Why Holiday Time is a Great Time for Networking.

Hey Starbucks has been playing Christmas music since Halloween so I guess it’s time for a Holiday Time is a Great Time for Networking Blog.

I’ve always felt that the holidays are a great time for networking, meeting new people, taking new steps to find your next opportunity, and being out there.  I have also found it an easier time to contact prospects and that people can actually be more accessible and answer emails and calls.  They probably want to make sure that they won’t find a lump of coal under their tree.

I have always felt that the key to a successful 1^st Quarter is an aggressive 4^th Quarter.  When other people go into Holiday mode I try to stay in work mode.

The holiday period offers a full networking dance card.  There are lots of events out there. You will find that your calendar can be quickly filled.  Recently I have found holiday may involve numerous organizations collectively sponsoring one event so the turnout is larger and people from various disciplines attend.

Different people come out at Holiday events.  The Holiday season seems to attract people you don’t often see during the year.  Often Senior Level people come out during the Holidays to show the flag.

Holiday events are also social events so they are more informal and allow for one on one dialogue versus sitting down at a table and listening to a speaker. You can cover more ground, meet more people and make more contacts.  Don’t leave your business cards at home or keep them in your purse.

Let’s face it.  Many people aren’t comfortable with networking and one on one dialogue with strangers is not their strong suite.  As Holiday events are social events, significant others often attend.  Spouses can often provide relationship building touch points and follow up opportunities that you might not be skilled at.  These are the times to be working all the advantages that you can.

Holiday time offers opportunities for special follow up that you might not regularly implement as part of your networking strategy and I’m not talking about send a follow up resume to the CEO that you met.  Maybe it is a Holiday card or a personal note requesting a courtesy interview or taking your call.  Maybe you will find that the Holiday spirit of graciousness may generate different results this time of year.  There is has been an uptake in hiring across the country recently that may increase hiring in the spring.  This is a great time of year to make sure that you are top of mind.

The Holiday Season is also a great time to recognize some of the key contacts in your networking world that have aligned your direction or improved your wiring in the past year.  If you got a new position this is a great time to thank the person that helped you get there.  Send them a Starbucks card, burn them a CD or sign them up for a Magazine Subscription or just send them a personal note.  Everybody likes to be recognized and appreciated.

So get out there this Holiday Season and let’s see what the New Year will bring. I want to enter the New Year being aggressive in closing out the year and optimistic on the results that will bring.

In the spirit of Christmas download my free audio CD called Hank Blank’s Guide to Holiday Networking.  Adjust the volume up a bit.  Hope you enjoy.

You can connect with Hank on Linkedin

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hankblankcom

Follow his updates on twitter @hankblank

Be stupid with him on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hankblank

Watch some videos on http://www.youtube.com/user/MrHankblank

Or you can just send him a large gift.  They are always welcome.

Job Hunting in Two Different Worlds.

A friend of mine who is in sales got a job offer this week.  She was very happy.  She got the job because of two reasons; relationships and Linkedin.  Oh of course she has many other skills that got her the job but the relationship and Linkedin were pivotal.  The last time this person found a job was by responding to an ad posted in a newspaper twelve years ago in the Old Normal.

Another friend of mine is in sales and recently lost their job.  They were living in the Old Normal and were suddenly launched into a new and uncomfortable world called the New Normal.

They had less than 10 connections on Linkedin, an incomplete profile and no recommendations.

They were not alone.  Many people who work for companies not engaged in social networking often are also not engaged with the personal marketing tools of the New Normal.  I have blogged about this before.

The friend of mine who got the job this week really leveraged the power of Linkedin.  The first thing she did was hire a professional photographer and had a number of photos taken in an office environment.  She got photographed in a variety of outfits so she would be able to pick the very best one.  It shows her in a Boardroom setting.  She looks very professional, polished and like a business leader one would want to hire. My other friend has no picture on their Linkedin page. They were invisible.

