your company doing all it can to use pictures and video to engage your customers and enhance your company's brand image? If not, consider using these tips to increase your company's visibility using Instagram.

Post inspirational pictures that reflect your company's branding

 strategy. What is it that you want to be known for? Post pictures and videos that will inspire your customers and promote your company's competitive advantages and brand image. OtterBox is a company that does an amazing job inspiring their customers and promoting their brand via Instagram. I sum up OtterBox's brand message as "customers can take their tech anywhere using their amazingly protective cases." Their imagery reflects their brand message and inspires people to take their tech with them on their adventures using an OtterBox case. Check out OtterBox's Instagram page here.Create a customer photo contest. (it is best to have at least a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes). Encourage your customers to submit photos of themselves using your product or service. Then promote the contest via your other social media pages such as Facebook and Twitter. Not only does this build engagement with existing customers, but it gives you a very powerful marketing tool to acquire new customers.If you are landscaper, home builder, architect, interior design, or any other service company that does improvement projects, consider posting before and after photos.There is no other greater and more powerful way to showcase your work.

Showcase photos of your employees. Doing so gives your customers an inside view into your company's operations. It shows the hard work that your employees put into creating a top quality product, and the process behind it. Not only does this bring your customers closer to your brand, it gives them a greater appreciation of the quality of your work. Additionally, your employees will appreciate the recognition. 

Give your company a cutting edge image by using the latest and greatest applications from Instagram like Hyperlapse. Traditional, time lapse videos require holding your phone or camera still. Hyperlapse possesses amazing stabilization technology that enables people to create while moving! The result is a beautifully clear video with a cutting edge cinematic feel to it. Learn more here:

Connect your Facebook page, and engage your followers by sharing their pictures on your company FB page. Follow your followers back and make an effort to like and comment on their content. Use popular hashtags to expand the reach of your posts.Lastly, get inspiration and ideas from other popular brands that you admire. Implement those ideas into your company's strategy.Now I will turn it over to you. Are you currently using Instagram as a part of you company's marketing mix? If not, has this article inspired you to do so? Why or why not?

Featured on: Marketing & Advertising Social Media

Q&A with Social Media Mega Influencer: Viveka von RosenAugust 25, 2014 

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When I joined LinkedIn six years ago, like many new users I was clueless. Not to mention,I wasn't even on Twitter yet! Lucky for me, I quickly came across Viveka von Rosen's profile. I started following her immediately, and began to implement her social media tips into my own strategy. Since then, I have used Viveka's pro tips on social marketing, selling, networking, LinkedIn profile enhancement, prospecting to enterprise, and to name a few. Using Viveka's tips, I have been able to substantially enhance my effectiveness as a sales and digital marketing executive. I have used LinkedIn, and other social channels to generate leads, establish key business relationships that have lead to closed deals, publish articles that have been read by over 1 million viewers, start a group of LinkedIn's most well respected authors, and create blogging opportunities on other websites. Without a doubt, Viveka has been a very influential person on my career. 

So, when I recently got the opportunity to meet Viveka in person for coffee, I was very excited! The conversation that ensued was absolutely amazing, and I was thrilled at the opportunity to go back and forth live in person with my favorite social media strategist and mentor. For a highlight of our conversation see below. But first, here is Viveka's bio and the reasons why she is one of social media's most influential.

Viveka's Bio:Viveka is known internationally as the "LinkedIn Expert” and speaks to business owners, corporations, Legal Firms and associations on the benefits of marketing with social media, and in particular LinkedIn.Author of “LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour A Day” for John Wiley & Sons, she is also a regular source on LinkedIn for prestigious news outlets such as Forbes, Money Magazine, Mashable.com, Ragan.com, SocialMediaExaminer.com, CNN and The Miami Herald.

Viveka is the host of the biggest LinkedIn chat on Twitter:#LinkedInChat (Recently quoted by Mashable as one of the top 10 business blogs) and co-moderator of LinkedStrategies, the largest LinkedIn strategy group on LinkedIn. She is constantly learning, sharing and transferring social media skills and strategies to her tribe.

Viveka has 30,000+ first level connections and a network of over 31 million people on LinkedIn, and 52,000+ followers on Twitter. Her seminars, webinars and workshops have taught and trained well over 100,000 people. (including me!)She was also recently listed:

Forbes 10 Most Influential Women in Social Media (2014) Forbes 20 Most Influential Women in Social Media (2011, 2012, 2013) Forbes 50 Most Influential People in Social Media (2011, 2012, 2013) TopRank’s 25 Women Who Rock Social Media in (2011, 2012, 2013) Evan Carmichael’s 2012 Top 100 Leadership Experts to Follow on Twitter (2011,

2012, 2013) Big Money Web’s 200 Most Fearless Women Online Listed by Mari Smith as having the niche quality of a social media superstar

Q&AYou have a very interesting job. Can you tell us a bit about your business, as well as, the favorite aspect about what you do?

