• Identify target audience(s)– Decide who you are going to speak to with your content.  Are you going to reach them in print, electronically, or in a presentation format? Will they expect you to speak formally or informally? Will they need lots of resources to learn more or expect you to deliver exactly what they are looking for?
• Select topics– Once you know who you want to read your content, it makes selecting the topics a little easier.  Choose concise, timely topics that allow you to show your expertise and experience. Solve problems, meet their curiosity and be helpful. Consider using social media outlets as a resource for timely subjects.
• Determine resources for creating & promoting content (internal/external)– Does the content have to ALL come from you?  Can you delegate certain pieces to others?  Can you identify content written by others that you can expand upon? Perhaps you can call upon someone to do the research piece, or someone to do the first draft, or yet an other person to review your final version before it goes out.
• Determine where to post the content– Are you using your website, social media or traditional print media to give exposure to your newly developed content?
• Create schedule for creation and posting– Schedule yourself to create more content over time.  Don’t count on your memory… time has a way of slipping past us.  Schedule it in your outlook calendar with a reminder alarm so that you have no reason to put it off.

Once you have walked through these steps, you will have what it takes to get started producing good content routinely.  Sharing your content is the next hurdle to tackle. Stay tuned for tips for repurposing your content for the most reward!

Creating and using informative, easy to understand content is crucial to see the results depicted in this graphic.  From one single piece of content (press release, advisory, news item, sponsorship… you name it) you can stack up multiple touchpoints. Create a teaser sentence or two and you can use the same content on your website, blog, linked in, twitter and facebook pages. When you post your content on all of these platforms, you gain better visibility and improve the likeliness that someone will find you in an internet search.  So, if you want to differentiate yourself, earn higher SEO ranking, be found easier, position yourself as a thought-leader, show you are current and be attractive to reporters as a resource…. try it.  Take one piece of content and repurpose it in multiple places.

So, what does this have to do with business development?  A lot.  Business development conversations can be difficult to begin with.  Why not make them easier on yourself with a little pre-planning?  Try this tip… before dialing the phone or seeing someone in person, ask yourself the following three questions:

• What do I want to learn from this conversation?
• How will I ask for the information?
• What follow-up questions may I have?

Next, study the answers and develop your message to the person on the receiving end. Your not quite done… practice delivering the message(s) you develop from the answers to those questions before making that call.  This practice helps you have much smoother conversations.  It will also help you gather the answers you need to make subsequent decisions. Build this into a habit and you will be a much more effective communicator in the long run.  Practice really makes the difference!

But even more than the content I have encountered over the years, I find my connection to the LMANE membership has reached a much deeper level in the past 5 years or so.  I developed excellent friendships and business relationships.  People who know this industry and what it means to help others do what they fear most, sell their services.  There is a kinship that comes along with tackling a difficult job that connects you deeply.  This is why the LMA has always been important to me. My experience in this group has made me a firm believer in giving more than you take in order to be successful.

All I can say is thank you. Thank you for giving me more than public recognition.  Thank you for helping me build my knowledge, network and friendships.  I am incredibly honored and humbled to have been named an LMA New England Chapter Star for service to this chapter. I encourage everyone to find their ‘LMA’ and enjoy the experience!

DO:

• Create a handle that uses your name. Help people find you easily and build name recognition across platforms.
• Be yourself. Don’t pretend to be someone you aren’t. Honesty always shines through and supports your brand.
• Show your personality.  People want to surround themselves with ‘real’ people who are smart, fun and real.
• Build a following. There are many ways to build a following, but an easy place to start is by following people.
• Be conversational. Acknowledge tweets sent to you and thank people when they retweet (RT) you.
• Complete your profile. Include a picture, put meaningful information about yourself and select a location.
• Share information. Don’t hesitate to post original content, pose questions and respond to other people’s tweets.
• Retweet any content that you find interesting, validates your point of view or could be helpful to other people.
• Offer “shout outs” to your followers or other interesting people you know.

 DON’T

• Don’t get caught in the time-suck. Be mindful of how much time you are spending on Twitter and make it productive.
• Don’t hide your tweets from people or keep your profile private.  Remember, Twitter is built for open sharing.
• Don’t pretend to be something or someone you aren’t. It is best to be transparent and honest.
• Don’t retweet (RT) links that you haven’t read through. You need to be careful to know what you are tweeting because ultimately everything you post reflects upon you.
• Don’t follow everyone. Do make a habit of following people you think are interesting and offer value.
• Don’t be crass, use bad language or talk poorly about someone.  This is a very public forum.  Keep it clean!
• Don’t blatantly sell your services through every tweet.  Twitter is meant as an informational stream for building relationships.  By selling your goods at every tweet, you will turn people off.
• Don’t tweet about nothing. Sharing helpful information will build your reputation as a thought leader.

