Always focus on creating friendships first, and develop business deals later.

I never seek out relationships with people on a business level.

That’s lame if you ask me.

And this is the mistake so many make.

They reach out to someone and instantly think about how that person can benefit them professionally or in their business.

Get over yourself already.  You make me want to puke when you do that.

Now I’m not perfect and I know there have been times where I’ve met someone and wanted to know down the line if there was ever potential for us to work together.

But, I’m never discontinuing them as a friend or useful business contact even if I don’t see any potential for us to do business in the near future.

Why?

• You never know who they know, and how powerful their network could be for you
• Helping others always trumps asking for help first.  The law of reciprocity is always on your side
• I’m a Midwestern boy and believe in the Golden Rule, plus it’s just good manners

I’ve been blessed to build a 7 figure business, launch new companies, do over 400 webinars with affiliate partners, speak at over 100 live events, launch new products, consult for major companies, and work on a number of other fun business projects… all because I’ve become friends on a personal level with these influencers and decision makers. (I’ll stop bragging now, I promise)

If I would have gone into these relationships by thinking “how can you help me grow my business” instead of thinking “wow, you are a cool person… let’s be friends” then probably more than half of these deals would never have happened.

Build Friendships First and Business Later

Alright.  So what are the keys to building friendships first and not focusing on how that person can make you money?

It’s simple.

Here are a few things I always focus on when I introduce myself to someone new (both in person and online).

1.  Ask Questions

There’s nothing more people love than to talk about themselves, and their success.  Ask about what their passions are, what they like to do for fun, and about their life outside of business. Asking questions shows you are interested in them and that you aren’t not a selfish prick.

2.  Be Genuine

Be interested in what they have to say, don’t just nod and act interested as people see right through that.  Julia Allison, someone I recently met, is amazing at this skill.  She asks interesting questions, smiles a lot, makes others laugh, and makes every person feel like her friend.  Make sure you are genuine.

3.  Make Connections on the Spot

When I get around to learning about what type of business someone is in, I instantly think about 2-3 people who would be a perfect connection for them.  I often call that person right on the spot and make a quick intro on the phone, then follow up with an email intro that day with others they should connect with.

4.  Use Eye Contact

This is a big one.  I recently met a well known marketer who has made millions online. However, when in conversation with someone I was good friends with he wouldn’t look him in the eyes.  He only looked around the room as to see “who else should I connect with that can help me out?“.   This shocked me and I felt it was extremely rude and embarrassing.

Eye contact can make or break a relationship (both friend and business related).  When listening to others, always focus on their eyes (with a calm smile of course) as this will encourage them to be more open and welcoming to you.  Read my good friend Michael Ellsberg’s book The Power of Eye Contact also, there are some great nuggets of info in there!

5.  Continue the Follow Up

You aren’t a real friend with someone unless you stay connected.   Otherwise you are just an acquaintance of someone you met one time.  Make sure to follow up with them by connecting in person, via the phone, email, and through social networks.  The more you continue to interact with that new friend, the stronger the friendship becomes and more potential opportunities will come from it.

Here’s to Friendships

Friends are everything to me.  Business relationships are great, but they are even better when you’ve created a friendship first.

If you are looking to gain more influence or build your business then these are just a few principles I’d follow when meeting new people.

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What are some best practices you have when you meet people?  Are you trying to think about ways they can help you… or do you focus on them first, and building a personal connection?  I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments section below and feel free to share this with your friends on Twitter and Facebook. 

LinkedIn is the sexiest thing since Justin Timberlake’s song “Bringing Sexy Back”.

It’s so sexy, and such a useful business marketing resource that it has more than doubled its membership in the last year and now grows at a person every second.

If I were forced to choose between using only one social networking site for my business, from Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social networking sites, I would choose LinkedIn, hands down.  I still love these other social networking sites, but LinkedIn is by far the most powerful for your business and career.

It’s that sexy!

Why LinkedIn Is #1

With the average household income per user hitting $109,000, which is much higher than Twitter, Facebook, and the other social networking power houses, you know you are dealing with people who mean business.

Being that it is the largest business networking site in the world, there is a mindset shift when users log on to LinkedIn compared to logging on their cousin sites, Twitter or Facebook.

The mood changes, the messages are more professional. Conversations are geared toward partnerships and transactions, as opposed to how funny you looked in your birthday pictures, and everything is centered around advancing careers or building businesses.

LinkedIn Means Business

Everyone talks about the power of Facebook ads (I’m not discounting how dynamic they can be; in fact, I’ve had great success using them myself), but the LinkedIn ad platform is even more powerful considering the demographic is made up of decision makers.

