The law of Visibility+Credibility=Profitability (V+C=P) has been promoted by BNI for a few years and makes a ton of sense for offline networkers. You become visible by doing things like authoring articles, speaking at Rotary Chapters and participating in Chamber of Commerce mixers on a regular basis. When people talk with you, research your work and realize you are a person of integrity, your credibility grows. That makes you referable which leads to profitability.
What if you are networking online through Linkedin? How do you create the visibility and credibility needed to become profitable? Here are seven steps you can implement immediately to put the law of V+C=P to work for you on Linkedin today!
1. Complete your profile! Treat your profile as an online resume. You are putting yourself online to generate more business; so potential business partners need to know who you are. Your experience relevant to them is important, so make sure it is easy to read and readily available. So to is your summary. People need to know what you are looking for and your summary is where you tell them. A good, professional looking photo will help cap off your profile and is one thing several small business owners look for before calling. They like to know you are real!
2. Give recommendations! Make sure your recommendations are relevant and specific to the person you are recommending. This helps people in your network gain credibility because you have given a third party endorsement of their product or service. Every time you give a recommendation, it appears as an update on your profile throughout your network too!
3. Ask for recommendations! As I was taught in the Dale Carnegie Sales Advantage course, it is a great idea to ask for a letter of recommendation from customers. That is one offline strategy that translates directly into the online world with great success. Each time someone recommends you, it appears as a status update to his or her network. That exposes you to their network in the best possible way!
4. Answer questions! Every question you answer through the Linkedin Answers tab appears as a status update for you, keeping you visible. Once someone has closed a question, they also get the opportunity to select who gave the best answer. If that is you, it appears on your profile for everyone to see. Answering questions gives you great V+C!
5. Participate in groups! Most universities, Chamber of Commerce and industry assocations have a group on Linkedin. Find a few that relate to your interests and join them today. When you are accepted, get on the discussion boards. Each time you participate in a discussion, it is posted as an update to the group. It is a great way to build V+C to a much larger network!
6. Utilize applications! I decided to check out the new Polls feature on Linkedin to ask questions about networking. As soon as the poll was complete, it appeared as a status update on my profile. I was given a link that I could post anywhere, so I posted it in a few of the larger groups I belong to and asked for feedback. The resulting responses caused several dozen hits to my profile and a few new connections!
7. Status updates! Celebrate client wins, great conversations with new referral partners or even what you just read. This is an easy way to keep in front of your network daily. If you want to update this and several other services at once, check out Ping.fm.
The path to profitability online is the same as offline, even if the methods are different. Make the commitment today to implement at least one of these methods everyday and watch your visibility and credibility soar!
Get Nspired!
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