Jill Konrath - Selling to Big Companies

Do you have friends who are struggling to find a job? If so, please read ...

...this post because you can help them. Please spread the word too!

In the past six months, too many good people I know have lost their jobs. They were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time, collateral damage in a struggling economy.

To make matters worse, the traditional way (e.g., resumes, info interviews) of finding a job is seriously broken - and most job seekers don't even know it.

That's why I decided to launch the Get Back to Work Faster Initiative - a book, website and free webinar series with a FRESH approach that helps job seekers get back to work much faster, in a position they're excited about that pays them well.

These proactive strategies enable professionals to create opportunities that don't exist today.

FREE COPY: Get Back to Work Faster

It all starts with my new book, Get Back to Work Faster: The Ultimate Job Seekers Guide for Professionals. It'll be out in paperback this fall. However, I know people can't wait! They need jobs now. So ... we're giving it away as a free downloadable PDF file.

Click here to get your pre-publication copy
of Get Back to Work Faster now.

In this 170+ page book, job seekers will discover how to:

• Identify and pursue income-producing opportunities.
• Land new positions that play to their strengths.
• Become a "must hire" candidate, without any competitors.
• ... and much more!

Best of all, these job creation strategies keep individuals feeling vital, productive and sharp during this challenging time - which is important too!

Help us make a difference. Because of our sincere desire to positively impact as many people as we can, we're giving away the book. We also have a series of complimentary webinars scheduled, featuring top experts on these job creation strategies.

 So if you could please help us spread the word:

• Forward a copy of this email to your job seeking friends, colleagues & family members.

• If you know of any job hunters' support groups in your community or church, let them know about GetBacktoWorkFaster.com. Invite them to post it on job boards.

• Write about it on your blog. Tweet about it. Share it with your LinkedIn colleagues. Post info about the free book & webinars on your website. Digg it!

Join us today in helping job seekers "get back to work faster."

Thanks for your support!

Jill Konrath

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Product Review: New Portable Projector

Recently, I was approached by BenQ and asked to review their newest projector, the Joybee GP1 Mini Projector.

(Disclosure: I was given a projector for this review. However, my daughter has already confiscated it for her apartment so I doubt I'll ever see it again.)

As sellers, we're always giving presentations. And, I know how frustrating it can be when you can't get the technology to work. That's why so many sellers bring their own equipment.

But small projectors are neither small nor cheap. And carrying one around is like adding a large brick to your sales kit. After evaluating the Joybee GP1, I think we have some new options:

• It's compact and easily fits inside a (larger) laptop bag or purse. The power adapter is pretty big--but the whole set is still smaller than the other "portables."

• It works with just a USB stick, meaning you can be ready to go in less than a minute. It also connects to your laptop so you can use them if you need to.
  

•  It's affordable. The list price is $499, which is a lot less than most high-quality projectors on the market.
  

The major thing I didn't like at first about Joybee GP1 was that it doesn't support PowerPoint - only videos or images. But today, I discovered that I could save my slide deck as individual JPG files - which are supported by the projector. Why didn't they tell me that! I'm not sure I'd use it for long presentations though. Just a few slides would be great.

The quality of the projection was good too. I tried it at several different distances and was able to get the picture in focus and clear every time. The Joybee GP1 does a very good job of playing videos too.

One other thing: It has a ton of applications beyond business. It hooks up to dvd players, gaming consoles, video cameras, digital cameras and iPod.

I started thinking about how I could use it at group meetings where we don't have access to fancy projector. Or, at family events where you want to show some of the latest photos or videos for everyone to see. Cool stuff when you go down that path!  Check out their video here.

So here's my final evaluation on a 5 point scale

• Easy of Use: 4/5
  Controls slow to respond and menu somewhat confusing; can't change images from a distance; kids understand it intuitively
  

• Overall Picture Quality: 5/5
  Images & video very high quality, easy to adjust focus    

• Portability: 5/5
  Fits in a lap top bag: light weight; can work with USB stick only; power adapter could be smaller

• Features: 4/5
  No auto PowerPoint; extra step required; boots up fast, must be plugged in; hooks up to tons of stuff
  

• Value: 5/5
  Very reasonable price, lots of applications when you get creative.

