Peggy’s Pointers

I was so honored last week to receive the National Speakers Association, North Texas Chapter 2024 President’s Award for my work with the Membership Connector’s Program.

Always, Always, Always find ways to help others.  Why? Because it’s like Zig Ziglar said:

 “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”

As an Avid Networker and Connector of People, I’m inclined to find time to do some form of networking.

• Be proactive to ask prospects and clients how you can help them grow their businesses today.
• Share your own needs by telling prospects and clients what you are looking for, for example, maybe it’s a warm referral to one of their connections.
• Ask about their closest competitor.  You don’t have to name them by name, just use the opportunity to find out about who else in their sphere of competition might be a great prospect for your products and services.

After all, if you don’t ask, then you have no opportunity to receive.

When you offer to help others, it your chance to shine in your client’s eyes as a trusted advisor and resource.

Peggy Parker Edge ©2022

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Peggy Parker Edge is a Certified Professional Coach, LinkedIn® trainer and LI Profile Makeover Artist, and Business Consultant. To work with Peggy, contact her at: www.peggyedge.com.

Networking = Work!  Just like a Marketing Plan for your business, everyone needs a Networking Plano to grow their business exclusively with warm referrals.

• Identify exactly what type of networking you expect to engage in.
  • Where do your prospects come from?  Business-to-Business or Business-to-Consumer?
  • What levels of management do you target?
  • Do you concentrate on a particular industry?
• Include your networking goals, objectives, and basic agenda for each event.
• Evaluate the Return on Investment (ROI) that you expect to receive from attending a group or meeting.
• ROI isn’t just your “hard costs” of membership or chapter dues.
• Determine your “soft costs”.
  • How much time does your networking require?  Drive time?
  • Are you required to do business with people in the group?
  • Do you have to send a company representative in the event you cannot attend the meeting?  Some organizations require this!
  • Attendance requirements? 
  • What are the time commitments?  Currently, I drive 40 miles round-trip to my weekly B2B networking.
  • What about inviting guests?  Whom do you know that you can invite to become members?  How many guests you are required to bring if any?
  • Identify the synergy partners that you have in the group.  However, you do not have to have true synergy with the group as long as the other members are passionate about networking and willing to open their “little black book” to refer you consistently.
• Overall minimum required commitments of the organization?  Inquire about “unwritten standards of operations.”

Before you join any organization, check them out thoroughly to determine if it is a good fit for your business goals.

Finally, the sole purpose of joining a networking group is to “Make Connections and Seize Opportunities” not to sell everyone in the room!  Doing business with members is an obvious plus!

 ___________________________

Peggy Parker Edge © 2022

Did you know that when you give or receive a LinkedIn Recommendation, it can help build your Personal Brand? You can use this feature to build your credibility as an expert in your industry.

When and how to give or request includes:

► Be specific in your request.
► Include a few suggestive keywords
► As a prompt for the writer, list 2-3 of your key skills
► Layout how the person’s expertise contributed to the overall success of the service they provided

Ideas where a recommendation is warranted:
► In-house corporate Team Projects – as a Team Leader, describe how a particular member of the team was instrumental in bringing the project together
► Company Problem Solutions – talk about how you helped a client resolve issues and overcome obstacles
► Area of specialization – when the work of the individual you are recommending has a particular area of expertise that only they could provide the right solution for you and your company

Be proactive in creating genuine acknowledgment to those who have helped you up your career ladder. Be quick to give and to ask for recommendations from your clients and colleagues.

Peggy Parker Edge (c) 2022

#recommendations, #linkedintips, #personalbrand

I just completed my Executive Coaching Certification from the Professional Coach Academy.

License No: 012-058

February 18, 2021 (No Expiration Date)

I am happy to report that I have recently completed an online certification program by Vengreso, “Selling with LinkedIn for Individuals.”

This certification program is a comprehensive 9-Module training on all of the key elements of your LinkedIn profile.  The class included:

• Module 1 – “Why You Need to Change Your Digital Sales Mindset”
• Module 2 – “Get Off to a Fast Start – Building a Strong Foundation”
• Module 3 – “Be More Attractive – Your LinkedIn profile Makeover”
• Module 4 – “Learning to Engage by Finding the Right People”
• Module 5 – “Best Practices for Learning to Connect – Inbound”
• Module 6 – “Best Practices for Learning to Connect – Outbound”
• Module 7 – “Feed Your Network with Curated Content”
• Module 8 – “Feed Your Network With Created Content”
• Module 9 – “Develop a Digital Prospecting Cadence”
  • Source:  www.Vengreso.com

From the knowledge that I gleaned from this all-inclusive training, I now help Sales Executives “GET THE EDGE” with a LinkedIn® Profile Assessment Audit Makeover.