Twitter can be a very powerful tool for building relationships, confirming business contacts, supporting a brand and sharing information. If you take the time to use Twitter well, the benefits will be well worth it.

DO’s:

• Share links with your network.  Examples of good links include helpful and timely articles, useful websites, videos or other news.  Use a short link (try bit.ly) and write a brief but compelling intro to what you are posting.  Posts with links always get more interest and attention.
• Ask questions. If something is on your mind and you want input on the topic, throw it out there. You will gain interesting perspective from different parts of your network.
• Use it as a broadcast tool for an event or announcement. You don’t always want to just broadcast information but if you use it judiciously, it is an effective way to get the word out.
• Share other people’s status posts and “Like” a post that you think is helpful to a broader audience.

DON’Ts:

• Don’t report on the mundane or personal events in your life. Linked In is truly a professional network so save those updates for Facebook!
• Don’t be a pusher.  Don’t be a salesman on Linked In.  Think of social networking as an extension of in-person networking.  Building relationships and establishing yourself as a knowledgeable problem solver is much more effective.
• Don’t share too much.  There is a balance to sharing information. If you share too infrequently you are invisible.  If you share too much your are a pest.  Try to strike a balance with a few status posts a day.  Save the flurry for Twitter where it is expected.

Of course there are many approaches to using Linked In but starting with these very basics should get you in the habit of using the product. Remember that the idea is to build your network and then provide useful information that helps others get their jobs done and look great!

The reality? There isn’t much choice but to participate in our ‘short-hand’ style world. But we do have a choice in how we treat people. Here are a few things to help keep your interpersonal skills limber.

• Make a good first impression. It is proven that first impressions matter.  We get about 10 seconds to make our mark. Make sure you pay attention to how you present yourself.  Make the recipient of your impression feel important and comfortable with a smile, positive body language and eye contact.
• Be appreciative of people. Take the time to thank people for their time in a meaningful and thoughtful way.
• Write thank you notes when you can. Whether you send your note by snail mail or electronically, make sure you make an effort to confirm your gratitude.
• Be helpful.  Ask leading questions to help you to uncover what they really need from you and then fill that need.
• Be reasonable.  Give people the benefit of the doubt and be trusting.
• Ask for feedback.  Take a few minutes to ask people how they are doing and what they think about your services. Take their suggestions to heart and improve whenever possible.
• Do the small stuff.  Take a minute to go the extra mile when answering a question, directing someone or assisting them with completing their task.

Taking a few minutes to slow down, ask questions and show thanks is really the foundation for any successful relationship.  We live in a crazy paced world, but there is a true appreciation for solid customer service that ultimately builds long-term loyalty.

• Update your bio.  Make any edits that add interest, value or credibility.
• Call your best referral sources and thank them for sending you business.
• Connect two people you know who may benefit from knowing each other.
• Look up the next networking event at a bar association, trade group or other business organization and sign up for the next event.  Put it in your calendar and commit to attend it.
• Email a referral source and set up a lunch date.
• Set up a time to visit a client on their location.
• Use social media.  Follow clients, post status on Linked In or Facebook and Tweet a few times.
• Walk into one of your colleague’s offices and ask them what kind of work they are doing right now.
• Start a post/article to use on the firm’s blog or website or in your social media outlets.

Whatever activity you choose to undertake isn’t really the focus.  The idea is to make a 10 minute weekly investment in developing your relationships, building marketing communication tools and giving yourself visibility.  Once you have this habit in place, build on it.  Add 10 more minutes each week, either consecutively or on an other day. By doing something routinely, you will see the cumulative effects.  Good luck!

Being prepared is all about having the right items for a predicted scenario. What you need to be prepared certainly differs depending on what you want the final outcome to be. But almost anyone needs to have the following components at the ready in a marketing scenario:

• A solid network.  Creating your networks and keeping your connections close is very important so that you may be opportunistic on a dime. Use a range of tools to maintain your network… social media, in person meetings, email contact or phone calls.  They all build relationships that support your business development efforts.
• A quick pitch.  I have posted about creating a quick pitch in the past and encourage everyone to draft a few versions of their pitch and practice them until they are perfect.
• An updated database.  Whether you have a formal database program, or simply use your outlook, make sure your email addresses are up to date so that you may communicate in a timely fashion.  Nothing worse than having something important to share and no way to do it.
• A follow-up strategy.  Sometimes the most important piece of the sales cycle is the follow-up.  Effective follow-up will always help you win a pitch.

Of course there are so many more tools that you will want to draw upon for successful business development, but these are definitely the essential items to include in your marketing preparation kits!