In Episode 71 of the Influence Factory, I had the opporunity to sit down with my close friend and business partner, Ben Zoldan co-founder and CEO of Storyleaders.I welcome you to a discussion with us about “All-In” culture and what it means to see opportunity in fear, and more importantly what impact does it have in your organization, people and even our world.

 

 

The first area we focus on here is the idea of being present. If you are constantly looking towards the next thing, you are not allowing yourself to live in the experience of now. Constantly looking for the next thing trains your brain to do this even when you don’t intentionally mean to. This can, over time, hinder relationships in the sense of work as well as family.

 

When you grow up learning certain defense mechanisms, they become ingrained in your behavior for the rest of your life. It is up to you to unlearn these techniques to make room for growth. An interaction I had changed the way I looked at fear and how it affected my professional growth.

 

 

“Your problem is that you see fear as the enemy. When fear comes up, you need to see that as an opportunity, embrace it full-on, and go at it– whatever that fear maybe.” By doing this, you are opening the door to opportunities you would have never dreamed of. Nothing is out of your reach when you realize this. Ben points out that we are not fearless by nature; the closest we come to being fearless is when we effectively learn how to manage our fear and turn it into opportunity. At that point, we can cross the boundaries of fearlessness.

 

 

Ben goes on to discuss questions that were sparked within him when he went up to a man to thank him for his work, and he replies with, “Hey man I’m just doing my part.” It makes you wonder why some people are all-in, and others are not. A successful operation is made when all members are in for the good of the project rather than the material, monetary, and selfish reasons. The root of the problem comes from, in Ben’s eyes, “Corporate environments we set up that are operating from a playbook that fails to celebrate the most intrinsic things that govern our souls. This includes being stimulated, being a part of something greater, or working for something truly important to them. People don’t go “All-In” because of the out of date paradigms corporations have set up.”

 

 

For Ben, it was starting Storyleaders and diving into something that he was completely invested in. His passion, his drive, and his motives were “All-In” when it came to this project. He stated that maybe even if he wasn't the absolute best at it, it was about overcoming the fear and putting yourself in a position where you are truly passionate about the job you are doing.

 

When you can effectively communicate your story to your team and open the door to a vulnerable state, it creates a sense of community, understanding, and most importantly, humanization. With an open atmosphere, there is a greater potential for the team to have accountability and drive, due to viewing each other more as fellow humans with the same goals, rather than just coworkers.

 

 

“By and large, I felt like I knew what I was getting into. I couldn’t have been more wrong…This is an experience that has forever changed how I view the world” – Barry Sowerwine, SVP Enterprise Sales, Tableau

 

 

Ben discusses the idea that the reason people act the way they do is because of the broken systems we are designing. If the office culture had always been “All-In” then we wouldn't have to go back and fix it. The thing that gives people purpose and meaning is a connection. You have to find connections with others to truly feel attached to the work.

 

One of our core human interests is to contribute. We are here to work together to create something greater. Ben mentions that what gives us the ability to work together in large numbers is the ability to empathize and have each other's backs. This does not necessarily make us unique, for wild animals also do this. What does make us unique, however, is that we can pick things up and imagine things that do not yet exist. Businesses fail to recognize, in most cases, that this is what makes us so inimitable. They do not foster creativity and fail to remember what it is like to be human.

 

 

On a sports team, there is a sense of looking out for one another. The defense must work with the offense to reach its goal. This is the mentality that should be carried into the office. To listen to this episode with @BenZoldan go to: https://app.socialjack.com/resource-items/ep-71-ben-zoldan-going-all-in-influence-factory/

 

 


LinkedIn is a fantastic networking tool that has been around since before Facebook and Twitter. This platform allows anyone to connect professionally with other people in their field and build a career. LinkedIn has become a network that anyone and everyone can use; however, not everyone knows how to use it to their advantage. Knowing how to best construct your LinkedIn profile could be the difference between a company overlooking you or reaching out to you. In this episode of Influence Factory, Wayne Breitbarth, author of “The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success,” teaches you how to leverage your LinkedIn profile for ultimate networking success.

The Original Social Network

LinkedIn has been around since 2002 and A LOT of things have changed since then. With new social networks popping up left and right, LinkedIn has had to make some changes to keep up with all other social networks. By adding features such as an accomplishments section and recommendations on how to strengthen your profile, LinkedIn has become stronger than ever. Even though LinkedIn has all these amazing features, it is important to know how to use them effectively to get the most out of your profile.

Get Your Point Across

This platform has a ton of sections and features that allow you to highlight all of your amazing achievements and show everyone how awesome you are! Just make sure you are doing it in the most efficient way. LinkedIn’s summary section is set up so people viewing your profile will only see the first two lines of the summary unless they click the “see more” button below it. Because of this, Breitbarth stresses how it is crucial to have all your important information at the top of your summary section. Most people will likely scroll through your profile quickly and scan it for the most important information. This is a great way to ensure that people will get a good understanding of who you are and what you can do immediately.