The friend of mine who got the job this week had many recommendations from previous clients on her Linkedin profile.  Former customers became her references.  High level people don’t recommend people publically unless they believe in their capabilities.  After all they have their reputation to protect.  The other friend of mine had no recommendations on their Linkedin profile.

The friend of mine who got the job found that recruiters were always checking out her Linkedin page.  She regularly sent them invites to connect on Linkedin and they responded.  They were chasing her as she had adjusted to the New Normal.

My other friend in the Old Normal sent out e mails to his associates asking for a list of recruiters that they could chase.

I continue to be surprised by how many people remain in the Old Normal.  This recession started in 2007 the same year the iPhone was introduced and let many people in transition continue to have an extremely weak presence on Linkedin.  Why are they not listening?  What do they not believe? They certainly don’t need more pain.  The time to change has long passed.

Congratulations to my friend in the New Normal. Please wake up my friends in the Old Normal.

Hank Blank speaks to companies and organizations on How to Rise Above the Crowd.  You can check him out by doing a Google search on Hank Blank or visiting his site at www.hankblank.com.

You can connect with Hank on Linkedin

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hankblankcom

Follow his updates on twitter @hankblank

http://www.facebook.com/hankblank

Watch some videos on http://www.youtube.com/user/MrHankblank

What Makes A Social Media Expert?

I am sure that all of us have encountered our fair share of Social Media experts.  Often many of them are fairly one dimensional.  Among a target group of their peers they may generate an adulation feast but in other marketing sectors they meet skepticism because they only have one credential.

I think social media experts abound because social media is such a fire hose nobody can really grasp it all. Everybody has their drink and knows their one sector and there is so much activity fragmentation that people can claim expertise that some find difficult to challenge.

A CEO told me the other day that his social media agency had arranged a Tweetup with 1.5 million participants. That’s what his social media experts told him.  A Monday Night Football game may only capture 15 million viewers Nationally.

In social media there are few career benchmarks or protocols.  If you described yourself as a Brand Manager or an Account Executive you would come with a pedigree of experience and a predicable certain skill set.  Not so in social media. If I ask somebody, “What did you do before you became a Twitter expert?” They respond, “I was a Realtor and then I got into social media because the market wasn’t that hot.”  Not exactly P&G.

I read a great analogy the other day from a writer I wish I could credit here who described social media as pearls on a dress. One piece of the outfit.  Now if you walked into a room wearing only pearls you would certainly grab everyone’s attention and be certain to get a ride home but you would probably only be remembered for one dimension.

If you ask many social media experts to define a GRP or Gross Rating Point they can’t.  Or an electronically optimized press release, or a VAR channel, or a listing allowance or segmentation studies.  You get the drift.

Social media is one vertical, one channel of the brand’s dimension.  When I worked at agencies such as JWT you had to immerse yourself in all the facets of the brand experience.  You knew how to read Nielsen reports, you did store checks, you rode with sales people, and you knew research methodologies up and down because flawed research could upset the apple cart. During an internal brand review at JWT, the General Manager asked the AE how they liked the Oscar Meyer slices.  The AE said they were vegetarian.  Very quickly they weren’t working on Oscar Meyer.

Sure people visit Facebook over seven times a day but the average person surprisingly to me still watches over 25 hours of TV a week and they listen to a lot of radio.

Only ten years ago we had the .com bubble.  At one time .coms that hadn’t made a penny profit were valued more than GM. Wall Street believed it and the papers printed it and people talked about it. Then the .com bust came.  The .com bust certainly didn’t kill the internet but it certainly diminished the hype.  The same will happen with many social media experts.

Just Ask Jeeves about how things can change.

Hank Blank frequently speaks on Networking and the New Business Process.  His presentations are called “How to Rise Above the Crowd” and “Why Agencies Don’t Want New Business.”  To contact him to speak to your organization or company send him an email to hank@hankblank.com.

