Ford Social Media Guidelines. Not a Guideline for Your Life. But Close.

This is good! This is the Ford Social Media Guidelines! Simple. Good use of text boxes. No Gobbledygook (I haven't used that word since Yr 12 English.)

Ford Social Media Guidelines

Some points that I would like to point out:

1. The Internet remembers: Great title for a film. Surely we can get Wes Craven to direct. He must be sick of doing Scream by now?
2. Be honest about who your are: This is potentially awkward as only my mother knows this.
3. Use your common sense: The most elusive of all the senses.
4. Awareness that what you say is permanent: So don't do it drunk.
5. The Internet is a public place: Refer to point 4.
6. An official response may be needed: What like the cops?

Hope this is at least useful for you kids out there. Please advise below of any thoughts, changes, opinions or stock market tips?

New Kids on the Block: #SMinOZ

So, there is a new kid on the block. (aahh I can now tick “using New Kids on the Block in my blog” off my bucket list) It operates under the name of #SMinOZ or its alter ego @SMinOZ.

Side Note: How cool is the above pic?

I’m lead to believe it started roughly over a week ago by a gentleman named Heath Evans follow him here or here or if you want over here.

In my opinion I think it is a great initiative and one that should be applauded. (Insert applause here) It’s great to have a place where we can share stories, network, promote, discuss, advertise jobs and connect with those of us who are in the same hood. By hood I mean Australia. And by Australia I mean the country and not the Nicole Kidman movie.

From what I have been able to gleam from my sources, (Said source being “What the Hashtag?”) I can tell you #SMinOZ is not only a hashtag but a “Collective of Australian -based folks interested in sharing social media resources."

Other unrelated things I initially thought it may have stood for:

- A nasal spray

- Steve Martin is coming to Australia

- Sminoz – a new word the kids are saying???

- Some form of rash

In just over a week there as already been 398 tweets and 177 contributors. (These figures may have changed or they may have not by the time I press publish). I myself have noticed a dramatic increase in followers since I started using the hashtag, which I’m led to believe is a good thing. Have you guys noticed any change?

The only downside to #SMinOZ to date is the number of RT’s that appear in the stream. It can almost come across as spam. I think the problem is that the number of contributors is still low compared to other hashtags. It should sort itself out over time. Feel free to shout me down if you disagree.

Some peeps I recommend following to date:

- @SydneyiStrategy

- @Heath_Evans

- @malchia

- @masonqld

Follow them. DO IT. DO IT.

All aboard the #SMinOZ train or hover board.

Please check in next week when I attempt to work the Samurai Pizza Cats into my blog and tick them off my bucket list.

If you guys could please tell me below what your humble opinions are? Or at least tell who is going to win the GF?

GO CATS!

What's in your Business Development Utility Belt?

Hypothetical. Just go with me on this one. Let’s just say im some form of Robin Hood, Batman or whatever character Russell Crowe is playing this year type of hero. But, instead of saving people and killings baddies my role is to Development Business.

Glamorous I know.

Now all these characters have a collection of weapon or tools. Batman has a utility Belt, Robin Hood had his Bow and Arrow, while Mr Crowe usually uses a phone or whatever comes to hand.

What I would like to know is, what would be your most valuable weapons/tools to put in your Business Development Utility Belt (or BDUB as I’d like to call it) to help you develop new business?

Here are my favourite tools:

Newsletter:

“EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT”

We now have the power to publish relevant content and deliver it to an engaged audience. It is an excellent weapon to keep your network engaged and to build your following. Keep them up to date with industry news, tips and offers.

Cold Calling:

To borrow a quote from Anchorman “They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time it works, every time.” These stats may not directly relate to cold calling. But, what I’m trying to say in a humorous fashion is, it really is a numbers game. It may not be the most glamorous part of the job. But you gotta do what you gotta do. Making those dials works.

Networking:

I’m not sure how this one will actually fit into a belt, but it is the oldest trick in the book. And as it is a book it should fit nicely. You have to get your name and your face out there. Go to industry events, training, shindigs, basically anywhere you are going to be able to meet and greet those in your industry. Always have your business card on hand. You never know when these people might need your service.

Google:

Definitely the shiniest and newest weapon in your utility belt. It may scare off some of the old school types but it works, simple as that. Over the last 6 months we have ascertained a high number of leads by advertising on Adwords and ensuring that we rank highly in keyword searches. You have to go where your customers are and we all know that they are online and do their searching via Google.

With these tools in your BDUB you should be on the right path to drumming up and developing new business. However, I’m not so sure they will help you keep the Joker, Catwomen, the Sheriff of Nottingham and Russel Crowe at bay.

Please tell me below in the comment section what your most valuable tools are?

5 Steps to Cold Calling Success – My Friend AIDCA

When I first started doing Lead Generation calls I was confronted with the term, AIDCA. I was like is that the British RSPCA or something. My new boss frowned, looked down her nose over a pair of small specs and advised me that those 5 letters would help make me a lot of money.