Since I’m the kind of person who gets bored in about 30 seconds doing the same thing, I think one of the aspects I like most about my business is that its always changing. In any given day I will do a 1 on 1 consultation with an amazing author or executive, teach a few thousand people how to use LinkedIn on a webinar and write a blog post for the Social Media Examiner. And then there’s the travel – which I love. I get to meet so many amazing people – many of whom I already knew through Social Media.

You've traveled all over the world to spread your knowledge of LinkedIn and social media to millions of professionals. Out of all the places you've traveled, what is your favorite spot and why?

Do I have to pick just one? I’ve been so fortunate this year, traveling to Victoria and Vancouver, BC; to Puerto Vallarta and Auckland, as well as

some pretty amazing places in the States like San Diego, Boston, New Orleans and NYC. But since you asked – this year my favorite place was Auckland. Its beautiful, the people are amazing and its very tech savvy. And they have really good honey!

-Viveka in Action in Aucklund

Out of all the places you've been, I'm sure that not everything has always gone to plan. What is the most unusual thing that has ever happened to you while on the road for work?

Well – I think the trip to Puerto Vallarta. I was there with some pretty heavy social media hitters – it was amazing. So even though the Conference organizers skipped out on paying our fees and expenses, it was totally worth it getting to hang out and drink copious amounts of Tequila with folks like Andrea Vahl, Lon Safko, Brian Massey and Jamie Turner (and their equally amazing spouses). We really formed a bond – totally worth the lost wages!What do you like to do when you're not traveling around the globe? What are your hobbies?

Well – I try to get away from it all when I’m not working, so I likehiking near my house in Colorado. We also try and take a few camping trips away from cell service a few times a year! And there is the great skiing. It’s my goal to get my legs back and master those bumps this year! I am so blessed to live here. I also got my PADI certification last year so I have been diving like a crazy woman wherever and whenever I can! I’ve been fortunate to add a few days of diving on to some of myspeaking gigs too!What does the future hold for social media and digital marketing? How will it affect the way we do business in 5-10 years?

I don’t think we’ll recognize it. I’m not sure what will influence the future more – hardware or software. You see things like Oculus Rift that popped up seemingly over night and that’s got to have a massive effect on the direction we’ll go. But then again,when I was in Auckland the other Keynote Speaker was Dr. MarkSagar who introduced the first fully responsive, CGI AI baby. The emotions it evoked in its responses to the audience were amazing! So stuff like that will have an effect too. I can barely tell you what next year will bring – much less 5-10 years! Crazytech. AI responsiveness, fully adaptive and responsive systems. It’s amazing!What is your latest hot tip for LinkedIn effectiveness?

To steal a phrase from Bryan Seely (who has the funniest profile on LinkedIn), be boldly humble. Be bold. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people. Make connection. Get introductions. Ask for help. Just don’t blatantly push your wares on your unsuspecting audience. And then when you are approached or engage with folks, be humble. Listen. Try and be of service. LinkedIn gives you lots of tools to help you do this – groups is a great place to be both bold and humble! LinkedIn is a tool. Its just another channel you can use to communicate with the people that can help you grow you. I think my best advice is "Just use it." A little bit everyday goes a long, long way.

Final Thoughts...With as busy as Viveka is leading webinars, giving presentations, publishing books, traveling for business, and and keeping up with a global client base, I am very honored that she would take the time to meet with me. It's not everyday that you get to meet an online mentor with Viveka's stature live and in person.

However, when meeting someone that you've only met online you find yourself wondering are they going to live up to the expectations I've created for them and will they be as good in person as they appear to be online? Well, all I can say is that Viveka delivered in a big way! I found her to be energetic, creative, engaging, knowledgeable, and just plain fun to hangout with! You know what the best part is? I'm on her calendar again next month!

Please do see the links above in Viveka's bio to follow her influential social media strategies. Your career will thank you later!

Global #Personal Brand Statement: CONTEST!July 30, 2014 

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Who are you? More specifically, what is your personal brand statement? If you are at anetworking event and you are next in line to shake the CEO's hand, do you have impactful statement about yourself that he or she would remember you by? Do you have a powerful brand statement at the top of your resume and LinkedIn profile that catches people's attention and makes them want to continue reading?

If you don't have a catchy personal brand statement, chances are the people you meet are forgetting you. They are clicking off your LinkedIn profile, because they quickly became uninterested. Last but not least, your resume is being discarded. In today's busy world many times you only have a few seconds to impress the people that

you would like to be doing business with or working for. If you don't have a strong statement about yourself they will lose interest and move on.A personal brand statement is a vision of how you see yourself and your unique skill set. It is a bold statement of the value you can bring to the table in a business relationship. The brand you put out to the world reflects your reputation and image as an expert within your sphere of influence. Your brand statement should be a consistent message that you can project across all of your social media and digital channels. 