You can connect with Hank on Linkedin

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hankblankcom

Follow his updates on twitter @hankblank

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hankblank

Watch some videos on http://www.youtube.com/user/MrHankblank

Networking Tips for Lawyers

A friend of mine who is a lawyer asked me to write some networking tips that she could share with fellow attorneys at her firm.  Believe me writing networking tips for lawyers wouldn’t be the first audience I would think about but my friend is very special so this is what I wrote. I thought I would share them with a wider audience.  The legal disclaimers are at the end.

So here they are:

Networking is about developing relationships.  It is not about selling.  Business happens when mutually beneficial relationships are established over time.  You don’t ask people to marry you on the first date.  There is a whole category in humor called lawyer jokes.  Don’t let your poor networking skills contribute to it.  The types of folks that most people don’t want to meet are lawyers and undertakers.

Get off your crackberry.  Don’t become a lemming like everyone else standing in line at Starbucks reading their e mails oblivious to the people around them.  Trust me; your next big client engagement is not going to come in the form of an e mail while you are waiting for your coffee.  The Barista’s mother could be the President of a bank.  Talk to her and others around you.  Networking is about an attitude of engagement not going to a networking event. You network everyday not once a week.

You must Rock and Roll on Linkedin.  The average income of a Linkedin user is close to $100,000.  It is the preferred social media platform for your prospects.  Linkedin is a great prospecting tool and a great vehicle to improve your SEO.  Make sure your profile is complete and detailed. Make sure that your photo doesn’t look like a mug shot.  Have lots of recommendations from previous clients. It let’s others speak your praises versus you.  Post updates on a daily basis.  Google will reward you or ignore you. It is your choice.

Networking takes work and preparation.  To be really good at something you have to work at it.  Do not go to network events at 5 minutes to noon if the event starts at noon.  Go at 11:20 and read the name tags of people who will be attending.  Introduce yourself to them when they pick up their name badges.  Make sure you have lots of business cards in your hand and not your wallet.  Do not sit with your friends.  Standing around a bar with friends talking to people you know is not networking, it is socializing.

Social media is not a fad. It is not just something that young people do. Companies who do not embrace change are left behind.  Kodachrome film was a 15 billion dollar business for Kodak a decade ago.  Now the only place that you can get Kodachrome film is in a Paul Simon song.  People who do not embrace change become fads.  Do not tweet about tacos.  You use social media to distribute your thought leadership.  Participation in social media will help your SEO and make you look like a voice of knowledge if you use its power. Use it in the wrong way and you will look like a poser.

Your elevator speech doesn’t matter because your chances of getting on an elevator with a decision maker are slim to nil but the chances of that person doing a Google search on you prior to engaging with you are certain.  You need to own the first page of Google.  Every posting.  Social networking can help you achieve that.  Don’t believe me?  Google Hank Blank to see.

Disclaimer. To connect with Hank check out his site at www.hankblank.com  Follow him on Twitter at @hankblank, get more networking tips by reading his blog at http://hankblank.wordpress.com send him an e mail at hank@hankblank.com or connect with him on Linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/in/hankblankcom  

Networking Isn’t Multi-Level Marketing

We have all heard of Multi-Level Marketing.  Unfortunately many people approach networking in the same fashion and they think that the networks other people have built belong to them for their marketing purposes.  Just because I am on Linkedin doesn’t mean I have been recruited to sell other people’s products or services.

People find me in various ways.  They see that I am connected to somebody they want to reach for the sole purpose of generating financial currency for themselves.  They reach out by email, phone or introductions and ask me to connect them to my contacts. Often my contacts are senior level people and decision makers.

These people who are basically strangers who I don’t know but they think my network belongs to them.  Sorry, it has taken me decades to build my network often by going to networking events when I wanted to do other things, or getting up to early to speak to a group at 7 in the morning.  My network is not a public service.  I am not going to connect strangers to my contacts.

The only people I open up my network to more freely are students, people in transition or if I see a good fit.  Connecting a person in transition to a company when that person is not a qualified candidate is not a high return strategy for anyone.  Fruitless activity is not high opportunity job hunting. These individuals would be better served learning how to fish but they want the quick fix and coming to me is the easier path.

