How to Organize all those Business Cards you collect at networking events for Effective Contact Management
by Alan Case
Now that you've had colorful new business cards printed, and have been distributing them diligently, what do you do with the cards you collect from other people? If you're like most people, you have a stack of rubber-banded cards floating around your desk. Or you have been using them as bookmarks, toothpicks, and used gum wrappers and they are all over your office, car, wallet and purse & but that doesn't help you build your business or help you find a job does it?
Without a good filing system, the information on those cards is useless. So clean out your desk and develop a system for prioritizing, organizing, and following up with those contacts. High-tech or old-school?
There are two choices for organizing business cards:
* The traditional way of keeping them in a card file
* The contemporary method of keeping contact info on a computer file
When you return from a networking meeting or trade show, before you do anything else, update your contact information. Rank the cards you've collected in order of importance before you put them away. Separate warm leads who are likely to bring you business--people with whom you definitely want to follow up and whose information you want at your fingertips. This can include prospects, people you will refer to others, or who will send referrals to you.
Personally, I try to write something on the back of all the cards to remind me. Definitely put the date, then where I met them, then something important about them, and then what follow up I need to do with them. For instance, if I said I’d email them an article or get the name of someone for them; make a note of it.
Know your ABZ's...
How you alphabetize and file your cards is up to you. Decide how you remember information best, whether it's by company names, people's names, or by category. Perhaps you are better able to find information if it is organized by region or department. Then, alphabetize them appropriately.
You might also file by date or by the event where you met the person. Just choose one way and stick to it. For instance, don't file some by last name and others by business name, or you'll never find what you're looking for in a pinch.
Electronic = Portable and Duplicable
Storing contact information on the computer keeps your office neater and is one more step toward the paperless office; for most people, searching on the computer is more efficient than rummaging through paper cards. In seconds, you can run a sort and locate contacts by company, name, dog's name, date you met, etc. If you bring work home with you, it's easy to duplicate your contact list, rather than hauling your entire Rolodex with you.
Storing info electronically is also effective for building mailing lists and printing labels. But remember, backup, backup, backup. Have back up copies in case your hard drive crashes and then you’re ready with a backup of your computer database.
I suggest a business card scanner like the CardScan that I use. I come home scan all of the cards into the scanner. The CardScan program reads all of the information on the card and puts it into the appropriate boxes like name, phone number, address, etc. Yes, you still have to go through all of the cards and verify the information. Trust me; it’s a lot easier and more accurate then typing all of the information in. Then you’re ready to transfer the information to a contact management program like Outlook or my favorite, ACT! The CardScan program will also upload the contact information and send out emails periodically to make sure the information is updated. This is so cool.
For a low-tech backup you can use a plastic card file box with alphabetical dividers, filing cards by last name. Or you can also use sheet protectors that are designed to hold business cards in 3-ring binders. Remember, any system will work, as long as you stay consistent.
Finally, remember to follow up with your contacts! Keep a schedule and goals for making contact by phone calls, emails, or snail mail. Periodically go through your filing system and update old information. The reason you store this information is to keep in touch with people. Use your new organizing system to stay efficient and your business will thrive!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Recruiters Use LinkedIn for Recruiting Employees
Nine Ways Employers are Using LinkedIn for Recruiting Employees
By Alan Case – Best-Case Consulting
LinkedIn and other social networking sites are advantageous for employers who use them for both networking and recruiting. I am receiving more emails from my LinkedIn contacts asking me to refer potential employees or help them make a contact for hard-to-fill positions.
The potential for LinkedIn and other social networking sites to play a major role in your employee recruiting strategy increases as millions of potential employees profile themselves on these sites each year.
It's not enough anymore to post a job vacancy on Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, Craigslist.com. Employers are swamped with hundreds of resumes from unqualified applicants when they post on big boards. (You can still find great candidates through these job boards, so continue to utilize them as a part of your recruiting mix.)
But, the world of recruiting is changing. More and more the online focus rests on social networking sites and smaller, specialized job boards. Here's how employers are using LinkedIn, for recruiting. LinkedIn users:
1. Develop and expand a personal network of professionals to whom the employer or recruiter can send a request for a referral of a recommended candidate for a particular job opening.