Now for the contest. Here is how it works:What do you need to do to enter?Submit your personal brand statement in the comment section of this article. Then click "like" and share this article with your network. Your brand statement should be 30 words or less.Our Panel from Publishers & BloggersI have assembled an esteemed panel of 7 elite professionals that are thought leaders within their industry that will decide on the winner. Our panelists include a former United States Assistant Secretary of Transportation, social media guru, global construction expert, 3 time #1 hit author on LinkedIn, world renowned author and career coach, a dynamic change agent, and MORE! For details, click on their profiles, view and follow their Twitter accounts, and read their articles on LinkedIn. They are published authors whose works have been shared across various world renown media channels. Collectively, we are members of a passionate group of authors and digital content enthusiasts: Publishers and Bloggers.What do you get if you win?

If the panelists pick your personal brand statement as the best and most creative, you win a TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF EXPOSURE for your brand statement, and profile on LinkedIn. Collectively, the panel has over 80,000 global followers on LinkedIn. The winning brand statement, as well as, a link to the winners LinkedIn profile and Twitter page will be shared on each of the panelists' personal LinkedIn page, the Publishers & Bloggers group page, and on this article. (I will go back in to the article and edit it to highlight the winner's brand statement and

profile). A winner will be picked after 7 days. The winner's brand statement, LinkedIn profile, and Twitter handle will be broadcasted out for the entire world to see! Within the 80,000 people in the panelists' combined networks, there are a tremendous amount of high quality professionals, industry leaders, media experts, CEO's, and MORE. All of whom the winner's brand will be exposed to.TO INSPIRE YOU, I HAVE INCLUDED THE BRAND STATEMENT FOR EACH PANELIST, AS WELL AS, A LINK TO THEIR PROFILES ON LINKEDIN, TWITTER, AND PUBLISHER PAGES.

Dr. Oliver McGee on @LinkedIn@olivermcgeeRead Dr. McGee's Articles

"Partnership Possibilities for America, Invested in (STEEP) Giving Forward (www.OliverMcGee.org)"

Elizabeth Dehn on @LinkedIn

@elizabethdehnRead Elizabeth's articles"Engaging professional communications and digital marketing specialist, focused on altrocentricism and sustainability. Attracting a network of professionals and organizations with similar plights to connect them for further good."

John White on @LinkedIn@juanblanco76Read John's Articles 

"Innovative B2B sales and digital marketing executive with a keen ability to develop valuable business relationships and create viral content across #social media."

Prakashan B.V on @LinkedIn@BVPRGJRead Prakashan's articles

"Harnessing the power of LinkedIn by posting inspirational articles from own experiences. Techno-commercial professional involved in promoting technology useful for society, construction, and engineering industry related services, products, solutions and software."

Genevieve Flight on @LinkedIn@GenevieveFlight

Read Genevieve's Articles

"I energize, focus and align my clients using my holistic insight, intuitive and innovative Mind to help clients achieve their dreams & goals while shining their 'light' wherever they go."

Paul Drury on @LinkedIn@thePaulDruryRead Paul's Articles

"An adventurous monkey, not afraid of swinging onto new branches before knowing whether they will hold his weight."

John Graffio on LinkedIn@JohnGraffioRead John's articles

"Visionary thinker who inspires the mind through writing, art, science and literature in order to inspire others in their quests."

Now we would like to hear from #YOU! Remember to add your personal brand statement in the comment section, then click like, and share the article. We look forward to reading your brand statements! May the best and most creative brander win!

***************************************UPDATE 8/6/2014**************************************************

There were some amazing personal brand statements entered in the contest. After a very difficult decision, the panelists voted Whitney L. White as the winner of the first ever Global #Personal Brand Statement: CONTEST! Great job and congratulations, Whitney. See below for the winning brand statement, as well as, links to both Whitney's LinkedIn profileand Twitter page.

Whitney L. White"Digitally-driven to deliver durable career advice for #millennials by a shatterproof bond to social media. Passionate for helping others overcome barriers, reach their goals, and live to tweet about it!"

@TheWriteGirl_  

Chapter 4: Sales Strategies

Best Practices for Selling B2B Tech SolutionsBY JOHN WHITE| SEP 15, 2014

POSTED IN WORKING IN TECH

TAGS: JOB SKILLS, SALES, SOCIAL MEDIA

By John WhiteThroughout my career, I’ve sold Big Data, software, hardware, GPS, cloud services, mobile applications, and a host of other types of productivity-enhancing technology solutions into SMB, mid-market, and enterprise. Along the way, I’ve developed some best practices that have enabled me to be more effective in my approach. Here are four techniques I’ve used that will help you sell technology and close more deals:

Utilize Social Media First

Long before meetings occur with C-level decision makers, you must find a way to get your foot in the door. You may have heard that cold calling is dead. It is true: Nobody likes to receive a 100 percent cold call. Gatekeepers have been highly trained to recognize a cold call, and to never put a cold-calling salesperson through to a live body. So, how do you avoid making cold calls, and circumvent the receptionist? Forward-thinking sales professionals and organizations have figured out more strategic prospecting methods. If you haven’t already, consider leveraging social media to tap into large professional networks to find key decision makers and make warm calls.Click here to find B2B sales positions.The conversation to selling technology typically starts with IT. Find your target company’s IT staff members on Twitter or other social networks. Engage them by interacting on their posts, sending them value-based information not just of your products, but other industry news that they may find valuable. Once you have established a relationship with their IT staff via social media and demonstrated your expertise, ask for a meeting.

