Numbers, numbers numbers!

I have lots of level 1 contacts but never link with anyone unless I have met them or, as a minimum, had a telephone conversation. And, that call has to leave me thinking, “We have not yet formally met, but they seem okay.”

Because of my LinkedIn and face-to-face seminars I meet hundreds of people, a number of whom request me to connect. This means I have nearly 2000 level 1 contacts. LinkedIn’s definition of a level 1 connection is ‘Your trusted friends and colleagues.’ I can hardly say all these people are trusted in the true sense of the word but if they invited me I can only assume they are happy to allow me to view their network.

With so many level 1’s this results in over 300,000 level 2’s. These are gold dust. They are the ones, we hope, who can be  introduced to me by my level 1 connections. What a big crowd of ‘warm’ prospects.

Your LinkedIn summary is the meat of your profile

It is  the part that tells YOUR story (i.e. your skill set,

what you have to offer, how people can work with you, etc.)

If you really want to see results using LinkedIn, because quite

frankly you should be when there are 75+ million people you

can connect with, then make sure you don't do it half-heartedly

and put some energy into playing to your highest potential.

1.  Start with your intro paragraph stating who you are, your passions

and your goals.  This doesn't have to be long, but get me interested

in you as an individual; remember, we do business with those

we know, like, and trust.

2.  Create a new paragraph and tell people exactly who you help.

3.  Create a new paragraph and tell people exactly how you help them.

4.  Create a new paragraph and tell people how to contact you.

That's it.  Remember to keep it simple, personal (yes personal, this

is not a CV or resume... it is a SOCIAL networking site so make it social!)

If you have a number of different projects/businesses

and you work with a variety of individuals then feel free to 

mention those too.

“Who’s in control of your business?”

None of us can control the economy nor can we control our competitors.  But we can control and manage our reaction to the state of the nation as it is at any moment in the cycle of business.  On my desk is a plaque which says: “Attitude is everything”. On my favourite sweatshirt it has the same words.  Henry Ford, the car man, has been credited with the following quote (although I’ve heard it attributed to others, it doesn’t matter):  “If you think you can or you think you can’t…you are right”.

As we all know there are good times and not so good times.  There have always been these two sides of the business cycle and my economics-studying son tells me it’s just a fact of life. So when things got tough, did you sit back and wait for the cycle to move? Moan and groan?  Complain? Starve? Or get out and do something about it?

Even now as things begin to get better do you surround yourselves with positive people and talk up the moment.  When people complain to you, you show empathy but how much do you really care? Occasionally you may be secretly pleased, realising you are probably not as badly off as the complainer. Don’t be like these people. Take action and make it happen. If things are slow, you have more time so use it wisely. If you are any good there’s always business about, all it means is you have to work that much harder to find it.  When you start actively networking, do remember there are people in the business community who want your knowledge and skills as much as you want their business. You just have to find them.