The Back Door is for Friends 

 Every time I sit down to write this column, I am thrilled that you are out there willing to take time to read it.  I haven't worked with that many of you and you probably don't see me as your tech or process coach, efficiency advisor or paid consultant, but I hope you see me as a real person.  I hope you see me as someone who really cares that you are successful in whatever you do.  And I really appreciate that you take time to read this because it brings you some value.  After years and years of email being a huge part of our business lives, the stats are pretty clear; we pretty much hate it and love it at the same time.  And I place newsletters into the same category.  It's in this vein that I thought I'd share a tip or two.

I was in a meeting with some really smart CEOs the other day and the topic of "messaging" came up.  Specifically, how often they should send messaging out to their email lists.  I thought the reply was spot on (thank you Kevin!); keep an eye on your stats.  If your "opt outs" exceed your "opt ins", you're over reaching and close to spamming.  Yes, you can spam an "opt in" list and mess up all the conscientious work you did to develop a list of people who want to hear from you.

It's imperative that you view your list stats every time you send something.  Isn't a simple are we growing or receding, a great metric?  Don't you want to be talking with "friends"; people who have given you permission to just come in the back door?  Friends who don't even ask you to knock, although you do because it's polite.  Why would you EVER mess up that relationship?  I'm sure you wouldn't do it intentionally, but I know for sure that companies do it every day.  And generally they do it without knowing it.  They don't monitor their lists.  So be careful.  Very careful.  If someone has given you permission to use their back door, treat it with respect.  If you lose the relationship you may not be able to repair it and you'll have to knock at the front door and there there's a chance you won't get anyone to answer.

Click here to join our blog discussion or simply shoot me an email when you get a chance.

Networking on Steroids (part 2) 

by Stephanie Darden, President & Creative Director of FDG{creative}

In part 1 of this column I focused on why LinkedIn is the must-have in your professional business networking repertoire. Since they announced their IPO in May, the #1 recognized professional networking site gained 6.7% more users, expanding its already impressive roster of more than 100 million global users. And to help put the popularity and value proposition of this site into perspective, executives from all 2010 Fortune 500 companies are accounted for on LinkedIn as of January 2011. And, 73 of the Fortune 100 Companies utilized LinkedIn's hiring solutions.

This time, it's all about how to effectively use what I commonly refer to as one of the most important, yet underutilized, social media sites for business.  

1.      You are not the default bald, blank grayscale character that comes standard with all LinkedIn accounts. It sounds like a no-brainer until you start searching through the profiles and quickly find this little generic icon popping up everywhere. Find a photo of you that you feel confident serving as your digital self and upload it right away. People need to see you, recognize you, and if it is a new relationship, your photo will give them the cue that they located the person they were searching for. Take it a step further and invest in headshots that set you apart through skillful lighting, dynamic vantage points, anything that evokes a sense of your personality (of course, in a manner consistent with your professional networking objectives).   

2.      Completing your profile extends beyond the usual employment, educational, and general information stats. Just as you would show up polished and poised for new opportunities at a traditional networking rodeo, invest in your LinkedIn profile by integrating free apps available through the site. Select the ones that make the most sense for you and the industry you are striving to conquer. Click here to browse available free LinkedIn profile apps. My two favorites are Portfolio Display(because it gives me a chance to showcase visuals and information from brand + marketing campaigns I've created) and TripIt. TripIt helped me set two new business meetings on separate occasions because I could see that those potential clients were also in the same city at the same time of my travel. One of my clients reconnected with one of their former clients who had been out-of-sight, out-of-mind when he realized through TripIt that they were going to be at the same conference this past spring.   

3.      "Share an update" to stay front and center. Consider it your mini virtual soapbox for sharing bite-sized updates about you, your industry, your business dealings, anything that supports your professional networking objectives. For those of you already using Twitter, tie your LinkedIn updates to your Twitter account for a convenience so you can be in two places at once. I may have already confessed that I am an Analytics junkie. So, believe me when I tell you that the value of daily posts has been proven to me time after time in the volume of subsequent visits to my LinkedIn profile and company website. When I am on vacation or get lazy and lapse on my posts, visitation takes a dive. It's proof of the out-of-sight, out-of-mind scenario once again. By sharing, you appear front and center on the home page of the site when others login. But be aware of your surroundings: LinkedIn may be categorized under the social media umbrella, however your updates should be professional and relevant to you and your professional niche and industry.  