Be a Trusted Consultant

A consultative approach is the only way to sell technology. Dumping a blanket solution on your client is a great way to not get a second meeting. Prior to the first meeting, spend time researching the company you are meeting with. During the initial meeting, use open-ended questions to learn about their business. Before selling a client on an ROI model for your product or service, you must become an expert in their business so that you fully understand their pain points and the areas they would like to make improvements in. Only then you can make value-based recommendations that will provide specific benefits to each client’s unique business needs.

Strategically Sell the CFO

If you make it past the first meeting, it is likely that the CFO will be included in subsequent discussions and will be a key player in the decision process. Gaining CFO support can be the most challenging portion of the sales cycle. After all, CFO’s are paid to uncover risk and potential challenges that will prevent an ROI from ever being realized. Creating business-impacting value propositions that are cost-effective will improve your success with this critical decision maker. In order to do so, your presentation must be backed by detailed financial data with quantifiable benefits that include a well-supported analysis. It also helps to include a case study or two of how your product or service has benefited a similar company.

Ease Their Mind Regarding the Transition

Every company has made bad decisions regarding technology where either it did not work the way it was intended to, the implementation went horribly wrong, or it ended up costing more money than initial projections, causing the ROI model to turn upside down.

Fear regarding the transition period is one of the biggest objections you will get when selling technology solutions. Find out what their fears are and what has gone wrong in the past, early on in the sales cycle. Then, it is your job to ease their mind regarding the transition to your product or service. You must convince them that your solution will be implemented in the smoothest and fastest possible manor, causing minimal disruption.

In order to effectively demonstrate this, you must present your change-management strategy in a compelling way. Provide specific details on how the transition will go, and make sure the expectations are clear. If possible, get letters of recommendations from past clients that will speak highly of the smooth transition you provided for their company. You can tell them how great your implementation process is until you are blue in the face. However, third-party data regarding this experience is far more impactful.

Selling technology in B2B is not an easy endeavor. There are competing companies, technologies, sales professionals, market changes, and many other barriers you will face. Coming up with a strategic approach will make life much easier.

Are there any techniques or tips for selling technology that you have used to increase your success rate? I’d love to hear from you. Please comment below.

6 Behaviors That Will Cost You the B2B DealBY JOHN WHITE | OCT 16, 2014

POSTED IN WORKING IN TECH

TAGS: B2B, JOB SKILLS, SALES

By John WhiteIn my previous article I discussed several best practices related to B2B tech sales. Now it’s time to look at the other side of the coin: The sales behaviors that will cost you the deal, and in the process sink the company’s bottom line.Psycho Dialing

Many sales reps are guilty of over-communicating with their prospects after the initial pitch. They fail to set a proper timeline for following up. Before they know it, the end of the month nears, and big pressure starts coming down from management; once this happens, many sales executives go into panic mode and begin to psycho-dial their prospects.

Click here to find jobs related to B2B sales.What is a psycho dial, you might ask? That is when the rep calls over and over in hopes that the client might pick up. They don’t leave a voice message because they already have left one or two. Besides, most professionals hate the chore of listening to voicemail, especially in the tech world, where voicemail is considered so “1980’s.”  Ultimately, psycho dialing makes you come across as desperate and pushy.

Pro Tip: Instead of calling, try sending your prospect a text. Many times your prospects are too busy to take your call. Most professionals view text as the least-invasive communication method. You would be surprised how much higher your rate of return will be via text versus calling and leaving a voicemail.mployers want candidates like you. Upload your resume. Show them you’re awesome.

Sending the ‘Just Checking In’ Email

Avoid sending the “just checking in” email. This email contains no value to your prospect and it wastes their time.

Pro Tip: Schedule a time of when the follow-up is supposed to happen. If you contact them in between, make sure that the email contains value-based information such as additional references, or a link to a relevant blog or website.Poor Presale Work

In order to sell the customer, you must understand their business and how your product or service can help them solve a problem. If you fail at this critical step, you will lose the deal to one of your competitors that has taken the time to better understand the prospect’s business.

Pro Tip: Invest some time researching the company prior to making the first contact.The Hard Close

B2B sales is about making long-term clients. Pushy sales tactics only work in a transactional sales environment. The hard close is not a sustainable strategy, and generally makes you look like a jerk.