But you be the judge!  Make sure it fits for what you want it to do before you spend the money.

The One Piece of Advice You Need to Earn Your Clients’ Loyalty

What does it take to build the type of relationships with your clients that keep them loyal and coming back to your firm year after year? To find out, RainToday asked me and 8 other experts in client loyalty this question:

If you could only give one piece of advice regarding how to develop client loyalty: what would that be?

They then gathered our responses in this complimentary, 38-page special report, The One Piece of Advice You Need to Earn Your Clients’ Loyalty.

Here's why you'll find in this ebook & the authors of the articles:

• Keeping Your Clients Loyal - Nine Questions You Need Answered, by Mike Schultz, author of Professional Services Marketing

• Achieving the Highest Level of Loyalty, by Andrew Sobel, author of All for One

• How to Be Invaluable, by Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies (Yup! That's me!)

• Your Highest Priority: Building Client Loyalty by Delivering Superior Service, by Michael W. McLaughlin, author of Winning the Professional Services Sale

• Client Loyalty: How to Keep Happy Clients Who are Delighted to Pay Their Bills, by Larry Bodine, Esq., Apollo Business Development

• Taming the Search-and-Switch Client: 3 Keys to Keeping Your Client Loyal, by Jill Griffin, author of Taming the Search-and-Switch Customer

• Your Clients Need Cultivation - Now, More Than Ever! by Ardath Albee, CEO and B2B Strategist of Marketing Interactions, Inc.

• How to Retain Clients: Teach Them How to Be Loyal, by Sharon Drew Morgen, author of Selling with Integrity

• Client Loyalty as a By-Product of Firm Leadership, by Patrick J. Lamb and Nicole N. Auerbach,  Valorem Law Group, LLC.

Earn your clients' loyalty with the expert insights and advice in this special report. Download here: http://www.raintoday.com/pages/5072_client_loyalty_special_report.cfm

My Love/Hate Relationship with a Blank Page of Paper

"What subject did you like best in high school?" When I was asked that question a few years ago, nothing came to mind. I knew which teacher I liked best, which classes were most fun & which subjects I excelled at. 

But putting my finger on which one I liked best meant that the subject captivated my imagination and pulled at me during my free hours. It meant I immersed myself in learning - and stayed up past midnight working on it because it was fun.

Well, it certainly wasn't English, Physics, German, Math, Art, History, Social Studies, PhyEd, Home Ec or Biology. Not much left!

Then it finally hit me! Yearbook. I loved those 24-blank pages in the Senior section which were all mine to create & write on.

Well guess what! After all those years, I'd forgotten all the blood, sweat & tears that went into creating that yearbook. Decisions on content, flow, arrangement - hours of agony!

Why am I telling you that? Because for the last few days I've been holed up in a hotel on the Mississippi River where I've been battling my second book.

I came in with an outline, expecting to just dig into those 200 blank pages that I'm supposed to be writing. In just 48 hours, I have already re-arranged it countless times. I've changed the entire structure, then after thinking about it, gone back to what I started with.

And what have I accomplished? Two lousy paragraphs of fresh writing. At this rate, I suspect the book will be completed around 2056 - which will make me over 100 years old by the time it's finally published.

Complimentary Ebook: 5 Essential Strategies for Highly Effective Initial Meetings

It's not easy to secure the full attention of decision makers - even for just a few minutes. Whether you have 15 minutes for a phone conversation or 30 minutes for an online presentation, your prospect must feel like their time is well spent.

To make that happen, your initial meeting must be strategically designed for a lasting (and profitable) impact. My new eBook shows you how to do that. In it, you'll discover:

• Why most first meetings fail miserably.
• What it takes to really engage customers in the conversation.
• How to flip your focus to what's really important.
• Strategies to enhance your credibility in just one meeting.
• How to effortlessly advance to the logical next step.
• ...and much more!

Get your complimentary copy of 5 Essential Strategies for Highly Effective Initial Meetings now.

I hope you enjoy it!  And, please forward this to your colleagues who might be interested in learning more.