Scott Allen, author of “The Virtual Handshake” says that in addition to building a referral chain, you need to build relationships: "by building authentic relationships, virtually as well as face-to-face, people will actually make referrals — taking the time to think of possible candidates/prospects in response to your query, or even proactively referring people to you when they hear of a need. But they only do that if they have a strong enough relationship with you. Otherwise you’re undifferentiated from the dozens or hundreds of other recruiters they’re connected to. Strong relationships, not large contact databases, build this kind of business."
2. Stay in touch with former, valued, trusted colleagues for potential future employment relationships. You don't want to lose touch with people who have worked successfully for you or with you in the past.
3. Actively search for candidates among the members by searching on keywords for people with the required qualifications listed in their LinkedIn profile. (This is why keyword rich, well-developed profiles are recommended for professionals on LinkedIn.) Share your contact information so others can easily contact you whether you are actively or passively job searching.
4. Search for potential employees by past or current employer who may have employed people with the needed skills and experience.
5. Search for employees based on references from recommenders, the process used on LinkedIn in which members of your network can write notes of recommendation for you.
6. Can ask your employees to activate their networks to reach out to potential passive candidates for jobs. Employee referrals are valued (Not everyone is looking, but most people are open to the right opportunity.)
7. Can use Inmail, your internal inbox at LinkedIn, to request assistance from your network or selected professionals to find a qualified candidate.
8. Respond to questions in the "Answers" section of LinkedIn. That's how I researched this article and responding can raise your profile in the LinkedIn community.
9. For a fee, you can post jobs on LinkedIn and recruit and hire candidates. According to LinkedIn, "LinkedIn combines job listings, candidate search, trusted referrals and the power of networks to give you results."
By Alan Case – Best-Case Consulting
LinkedIn and other social networking sites are advantageous for employers who use them for both networking and recruiting. I am receiving more emails from my LinkedIn contacts asking me to refer potential employees or help them make a contact for hard-to-fill positions.
The potential for LinkedIn and other social networking sites to play a major role in your employee recruiting strategy increases as millions of potential employees profile themselves on these sites each year.
It's not enough anymore to post a job vacancy on Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, Craigslist.com. Employers are swamped with hundreds of resumes from unqualified applicants when they post on big boards. (You can still find great candidates through these job boards, so continue to utilize them as a part of your recruiting mix.)
But, the world of recruiting is changing. More and more the online focus rests on social networking sites and smaller, specialized job boards. Here's how employers are using LinkedIn, for recruiting. LinkedIn users:
1. Develop and expand a personal network of professionals to whom the employer or recruiter can send a request for a referral of a recommended candidate for a particular job opening.
Scott Allen, author of “The Virtual Handshake” says that in addition to building a referral chain, you need to build relationships: "by building authentic relationships, virtually as well as face-to-face, people will actually make referrals — taking the time to think of possible candidates/prospects in response to your query, or even proactively referring people to you when they hear of a need. But they only do that if they have a strong enough relationship with you. Otherwise you’re undifferentiated from the dozens or hundreds of other recruiters they’re connected to. Strong relationships, not large contact databases, build this kind of business."
2. Stay in touch with former, valued, trusted colleagues for potential future employment relationships. You don't want to lose touch with people who have worked successfully for you or with you in the past.
3. Actively search for candidates among the members by searching on keywords for people with the required qualifications listed in their LinkedIn profile. (This is why keyword rich, well-developed profiles are recommended for professionals on LinkedIn.) Share your contact information so others can easily contact you whether you are actively or passively job searching.
4. Search for potential employees by past or current employer who may have employed people with the needed skills and experience.
5. Search for employees based on references from recommenders, the process used on LinkedIn in which members of your network can write notes of recommendation for you.
6. Can ask your employees to activate their networks to reach out to potential passive candidates for jobs. Employee referrals are valued (Not everyone is looking, but most people are open to the right opportunity.)
