Lemonade Lesson #13 - Strategic Alliances and more

In This Issue... Lemonade Lesson #13 - Strategic Alliances Lemonade Lesson #12 - Face Off With Facebook Lemonade Lesson #11 - The Lowdown On Twitter Don't Assume Yes You Can More Recent Articles Search Seize This Day

"Strategic Alliances are reciprocal relationships with vendors in complementary industries who are talking to the same prospect base that you are talking to." excerpt from Lemonade Stand Selling

I often conduct workshops on this subject and have learned that it can be complicated. There are several definitions of strategic alliances. I choose the one above because it is the simplest, most straightforward in my opinion.

You want to build a strategic partnership with someone in a complementary industry because they are speaking to your prospect - they are hearing prospects talk about the problems you can solve. At the same time, it is a reciprocal relationship. You are doing the same for them. It can't be a one-way relationship. Those are referral partners and while they can work they don't fit this model.

It works when you find the right person in that industry. Remember that it is always about relationships. You can't open the phone book, or Google the topic and pick someone at random. You do have to start the search process and then meet these people. Get to know them and get a feel for how they do business. Can you refer them? Do they understand the strategic process? You can't enter into one of these relationships with someone who doesn't get it. So move on!

In addition, these relationships must be nurtured on a consistent basis. You can't just exchange stacks of business cards and expect the process to work on its own. You have to engage in the relationship building process with your strategic partner weekly, monthly, daily - whatever it takes to be sure you two are keeping each other in mind.

Ask yourself this question - who is speaking with my target prospect and would be hearing them speak about the problem I solve? That will tell you what the complementary industry is. Once you discover it, start looking for people within that industry who you can start the relationship building process with. Lastly, monitor the progress to be sure you are building a strategic alliance.

What will we be exploring next? Lemonade Lesson #14 - Networking. Now there's a big topic. We'll break it down into pieces as we move along.

"Facebook is used by many people for personal communication with friends and family. There are, however, a lot of business people using it for their business. They set up a page that is focused on their business." excerpt from Lemonade Stand Selling

Facebook Fan Pages were originally thought to be of value for B2C only. However, they are becoming more valuable for B2B companies as well. The value of a Facebook Fan Page is this - you can let your followers know about events, specials, new products, etc via your fan page. There is a place to engage with your clients and prospects - the discussion tab.

Remember that marketing has changed from outbound to inbound. When you have a Facebook Fan Page you can draw your prospects and clients to you. Many companies find that their clients will comment on their fan page, basically providing testimonials that the world can see.

Since many websites were set up a while ago and are therefore static, you can use your Facebook Fan Page to be interactive. And remember, Google rankings look for current content. We've learned that because of this they are looking at the social networks for that content. Having an interactive Facebook Fan Page for your business can help you in the Google rankings.

I connected my blog to my Facebook Fan Page and often list events there. With a button on your website suggesting that people follow you on facebook you can connect your webpage to your Facebook Fan Page.

Visit My Facebook Fan Page to see an example.

Next Monday Lemonade Lesson #13 - Strategic Alliances

"Twitter is all about giving. The people who are followed the most are the people who share information. They post links to articles, websites, books, etc. that they think other people will see value in." excerpt from Lemonade Stand Selling 

So, Twitter is about sharing and being a giver. I submit that you should make a decision first about what you hope to achieve with Twitter. Do you want to grow a following for an upcoming product launch? Do you want to be able to share your own information?

Knowing what you want to do helps you decide how to behave. You can share information like articles and blog posts. This allows you to sprinkle your own information in the stream. Self promotion is frowned upon in the social media world. However, if you do it occasionally and tastefully you will be embraced, not shunned.

In addition, when you share other people's information they will follow you and check you out. You can build relationships with these people. These relationships can help you grow your network and your business.

Pay attention to the people you follow as well. When you read interesting posts, retweet them. This is part of the communication stream that is Twitter. Beware of spending too much time on Twitter. It can be a real time sucker. You have to regulate yourself so you are using it judiciously.

Please note that there are ways to connect your Twitter account to your LinkedIn and Facebook accounts. This can save you a lot of time by only posting once. We'll visit this idea in more detail later.

In Lemonade Lesson #12 we face off with Facebook.

Yesterday I was filming a video clip for COSE Mindspring. I talked about being careful to not assume that you know why someone isn't getting back to you.

In sales there is the danger of assuming you know why a prospect isn't returning your call or responding to your voicemail or email. The problem here is that you are most likely wrong. We set ourselves up for failure when we automatically go to the worst possibility. That possibility is this - 'they don't want what I have to sell.'

Well, there's a lack of confidence! There are many reasons why someone might not return your call. So, why go the the worst reason? Consider this - they have other priorities, other issues to deal with; they are overloaded and just dealing with the most immediate; they have every intention of returning your call but other things keep getting in their way. And the list goes on.

Try this on - be pleasantly persistent and keep reaching out. Try different messaging or increase the time between calls. Be kind and assume that they really do want to speak with you when the time is right.

Your job as a salesperson is to have confidence in yourself, your product/service, and your company. When you know that you have something of value to others, it's not a 'no' until they say 'no.'

There is a distinct difference between those who believe they can and those who don't. They are both right. The difference is the accomplishments experienced by those who think they can.

I marvel on a daily basis at the people who believe they can. That belief is the foundation upon which they launch. I watch new entrepreneurs, new authors, as well as seasoned business people who embrace change.

They all have something in common and it is a belief that they can; a positive attitude. That's it. No magic, no tricks, no advanced college degree. simply the belief that they can achieve something they currently don't have.

Remember I said that those who don't believe they can are also right. That may sound strange but think about it for a minute. They believe they can't and therefore don't try. Or don't try with energy and commitment. And so, they get exactly what they expected - nothing.

What is your decision? What side of the fence do you sit on? I sit on the 'yes I can' side. And I am proven right over and over and over again. That proof serves as a propellor and helps me continue to move forward. It feeds on itself. The more I believe I can, the more I accomplish which makes me believe more strongly, and accomplish more. Now that's a hamster wheel to be on!

So again I ask - what can you do in your business today? What can you decide you CAN do and then set out to accomplish? Can't wait to hear your story!