Social Networking
When I first got into sales several years ago, I had a mentor. The first thing on her training agenda included a trip to the mall to buy a standard black cocktail dress and a pair of good heels. This was accompanied with the right shade of (not too bright) red lipstick and subtle perfume. I was being groomed to be the face of the company that attended every business, association, and cause function that had some type of connection to our field of work..
This is still a standard way of networking but in today’s world we have added a new element – Social Networking. Imagine sitting at home on your computer or at Starbucks on your laptop and touching 500 people while in your workout clothes! With today’s technology it is as easy as opening your Facebook, Plaxo, Linkedin or Twitter accounts. With all the choices available I decided to do a little research and have listed some of the top sites that are being used in business today.
When I first got into sales several years ago, I had a mentor. The first thing on her training agenda included a trip to the mall to buy a standard black cocktail dress and a pair of good heels. This was accompanied with the right shade of (not too bright) red lipstick and subtle perfume. I was being groomed to be the face of the company that attended every business, association, and cause function that had some type of connection to our field of work..
This is still a standard way of networking but in today’s world we have added a new element – Social Networking. Imagine sitting at home on your computer or at Starbucks on your laptop and touching 500 people while in your workout clothes! With today’s technology it is as easy as opening your Facebook, Plaxo, Linkedin or Twitter accounts. With all the choices available I decided to do a little research and have listed some of the top sites that are being used in business today.
10 Social Networks
1. facebook - http://www.facebook.com – general networking site – business/friendship
Obviously, not all of these sites will work for your specific needs but if it is your mission to get you and your company out there I would at least be on linkedin, twitter, and the most used facebook. The rest are for those special interests that you have.
For your Calendar/Data Base needs, I use Plaxo. http://www.plaxo.com – this site will continuously contact and update your data base while you communicate with your clients and friends.
If you find yourself in need for Web Hosting – a home for your personal or business website I suggest - .Go Daddy - http://www.godaddy.com – everything you need to run a web business from a domain name to email to storage space and they even have site builders all moderately priced.
Most people today have multiple Email Accounts . If you travel you may use one just for your flight, hotel, rental car notifications and updates, or, you may want one for your social connections as opposed to using the family account.
Top 5
1. hotmail.com
2. gmail.com
3. mail.com
4. yahoo.com
5. msn.com
Another highly used communication venue is Web Chat . This is a great way to hold a meeting with your much to busy contacts.
Top 5
1.Meebo.com
2. aim.com
3. aim express.com
4. aol chat
5. chat rooms.con
Tech Savvy sites.
Top 3
Top 3
1. zune.com
2. php date.com
3. geek squad.com
Real Estate Sites
Top 5
Top 5
1. realtor.com
2. zillow.com
3. remax.com
4. realtor.com
5. real estate.com
Home loans
Top 5
1. Countrywide
2. mortgage calculator
3. homegain.com
4. citimortgage.com
5. mortgage rates.com
Business
Top 4
1. audacity.com
2. magento.com
3. adp.com
4. elance.com
I will not be getting rid of the black dress anytime soon as I still find it a great (warm) way to build relationships. I must say that I do like having the capabilities of touching 100’s of contacts at a time while still in my work out clothes!