“We are on Linkedin together” doesn’t really create some kind of fraternal bond when there are over 100 million people on Linkedin. All my connections aren’t your connections because we are on Linkedin. Linkedin isn’t a giant Amway.  I feel more connected to the 200 plus people in Canadians in OC because we share similar backgrounds and shared interests like curling.

I often get solicitations from people thru Linkedin asking me to connect them to a second degree connection.  Connecting strangers to strangers is not networking.  I will also not write a Linkedin recommendation for anybody that I have not had a working relationship with.

As I have a very extensive network I also get emails saying that I have quite an impressive network.  They would love to get together and see how we can help each other.  In the past I used to bite but only very rarely did I find that they really wanted to help me.  It was their interest and access to my network that was their primary concern.  If I didn’t follow up I never heard from them.

I often meet people who almost upon immediately meeting me ask “Who are your clients?”  They have a solution looking for a problem.  They get no time.

I have become very skeptical of outreach that says. “Let’s see how we can help each other.”  I have no problems finding people that need help.  It is all around us.  I would rather focus on them than people that want to use me.

You can connect with Hank on Linkedin

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hankblankcom

Follow his updates on twitter @hankblank

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hankblank

Watch his video on the Power of Networking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-dSNVAN9FU&list=UUEigDTyDiFGXVfyg7sRErOg&index=10&feature=plcp

Does it Hurt Your Career if Your Company Doesn’t Practice Social Media?

I have met many people who are employed in the Pharma industry, financial services and many other fields who aren’t very actively participating in social media.

Many people I encounter in these industries are very successful. Highly goal oriented, well compensated and very sharp.

Then, when you “Linkedin” with them you see that they are social media newbie’s.  Their social media presence isn’t aligned with their career success presence.

Oh sure, they may use Facebook for personal reasons but their Linkedin presence is less than stellar. Twitter is a ditter for them.

They have poor quality photos on Linkedin yet these people always dress for success. They have few connections, no recommendations even though they may have been recognized for National sales awards at their company.  Their social media presence doesn’t match their career achievements.

They are at the top of their game yet their social media presence makes it seem like they have been under a rock or out of touch.

In most cases the companies that they work for are non adopters of social media for FDA or other compliance issues.  Their company’s hesitancy to embrace what the world is practicing is compromising their career in many ways.  Many people can become complacent because there isn’t a lot of internal recognition in their companies for being social media savvy.  The FDA is light years away from coming out with social media guidelines.

If something should happen to these high achievers who aren’t social media savvy they could be in big hurt.  Everybody knows that nobody is secure these days no matter their accomplishments, position, or sales awards.

If they lose their jobs, recruiters won’t find them easily and they won’t look impressive if they do.

They will be at a disadvantage compared to other candidates that have been in the social media game longer.  Many of these people may not have their skills but they may be easier to find and sell into an organization.

If you aren’t actively participating in social media you will be in catch up mode. Establishing a strong Linkedin presence doesn’t happen overnight.  Your Linkedin profile is today’s living resume available to all 24/7.

You can’t allow your social media presence to be dumbed down by the fact that your company doesn’t participate.  That is personal career compromise and is simply not a career option these days.

So how do you start?

-Market yourself like with the same level of effort that you market your company’s products.

-Dress for success on social media sites as well.

-You need a high quality brand image that matches your appearance and your pharma wardrobe.

-Invest in yourself by getting a high quality photograph.

-You’ll be less inclined to do that when you are not working.

-Update your activities on social media channels on a daily basis.

-Find Linkedin and Twitter webinars on YouTube and watch them.

-If you need a great Linkedin presentation send me an email.

-Spend thirty minutes a day marketing yourself.

-What is more important to you and your family?  Your marketability or TV?

Saying that you don’t have time is not the right answer.  A major problem for high achievers who are in transition is that they don’t know what to do with time when they are no longer employed. They go from no time to too much time. They lose their busyness and their familiar rhythm.