Free Webinar: Learn How Corporate Buyers Think - and Distinguish Yourself from the Competition!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

Today's crazy business environment is creating stressed out, overworked decision makers who zealously protect their time at all costs.

They've established a whole set of new rules for meeting with salespeople, yet most sellers don't realize the game has even changed.

Specifically you'll learn how to:

• Assess what's on your customer's mind – prior to meeting with them.
• Gauge the impact of the corporate environment on decision making.
• Successfully deal with the "frazzled customer syndrome."
• Use counterintuitive approaches to instigate change initiatives in the organization.
• Think better yourself – so you're creating maximum value with every customer interaction.

In short, you'll discover numerous strategies you can use to crack into corporate accounts, speed up sales cycles, and win big contracts.

Sign up now for this complimentary webinar sponsored by Landslide Technologies.

Check Out These Top Sales Resources

 Jeff Ogden, The Fearless Competitor, has just released a new white paper on How to Find New Customers: The Definitive Guide to Driving Demand for your Company's Products & Services.

In this document, Jeff does an excellent job of describing how organizations today can leverage the internet & educationally-based thought leadership content to:

• Attract prospects to their website.
• Capture their contact information.
• Create an ongoing conversation.
• Nurture them till they're sales ready.

If you're not sure what demand generation is - or want to learn more about it - click here to get your copy:  www.findnewcustomers.net

Dan Schawbel, author of the hot new book called Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, recently launched a magazine on this timely topic.

Personal Branding helps readers discover, create and maintain their personal brand for successful living and career development.  You'll find interviews with industry leader, along with articles from numerous experts.

Personal Branding is published 4 times/year and distributed electronically. Check out a sample issue here.

Are you going to the Social Media Summit 2009? I am .... join me!

I couldn't pass up the Social Media Summit. Too many good sessions at this online event on topics I need to know more about - LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook & more.

If you're an entrepreneur, consultant, marketer, salesperson or services provider, I suggest you take a serious look at it right away. Learn more at http://is.gd/xocW 

The early bird discount rate - a $200 savings, 40% off the regular price - expires on Thursday, May 14th.

P.S. This event does not require any travel (no hotel, rental car or wasted time). You simply attend sessions, meet the experts and network with peers from the comfort of your home or office (How cool is that?).

Check it out now: http://is.gd/xocW

If you're not smiling & moving today ...

Hi, Everyone. Here's an uplifting 3-minute video I think you'll really enjoy. It's based on the fun new motto I mentioned last month called Smile & Move.

You and your team can use it as a reminder to stay focused on the fundamentals of being valuable at work (there are 5 ways to smile, 4 ways to move).

Learn the quick points at SmileAndMove.com or buy the manifesto by visiting GiveMore.com/smile (20 minute read, tops).

They've even put together a Do-It-Yourself training package around the message – great if you lead a team and want to help your people be better Smovers (people who smile & move).

Let's "smove"...

PS... If you've not seen Sam's (the author) previous message on the value of extra effort, catch this 212° the extra degree video (3.5 minutes).

Using Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to Market Your Business

I usually talk about sales in this blog, but this post is focused on social media. Why? Because it's hot, hot, hot!

What is social media? It's things like LinkedIn, Facebook, blogging & Twitter. We create our own content & share it with others.

More importantly, it's fundamentally changing how we do business. It's a low cost, high impact way to market your company and get new customers. In a tough economy, this should be reason enough to pay attention.

But if you're like me, you look at all that with skepticism:

• Is it really worth your time?
• Can it really impact your business?
• How in the world do you get started?

If those questions are on your mind too, check out the Social Media Summit below to see if it's something you might be interested in.

I can tell you this, I'm attending! I hope to see you there!

________________________________

BIT OF BACKGROUND

A few months ago, Michael Stelzner (the guy who wrote the book on white papers) surveyed about 900 social media marketers and wrote a report on how they use sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  Only three days after releasing his report, more than 15,000 people read it and hundreds posted comments.

Within two weeks, nearly 30,000 people had read his report, more than 100 media outlets and bloggers wrote about it, and it was reposted on Twitter more than 1500 times! He also was offered $30,000 to do some work directly resulting from the buzz around his report.

