Next Level Executives

PodCamp Boston 3 (PCB3) was amazing. It was an honor to have the opportunity to lead a session. Below is a video of my presentation and the conversations that it generated.

Join the Conversation

As with all episodes of our video series you are encouraged to participate by leaving comments here on this post and/or on Twitter. For Twitter comments please use the hashtags #NextLevel2 and #pcb3 in your Tweet so we can capture it below in our Twitter Search feed and so those who were interested in PodCamp Boston can see that the conversation is ongoing.

nextlevel2 - Twitter Search:

• Updated video of my #pcb3 session is now up and ready for viewing http://is.gd/10GA #NextLevel2

• @HeatherWit Thank you for the compliment. I am glad you found it valuable. I’m extra glad that we connected. #NextLevel2 #pcb3

• @AnnKingman You are very welcome. I enjoyed meeting you and look forward to hearing what you think of my #pcb3 session. #NextLevel2

• Finally! My PodCamp (#pcb3) session video is ready for viewing http://is.gd/10GA To participate in the conversation use #NextLevel2

• I’m giving MDialog a try for the #pcb3 video of my session #NextLevel2.

• @MikeLangford Well I can summize you had fun at #NextLevel2 during #pcb3. yesterday I wrote some suggestions for people attending pcb3.

• @elle6503 Thank you for being a great smiling face in my session (#NextLevel2) session yesterday at #pcb3. Are you here today?

• Thankyou for attending my session (#NextLevel2) at #pcb3.

• @mmpartee Twittering while I talk about Twitter is super cool. Thank you for attending my sessing (#NextLevel2) this weekend at #pcb3.

• @vanhoosear Great to see you a #pcb3. Thank you for contributing to my session (#NextLevel2) with your question yesterday.

Think about the groups and business organizations that you currently belong to. Do you have goals set forth for how they will positively enhance your business? Becoming a “Joiner” should be goal and results driven like any other business or marketing strategy you put in place in your business.

Many students fresh out of college will graffiti their resume with listings of activities they were involved in and sports that they played for a whole semester. While, I never wrote that I was the worst player on my intramural whiffle-ball team which lasted for a total of 6 weeks, I certainly gave more due than was worth to a number of clubs that I participated in on my entry level resume. “Participated in” is really going too far, passively sat through about 50% of the time is a more appropriate definition. I watched as other students made it to the top of the heap and devoted their whole lives to Student Activities Boards and Student Council, and just couldn’t bring myself to muster up the energy needed to be the president of anything.

I often thought that I wasn’t the go-getter that I needed to be to get the great job and be the excellent student. But the truth was, I was an excellent student and I loved being one. After all wasn’t that why I was going to college in the first place? I wasn’t studying Politics (like the Student Council President) or seeking out a career in events planning (like the Student Activities Board President). I realized (maybe a little too late) that they knew something I didn’t. They were joining the groups and organizations that mirrored their interests in the “Real World” and could help them most in providing experience in their field. They were embarking on a journey of personal branding while I, on the other hand, enjoyed painting big signs and getting free t-shirts.

Now, with a couple years of working with membership organizations under my belt, I have come to find that there are many business people that do the same thing when it comes to joining networking organizations and business groups. They join without first assessing the ways in which they can leverage their membership to better enhance their business goals. Sure, there are not as many big posters to paint or free t-shirts but there are plenty of other reasons that one might join a networking organization that is destined to make you disinterested within the first six months.

So how does one go from merely being a “joiner” to someone who uses their membership with a business organization as a strategic component within their business plan?

They Ask The Right Questions Before Joining

Questions for you and your business:

• Am I looking for a business organization that helps me to cast a wide net or cater to niche market?
• Am I looking only to gain new referrals or would I like to be part of an organization that also develops my business through other means, like collaborative strategic planning?
• Am I looking for opportunities to build my business on the web ?
• Am I looking for opportunities for Professional Development through my business organization?

After deciding which of these things are important to your business it is much easier to assess which business organizations can best fulfill your needs. For some folks a group like Next Level would not be a good fit because what they would like to get out of a business organization and what the group offers do not match up. For example, if you are an employee without profit and loss responsibilities your interests in a business organization would not necessarily include collaborative strategic planning and you might not be interested in professional development opportunities that are specifically designed for the business owner. On the other hand, a small business owner who is looking for a collaborative environment where they can gather advice from other business owners, build their web presence and participate in professional development opportunities specifically for them, might find Next Level to be a viable option.

They Set Goals For Themselves and The Organization

Some examples of goals:

• I will attend 6 events or meetings the next three months
• I expect to meet at least 20 new business folk through my affiliation.
• I will make a specific change to my business that I can accomplish through the tools and network of the organization.
• I will improve my web presence by being the the first page of listings when someone googles my name.