My point being, if you aren’t using this powerful site to market your business yet, then it’s time to start taking it more seriously and step your game up.

There are a number of ways to market yourself and your business online, but here are 10 LinkedIn tips that will drastically increase your marketing potential:

1.  Complete Your Profile

Your profile is the heart and soul of your online business brand.  It usually ranks in the top 5 of Google search results for “Your First and Last Name”.  When others do a search for your name to learn about your product, service, company, or previous work experience, then you’d better have a rock solid profile or that first impression could drastically tarnish your value.  Make sure you fill out your profile 100% for starters, then go on from there to make it sexier.

2.  Connect With Everyone

A number of LinkedIn newbies or purists will say, “You should only connect with those you already know and trust, so you can make recommendations to others when they want an introduction.”  Believe me, I understand where these users are coming from, but how do you expect to expand your opportunities and options when you shut off communication to the rest of the 85 million plus members on LinkedIn?

Think about it, you already know all of the opportunities that your closest connections can share since you talk to them more frequently.  It’s time to use LinkedIn like a live networking event and introduce yourself to others, make new friends, and start helping more people connect.  Also, start accepting invitations to others who add you, as the more connections you have, the larger your expanded network grows which helps create more opportunities in the long run.  Here are six other reasons you should connect with everyone on LinkedIn.

3.  Customize Your Websites

This is a basic thing that everyone should do.  It’s simple.  Creating a call to action attracts more attention then having a generic link that says “My website”.  Make it look and sound sexier so when people come to your profile they feel inspired to click on your links and go back to your website.

4.  Be Compelling

I have a huge knot on my forehead from falling asleep on my desk in mid-browse when looking at LinkedIn profiles.  Most of them are extremely boring and showcase zero personality or compelling attributes.  Add an interesting story in your summary, have a video recommendation pop up in the first few seconds, or at the least tell people who you are, who you help, and how you help them so there is some direction for people when they land on your profile.  Whatever you do, liven it up a little so the bump on my forehead can go away

5.  Recommend Others

I’m a firm believer in giving and helping others succeed as much as you possibly can.  The more you give, the more you will receive.  Recommending others without them asking you to is a great way to help increase the social proof on their profile, which could be the difference between an OK year, and a great year for them.

6.  Join Targeted Groups

LinkedIn groups, LinkedIn groups, LinkedIn groups!  It doesn’t matter what industry or business you are in, this the part of LinkedIn you should be focusing the most.  There are benefits to both joining and being a part of niche-related groups, and also being the owner of them.

I feel blessed to be the owner of many powerful groups.  Many have over 10,000 members, and one more than 32,000 members.  Think of them as independent social networks where you can spread your message, connect with key partners, and take your business to another level.  Want more? Here are my top 10 reasons to start a LinkedIn group.

7.  Connect With Twitter

I sometimes find that I get more comments and interaction on LinkedIn from the same update I published on Twitter.  The updates (even when synced from Twitter) seem to “stay on top” longer than they would in your Twitter stream.  The more interaction you get, the more others see it as well (it’s similar to Facebook in this regard).

Make sure to connect your Twitter account to LinkedIn.  Others talk about why this is bad because a lot of your messaging won’t be targeted for your LinkedIn audience (especially when you use “@” symbols and hashtags), but for the most part, my message is staying at the top of mind for my connections on LinkedIn and for me that’s a powerful thing.  Want to clean things up?  Just use the #in with a Twitter update and it will sync to your LinkedIn account when there is a specific message you want members to see.

8.  Add Your Company Profile

LinkedIn is constantly enhancing its platform and one of the things that has been lagging, until recently, was the company page section.  Now, it allows you to add a video, share more information about your products and services, and give more insights about your company and the people working there.

9.  Optimize Your Search Ranking

People are constantly searching for others on LinkedIn.  They are looking for employee candidates, freelancers, industry experts, and so on.  Why not optimize your profile to help you be found and contacted by more people looking for what you specialize in?  Wouldn’t it be nice to get a flood of people emailing or calling you to sign up for your services or products?  Make sure you increase your ranking on LinkedIn by following these 5 steps.

10.  Add Advanced Applications

I love the fact that LinkedIn has rolled out a number of applications to help you promote your business or your personal work better.  It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, there is an application for everyone that can help you get your message across better, and improve the overall experience of your LinkedIn profile.  Go to the applications section on your profile to see which ones you could start using today, and make the most out of the new ones that come out in the future.

How Sexy Are You?

Better yet, how sexy do you want to be?

LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to make your body of work sexy. Unfortunately, it also gives you the opportunity to make your work look sub par if you don’t implement these LinkedIn tips.

You have the choice to receive a flood of inbound opportunities for your business and career, or to take the easy way out and not put much energy to improving your profile.

