Business Will Never be the Same Again

Business development as you’ve known it for the last fifty years is over. We have crested the hill and we are now speeding to a new world of performance.  The jury is in and the die has been cast.  You can either embrace this brave new world or it will scoot right by you.  It isn’t that it looks like we are in for change.  It’s enveloped us.  The battle is over. Are you prepared for it?        

More than 912,000 Canadians joined Facebook in May, just a fraction of the 30 million new members world-wide that month, according to a report in the Canadian Press.

If you think that you can avoid being swept away in the rush, think again.  Hard.

Stopping that flow will prove tougher than capping that deep water blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.  It would be like putting the ketchup back in the bottle -- messy and miserable.  47.9 percent of Canadians (more than 16 million of them) were already on Facebook two months ago. Today, if you are not one of them, you may already be in the minority.

This exponential growth means some very interesting changes in the financial services business and every other one too.  I’ve seen a few personally. While I am no social media expert, (I haven’t been called a geek since before they invented the word…) I can read the tea leaves and am here to wake you up so you don’t flail around worse than that poor BP CEO.

Here’s what I mean:

Social media is the ultimate in “permission marketing”.  You build a network and then you have almost unrestricted access to it.  Because of the inter-relatedness of everyone in the network, people are loathe to disconnect from any part of it so your influence can only grow.

It’s insidious, but it will work to the advantage of business and consumers. Here are a few ways you can use social media to your advantage.

If you are not on LinkedIn.com yet, get on it.  LinkedIn is a business networking site that allows you to connect with all the business people you know. More than that, make anyone who could be a Center of Influence for you part of your network. 

Then, every time you update your information on your site, everyone in your network gets the update. Sure they can turn these updates down, but people don’t because they wonder if it’s a good idea.  Meanwhile, you get to tell your story to an every growing network all the time.

How’s that for “prospecting and promotion” Al Granum?  Who’d have ever thought?

The question you have to answer is” “Do you have a good, CLEAR story to tell?”  Is it focused?  Is it compelling?  If it is, you will attract business. LinkedIn will work for you.

Sure Facebook sounds like a kids’ site but it can do so much more.  Case in point.  I know someone who is going through pre-contract work to join the life insurance business. Market Surveys are required.  Traditional wisdom has this person calling ten people she knows, ten referrals and then ten referrals from referrals.  This all takes some time the old way.

But, rather than do it the slow way, instead, she posts a message on her Facebook page asking for help from her nearly 1,000 friends to complete it.  In 20 minutes she gets 30 phone numbers.  A few days later she’s done and has five generations of referrals.

Game.  Set.  Match.  We have to rethink this stuff…

Imagine… 1,000 friends on Facebook.  How’s that for a “rolodex”? (I know, I know… What’s a “rolodex”?)

Then, we wonder how to tell our “story” most effectively.  How about you use YouTube.com? It has growing value for promotion, education, training and customer support.

I picked this up from my friend Terry Zavitz, Chair of Advocis who tells how they use YouTube video to help explain parts of the underwriting process to her medical clients.  All of this with a $250 HD camera and free uploading to the site.

I’m doing the same thing now with my “JimClassTV” channel on Youtube. Check it out.

The question for you is, “What can you do with the technology?” Introduce yourself in a 3 minute video? Make a pitch for referrals? Explain the process you use?  Talk about the benefits of working with you? Post a few testimonials? Imagine the possibilities…

All of this costs peanuts and it’s the future of business development.  Are you thinking about it?

There’s more but you get the point.  Business has changed.  And really, with these changes, we won’t have to worry about “Do Not Call” or “Do Not Spam” legislation.  We’ll already be in.

Do not call? Do not Spam? Who cares?

Yes, we have to make a few changes to our business approach (emails are much more valuable to you than phone numbers today, for instance…) but it’s all good.  There are ways to make it work together too.  And, it all leads to more face-to-face meetings.

Some things don’t change

I’m Jim Ruta, and that’s just the way it is.