Bottom line; if you let your company’s lack of social media engagement dumb you down you may pay a personal price

You can connect with Hank on Linkedin

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hankblankcom

Follow his updates on twitter @hankblank

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hankblank

Watch some videos on http://www.youtube.com/user/MrHankblank

The Questions Each CEO Should Ask About Social Media

Would your Board be pleased if they knew your company’s brand’s investment was being managed by 22 year olds on social media?  Are they good stewards of the brand?  What if your company’s audit was done by the newest employee at your accounting firm?

Who sets quantitative reasons your company limits participation in social media?

Do you see a summary of what your customers are saying about your company in social media?  Has your consumer ‘s sentiment changed in the past six months?

What is more valuable than knowing what people were saying about your product? Is your on line reputation important to you?  Have you ever done a Google search on yourself?

So what is the cost benefit analysis?  Your spending thousands of dollars in traditional market research to find out what your customers are thinking while they are talking to you for free but, you’re not there?

Do you have the right people listening? Answering? Adapting your brand message by proper interpretations?  Can they see opportunity or do they just report what they have heard?  Are they just eyes or are they wise?

If you don’t personally engage in any forms of social media, how did you make informed decisions on involvement… stockholder perception? A CEO without social media traction is in danger of going the way of a secretary, overhead projector, typewriter, pay phone or whiteout, outplacement?  Are you staying marketable in today’s CEO world?

Start here. See why Ford totally reinvented itself and has dramatically changed their brand consideration by becoming social media centric. All started by the CEO… who participated. See what parts fit you.

Isn’t it time to have a listen on social media to see where your future earnings are going? Yes, there is too much for you to know. Get in a social media agency that lives, eats and breathes ‘brand’ in this space and let them do a diagnosis of you and your competitors in terms you need. Let them offer you a good place to be right now. Being out of it will put you out of the picture of leadership.

 

You can connect with Hank on Linkedin

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hankblankcom

Follow his updates on twitter @hankblank

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hankblank

Watch his videos on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/MrHankblank

Why Agency Creative People Need to Rock on Linkedin to Stay Marketable

Let me ask you a simple question. Are you going to keep your current job for the rest of your life?

Well, I don’t think so and neither do you.

So how do you market yourself as a creative person?

Your reel?  How many new TV commercials have you produced in the last year?  Where do those spots run?  Prime Time TV or YouTube?

Your book?  When was the last time you produced a new print ad or brochure for your client?

Have you produced more content than creative in the past year?

Certainly anything digital is defining the ad industry’s more dynamic frontiers in this day and age. Your content needs to be out in the digital world.

We all know that the world is going completely digital.  U.S. Online spending is projected to increase 20% in 2011 and to reach $8.3 Billion by the year 2015.

Social media is all abuzz.

Is your personal brand lighthouse shining brightly in the digital world there or are you not on the radar?

If a company Google’s you, what do they find?

I am pretty sure that the majority of creative people are on Facebook but do they tweet?

If you are a copywriter are you repurposing your voice in a blog?

I rarely see creative people who are robust on Linkedin, yet that is the social media platform that agency recruiting departments and headhunters use.  Why not?  Is Linkedin something just for account people?

Linkedin is key to helping you find your next job which you should be looking for to some degree every week while you are working.

This week, I read that nine out of ten employers recruit on social media.  Unsurprisingly, Linkedin was the clear leader among social media recruiting sites.

So how is your Linkedin photo?  I bet the photographer who has been calling you every month for the last six months would be more than happy to take a new photo of you. You wouldn’t shoot your next ad with your phone would you?

Turn your book into your Linkedin recommendations.  Think about that for a bit.

Do a daily update on new work, campaigns, events, articles to keep you in front of your network.

Build your connections.  Your goal should be to have at least 250 LinkedIn connections.

Don’t forget to use all your resources, post your blogs on your updates.

Remember that the worst time to time to find a job is when you are not working.  The best time to find a job is when you are working.

I would be happy to Linkedin with you and share some other thoughts.