Pro Tip: Focus more on relationship building by adding value. People buy from those that they like and trust. A consultative approach will not only enable you to close more deals, it will enable you to establish long term business relationships and referrals.Talking Instead of Listening

Many sales people make the mistake of over-selling their product. They end up talking too much in meetings. Thus, they don’t qualify their prospects business needs. The result is a lack of engagement. If you leave the first meeting without knowing the following information, you have failed miserably:

Customer business needs

Their time frame

Their budget

Pro Tip: In order to properly qualify your prospect’s business needs, it is vital to ask a lot of questions. You ask the questions and let your potential client do most of the talking. It is your job to find out as much information as possible about their business so that you can come back to them with a value-based recommendation on how your product can impact their business.Bash the Competition

Talking bad about the competition not only makes you look foolish, it turns the focus away from your solution. Bashing the competition is a cardinal sin to avoid at all cost.

Pro Tip: Do understand your competitor’s offerings so that you can strategically and professionally sell against them.Losing a deal is a humbling and frustrating experience. If your sales team’s closing percentage is not where you would like it to be, maybe your team is committing a few of the fatal errors discussed above. That means it’s time for a re-evaluation of your techniques.

Does Social Selling Really Work?June 02, 2014 

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YES, it does. I get this question a lot from other sales professionals that are skeptical about the merits of social media for generating business leads and sales. It usually comes from seasoned sales people who have been at it a while, and have developed their own way of selling that has worked for them for many years. Thus, they are resistant and skeptical to make any changes to the way they approach their craft. However, they see other people using LinkedIn so they are curious how it works. They want to know, what are you doing on LinkedIn and does it really help you sell? Well if you are unsure how to use LinkedIn to make sales, I am going to tell you how I just used it to blow out my quota last month to the tune of 200% to goal!The market has changed, and traditional cold calling is becoming more difficult. I'm not saying cold calling is dead. However, the way decision makers in B2B are interacting with vendors is becoming increasingly digital in nature. Thus, social selling should be one of the tools that is used by sales professionals to make key

contacts, generate leads, and prospect for new business opportunities. I had 3 sales last month, all of which the lead was generated from my efforts on LinkedIn.Sale #1: Use the Advanced Search Tool to Find Key Contacts Within Target AccountsI identified this company about 6 months ago as a target for our services. I used the Advanced Search feature on LinkedIn to find a contact within their IT department. I made contact with their IT Director using LinkedIn's inMail service, and setup a meeting to discuss their business needs. From the meeting, I uncovered several opportunities that we could help with once the contract with their existing vendor expired. I added the customer to my LinkedIn network and stayed front of mind by my postings, I maintained contact with the customer via email, and closed the deal last month.Sale #2: Use Advanced Search to Find Referral PartnersNot only is LinkedIn's Advanced Search tool good for finding key contacts at target companies, it is a tremendous tool for reaching referral partners. A few months back, I engaged in a massive campaign to increase my partnerships by using LinkedIn. I used the Advanced Search tool to identify people that are in similar industries to mine that I felt would be a good fit for me to work with, and exchange mutually beneficial information and leads. I used this technique to find the partner that sent me the lead that closed my second deal of the month. This sale required little to no effort on my part! Who doesn't love referral business? If you want more of it, utilize LinkedIn to grow your partnerships.Sale #3: Post Engaging Content Targeted at Generating LeadsMy last sale was the biggie that enabled me to blow out my quota. This lead was generated from an article I posted on LinkedIn titled, "Shaping the Future of Enterprise Broadband."The article was viewed over 1300 times and shared over 100 times across the internet. It ended up peaking the interest of a potential client. After reading the article, the customer viewed my LinkedIn profile, and then contacted me via email with an inquiry. After a couple months of negotiations, the deal closed last week and gave me the quota busting deal I needed. If you don't have time or the desire to create original content, share the collateral that your marketing department is putting out. 

What has your experience been with social selling? Waste of time or an important tool in your tool belt that has enabled you to close deals? How have you leveraged other social networks to grow your business? Please comment below.

Featured on: Sales Strategies

Chapter 5: Technology and Communication

BIG DATA: Can Your Company's Network Support These Bandwidth Intensive Applications?April 25, 2014 

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As companies run more and more data across their network, the potential for bandwidth bottlenecking becomes greater. In order to operate efficiently companies need a reliable internet service provider with low latency, dedicated, symmetrical, and high bandwidth connectivity. Here are some bandwidth intensive applications that are trending within enterprises that require a fast network to support them.Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a host of integrated software solutions designed to enable companies to manage data from every stage of their business, including:

Product planning, cost and development Manufacturing Marketing and sales Inventory management Shipping, payment and ecommerce

ERP provides enterprise wide integration of mission critical systems to make sure that all parts of the company are synchronous with one another. ERP

systems track company resources such as cash flow, assets, materials, and production. ERP integrates a company's workflow processes from orders to the payroll of vendors. Applications within the system share data in real time across the many departments of a company improving efficiency.