How bad do you want to bring sexy back?

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Image Credit: jose_7640

What is the one tip you received from this post that you think will impact your business the most?  Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.  Also, there are many more business marketing tips out there, and I’d love your input below as to what YOUR most powerful LinkedIn tip is.

Looking to take things to the next level on LinkedIn?  Make sure to grab a copy of LinkedWorking or LinkedIn Master Strategies today.

It’s that time of year.

The time of year just before Halloween where all of the nerds come out for one weekend in Vegas and party like rock stars.  That’s right, BlogWorld is upon us!

6,000 Nerds In A Room!

To be honest, there is no telling what will happen when 6,000 or so nerds… *cough* I mean bloggers, will do when you mix Vegas, alcohol, gambling, strippers, and social media – it may be the most epic weekend of the year for all I know!

I’ve been lucky to attend and speak at BlogWorld before, and I’m even more excited to attend and speak again this year.  I can guarantee you this – there will be madness, a ton of familiar online personalities everywhere, and it will be a blast!  I would add that you would learn a wealth of information from the sessions, but I’m not sure you will be able to make any of them from the late night party frenzy.

There is an actual skill to getting through the chaos of this three day mad house.  You can actually make it a time you will never forget in the fun department, and also meet enough people to help your business grow for years.  Since a top 10 list would be too much for you to remember during your drunken state, here are my 3 simple points you should focus on to get the most out of this years mayhem.

3 Focus Points At BlogWorld

1.  Be Yourself

I hate it more than anything when you go to a conference and you get the sense that people are acting fake.  Please don’t do that this time around.  This is freaking BlogWorld!  A place where you can let loose and have some fun.  You don’t have to dress up in a suit, or act super professional.  You can be yourself and show your true colors.  We are all friendly at BlogWorld and want to connect with the real you since we’ve been stuck looking at your 125×125 thumbnail head shot on Twitter for the past year.  Be yourself, and you will meet a ton of new connections, and your old friends will love you even more.

2.  Have *Some* Plan

I’ll admit, I really don’t have a plan when going into this weekend.  Like I said, it’s a huge room full of really cool nerds and smart people who spend a lot of time online (I use the word nerds in a good way… let’s face it, I’m a nerd myself ).  I don’t circle which sessions I want to attend, or have my night full of all the best parties.  I take each hour as it comes to me, and I make the most out of every second.  That said, I do have *some* plan.  I have a number of speeches, meetings, radio/T.V. interviews, and and a few key parties I plan to attend.  Make sure that you have some things sorted out during each day, but leave room for “up in the air” time as you will want to be flexible and connect with people in the halls, jump from session to session, and more.

3.  Make Your Connections

The most important part about coming to BlogWorld is building relationships.  That’s it.  If you don’t come away by connecting with as many quality people as possible, and helping connect others, then you may have an amazing time, but will have missed the point.  If you want to get completely trashed and lose all of your money, then come back to Vegas another time.  You can still *sort of* do that during BlogWorld, but only if you are building quality relationships on the black jack tables.

Don’t worry about running out of business cards (I’m already out, so don’t ask me for mine) but make sure you gather peoples information in a way that works best for you.  If you want to create a pile of cards, just make sure you mark the key ones you want to connect with and send them personal emails on the flight home.  Out of cards?  Create a digital card with your iPhone notes and add your email, website address, social media info, and email that note to people right as you meet them so you have a record of who you met.

It’s important to collect this information, but it doesn’t matter so much how you collect it, as everything is a blur towards the end of BlogWorld and you will be lucky to come home with half of the underwear you brought with you.

I look forward to saying hi, connecting with you, and having a blast during this years BlogWorld, and if you can think of an extra tip to add to this article, then please add your suggestions to the comment section below.   Bring on the madness!

photo by Incase

Life is full of superlatives. You know, those exaggerated descriptions or ways of referring to somebody or something, usually in an admiring way.

Think about it. There is the greatest birthday present you ever had. There is the finest chocolate cheesecake in the world. And there is funniest joke you ever heard. This list could probably go on and on with items that were the biggest, brightest, highest, yummiest, coziest, fuzziest, loveliest or cleverest.

And while this list could probably continue describing the highest quality or degree of most any aspect of your life, here is one you probably never considered: Who is the most valuable person in your network – your networking MVP?

Just as you might anoint a particular player as being paramount to the team’s success, someone in your network has that same distinction – Most Valuable.

No two people are alike. As such, everyone in your network brings a unique set of talents, temperaments and convictions to the world.

Given that, not all of your networking contacts are the same. Some people in your network are simply outstanding. While others, well, not so much. And the vast majority are somewhere in between.