Not Your Average Resume

 

The original purpose for LinkedIn was to have a space to put your resume online and connect with professionals in hopes of getting hired. Today, the underlying purpose is still the same but with a little bit of a new take. Breitbarth says that “The beautiful thing about (LinkedIn) profiles is they don’t have resume rules.” It is a little less strict than an actual resume, because it’s like any other social media platform. You have a profile picture, there is a messaging feature to chat with other members, and you can even make posts. The only difference is that the people you are interacting with are also professionals in your related field of work.

Using Key Words

LinkedIn is a social media platform for professionals looking to connect with other professionals in related fields of work, but it is also used as a search engine to find specific people, skills or job titles. Utilizing key words can really make your profile stand out – literally! When you use LinkedIn’s search function, you can type in a word and LinkedIn will compute all businesses and people that use that word in their profile. The best place for you to use key words in your profile according to Breitbarth are, the headline, all job titles if applicable, and the skill section. By doing this, your profile will be easier to discover and you will gain a lot more exposure.

In Summary

LinkedIn is one of the first social media platforms and has stayed relevant in the ever changing world of social media by constantly updating and adding new features. Knowing how to properly utilize each feature is essential in order to get the most out of your profile. Using key words and organizing your information efficiently are just a few ways you boost up your LinkedIn profile. By following Breitbarth’s tips, your LinkedIn profile will surely bring you success!

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We hope to see you in our next Influence Factory!


Artificial intelligence has opened up a whole new world of opportunities that many people never believed possible! From the ability to have any question answered within seconds of asking, cooling and heating your house based on your personal preference, to having voice assistants schedule appointments for you with one quick command. However, AI isn’t justfor making our daily lives simpler – it can be a very useful marketing tool for us Influencers. Knowing how to utilize AI and voice assistants as a marketing strategy are amazing ways to help expand your brand. In this episode of Influence Factory, Nick Myers teaches us how to effectively market using AI and voice assistants.

 Understanding AI

 When most people hear the term “Artificial Intelligence” they think of how it is depicted in movies and television– as robots taking over. Scary, right? In reality, there are two types of AI: narrow AI and general AI. Myers describes narrow AI as the AI we have today; it only does specific things such as answer questions and schedule appointments for you. The second type of AI that Myers describes is general AI – meaning that it would be integrated into all aspects of daily life, having a higher level of intellect than narrow AI. But rest easy all you AI skeptics, Myers says that this kind of technology won’t be available for a super long time!

Bridging the Gap between AI and Marketing

 So, how exactly does AI relate to marketing? Myers brought up a computer program called Chatbots – a tool many companies use on their websites for customer service questions. As soon as you click on the website, a popup will read “how can I help you?” You can type any question you have about the service you are using, and the Chatbot will give you a speedy and helpful answer. Myers also believes that AI is helpful in marketing because it can sift through social media data, thus giving companies more insight about what their customers want. This can help companies tailor their marketing campaigns to better fit their target audience.

Trends in AI Marketing

Researchers expect that by 2020, about 55% of households in America will have some form of smart speaker, such as a Google Home or Amazon Echo. It could be beneficial for businesses to find a way to incorporate voice into marketing strategies, as the world is “going away from the visual and more towards voice,” Myers says. This technology also provides a one-to-one engagement that other technologies don’t. Figuring out a way to harness this trend of using voice instead of visuals could really set your marketing campaign apart from the rest!

The Future of AI Marketing

Myers believes that in the next 5-10 years, we will see an increase in Chatbots with social media and a definite increase in voice assistants. More and more Influencers are jumping onto the AI bandwagon, meaning a significant rise in the amount of AI technology available. Therefore, AI marketing could easily become the most dominant form of marketing in the future.

 In Summary

Artificial intelligence is an often misunderstood tool that many would not think to use for marketing purposes. There are many advantages to AI – such as a one-to-one connection to your technology, and being able to tailor your marketing campaign to your audience’s wants and needs. When used correctly, AI marketing could be just the thing to make your marketing campaign stand out! Hello, successful Influencers!

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You can also subscribe to previous and upcoming shows on the Social Jack website.

We hope to see you in our next Influence Factory!


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If you missed the webcast that launched on August 9th that featured Miri Rodrigues, lead of community and social support at Microsoft Office. In this session, we learned about trends in social care and what customers want from brands, understood key internal players that impact the social space and how to partner strategically with them to deliver a unified social voice to customers. And finally, how to hack social content to leverage multiple sources within the organization to take the customer through their anticipated journey in social channels.

You can listen to the podcast version here.

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2016 Social Media Trends:

  1. Real Time Engagement: consumers want you to engaged with them. Your customers are now looking for a response time of 30 minutes or less, this number went down significantly from last year when customers expected a response in an hour or less. This contributes from the fact that our attention spans are “like that of a tree frog,” says Miri.
  2. Live Streaming Video: There are so many outlets and platforms where live streaming is now an option and consumers are now looking to not only follow a brand, but their employers also. It gives consumers a feel that brands aren’t robotic.
  3. The Passionate Consumer: Consumers begin following company employers because “people follow people” says Miri.