7. Can use Inmail, your internal inbox at LinkedIn, to request assistance from your network or selected professionals to find a qualified candidate.
8. Respond to questions in the "Answers" section of LinkedIn. That's how I researched this article and responding can raise your profile in the LinkedIn community.
9. For a fee, you can post jobs on LinkedIn and recruit and hire candidates. According to LinkedIn, "LinkedIn combines job listings, candidate search, trusted referrals and the power of networks to give you results."
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
--- Why I LOVE LinkedIn ---
Why I LOVE LinkedIn --- Let me count the ways:
1. Personal Professional Web Site – it essentially allows a person to have a personal web site of sorts which tells everything (within a professional context) they want to reveal about themselves. This alone is awesome because I’m not a website developer and don’t have a clue where to start doing a website myself. You can post your professional bio or profile just like the big shots at the big companies do and can be found just as easily.
2. Researching and Reviewing – It allows you to see into a person’s background (at least as far as they want to let you go). I can go and remind myself about the background of someone I know (and often have a pleasant “oh yeah” experience), and even more importantly it allows me to check on someone I have to meet. I can then look for points of common interest or common connections which helps me to develop a rapport more quickly then the traditional method. It allows me to discover who we know in common. (“Hey he knows so-and-so too! How about that!) I meet a LOT of people so this is a god send to see all of this.
3. Discovery – It allows me to troll around for other connections. I can look at a company they used to work for and see that there are connections there too. I can see what their interests are and where connections should be made.
4. Identifies Good Networkers – It allows me to see who cares about networking and understands how to do it in the new model. I can tell that Joe who is very well connected but has only 2 connections on LinkedIn either is not interested (already achieved his success and sees no need to help others?) or he just doesn’t understand the value of Social Media Networking, or he just doesn’t understand technology well enough to use the internet at all. Some of them are too snooty to network online. Fine, I won’t waste my time on them.
5. Keeping Track of Old Friends – It let’s me keep track of people I know (or have known). I’ve been saving contacts since I owned my first Rolodex. It let’s me look up someone and say, oh yeah, I remember them. Or more often, wow they are in my list, but I don’t remember them at all. (That’s also where the headshot on the profile comes in real handy to remind me who’s who.) As my network grows, it lets me keep those connections close to me and go deeper into the relationships.
6. Visibility and Transparency – It brings into visibility that which was previously invisible. Where they worked, what their roles were, who they know, where they went to school, etc. This is the fulfillment of my dream of a fully augmented interconnection between people and machines. Our information is recorded and linked and made available for us to see. I see the world as a mass of interconnections and LinkedIn makes some of them visible. I believe it is the beginning of a new level of personal connections. Just as the web and HTML allows us to link to information, a site like LinkedIn allows us to record and expose the links between people using the web.
7. Electronic Memory - I like my computer and my ACT! Database. I’d love to have a PDA. I keep and scan every business card I receive into my computer, as a form of memory. When you network the old way, you get a few tid-bits from a discussion with the person, maybe a few more from asking a friend about them, but that’s about it. You have to remember all that, and you have to make all the connections in your head. And my memory isn’t as good as I would like so more often I miss a connection. LinkedIn is my electronic memory. In reviewing a person’s profile, I will remember other details about them.
8. Networking – In the end, isn’t all of this what networking is all about? I tend to see things very deeply. I tend to see connections other people don’t seem to see. I enjoy being a connection maker and helping people connect the dots. I see the future of information and LinkedIn will be a part of it one way or another.
9. Exponential Value – The value of networks grows exponentially based on the number of connections. There were 4 or 5 million people on LinkedIn when I joined a few years ago. Today, there must be about 22 million on LinkedIn and I’m within 3 degrees of 9 million of them. That’s Huge! Even if you go only 2 degrees away, I have access to 750,000 people from my 1800+ connections. (Even if you take away a third of those due to connections to people outside Colorado, that’s still a lot of potential personal introduction connections.)
Whether LinkedIn continues to snowball or not, a system like this will be a part of the online landscape of the future. There is no avoiding it. Systems like this are the future.