There is no question that your network consists of contacts that are good, ones that are bad and those that lie in between. Thus, for sure someone is the very best…your networking MVP.

In the book The Champion, my LinkedWorking co-author Frank Agin and Jim Ballard make the simply assertion that we are all looking to network with that one person to singularly put on their shoulders our hopes, dreams and aspirations … and in so doing carry us to greater heights. In short, we all want a Champion in our lives.

In a very unique way then, Agin and Ballard illustrate that we do have such a person in our lives (the most valuable person in our network) and finding that person will lead you to great things.  However, curiously enough they advocate that the best way to find your Champion is not by looking for him or her.

The Champion is a quick read (covering less than 100 pages and selling for less than $10 on Amazon). Most importantly, it has a powerful message…the best way to find your Champion is to stop looking and to…

Have you been looking for a way to step up your game by finding your own champion contact?  The answer may surprise you as you discover the secrets of The Champion for yourself.  Here’s to finding the Most Valuable Person in your network.

I just got back from SXSW Interactive, and for those who attended I hope you were able to get some sleep because I didn’t get much.

Most people do business between the hours or 9am to 5pm.  Most people.

However, for those who attended SXSW (or who attend conferences in general) know that most of the business happens right around 2am.

Depending on the city, this is the time most of the parties are winding down, and the bars close.  And this is also the time people open up to others the most.

Here is common example of what would go down during a night at SXSW:

We all bond together and take our last drink or rush to the bar to order one last shot.  We pay for each others tab, stumble out the venue door with sore feet from the long day of walking at the conference and non-stop dancing.  We get really close when speaking to one another because our ears are ringing from the thumping techno beats, classic rock, and 80’s greatest hits.

We grab a slice of pizza from that shady street meat vender with crazy tattoos.  Then we share cab rides or walk back to the hotel lobby and tell tales of the nightlong journey to the other conference mates who missed out on “the best party of the evening”.

We rally the troupes and lounge around in smelly, sweaty clothes acting as if we have known each other our entire lives.  Then as the first person starts to fall asleep in the middle of the hotel lobby, we take our last picture of the night and post it to Twitter, and Facebook for everyone to see.

We watch as others rush to the bathroom to throw up their $113 bill of Coyote Ugly’s finest alcoholic beverages.  And after this, we realize it’s time to go to bed so we can wake up for another long day of panels, networking, and partying.

A mosh pit of high fives, hugs, and kisses take place as we say goodnight (like in the video below)

We tell each other how much fun we had, how much of a blast it was getting to know one another, and mention how we look forward to hanging out with that person in the future.

This is when business happens.

When we start having experiences with one another outside of the working mindset, and in an environment that breaks down walls and allows for a more light hearted connection.

Remember, we do business with those we know, like and trust.  One night with someone at a party gives you the best opportunity to get them to like you, know the “real” you a little better, and trust you even more.

I generate business deals all of the time at 2:00 am.  Do you?

Please share one experience where you connected with someone late at night and how it translated into a joint venture, new job, more sales, or more business opportunities.  I would love to hear your story.

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Image by Steve Hall

There are two main approaches people have when connecting with others on LinkedIn.

1.  Is to connect with only those you know well

2.  Is to connect with everyone

Sure there are cases in between, but for the most part those are the two main strategies people use.

There was some recent discussion about a ProBlogger guest article I did on using LinkedIn to drive traffic back to you website, and the main reason why some only apply #1 is because they don’t want to jeopardize their top connections by having to forward along introductions from those they may not know that well.

However, you don’t have to forward all of your introductions, and you are missing a HUGE opportunity if you don’t connect with those you may not know very well.  Watch as I explain in the video below:

Why You Should Connect With Everyone On LinkedIn:

1. To be found and contacted by more professionals:

Increasing your 1st degree network grows your your 2nd and 3rd degree by millions more people.

2. To drive more traffic to your site:

Any time you update your status or profile, it shows up on the homepage of everyone you are connected to.  More connections = more eyeballs.

3. To generate a TON more leads:

Simple.  More connections = more potential leads

4.  To build your database:

Your database is one of your most valuable assets in business.  LinkedIn allows you to export your contacts (the other “top social networking sites” don’t).

5. To create more opportunities:

So many more opportunities come in that normally wouldn’t  because you are on the “top of mind” for people who might not know you that well (as opposed to the close network of people you already know).

6. To build thought leadership:

The more people you connect with, inspire, help, and influence, the bigger impact you will have on the world.  This creates the potential for more recommendations, more referrals, and a bigger platform as a thought leader in your niche.

Do you connect with everyone who sends you an invite, or do you only add those you know very well?  What are some other reason for connecting with everyone, or not connecting with everyone?