They  Reassess their Membership and Involvement on a Scheduled Basis

At three or six months you should take the time to assess what the organization has provided for your business and what efforts you have put in. You take a look at your marketing strategies to see if they are working, right?

Some Questions to Ask:

• Did you meet your goals?
• Did you live up to the participation standard that you set forth?
• Were there enough opportunities available to you to live up to the participation standard you set forth?
• Where do you think the organization could have been more effective?
• Did you pick the right goals?
• Did you pick the right group?

Being clear about what you want out of an organization will help you better determine whether or not your money is being well spent.

What do Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin, and Barack Obama have in common with MC Hammer?

Okay, I know the title of the post gave it away. Yes, they all use Twitter. The real question I guess is, why do they use Twitter?

What does Twitter, this ridiculous mico-blogging tool that limits posts to 140 characters have to offer these guys? At first glance it seems insane that anyone who takes himself seriously, or even the Hammer, would consider joining the fray where the question “What are you doing?” is often answered with total honesty. And like almost every Twitter user on the planet that is what I thought until I started using the tool and watching how others use it.

I signed up for Twitter back in October 2007 during PodCamp Boston but it was useless to me. I was following one person and had one follower, Aaron Strout of Mzinga. I already had Aaron’s email address, his IM screen name and his phone number, there was simply no reason to use Twitter just to talk to Aaron. I left it alone until a few months ago when I noticed Aaron had added his Twitter handle to his email signature and I decided to take a second look. Then I Googled Aaron Strout and noticed that not only does his name fill page one but his Twitter page ranks number three.

Why is Twitter Useful For Me?

Once I saw Aaron’s rankings I was sold because despite owning two companies, Course Pilot Financial and Next Level Executives, with separate and distinct brand identities I knew that my own name was associated very closely with each. A quick Google search for Mike Langford made me realize I needed to take some action. There apparently is some famous photographer with the same name along with a few others. If I wanted to be found through this noise maybe tweeting could help.

Guess what? It worked. I am all over page one on Google now. But the story doesn’t stop there.

I realized in the process that Twitter is actually an amazing Personal Branding tool. When I noticed Guy, Seth, Barack and yes you too Hammer, were on Twitter I had to wonder why. Why would two prominent business thought leaders, a potential leader of the free world, and a guy who used to wear big poofy pants while dancing side to side like a hermit crab be on Twitter? Then it dawned on me.

The First Rule of Branding: Awareness

All four of these men depend heavily on the strength of their personal brands as a key component of their continued success. And in the world of branding, awareness rules.

For my money, and Guy Kawasaki and I agree that we would pay to use it, Twitter is by far the most effective tool in existence for generating and maintaining brand awareness. When Guy responded to my tweet about a future business model for Twitter over 13,000 people saw my name. As a result a few of them decided to follow me. The same thing happened when Chris Brogan took the time to say “nice to meet you” after a Tweetup.

Remember, people on Twitter are not just random eyeballs, these people made a decision to follow certain people.

Aware of What Exactly?

Now there’s the rub. Name recognition alone is not brand awareness. Your brand starts to come through when people develop an expectation for what you are about. I know Seth Godin is out to help business people become better marketers. When he tweets there is a consistency with this expectation and his personal brand is reinforced.

So, where does this leave me. I am using Twitter to extend my personal brand to new territory. As a financial advisor I am known quantity, Mike Langford stands for honesty, integrity and a commitment to excellence. In taking on the leadership of Next Level Executives I find myself needing to add new features to the @MikeLangford brand. If you follow me you will quickly see that I am working hard to associate with and learn from some of the leaders in the social media scene. You will also notice that I frequently promoting others and brokering connections between successful business people.

Of course you will also see the occasional plea for a venti iced coffee here and there as well. Let’s just say it is all part of the master plan.

What Are Your Thoughts?

• Do you have a personal branding strategy? Does it involve Twitter?
• Do you have any examples of great personal branding campaigns that involve Twitter?
• Did I miss anything?

I recently developed a presentation titled “Integrating Your Offline and Online Networking Efforts” in which I outline the benefits of having your face to face and face in screen networking work in concert with one another. One of the key elements of the talk focuses on the “who” part of networking for business.

The people in your network are perhaps the most important part of the equation. If networking is all about word of mouth marketing then the mouth must be considered of supreme importance. In order to help you evaluate your networking team I developed the following list of five fundamentals for you and your networking partners:

1. Likability - It seems simple and logical but I am amazed at how many people fail the first test of getting into my network. If I don’t like you then I am certainly not going to open my contact list for you. So be likable. Not fake and annoyingly perky but rather someone who others enjoy being around. Below are a couple of dos and don’ts.

