Everywhere I go to speak, I always ask the same question as a social media ice breaker. That question is, “How many of you buy from someone who is just average at what they do?” People buy from people who they think are the experts. Your expert reputation is the best opportunity that you have in your business to close sales. People follow confidence. They follow the lead of those who know what they are talking about. Why? Because we all can’t be experts in everything. We need to rely upon the advice and council of others for decisions we make every day.
How are you being a source of expert advice and council for your customers and prospects? If you have been doing what you do for any length of time, you most likely have customers who believe in you. You have an opinion that matters. You have a point-of-view that might be unique to everyone else that you compete against. You have an expert brand. It just needs to be drawn out and used more often to benefit you and your customers.
What does “drawing out” your reputation mean when we are talking about social media? It means that it is transparent, easily findable online to the right people. It means that your site or blog should be an easy way to find out more about your expertise. Is it? And when you are Googled, what comes up? This really matters!
Roughly one out of every two business introductions results in an online search. Looking up people online is an extremely common practice. 75% of all business that responded to a recent Microsoft survey said that their companies have formal policies that require hiring personnel to research new applicants online. Mid-level managers get searched about 14 times every day. The biggest Google Adwords Pay-Per-Click advertiser is a people search company. Finding more about people online today is a common practice.
If you have not already, Google yourself and your company name and see what comes up. If it’s not what you would like to see to perpetuate your expert reputation, then you need to take the actions to control the top page of Google! It’s called online reputation management. It involves doing things to get found on Google like profiles, websites, reviews, events, articles, etc.
And when you see how easy it is to get control of the top page of Google for your name and company name, what should you do? You use it as a sales tool! You tell people about it all the time. When people ask for my references or your background, I just say, Google me! In fact, I have gone one step farther. I reprinted all my business cards with a new twist. Take a look at the images below…
When I meet new people, I tell them that my contact information is on the back, but if you want to know about Steve MacDonald, then Google me and the name of my company as I hand over the business card. Why? Because I know what they are going to find. And everything there was assembled by Google. It’s a wonderful 3rd party endorsement. It’s public relations like value. What people don’t know is that I worked very hard to make sure I had these great results on Google, creating a well-managed online reputation. YOU CAN DO THIS TOO.
If you would like more information about how, then go to our main site. We have training classes as a part of the Practical Social Media Community happening all the time. We’d love to see you there.