The seamless flow of information within a company is vital. Peer to Peer (P2P) content sharing enables a company to share information across their company without the need of a server to facilitate the exchange. P2P facilitates the content based sharing of files, streaming video, and social media. Since P2P does not rely on a centralizedserver, it tends to be a faster and less cumbersome way ofcollaboration. If at least one computer within the network has a file it can be shared andthe data can be accessed by all users within the network.

One of the many beauties of cloud computing is the ability to securely backup data offsite. A company's data is the heart of the organization and protecting this vital organ is of utmost importance. Remote backup gives companies the peace of mind that their data will be there when they need it by backing up desk tops, laptops, and mission critical 

servers by taking equipment failure out of the equation. It also makes a company's data safe in the event of a natural disaster.

Companies have their employees spread out over of a wide area these days. Voice only conference calls still hold a valid place in today's business world. However, more and more businesses need to be able to share data over a call in real time. Thus, video conferencing has come on strong as a mission critical application. Companies need high bandwidth to be able to hold these meetings without jitter or lags.

CRM systems are becoming more robust with the integration of social media. Additionally, CRMs are converging with other lead generation digital marketing softwarefor seamless automation replacing manual input by users. CRMs have now become a workflow management tool to integrate tasks across an entire organization.

Is your network able to keep up with today's bandwidth intensive business applications? Are you limited by your network in that there are applications you would like to use but your company does not have the bandwidth needed to support them? Consider using Skybeam to booster your company's bandwidth and network performance. See the link below for more information:

http://www.skybeam.com/business/enterprise-solutions/

Shaping the Future of Enterprise Broadband CommunicationsApril 04, 2014 

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As more and more companies are moving their applications to the cloud, the need for speed in business is greater than ever. Enterprise level organizations are seeking dedicated, symmetrical, high bandwidth, low latency connections to give them the power they need to run their company

efficiently, and to keep the workflow moving at a face past.

Gone are the days where a company can work effectively off of a T1 line. The bandwidth is simply inadequate. Nor can they rely on DSL or cable internet as they are shared connections with residential customers that are plagued with peaks and valleys in speeds. DSL and cable do not provide the consistency, and reliability that an enterprise needs to run a large scale operation. Their best effort service delivery just does not cut it. Enterprises need an SLA that guarantees their up time, and gives them the peace of mind that their ISP will deliver reliable service.

While traditional telephone and cable companies have been touting fiber optics as the gold standard. Build costs for fiber can be very high, and it is not available in many areas. There is a lesser known alternative to fiber that many companies across the globe are quickly catching onto. Microwave fixed wireless broadband has many advantages over competing broadband technologies. Don't confuse this with the appliance in your house used to heat up food or make popcorn. Microwave fixed wireless transmits and receives radio signals through the air enabling high-bandwidth data transmission with very low latency. Benefits to this technology include the following:

Faster Speeds from Point to Point Delivery Microwave Signals Travel 50% Faster Through the Air than Light Through Optical

Fiber QOS to Support VOIP and Other Bandwidth Intensive Business Applications Expanded Availability Due to Over the Air Technology More Reliable: Microwave links cannot be damaged by construction accidents,

transportation accidents, falling trees or fire, unless they are localized to the tower site.

Low Startup and Infrastructure Costs: The overall cost per mile associated with building microwave networks is less than fiber optic cable. This translates to lower costs to the customer.

High Bandwidth That is Both Dedicated and Symmetrical Lower Latency Due to Shorter Path to the Internet With a Wireless Tower Nearby

the Customer Compared to Miles and Miles of Fiber Optic Cable

One company that has embraced the powerful broadband experience that fixed wireless can offer is LPR Construction in Loveland, Colorado. LPR is an award winning nationwide commercial construction firm that has been a part of many high profile projects including several professional sports stadiums such as Coors Field (Colorado Rockies), American Airlines Arena (Miami Heat), and the FedEx Forum (Memphis Grizzlies). Here is a quote from LPR's IT Manager, Thad Lutgens, on how

fixed wireless has improved his company's workflow:

"Prior to implementing microwave fixed wireless, LPR's internet connectivity was limited, and began impacting our ability to communicate with our own organization. After installing the service we can now confidently run our weekly production meetings, using a simultaneous HD video and audio connections, to all of our projects throughout the US. Our workflow has improved overall and so has our effectiveness."

If you would like more information about microwave fixed wireless, and how it can improve your company's broadband communications visit my presentation on SlideShare.net:

Faster Than Fiber

iPad Best Practices for B2B Sales Teams

Aug 7 2014

838 Views 20 Likes 3 Comments

Are you in B2B sales? Does your company provide you with an iPad? If so, are

you maximizing the use of it in the field to leverage more sales? The second I

got my hands on a iPad about 5 years ago, I knew that I would never bring my

"sales binder" to a meeting again. The iPad has changed the way the world does

business It is hands down the best selling tool I have ever used in my 12 year

career in B2B wireless business development . Here are a few ways that your

company's sales team can best use an iPad to booster sales.

Your Personal Brand Image and Your Company's Brand Image

Lets start this off real basic.