4.      Join Groups and get engaged. Locate Groups that make sense to align yourself with professionally. These can be organizations you belong to, publications you regularly read, even your alma mater. Once you have joined the Group, engage in Discussions on topics that you have experience with in order to help showcase your expertise and unique vantage point. The next step: start a discussion! The beauty of LinkedIn Groups is that you have a forum to share knowledge, acquire information, and ask questions.

5.      Use a sniper, not shotgun, approach. LinkedIn has fantastic, intuitive search features. If you already know who you want to connect with (company or individual names), locate them and initiate a connection request. Look at your current important connections and their own connections. Locate potential connections and understand first what you may have in common (i.e. Do you serve the same industry? Are you members of the same organization?), and use that to help break the ice and create more of a reason for them to see the reason why it makes sense for you to connect. I fully embrace the sniper strategy. As luck would have it, hundreds of miles from my office at a retirement luncheon for a client in Atlanta last month, I sat down next to a gentleman who looked very familiar. At about the same time, we literally made the connection and realized we knew each other through LinkedIn. My sniper-style virtual connection request had come full circle.

6.      Connecting is a verb. To fully realize LinkedIn as a practical networking resource, you need you jump in feet first and stay active. Periodically review your profile to ensure it reflects the most accurate information. Initiate a connection request with every new person you meet in business. Create a weekly goal to solicit X individual connections, follow X companies, make X updates, and engage or start X discussions.

So ditch the default gray guy. Find an app for that. Share. Join. Channel your inner sniper. You'll soon realize like I did at the retirement luncheon that in the end, it's six degrees of separation from LinkedIn in this new virtual business environment.

Save-A-Lot operates 1,200 locations nationwide.  The supermarkets occupy spaces of 14,000 sq.ft. to 16,000 sq.ft. in freestanding locations and inline space of shopping centers.  Growth opportunities are sought throughout Broward and Palm Beach counties in FL during the coming 18 months, with representation by The Rotella Group.  A land area of two acres is required for ground-up development.  Preferred demographics include a population of 50,000 in primary trade areas and of 18,000 in rural areas earning less than $35,000 as the median household income.  The company prefers to locate in areas with a high concentration of families, strong street visibility and an average daily traffic count of 15,000 vehicles.  For more information, contact Steve Miller, The Rotella Group, 3300 North Federal Highway, Suite 200, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33306

Delhaize Group trades as Food Lion at more than 1,300 locations throughout DE, FL, GA, KY, MD, NC, PA, SC, TN, VA and WV.  The supermarkets occupy spaces of 28,000 sq.ft. to 38,000 sq.ft. in power and strip centers.  Growth opportunities are sought throughout the existing markets during the coming 18 months.  Typical leases run 20 years.  A vanilla shell is required.  Preferred cotenants include home improvement retailers.  A land area of 3.5 to 4.5 acres is required.  For more information, contact Shawn Beichler, Delhaize Group, 2110 Executive Drive, Salisbury, NC 28147

Green Mill Restaurants, LLC trades as Green Mill at 28 locations throughout KS, MN, ND and WI. The full-service, American continental restaurants occupy spaces of 6,000 sq.ft. in freestanding locations. Growth opportunities are sought throughout the existing markets, as well as CO, IA and SD, during the coming 18 months. Typical leases run 10 years with options. Major competitors include Applebee's and T.G.I. Friday's. The company requires a liquor license and will consider sites attached to hotels. The company is franchising. For more information, contact Paul Dzubnar, Green Mill Restaurants, LLC, 1342 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105

Halsted Street Deli operates 26 locations throughout IL. The delis and cafes, offering soups, salads and sandwiches, as well as breakfast items, occupy spaces of 2,000 sq.ft. to 3,000 sq.ft. in freestanding locations, urban and suburban areas and endcaps and inline spaces of upscale lifestyle and strip centers. Growth opportunities are sought throughout Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties in FL during the coming 18 months, with representation by Investment Management Associates, Inc. (Restaurant Division). Preferred demographics include a residential population of 30,000 within two miles earning $50,000 as the median household income and a daytime population of 20,000 within two miles. The company will also consider larger spaces.  For more information, contact Andrew Pearl, Investment Management Associates, Inc. (Restaurant Division), 1575 San Ignacio Avenue, Suite 400, Coral Gables, FL 33146

Like these leads?  Want More?  Go to the Dealmakers website for a Subscription. Dealmakers, the nation's weekly news source on retail real estate.

Digital Trends is a high-tech lifestyle, technology news and information website.  The "how to" page provides very helpful tips and information about the latest in technology and my favorite...gadgets!!