Hank Blank frequently speaks to AAF Chapters on Why Agencies Don’t Want New Business and to many organizations and companies on How to Rise Above the Crowd  You can contact Hank at hank@hankblank.com or visit his site http://www.hankblank.com

The Power of Networking – A Video Clip by Hank Blank

I blog and speak on networking often.  I have also spent years networking as my primary way of building my business.

I thought I would add something new to the mix and provide a recently shot short video on the Power of Networking. It is overview of what I have learned.

It was done with my buddy Torrey Tayenaka from OC Creative Media. Talk about exceptional talent!

Thanks Torrey and happy recent 25^th birthday.

Check it out.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Hope this video is worth a 700 word blog.
To contact Hank to speak to your company or any organizations you may be involved with send him an e mail at hank@hankblank.com or Tweet @hankblank You can download Hank’s Networking CD’s by visiting his site at http://www.hankblank.com

 

You can connect with Hank on Linkedin

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hankblankcom

Follow his updates on twitter @hankblank

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hankblank

Watch his video on YouTube on How to Rise Above the Crowd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkO7efleWX4

Why MBA Schools Need to Teach a Course on What to Do When You Get Fired

I have spoken to numerous organizations across the country for years on networking.  Over the last few years many of these meetings are attended by people in transition looking for their next position.  I am also one of the founders of Laguna Niguel Connectors that has over 2000 members and has become a community for those in transition and others who help and support them.

What I have seen over the years is that most people don’t have a clue on what to do when they lose their jobs. Nada.  Many people who were in senior management with the greatest degrees from the best schools can be the worst at finding their way back on the treadmill.  Nobody has been trained on what to do when you are let go.

A few years ago I read an article in theOC Register saying that if you were 30,  the chances of you getting fired in the next 20 years were 90%.  Five years ago many people didn’t believe that stat but now everyone does.

I think that the majority of MBA schools probably think they don’t need courses on what to do when you are in transition because they think their curriculums and degrees will make their students bullet proof.  That is not true in the new normal of high unemployment.  The unemployment rate in the U.S. is 9.2% currently.  In Canada, the unemployment rate is 7.4%.  That hasn’t been the case for decades.

The academic knowledge that people learn in MBA Schools is invaluable.  However it doesn’t prepare people for the world of transition.  The Alumni groups of most schools are not equipped to handle all the needs of their graduates who are now among the unemployed.  If you think that the Alumni Affairs Department is going to get you your next job with their diminished resources you will be highly disappointed.

Getting a job today requires a lot of street smarts and excellent networking skills.  Those skills aren’t taught in schools.

I see many people who are new to the world of transition and they are lost.  They worked in busy environments where they had too much to do and were too busy to network.  Then they immediately enter a world where their lives aren’t full of what things to do, deadlines, and meetings.  Many long to return to boring meetings.

They don’t know how to file for unemployment, what a COBRA is. (Could they have picked a worse name for transitional medical coverage?)

MBA Schools have trained people on how to be successful in the workplace. But what if that workplace doesn’t exist anymore?  You haven’t been trained on how to find a job.

All schools should have a core curriculum how to network and how to build a lifelong referral network.  They need to educate their students that networking is a lifelong pursuit and not just something you do when you are looking for a job.  Your data base is worth more than your MBA in life. Schools need to understand that who you know versus what you know is increasingly true in the new normal.

Schools should encourage their students to have their own personal website and business cards.  They need to teach their students how to use Linkedin and social media even if they are training engineers. They need to instill a knowledge in today’s students that they will be forever a personal brand working within a variety of corporate brands and I don’t think that is happening.

Schools need to teach how to make you bulletproof within an organization.  Is that going to come through your MBA or your extensive and broad base of resources in your network?

What is more important for you?  That your kids have an MBA or a strong network?  It’s time to change curriculums to compete in the new world.

You can connect with Hank on Linkedin

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hankblankcom

Follow his updates on twitter @hankblank

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hankblank

Watch his video on YouTube on How to Rise Above the Crowd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkO7efleWX4