Okay, you’ve seen me quote Jeffrey Gitomer more than once, out of his “Little Black Book of Connections”. And I’m going to do it again, because social media is all about CONNECTING. Here are a few tips he mentions in his book:

GIVE VALUE: You strengthen relationships by giving value to them – not facts about you. Get them (whoever you are trying to influence) leads or put them in front of contacts that might lead to business for them.

TELL TRUTHS: You build relationships by telling the truth even if it hurts or embarrasses you. (me: think about Covey’s emotional bank account)

HAVE ANSWERS: Be a resource. Get to the point where they consider you a resource of information rather than a salesperson or just another acquaintance.

FIND LINKS: Part of the relationship building secret is to break the ice. Find something in common – a link that ties you together.

USE LINKS: Find stuff that helps them build their business, and surprise them with it.

GET PERSONAL: Use personal information in a creative, sincere way.

BE THERE: Stay in front of them without an agenda (asking for the sale). Just earn it with valuable information they can use.

BE FRIENDS: Perform acts of friendship as well as acts of business. Have fun. Do nonbusiness things with them.

Social Media, as with any Web 2.0 medium, is about user/consumer control. You can’t control – nor should you even try – the content of social media, including what others are saying about you or your brand (i.e. Firm). What you can do is be proactive with tips like these, and if you do come across some negative comments, do your best to own whatever the problem is/was and try to fix it. If you succeed, not only have you regained someone’s confidence (and business) but you have probably also created a positive story that this person will want to share with others.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Jeffrey Gitomers “Little Black Book of Connections” it is available on Amazon.com.

How much are your connections, your relationships, worth to you and your business? How much time do you spend seeding, weeding and feeding? Wait a minute; are two analogies too much for one blog? Let me explain…

Finding the Mines = Seeding = Lead Generation
Digging the Gemstones = Weeding = Qualifying Leads
Polishing the Gemstones = Feeding = Adding Value on a Regular Basis

Just as you would want your diamond to have the best cut, clarity and color; so you would want your garden to produce award-winning fruits and vegetables throughout the year. Just as “a diamond is forever,” so should your goal of providing value to your connections forever be your #1 priority.

The use of Social Media to do all of these things is increasingly (and exponentially) gaining in popularity and acceptance by all traditional target audiences…including yours. You can use these sources to monitor your “friends” and “connections” to know what they value so you can regularly and unselfishly provide said value to your relationships. You can and should also use these resources to communicate regularly with your Centers of Influence in meaningful ways. If you do these things, the business will come. Remember…

“All things being equal, people want to do business with friends. All things being not quite so equal, people STILL want to do business with their friends.” ~ Jeffrey Gitomer

Marketing Budget = 3% of firm budget
Social Media Marketing = $0 (staff time, yes)
Building strong and lasting relationships (aka friendships) with clients = PRICELESS

A World Without Barriers

So why do we call it a “Flat World?” The world is being referred as a flat world, thanks to Tom Friedman’s book The World Is Flat. The world is now so well connected with the ubiquity of technology in all areas which gives you, me, all of us the power to collaborate, coordinate, produce and distribute seamlessly across borders, and cultural and language divides. In a flat world, everything of value is now connected — no more barriers.

Welcome To Our Flat World — The Good News

For connected individuals and forward-thinking corporations who are able to embrace change, there has never been a time where we’ve had more opportunity. There is little need for the organizational system as we once knew it. The power to create a global network to collaborate and coordinate effort is seamless and typical organizational structure just gets in the way of productivity. If organizations are able to recognize this and embrace this, there can be little doubt that operational efficiencies can be extended exponentially.

Welcome To Our Flat World — The Bad News

In a flat world, there are connected individuals and disconnected individuals. Unfortunately, this gap can only widen. To date, there are about 1.2 billion connected individuals. We are the conceptual and technical class. Our opportunity holds no bounds. However, for the disconnected individuals, there is a barrier being constructed. Technology changes is changing so fast that it has the possibility to create another sad state of human affairs. I am hopeful though. With the ubiquity of technology, the speed at which it has spread in the last decade and the low cost of connectivity, I cannot image that we will not have a connected world — one where knowledge is freely shared, data is relational and accessible and where the human spirit and innovation can come together to solve many of the world’s problems (and, of course, create new ones).