How can IT/ Technology innovate and help a company win business?

http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&gid=1831025&discussionID=3601341

Alison's Contribution:

Here are a couple of ideas (which have nothing to do with innovating the future, but rather to do with being there when your client is ready to buy):

1. Who knows whom: a) Integrate your CRM with Social Networking Site(s) contacts. Add others you'll want to track into the mix and monitor when they first appear on a Social Networking site (they will certainly be grateful to know someone who can show them the ropes).

2. Set up a huge Google Alert type system to track every instance of clients being mentioned in the news - and filter it to your CRM so everyone stays up today. May also want to alert industry news from around the world.

3. Set up tracking systems which detail all customer contact from everyone in the company and leverage it to get your key messages to potential customers and to keep your finger on their buying pulse.

4. Twitter responsibly for Blog updates which set out our market leadership position.

5. Use technology to set up an annual "10 touch plan" - their key company dates, a share event date, anniversaries, etc.

6. Have your developers come up with a "give away" series of "no need to support" games/utilities which your clients get to use as a benefit of working with you... I'm thinking something like Google Gadgets.

7. Use the CRM to track referrals from your clients - eg ask for them as the November "10 touch" event and follow up over the holiday/New Year season. Write the thank you to the referee in early December.

Although Jefferson had the technology to copy his handwriting, there is no substitute for the personal touch in winning new and ongoing business.

So, my recommendation boils down to using technology to keep track of the data and organise it so you have More Time for the Personal Touch. This way, you'll have the best info at your finger tips every time you pick up the phone or go to meet your clients.

How many tweets per day from one Twitter user are too many?

Alison's Contribution:

I believe three good tweets a day will keep everyone "twitching" for hours - if you have mastered the art of a crafting really compelling tweet.

I have stopped following a few people who seem to believe that all and sundry are interested in their every bowel movement and other nonsensical messages.

Why the magic number 3?

Well for me, One tweet just isn't enough - there is usually something worth RT (retweeting) and quite often at the "end of the day", one finds a really good gem to share.

Twitch away!

Alison
posted 10 hours ago |

does anyone know how to get the 3rd degree connections to consistently show up in a people search?

Alison's Contribution:

People search results are limited by the type of account you have. With a free account, you will need to narrow the search significantly to find all the level three contacts in the 100 result limit.

Rather than go through the hassle of doing a search multiple times in LinkedIn, a different way (and I would say better for many instances) is to do a GOOGLE search (which will let you look at up to 1000 results) with the following parameters:

"search terms" site:linkedin.com -inurl:dir/ -inurl:companies/

if you simply use "New York", there are over 2m results with the following string (so you'll need to add more search parameters):

"new york" site:linkedin.com -inurl:dir/ -inurl:companies/ -inurl:events. -inurl:groups -inurl:groupinvitation -inurl:jobs -inurl:updates

Let me know if you want any help finding a closer match to what you seek.

All the best,

Alison
posted 11 hours ago

how many connection request invitations are we allowed?

Alison's Contribution:

It widely believed that the invitations limit is 3,000 and that if you receive 5 "I don't knows" that you will have your invitation sending privileges removed until you promise to be more circumspect.

I have just tried searching the online help section and can't find any reference to them.

Also be aware that there is also a limit of 30,000 connections in total.

In terms of being able to contact people, messages can be sent to mutual group individuals who have elected to receive inmails.

In terms of being able to find people - particularly leads, a combination of using maps.google.com and a query limited to the linkedin site is one of the ways I've found to mine information. If you'd like details, please let me know - I'm in the process of writing a how to guide and am looking for feedback.

Hope this helps you get to where you really want to go.

Alison
posted 12 hours ago

Someone recently told me the difference between networking and not working is one letter. Anyone care to elaborate?

Alison's Contribution:

it's also one letter removed from NEW WORKING - which I find more interesting and full of more possibilities.

Alison
posted 1 day ago

Registration / Online

Alison's Contribution:

tend to use one that I have set up specifically for this purpose. If I get spammed, then at least the pollution doesn't go to my work email or my personal account.

Hope this adds some food for thought.