• Do: Smile, be friendly, and be interested in the other person. It also helps to be open and generous with your network. Remember he or she just may introduce you to a big client some day.
• Don’t: Complaining about your job, your spouse, your kids, or the economy and so on is no fun for your networking partner. Try not to dump on people. If you are having trouble with what is unlikable behavior read “The No Asshole Rule” by Robert Sutton and you’ll get the gist.

2. Familiarity - Have you ever had to give a referral with a qualification that sounds a little like this, “He seems like a nice guy. I met him at some event.”? The problem is that even though you like the person, you just don’t know him well enough to add much value to the connection. This is where familiarity comes in. You need to interact with your networking partners frequently enough to develop a level of comfort and to some extent business intimacy. Below is a short list of things you can do that will enhance your familiarity with your networking partners:

• Join or form a networking team that meets locally. Seeing people in person on a regular basis is the fastest way to develop a real relationship.
• Encourage your networking partners to participate with you in a common online social network. The more active each of you are the more familiar with each other (and your respective businesses) you’ll become. If you are looking for a free place to start head on over to the Next Level community site and set up your profile. We’ll get you up and running with some great people.
• Start using Twitter and invite your networking partners to do the same. Twitter’s fast moving and easy to use style makes it the perfect tool to keep up to date with your network partners for business and for fun. Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com wrote a great primer on getting started with Twitter. Once you have set up your Twitter account be sure to follow me and I’ll follow you back. Note: As a side benefit your tweets can add some punch to your search engine rankings.

3. Trust - You’ve heard the saying that “it’s not who you know but who knows you.” I recently amended this statement to “it’s not who knows you but who trusts you” because when it comes to doing business it is all based on trust. Liking you and knowing you quickly become irrelevant if you prove yourself untrustworthy. And while many people say that trust is earned I actually believe that trust is assumed until violated. So be a good guy and act responsibly. This being said there are a few things you can do to enhance your trust metric within your network:

• Ask your LinkedIn connections for recommendations. Testimonials from customers and recommendations from colleagues here offer very public stamps of approval of you and your business.
• Get your link love on. Be sure to ad links to your networking partners’ websites and blogs. Links to and from your site are interpreted as an indicator of trust. Essentially links from other sites are an indication that others have validated your content and view your site as relevant and trustworthy.
• Take the hot seat. Open yourself up to the advice and input of your networking team. At Next Level Executives our members engage in mastermind sessions where they tap the collective intellect of their team to tackle a particular business challenge. You can also leverage online communities, Twitter, and LinkedIn to ask and answer questions of your network. Asking for advice demonstrates you trust others.

4. Competence - Greatness attracts greatness. When I network I look for people who are not only good at what they do but for those who are… well…reaching for their next level. Your network wants to know that you are good at what you do. But how can you demonstrate your competence to large numbers of people, many of whom may not be your customers?

• Start blogging. Laura Fitton of Pistachio Consulting said it best when she referred to her blog as a database of her ideas and expertise. When she talks to a prospective client or networking partner she can point to her blog site as evidence of her competency. Writers are considered experts so start writing. If you are unsure where to begin, start reading and commenting on other blogs in your field or related areas. Before you know it you’ll go from joining the conversation to leading the conversation.
• Speak! I call it presentation magic. Nothing turns a person into an expert faster than a speaking engagement. When you share your expertise with a group you become more than competent, you become a thought leader. And if you do a good job of getting the word out about your speaking gig via the tools I’ve mentioned in this post you’ll find it will pay dividends far into the future.

5. Relevance - Originally the list of four fundamentals above was it. The fifth one, networking relevance, came to me in one of those in the shower “ah ha!” moments as I was going through my mental notes for this post. The truth is that even if I know you, like you, trust you and think you are amazing at what you do you still may not be a good networking fit for my team.

A guy who owns a local lawn care business is unlikely a good networking fit for a room full of Fortune 500 C Suite execs. While the lawn care business may benefit by scooping up some good clients the executives may receive little networking value in return. This works the other way as well.

So how do you assess the relevance of a networking contact?

• Similar Business Size. As the example above illustrates, business size can be a big determinate of your networking relevance. This is certainly not a hard and fast rule as there are plenty of solopreneurs whose primary target market is the Fortune 500 crowd. What you are really looking for is a mutually beneficial networking relationship. Can you help each other?
• Geography - Where do you do business? Where do you want to do business? Seek out partners who have similar target markets.
• Customers - One of the top reasons people network is to get new business. Look for networking partners who have access to your target customer base. Be sure to keep in mind however that referrals often come from places you wouldn’t naturally anticipate so don’t discount a potentially solid person just because he or she isn’t in our target demographic.

Did I Miss Anything?

I am scheduled to give the full presentation of how to integrate your offline and online networking efforts at PodCamp Boston 3 in July so I would love your feedback. Are there any other networking fundamentals that I should include? Do you have any suggestions for social media tools or offline activities that can help people maximize any of the fundamentals discussed here?