CONVERSATION
STARTERS
Ideas for finding and converting strangers to extraordinary clients and partners
Conversations Starters is written and edited for B2B consultants and coaches who want to build more and better business relationships, achieve visible thought leadership roles and serve more of the clients you deserve.
There are no hacks or gaming of the system here.. If you want sound ideas and advice about how to look good, sound good and fill your sales pipeline, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome!
Four Keys to Successful Publishing on LinkedIn Pulse
Few publishing platforms are both as accessible and as powerful in expanding reach as LinkedIn Pulse.
How to Use Social Media to Charge More for Your Services
I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that most professional services execs have noticed it’s easier to get premium rates for your services from some clients than others.
LinkedIn Plus Twitter: Supercharge Growth With This Power Duo
Building relationships with most everyone you meet is a sure-footed way to steadily build and earn business. The reason this works so well is because trust is the soul of sales.
How Mini Sales Funnels Will Change How You Prospect and Sell
It was almost 20 years ago when I first learned about the sales funnel, thanks to Miller Heiman and Strategic Selling®.
Why Professional Services Firms Are Investing in Social Media and You Should Too
Over the last ten years or so there has been a profound change in the way buyers make buying decisions. If you’re in charge of bringing in new clients for your business, I’m confident you already know this.
9 Steps to Using Twitter with a LinkedIn Social Selling Program
Twitter may be a powerful lead generation tool on its own, but when paired with an effective LinkedIn social selling program, it becomes so much more.
Why Executives Need a Great LinkedIn Profile
Buyers of professional services – technology, legal, accounting, management consulting, architectural, engineering and construction – now rely heavily on social media to help them make their buying decisions.
LinkedIn Paralysis: The Hidden Heartache of Social Selling
No wonder close to 50% of salespeople aren’t achieving their quota objectives. 7 ways you set yourself up for success.
Four Steps to Getting More Customer Referrals
Referrals are undoubtedly the most effective way to insure a healthy sales pipeline. They give you quite a head start on achieving more and better deals. A lead as a result of a referral is one that raises the odds of success.
Interview with Dave Stein and Steven Andersen (Beyond the Sales Process)
We are very proud to post the first published interview with Dave Stein and Steve Andersen, co-authors of the just-released book, Beyond The Sales Process.
Is Your Corporate Blog Effective? It's Entirely Up to You
I just finished gulping down the International Data Group (IDG) B2B Technology Content Marketing 2016: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America.
Does Google+ Still Have Relevance and Business Value?
When Google+ launched in 2011, it did so with the great expectations that it would compete with Facebook. It quickly reached a million users and within a month had grown to a user base of 25 million.
10 Ways to Generate Leads and Build Influence on LinkedIn
Without some of us even noticing, LinkedIn developed into a useful publishing platform and tool to generate leads for marketers and salespeople looking to build relationships with prospects.
Assess the Business Value of Your LinkedIn Network with Personas
I like to think of my LinkedIn network as being a lot like a vegetable garden. My garden, and probably yours as well, has a lot of variety that includes a number of very healthy plants. Sometimes weeds work their way in and then there are also times when I find myself growing a vegetable only to find out that it is not to my liking.
How to Build – or Screw Up - Trust with the Help of LinkedIn
How simple marketing mistakes can erode trust
LinkedIn Profiles: 4 Things to Watch Out for When Building Yours
I rarely write about the more tactical aspects of LinkedIn, especially now that there are at least a gazillion other people writing about it, but there are a few “gotcha’s” in the LinkedIn profile wizard I don’t see covered elsewhere.
Are LinkedIn Groups Worth the Trouble?
With the recent changes to LinkedIn groups, many LinkedIn users and social selling experts are questioning the value of LinkedIn groups for B2B salespeople and marketers.
6 LinkedIn Myths that Make Me Groan
If everything LinkedIn itself and uncountable LinkedIn pundits wanted you to believe about using LinkedIn were true, my life would be so much easier.
Why Your LinkedIn Network Requires a Strategy
Have you ever really stopped to think about who you are – or should be – connected to on LinkedIn and why?
How and Why to Pilot a LinkedIn Social Selling Program
Is “social selling” just one more way to distract your sales team, taking you even further away from reaching quota while consultants make a big dent in your sales budget? Or could it actually make your sales people more effective, better at reaching hard-to-get-to prospects, able to find more sales opportunities, ultimately making their numbers?