Alison
posted 1 day ago

This may sound silly:

Alison's Contribution:

There is no "spam" folder, so lay that myth to rest. Inmails go to the LinkedIn Inbox. If the user has elected to receive emails as well, they get a second notification.

Based on my experience a couple of years ago, "Expired" InMails are those which aren't opened before 7 days have elapsed since it was sent.

I used to have a subscription account. I was getting so many expired InMails, it was like have a double service.

Eventually I learned the lesson and started picking up the phone instead of relying on InMails to reach my target.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 1 day ago

Connection requests

Alison's Contribution:

I tend to ignore unless they are in my areas of interest.

As you only get 3,000 invitations and are limited to 30,000 connection, it is a good thing to use them wisely to grow your network.

I think it is great to have people who are open networkers. However, if you want to maximise your reach, go for the ones who have 30k connections - they may have many which are the same; however they should have a wealth of tentacles which don't overlap as well. Try Toplinked.com - I'd ignore those that have more than around 26k connections - chances are the list is slightly out of date and once they hit 30k, they can't accept any more invitations, so you will have wasted one of yours.

Hope this helps,

Alison
Links:
http://www.toplinked.com/top50.html
posted 2 days ago

What are some of the best Social Networks to utilize for a corporate presence. LinkedIn, Ning... any others?

Alison's Contribution:

Another one to add is Xing.

All the best,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

Lions, Tigers and Bears OH MY - To Connect or not to Connect

Alison's Contribution:

Please be aware that there is a limit of 30,000 personal connections to your account. I recommend picking and choosing.

So, by all means, connect with those who you believe will either be a good contact or be able to put you in touch with good contacts. I would be wary of the ones who say they never forward introductions...

One of the reasons you are getting unsolicited invitations is that you have your email address in your contact settings. You might also want to include a statement that you don't accept every invitation and those wishing to connect should make first contact outside LinkedIn.

If you need to search for somone specifically, try something like the following criteria for your Google search:

health "los angeles" site:linkedin.com -inurl:dir/ -inurl:companies/ -inurl:answers/ -inurl:events.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

What are you willing to give to someone while expecting nothing in return?

Alison's Contribution:

For me, it is a hand of friendship and the benefit of the doubt... then all we need is a little time together when we can both contribute to the greater good.

All the best,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

Identifying individuals with a large network

Alison's Contribution:

Kendra has offered one avenue. Please be aware that you have 3,000 invitations to work with, so be mindful how you use them. If you get 5 "I don't know this person", your invitation sending privileges will be suspended until you promise to be more circumspect.

You might also try looking for LIONs - LinkedIn Open Networker groups - here at Linked In and also on Yahoo.

Not many people appreciate the dynamics of network "reach" vs quality of contacts. I for one believe that if you have a compelling reason for making contact and know how to pinpoint the kind of person you seek, then you don't need the breadth of reach anymore - as long as you can pick up the phone.

If you really know the kind of person you seek, do a Google search, with the following string appended

site:Linkedin.com -inurl:dir/ -inurl:companies/

so for instance if I was looking for graduate recruiters in New York, I'd start with something like:

"graduate recruiter" "new york" site:linkedin.com -inurl:dir/

and whittle away from there. You can find a wealth of information in the Companies Section of LinkedIn too.

Hope this is of some help to further your thinking with what you ultimately want to achieve.

All the best,

Alison
posted 3 days ago

Connections

Alison's Contribution:

I think it is great that LinkedIn can be used in different way for different people. With 36million users, I think they have a pretty good idea of what works.

Now, your "big problem" is not being brought to LinkedIn's attention - you need to contact customer support to do that.

Regarding your specific request to network:

1. Be aware that you are limited to sending out 3,000 invitations. Use wisely.
2. If you get 5 "I don't know this person" rejections, your connection request privilege will be removed until you promise to be more circumspect.
3. To indicate that you would be willing to network with people who want to join the UTSA Police Department - just put that (and any other types of networking contacts you welcome) in the space with your contact settings.
4. To narrow your search for the types of people you would like to network with at LinkedIn, I recommend the following:

A. Run a Google search on

USA (federal | government) site:linkedin.com -inurl:dir/ -inurl:companies/

B. Then see if you can find an email address for them and approach outside of LinkedIn (check their links, check the internet for references to them, check professional association which might have life-long email addresses, etc).