This all took place via social media. He simply leveraged the power of sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to deliver the kind of results that would have cost him a fortune in the past. This didn't cost him a dime, just his time.

Now the connection ...  The future of business development is all about social media because it bypasses the middleman and allows you to rapidly connect with your clients and prospects! AND this presents an enormous opportunity for you.

But you don't need to be a techno-geek or twenty-something to use and benefit from social media. In fact, most people using social media are aged 30 to 50 and have only been using it for a few months.

SO WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT?

The Social Media Summit - the first major online event dedicated to helping businesses succeed using social media. Nearly 300 of your peers have already signed up. As I said earlier, I'm attending too because I think it's that important.

The focus of the this event is to empower you to use tools like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to attract high-caliber customers and grow your business during the economic slump. Not only can you gain amazing exposure, you'll also generate traffic, new partnerships, qualified leads and more sales.

Here are some of the sessions:

• How to Create a Mega-Following and Mega-Sales With
  Social Media Marketing
• Building a Loyal Facebook Following for Increased Profits
• How to Grow and Engage an Audience on Twitter
• Using the Power and Reach of LinkedIn to Grow Your Business
• How to Productively Engage in Social Media Marketing
• Five Reasons You Need to Be on Twitter (and Tools to
  Help You Manage)
• Social Media Start Up: 3 Key Tools to Build Your Social Media Marketing Plan
• How to Attract Tens of Thousands of People in Mere Days
• Using Social Bookmarking for Improved Traffic, Links and Visibility

Go here to see all 11 sessions: http://is.gd/xocW

The speakers are excellent too. I've been learning from many of them over the past 2 years:

• Gary Vaynerchuk, video expert and founder of Wine Library TV, which has 80,000 daily viewers
• Darren Rowse, co-author of the best-selling book, Problogger
• Mari Smith, the world's leading authority on Facebook
• Jason Alba, expert on LinkedIn and author of I'm on LinkedIn - Now What???
• Ann Handley, chief content officer at MarketingProfs, an online marketing resource with over 300,000 subscribers
• Brian Clark, whose Copyblogger.com was named one of the world's 50 most powerful blogs
• Chris Garrett, co-author of the best-selling book, Problogger
• Denise Wakeman, co-founder of BlogSquad, experts on using online marketing tools to build businesses

Check out the bios of these folks here: http://is.gd/xocW

This is more than just an event.  It's also a way for people just like you to come together, share their experiences, meet the experts and network.

At the last two summits, 96+ percent of attendees said they'd recommend the event to a friend AND attend again! That's some endorsement.

THE GREAT NEWS

When you sign up, you also get over $370 worth of bonuses. These are high-value videos, books and classes that the presenters actually sell in their own successful businesses.

Here's a sample of the more than 9 really valuable bonuses they're giving away:

• Twitter Marketing Video Tutorial
• Seven Ways to Monetize Social Media
• How Marketers are Using Social Media to Grow Their Business
• Leveraging Social Media to Help Your Business
• How to Plan and Launch Your Blog
• How to Drive More Qualified Traffic to Your Blog

If you've been wondering if you should get involved in social media, check the Summit out. If you've dabbled in social media, but don't quite get it, check the Summit out. If you're using social media, but not getting the results you want, check the Summit out.

Go here now to learn more: http://is.gd/xocW

Social media is not going away. It's only getting bigger. The sooner you learn how to maximize it, the better it'll be for your business.

Looking forward to seeing you at this online event!

Jill Konrath

P.S. This event doesn't require any travel. You simply attend the sessions, meet the experts and network with your peers from the comfort of your home or office!

To see how this works, go here: http://is.gd/xocW

P.P.S. As a way of saying "thanks" for checking out the summit, there's a special gift waiting for you here. Go get it:

http://is.gd/xocW

P.P.P.S. FYI, the $200 early bird discount expires NEXT WEEK on May 14th.

.

Were Salespeople Ever Really This Bad?

On the Trust Scale, salespeople typically rate near the bottom. It's too bad that stereotypical sales behavior from years ago still haunts us in this profession.

This Badger Car Salesman video manages to show us at our worst. Enjoy!

Many thanks to John Beesley from Eagle Creek Software Services for sharing this with me!