So, what is AIDCA I hear you ask? In a nutshell or any shell for that matter, it is a basic sales principle. It is used in the business of lead generation/cold calling, it under pins what we do on each and every call.

AIDCA in its simplest form:

A – Attention: It’s simple you have to get their attention, sort of like a peacock with all those feathers, I hate birds but I always look at those feathers. So, lead with your USP, who you work with and what you do. Make the prospect stand up and listen.

I – Interest: Your prospect should answer the question “is it relevant to me”. Don’t stress if you loose them here as it is helping you qualify your leads. I suppose it’s like dating, I have gained there attention through my rugged good looks. Now I will aim to maintain their interest through my boyish charms.

D – Desire: For legal reasons I won’t go with a date analogy for this one. Here you are trying to get the person to desire/want what you are offering. What I like to do here is take what they have said during the discussion about their needs and link it to our offering.

C – Conviction: This is where I would unveil my USP in greater depth. Almost like a finishing move from Street Fighter. You have to convince your prospect that what you’re offering is worthwhile enough to take the next step and get on the dance floor.

A – Action: In my opinion this is the easiest part of the process and yet the most neglected. You have done all the hard work. You have earned the right to ask the prospect to meet, to provide a quote or ask what ever your end game is. The prospect will expect you to plan the next course of action as you have been leading the whole conversation to this point. Don’t hang up and wonder "what if".

If you implement the AIDCA process every call you make, it will mos def (most definitely) improve your strike rate and make you look real good in front of the boss, maybe not so much on that date though.

I later found out the acronym for the British RSPCA is the British RSPCA.

Please leave any of your tips, ideas or comments below.

Selleck Waterfall Sandwich

It's all in the name. Need I say more?

Some genius, where ever they are, has created a site that contains pics of our beloved Tom Selleck from a number of his award winning movies, mouth watering sandwich's and delightful waterfalls.

The one above is known quite simply as the Lamb Sandwich, beautiful really.

There are literally hundreds more, so what you waiting for? Check out Selleck Waterfall Sandwich.

The Secret of #custserv

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across a great conversation happening on Twitter. Well great if you’re in the business of or have an interest in customer service and I think most of us in some way do.

Every Wednesday at 11am Australian EST there is an hour long discussion on customer service. Each week there is a different topic and questions about that particular topic.

Things you can learn:
- thoughts on customer service
- strategies
- tips
- experiences good and bad
- quotes
- stats
- case studies

Last weeks topic was Call Centres, there was “HEAPS” of heated debate on whether they are good, bad or otherwise. The overwhelming feeling was that the key was showing real empathy and providing real support to the customer.

Other useful topics covered include “Is Marketing the new Customer Service?” and "Customer Service Follow Up".

Some of the Tweeters I found most useful were:
@KateNasser
@Mashacollier
@bsdalton

These guys are just the tip of the iceberg, you will find many other useful contacts. Check them out!

Please have a look at the archive of the #custserv discussion

It also provided me with this interesting empathy test to see if I had what it took to work in a call centre.

You can also interact with those of us in the Customer service industry and discuss (in 140 characters or less of course) about your ideas, opinions and challenges.

So if you are in the Customer Service industry or just have an interest I recommend you engage.

Please share with us any other resources you think might be useful.

The Joys of Cold Calling

A large part of my job is Cold Calling. Or as we in the business like to dress it up as; lead generation, outbound marketing, lead creation, B2B, strategic telemarketing or appointment setting. The list goes on and on and for the most part people look at you with a blank face and ask if you make dog leashes.

I say call a spade a spade and someone in a cape a crazy person and not a superhero.

To save the confusion it is essentially the art (at least give me something I can't play the guitar or draw a bowl of fruit) of cold calling people over the telephone to promote your business/offering and attempt to organise a face to face meeting to discuss said offering.

I'm going to give you 3 basic tips that should help you in your pursuit of promoting and developing your business over the telephone.

Make Time: Set aside a block of your day or possibly a whole day and make dials. Stop making excuses. Sit down, remove any distractions and make the calls. The more you do it the better you will get and the more comfortable you will be with making that first dial to a perfect stranger.

Question a Question: Don't be worried if you get asked a question you don't know the answer to. Stay in control of the discussion and ask a question back ie: "why do you ask?" " is this important to your business?" "do you currently use this system". Over time you will work out the best questions and phrases. This will help you understand the motive behind their questioning and help you to be the all seeing eye.

Always ask: Never just leave a conversation with a "thanks for having a chat" or "OK bye". Always offer a definitive course of action or advise the reason for your call. Some of my worst calls have turned into my best meetings just by simply asking if they would be interested in catching up for a chat.

These 3 basic steps are just that simple and you should be able to start using them on the ASAP. If you guys want I can go into a little more depth and tell you about my little friend AIDCA. AIDCA is full of all the dirty secrets of COLD CALLING and full of complex carbohydrates.