C. When you have made a connection and believe they will accept your invitation, THEN send a LinkedIn Invite.

Hope this helps
posted 3 days ago

Google profiles. They are watching You!!

Alison's Contribution:

I think your profile looks like a good start - much more information than I have currently populated, so thanks for some great ideas!

In terms of "being found", the challenge I see is that people with a common name like yours or mine have an additional challenge of "associating" with the content which is ours rather than a namesake.

I checked on LinkedIn and there appear to be over 120 James Garner registered. (and I thought I had a tough time with 38 Alison Murrays - LOL). Like you, I included my middle initial in my google profile name.

I think Profiles is a good place to start to "hang other content off of" - I can't think of a better way to express it. So rather than get a bunch of "Stuff", one could find the correct James Garner and then find all the internet resources associated with that person.

For me, I'm happy for the US to test bed it and get the bugs sorted out.

In terms of what's next on Google's radar, I hope it involves something I have never thought of before - I'm sure someone will find a clever way of using it... a bit like using maps.google.xxx to job search.... LOL

All the best,

Alison
posted 3 days ago

how do I invite someone to join a group?

Alison's Contribution:

The ways I know about are:

1. Go to the Group Overview page and Select Share Group - I recommend additing a personal message.

2. Copy the Group Name and URL into an email or LinkedIn message and send that way.

3. I've been told that the group owner can send out invitations. As I'm not a group owner, I don't know how this works.

Hopefully one of these three ways will work for you.

All the best,

Alison
posted 3 days ago

Groups and Answers Privacy: What information about me is viewable to others?

Alison's Contribution:

You are a 3rd level connection to me.

I can see your public profile which currently includes your Full Name, Location, Summary, Experience and Education along with your Contact Information.

If you want to change this, go to Account & Settings, and the two options - Name & Location, and Profile - Edit Public Profile Settings.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 3 days ago

How do I invite someone to join a group?

Alison's Contribution:

Here are a couple of options:

1. Post a discussion in existing Group (A) to join another Group (B).

2. Go to your Group (B - the one you want people to join). Go to the Overview page and Share the group with individuals.

3. Individual invitations. I understand from what I have read on Answers that as a Group Owner, you can send out a limited number of invitations.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 4 days ago

account on the internet

Alison's Contribution:

I suggest you do as Joep has suggested and wait for the indexer to update.

You could also either change your display name (Account, Name & Location) to your first name or try Amending your Name so that it blends in with the crowd.

As you say Kim Assink come up with you in pole position. However, I didn't spot you in the first 100 of a search on Assink. Perhaps using a nickname of just using the Initial K.

Hope this helps,

Alison

PS there were 38 Alison Murrays last time I checked, so I have a different problem - LOL.
posted 4 days ago

How do I invite a friend to join a group?

Alison's Contribution:

Another option is to go to the group Overview page, and use the Share Group option from there - you can message it to several people at the same time.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 5 days ago

If someone gives you a recommendation, do you feel you need to return the favor and give them one?

Alison's Contribution:

First, if someone gives me a recommendation, I am likely to ask if they would like to me to write something about them.

Do I write recommendations for everyone that asks me? No.
Do I write recommendations without being asked? Not without qualifying them first.
Do I recommend people I don't know. No. I have offered to write a recommendation for one person who has spent a considerable amount of time looking into the technical solutions for a question I asked. His view was that he didn't need it.

There was a period a while when people were asking for recommendations for all and sundry. Whilst they may have collected 50+ recommendations, they are of little value unless they are specific. I think that if they are not to the point, then they are a distraction.

Second, do I accept all invitations and forward Introductions? Where I feel comfortable, yes. As with all things, I assess the risks associated with being associated with the approach.

For invitations, I am likely to accept the invitation, and unless I start getting spammed, I'll maintain the link however tenuous.

For introductions, I will give the benefit of the doubt whenever possible. However it there is a huge mis-match, I don't forward and write a note to explain why. There is nothing worse than an introduction stuck "in limbo land".

When someone asks me to write a recommendation for them in order to expedite the process, I only write what I know about them.

Hope this gives some food for thought on the front line of "paying it forward".

Alison
posted 4 days ago