• WHAT OTHERS SAY:  “…After (Peggy) completed my LI makeover, I was extremely pleased that my LI Social Selling Index (SSI) score improved 40% within a couple of weeks.”

To learn more about how you can “Get The Edge Over Your Competition,” call Peggy today to learn how you can get your LinkedIn profile updated using her 30-Point LI Profile Assessment Audit.

Peggy P. Edge © 2020

How often do you engage with your LinkedIn prospects and clients using LI Notifications?

One of the best ways to keep up with what’s happening with your peeps is to consistently monitor your LI Notifications. This is where you learn who the movers-n-shakers are in your professional circles.

Here are 9 types of LI notifications:

1) A new job change

2) A promotion within the existing company

3) Work Anniversaries

4) Who Viewed your Profile

5) Updated location

6) Share a Post

7) Having a Birthday

8) Was Live on LI

9) Received an Award or Honor

All of these notifications are excellent ways to engage your connections to start a conversation with a quick phone call, drop a hand-written note in the mail, or a congratulatory email to let them know that you are thinking about them.

To start a dialogue, take a few minutes to look at their profile to see if there is anything new or different about them that you can use to interject when you contact them.

For example, recently, I was going to reach out to a long-time business associate who had been promoted in his company. Looking at his profile Isaw that he and my hubby attended the same university. This gave me 1 additional point of reference when I called to congratulate him.

So, don’t forget to keep an eye on your LinkedIn Notifications for new opportunities to engage with your network.

#LinkedIntips, #SalesProspect, #Networking

Peggy P. Edge © 2020

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Peggy P. Edge is a Certified Executive Coach, LinkedIn Trainer, Speaker, and Business Consultant. She works with Sales Executives to help them GET THE EDGE over their competition using LinkedIn as a marketing tool. To work with Peggy, you can reach her at: peggy@peggyedge.com or office: 214-725-7626.

Recently, I received two job change notifications from my LinkedIn® connections. I went out to take a look at their profiles expecting to see some information about these new positions. To my dismay, neither of my connections had updated their LI profile appropriately.

One person still had their previous job title listed in their headline. The other person had not updated the website of their new company.

Anytime that you have a major change to your career, be proactive to update your LinkedIn® profile as soon as possible. When making a job change, here is the relevant information pieces that you need to update immediately:

Photo – Spend a little money to have a professional photograph of yourself. Remember the dress for success pointers that you need to look like a professional if you expect to be taken seriously in your business.

Headline – Create a headline that is reflective of what service you provide to the marketplace. Some people think of this as their actual job title. Instead, when deciding how to describe your job position, think about how someone might search for you with your area of expertise.

Business email address – Lots of folks put their personal email in their contact information. LinkedIn® is a professional business in social media. Please include your business email address. Trust me; you will not get spammed any more than you do otherwise.

Company Website – Include your company’s website so that people can connect with you and your company. Too many times, I have seen my connections forget to update this portion of their profile.

Work Experience – Create a 3-paragraph description of your new position. Use present tense grammar when writing about your new job.

· 1-2 sentences about the company, including the size of the organization, number of branches, and products/services offered.

· 1-2 sentences about your written job description. If you are in management, include the number of employees of which you are responsible.

· 1-2 sentences about what you do in addition to your prescribed job.

· Update your former employment description with past tense verbiage.

Phone number – Provide your office phone number in your contact information. When I teach LinkedIn® classes, I’m adamant about making it easy for people to get in touch with you. Again, you won’t get any more robocalls or solicitation calls than you do normally.

About / Summary – Develop a new summary (2600 characters maximum) that outlines who your prospects are, what product/service you provide, and why you have a problem solution that a buyer needs. This is an opportunity for you to talk, in detail, about your area of expertise. Create this summary in the present tense. At the end of your summary, include a Call-to-Action that includes your phone number, website, and email address.

Education – Have you completed additional continuing education coursework? Or earned a special certification or degree? Update your education section of LinkedIn® with any classes that you have taken.