Believe it or not, I still know B2B

sales reps that still bring a pad of

paper to a meeting with a

potential client to take notes.

Their company is way behind the

times and has not invested in

tools for their sales staff. Think about it for a second, what image does

this project to the customer? In my opinion, it says that your organization may

be low tech and behind the times. In order to come across to your client as

someone that is a thought leader within your industry, your personal brand

needs to reflect someone that is up to speed on the latest trends, and knows

how to utilize technology. Buyers within a company tend to buy from the people

they like best and feel good about their level of competency to give them good

service. In order to make a business impacting decision a buyer needs to feel

the person they are doing business with will be a good business partner and

valuable consultant. Using an iPad as a sales tool gives off the image of being

dynamic, responsive, and progressive.

Create and Present Sales Presentations via iPad

In today's digital world, a

shareable sales presentation on

an iPad is a must have for every

B2B sales rep. The iPad is the

ideal tool for mobile sales

presentations. An effective B2B 

sales professional will have

presentations on hand that

he/she can show a perspective

client their company's marketing materials whether they are sitting in the

client's office or sitting next to one another on a flight at 30,000 feet in the air.

To create brilliant and interactive sales presentations, I recommend you

consider using Prezi. Prezi breaks the mold of the old Power Point bullet points

by creating a more eye catching and visual experience. The 3D affect that Prezi

has in its presentations allows the user to zoom in and out, creating a much

richer experience. Put the iPad in your customers hands and let them be dazzled

by cutting edge presentation on Prezi.

By delivering dynamic, interactive content to B2B prospects during meetings,

tablet-enabled sales forces are more effective — shifting the experience from

‘presenting information’ to ‘engaging and driving discussion.’” – Jeff

Stokvis, Hidden in Plain Sight: How Mobile is Quietly Revolutionizing the B2B

World

Less is More

Does your sales team still carry around order forms and brochures? What

happens if the sales rep forgets to grab a paper contract on the way to the

meeting? Having digital order forms available on an iPad allows sales reps to be

able to close business right on the spot in real time. How did it go the last time

you tried to email a brochure to a customer from the field containing the

information they need? Yes impossible but with an iPad you can email a

potential customer a presentation in the spot. An iPad enables your sales team

to share information with clients quicker and more efficiently.

Youtube

Is your company utilizing a YouTube

channel to highlight its products? Well

done videos are very powerful sales tools and provide a certain wow factor that

can take your sales meeting from boring to engaging very quickly. When armed

with an iPad your sales force can have access to the content in your company's

Youtube channel from anywhere, easily doing live demos and sharing content.

“The iPad, by its very nature, is visual. Brief, concise videos are very helpful to

sales teams. Two great uses of video include internal videos that teach or

reinforce sales messaging and external videos that help sellers build greater

value into their sales process.” – Scott Eidle, The Tablet Enhanced Sales Force

Mobile Applications

Canvas  

Go paperless! Canvas allows you to store your company's critical forms to the

cloud and the ability to view them from anywhere on your iPad. Paper forms that

have to be manually entered into the system are a cumbersome waist of time.

ScanBizCards Business Card Reader

Have you ever lost someone's business card before manually imputing their

contact info into Outlook? Well, this app enables you to scan a copy of their card

using the camera. It then seamlessly uploads their contact info into your

contacts. No manual entry!

If your company has not given your B2B reps an iPad or another tablet then they

are losing out big time to competitors. Maybe kindly show them this article? For

those currently using an iPad or another tablet, what have been the benefits to

doing so? Has it helped you close more deals? Comment below.

Chapter 6: Productivity Tips

Turbocharge Your Time Management With These TipsBY JOHN WHITE  AUG 14, 2014

POSTED IN LOOKING IN TECH

TAGS: LIFESTYLE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WORKPLACE

9 COMMENTS

By John WhiteAre you currently attending or considering going back to grad school while juggling a demanding career and a busy family life? If so, welcome to my world! With two small children, a full-time position in sales and marketing, an executive MBA program, and blogging for various media channels, I am crazy busy these days. I have been forced to learn how to effectively manage my time. I have done so by having valuable conversations with my mentors, being well-read on the subject, and from trial and error. Here are a few tips for optimal time management that I swear by:

Create a Schedule and Stick to It

The only way to stay on top of everything when you are as busy as I am is to go about it in an organized manner, plan ahead, and create a schedule. I highly recommend you download a calendar-sharing app on your mobile devices that allows you to share your calendar with your spouse, so that everyone stays on the same page. My wife and I use Google Calendar, which shares nicely across both iOS and Android.

Find Balance

Many people have a hard enough time just creating work/life balance. Adding school to the mix makes it exponentially harder. In order to find a balance and remain healthy, it is important to seek ways to relieve your stress. My biggest stress relief comes every Thursday night when I play tennis with my men’s league.