I love LinkedIn. I love using Social Media Networking sites to make connections with other people either locally or globally. I love to see that the world is getting smaller and we’re getting closer. I know that people buy from people they know and trust and I love how LinkedIn helps people know and trust each other. I love LinkedIn.
How do you Love LinkedIn?
1. Personal Professional Web Site – it essentially allows a person to have a personal web site of sorts which tells everything (within a professional context) they want to reveal about themselves. This alone is awesome because I’m not a website developer and don’t have a clue where to start doing a website myself. You can post your professional bio or profile just like the big shots at the big companies do and can be found just as easily.
2. Researching and Reviewing – It allows you to see into a person’s background (at least as far as they want to let you go). I can go and remind myself about the background of someone I know (and often have a pleasant “oh yeah” experience), and even more importantly it allows me to check on someone I have to meet. I can then look for points of common interest or common connections which helps me to develop a rapport more quickly then the traditional method. It allows me to discover who we know in common. (“Hey he knows so-and-so too! How about that!) I meet a LOT of people so this is a god send to see all of this.
3. Discovery – It allows me to troll around for other connections. I can look at a company they used to work for and see that there are connections there too. I can see what their interests are and where connections should be made.
4. Identifies Good Networkers – It allows me to see who cares about networking and understands how to do it in the new model. I can tell that Joe who is very well connected but has only 2 connections on LinkedIn either is not interested (already achieved his success and sees no need to help others?) or he just doesn’t understand the value of Social Media Networking, or he just doesn’t understand technology well enough to use the internet at all. Some of them are too snooty to network online. Fine, I won’t waste my time on them.
5. Keeping Track of Old Friends – It let’s me keep track of people I know (or have known). I’ve been saving contacts since I owned my first Rolodex. It let’s me look up someone and say, oh yeah, I remember them. Or more often, wow they are in my list, but I don’t remember them at all. (That’s also where the headshot on the profile comes in real handy to remind me who’s who.) As my network grows, it lets me keep those connections close to me and go deeper into the relationships.
6. Visibility and Transparency – It brings into visibility that which was previously invisible. Where they worked, what their roles were, who they know, where they went to school, etc. This is the fulfillment of my dream of a fully augmented interconnection between people and machines. Our information is recorded and linked and made available for us to see. I see the world as a mass of interconnections and LinkedIn makes some of them visible. I believe it is the beginning of a new level of personal connections. Just as the web and HTML allows us to link to information, a site like LinkedIn allows us to record and expose the links between people using the web.
7. Electronic Memory - I like my computer and my ACT! Database. I’d love to have a PDA. I keep and scan every business card I receive into my computer, as a form of memory. When you network the old way, you get a few tid-bits from a discussion with the person, maybe a few more from asking a friend about them, but that’s about it. You have to remember all that, and you have to make all the connections in your head. And my memory isn’t as good as I would like so more often I miss a connection. LinkedIn is my electronic memory. In reviewing a person’s profile, I will remember other details about them.
8. Networking – In the end, isn’t all of this what networking is all about? I tend to see things very deeply. I tend to see connections other people don’t seem to see. I enjoy being a connection maker and helping people connect the dots. I see the future of information and LinkedIn will be a part of it one way or another.
9. Exponential Value – The value of networks grows exponentially based on the number of connections. There were 4 or 5 million people on LinkedIn when I joined a few years ago. Today, there must be about 22 million on LinkedIn and I’m within 3 degrees of 9 million of them. That’s Huge! Even if you go only 2 degrees away, I have access to 750,000 people from my 1800+ connections. (Even if you take away a third of those due to connections to people outside Colorado, that’s still a lot of potential personal introduction connections.)
Whether LinkedIn continues to snowball or not, a system like this will be a part of the online landscape of the future. There is no avoiding it. Systems like this are the future.
I love LinkedIn. I love using Social Media Networking sites to make connections with other people either locally or globally. I love to see that the world is getting smaller and we’re getting closer. I know that people buy from people they know and trust and I love how LinkedIn helps people know and trust each other. I love LinkedIn.
How do you Love LinkedIn?
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