Skills – What about new skills learned or obtained during your prior employment? Have you learned a new CRM program or become proficient with Excel spreadsheets? Be sure to include all of your skill-set information on your LI profile.  Be proactive to ask for skill endorsement from those who can speak to your areas of expertise.

Volunteer / Civic work – Were you the captain of a team to raise money for your favorite charity? Employers, as well as prospective clients, are very interested in seeing that you are proactive in giving back to your community. List the volunteer experience as well as give details of any managerial work that you provided.

Recommendations – Give to get!  Be willing to provide a recommendation to several people who you have worked with.  Former supervisors or business associates are good examples of people who know, like and trust you.  Don’t be shy about asking.  If you don’t ask, you will not receive it!

Finally, start reaching out to your most trusted contacts to let them know that you have made a career move.

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2020

Peggy Edge provides LinkedIn® training to individuals as well as sales teams. To hire Peggy, call her at 214-725-7626 or link with her on LinkedIn® at: www.linkedin.com/in/peggyedge

Your LinkedIn® Summary can be used to layout your personal brand. This is where you can shine to the marketplace. 

Remember that prospects and clients alike will vet you through your LinkedIn® Profile. You want to look as professional as possible on paper. The old saying that people make a judgment about you within the first few minutes of meeting you applies to your professional LI profile as well. This is why your LI Summary is so very important.

To craft an effective Summary here are a few pointers that you can include to help outline your expertise, your company and what/how others can work with you:

• You have 2000 characters to write your Summary – use it to maximize your profile.
• Written in 1st person present tense.
• Be buyer-oriented…not me-me-me. (List your accomplishments in the Work Experience area of your profile). 
• What you do for the client – Think keywords.
• How you work or something about your process.
• A brief story about how you have helped solve a problem for a client.
• An excerpt from a client testimonial.
• What product/service that you offer to the marketplace.
• List of your areas of expertise.
• Your Promise to the client and/or Your Mission.
• How can prospects get in touch with you…list your website, email and phone# at the end of your Summary. 

Keep in mind to answer 3 questions: Who? What? Why?

• Who are your prospective clients? What levels of management and niche industries or markets are you interested in working?
• What product/service do you provide to the marketplace?
• Why is your product/service offering the answer to specific problems…detail your value proposition?

If you don’t have enough room within the Summary to talk about all of these pointers, move some of the highlights to the Work Experience area of your profile.

Since you can’t use bolding, underline or italic script to enhance or draw attention to each of these areas, you can CAPITALIZE the heading of each area. Create separate paragraphs for each section.

Before you post your final Summary, copy/paste it into a grammar check program like Scribens. (This program is free: www.scribens.com) or Grammarly (also has a free version: www.grammarly.com).

Finally, preview your entire work experience to make sure that you have your most current work written in 1st person present tense. 

Include any accomplishments here. Write a brief 1-2 sentence paragraph overview of your company, including size, number of employees, and/or gross sales. Next, create a 1-2 sentence statement about your official job description. 

If you are in management make a statement about your supervisory experience. Your last paragraph should include 1-2 sentences detailing any additional work that you do above and beyond the standard job description.

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2019

—-Peggy is a LinkedIn® trainer who provides customized programs for individuals, sales teams, civic/trade associations, and educational institutions. To hire Peggy or Link with her, go to:  www.linkedIn.com/in/peggyedge 

Have you received recent recommendations through LinkedIn?  Instead of waiting for others to recommend you and your work, be proactive:

•  “Give to Get”–Be willing to reach out to a few of your key connections and write a recommendation of their work and expertise.
• Don’t be shy to ask for a recommendation from a client or one of your LI connections who knows your work ethic and/or industry expertise.
• If you have a recent project that you have completed with a client, use this opportunity to solicit how well they are pleased with your work by asking them if they would be willing to write you a recommendation.
• Keep in mind that you have up to 3000 characters of which to work.  This allows you enough space to re-cap a brief story of how both of you worked together.  Remember to be as detailed as possible explaining each other’s industry expertise.
• Some clients may ask you to draft something for them.  This is a great opportunity for you to tell the story for them.
• Believe it or not…prospective clients and/or recruiters will vet you on LinkedIn and are always interested in how well you are received and known in your field of work.  Be sure to give and to receive current recommendations. 

Peggy P. Edge © 2019

Peggy is a LinkedIn trainer who provides customized programs for individuals, sales teams, civic/trade associations, and educational institutions. Link with Peggy at www.linkedin.com/in/peggyedge