One pro tip that will make a huge difference in the quality of your family life: Make sure to be homeevery night for dinner. Studies show that families that eat dinner together are happier and more functional. Visit the family dinner project to learn more.Discover Your Peak Time

What time of the day are you at your best? Effective time management is to strategically place tasks in order from most important to least important. Plan your most critical tasks during that time. My peak time is after I have my second cup of coffee in the morning, between 9:00-11:30am.mployers want candidates like you. Upload your resume. Show them you’re awesome.

Rid Yourself of Distractions

First and foremost, drastically reduce or completely eliminate television. Additionally, cut back on the time you spend on social media for personal or entertainment reasons. Social media is full of distractions: games, chats, apps, pictures, videos, memes, etc. Instead, focus on career-impacting activities on social media.

Optimize your workspace so that it enables you to focus, and is distraction free. If your home is like mine and there are children at play, the noise levels can be loud when trying to get work done. Try investing in a pair of noise-canceling headphones.

Utilize These Time Crunching Smartphone Apps:

Evernote is a must-have productivity tool that enables you to record all of your notes, ideas, images, and business cards. You can share things in various ways via voice, typed notes, or photos.Forgetting your password is a major productivity killer. Having to go through the “forgot password” reset process is a major pain. Keep track of all your passwords with the free, easy-to-use Universal Password Manager, which uses a 256-bit AES encryption to keep all of your data secure.Launchy is a free cross-platform tool that substantially reduces keystrokes and time spent navigating your desktop to launch files, bookmarks, folders, websites, apps, etc.I sincerely hope that I have provided you with some valuable time-saving tips and ideas that you can implement into your busy life that will both increase your productivity and enhance your relationships with those whom you hold close. Feel free to continue the conversation in the comment section by adding your own methods for managing your time.

Chapter 7: In Spanish

Los Beneficios de Ser Bilingüe en los Negocios

Jun 4 2014436 Views8 Likes5 Comments

Mis padres me mandaron a España cuando

era un adolescente a ser un estudiante de

intercambio y me alegro muchisimo que lo

hicieron. La experiencia me abrió los ojos

al mundo, y me permitió aprender otro

idioma. En el momento en que terminé la

escuela secundaria, yo podia hablar bien el

español.

Ser bilingüe no sólo se hace los viajes fácil, hay muchos beneficios en los

negocios . Aquí están algunos que he visto de en mi carrera.

Aumento de Tamaño del Mercado Objetivo

¿Quieres más clientes ? Cuando se aprende otro idioma, el tamaño de su

mercado objetivo aumenta automáticamente. Se estima que hay 500 millones

de hispanohablantes mundial, y el espanol es el segundo idioma más hablado

en el mundo. De esos 500 millones, 50 millones residen en los EE.UU. Por lo

tanto, si su empresa está tratando de crecer a nivel internacional o expandirse a

nuevos mercados nacionales, al saber un segundo idioma crece el mercado para

su negocio.

Más Valioso A los Empleadores

Estos días el mercado para los que estan buscando nuevo trabajo es muy

competitivo. Ser bilingüe es un tremendo valor a los empleadores que le separa

de los miles de currículums. Cuanto más diversa sea su conjunto de habilidades

el más deseable te vuelves a los empleadores. Los empleados bilingües están

en alta demanda en casi todos los sectores de negocios: industria de la salud, el

derecho, los negocios, la educación, la construcción,la justicia penal ( por

nombrar algunos ). La globalización está en todo el mundo y los mercados se

están volviendo más interdependientes. Por lo tanto, la necesidad de empleados

bilingües sigue creciendo.

Pago Superior

Estudios realizados por

Rosetta Stone han

demostrado que los

empleados bilingües

ganan 10% más en su

salario que los que son

monolingües . He

encontrado que esto es cierto, como he recibido diferencia salarial bilingüe, con

casi todas las empresas que he trabajado.

Vencer Simpatía Inmediata Con los Clientes

El aprendizaje de una lengua

extranjera no es nada fácil . Por

esta razón, las personas al instante

le encanta cuando se dan cuenta

que usted ha tomado el tiempo y

esfuerzo para aprender su lengua

materna como su segunda lengua.

Yo he sido el beneficiario de esto

muchas veces en mi carrera. En

una llamada de ventas varios años

atrás, yo cerré un cliente por teléfono debido a mi habilidad para hablar español

. Llegué a la gerente de finanzas, y la llamada iba a ninguna parte. Detecté un

acento español y cambié la conversación a español . Era el perfecto giro de 180

grados que necesitaba . Para entonces, el final de la conversación, la convencí

para cambiar los servicios de voz y datos móviles de su empresa, y entrar en un

acuerdo comercial de 2 años con mi compañía. Este ciclo de ventas

generalmente toma por lo menos dos reuniones, una propuesta formal , y varias

semanas, si no meses de negociación.

Ser multilingüe es, por supuesto, aún mejor. Por esta razón, estoy en el proceso

de aprender portugués! ¿Se puede hablar más de un idioma ? ¿Cómo le ha

beneficiado en su carrera?