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2016 Customer Experience Trends:

  1. Retail Stores Aren’t going Anywhere: Consumers want to be able to physically handle products. Think about Amazon Prime stores that are starting to pop up all over the country. Why would consumers wait if they could have it right now?
  2. Say Goodbye To Call Centers: The call centers we know of today will be a thing of the past soon. With phones decreasing as a communication channel, chat (instant messenger, etc) are becoming the new way of communication. Consumers prefer this because of the lightning fast responses from IM. Which websites have you been on recently that have a “chat with an associate” now button?

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Don’t be a Social Media Watermelon

The definition of a social media watermelon is simple: One the outside you’re green, on the inside you’re red. The assumption here is that by the look of it, watermelons have it all together but in reality they are a mess. When you cut open a watermelon you’ll notice the seeds are scattered all over, we think of these as employees who are not on the same mindset. In order to not be a social media watermelon you have to follow the 3 steps.

  1. Connect Internally
  2. Define Your Goals
  3. Unify Your Message

Another way to connect to your followers on social media is to take a risk. Your audience will take notes on the type of content you are posting. Miri says that she often does polls on Twitter. Some are personal and some are work related. But in the end you are testing your audience and seeing what type of content they reply to.

 

You can follow Miri Rodriguez on Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn. And as always, if you’d like to be watch these videos live—sign up for Social Jack today! See you online, and stay social!


BY DEAN DELISLE

In the business of Social Selling and micro-learning, we are always looking for those fun power moves that can create results in just a few clicks. So follow this along and I will share my new favorite move, well not new, just newly labeled.

So SCAG stands for four simple actions and here we go:

 

S – Scan

Simply look for a targeted connection in LinkedIn. Ones that you have a decent rapport with and have spoken to within the last 60-90 days. In Social Jack team building, we call these team members our primary draft picks. Once you find your targeted connection, scan their profile for two connections they might have that would be ideal referrals for you. No you might have to look under recommendations or skill endorsements if their connection are suppressed. However lately I find that many are open. The only clicks here are if you need to advance the page.

 

C- Connect

This is even easier and mostly required no click unless you use email, however I prefer a phone call to that person. Remember on connections you have access to their phone number field as well.

 

A – Ask

This is where you simply ask your connections for the specific referrals. There is always a chance they might not know the exact referral, however the intention of asking will spark the conversation for the ideal type of referral you are looking for and most always takes the conversation to the next level.

 

G – Get

We find in our training that in the beginning over 90% of people stop at the ask and never go for the get. If you have the relationship and can get into the ask as part of your conversation your network will have the desire to help you get to the get!

Now what are you waiting for, join thousands of Social Jack students who S.C.A.G. each and every day, maybe you have been S.C.A.G.’d and don’t even know it!

Enjoy and maybe you will do this in less than 4 clicks once you get going!

 

See you online, Dean


Social Selling Step Two – Use Valued Reach to Ignite Your Social Reach by Dean R. DeLisle

Before we can ignite our Social Reach with Valued Reach (VR) we need to understand what Social Reach is. Through our friends at Hootsuite (they have a great glossary by the way) we have a pretty good definition:

http://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-managers-definitive-glossary-2014/

Reach
Reach is a data metric that determines the potential size of audience any given message could reach. It does not mean that that entire audience will see your social media post, but rather tells you the maximum amount of people your post could potentially reach. Reach is determined by a fairly complex calculation that includes number of followers, shares and impressions as well as net follower increase over time. Reach should not be confused with Impressions or Engagement.

Social Reach

 

Now for Social Sales, LinkedIn Social Reach is pretty easy to see and understand. On your home page about half way down on the right you can see what your current reach is, as shown below.

Social Reach

So what does this mean? Well this means that I have 4,169 connections, people that I have either sent or accepted invites and are now my level one connections. Then those people have connections which are your second level connections. That with the next level of connections and groups you belong to make up that number. In fact, LinkedIn used to resolve this, now they just show you a few levels (shown below), which is ok, because I cannot even fathom thinking about a million let along 18 million!

Social Reach

So hopefully you are getting the definition of your social reach. Now in social selling, from our definition, Valued Reach is what we care about and teach in our curriculum. This is where we first define a destination or outcome to your sales goals, how much do you want to make by when. Then we determine how many appointments, proposals, closes you need to achieve that goal. Next we define the target, and determine who will get us there or help us achieve those goals. Next we build a structured, tactical team of TARGETED connections, clusters and hubs (defined in in Network Sciences (http://www.arl.army.mil/www/default.cfm?page=391) by the US Army). The ones that will help you get to the connections you are trying to achieve. Not the thousands that you accept without knowing who they are and what they are about. We would prefer you just connect to those you know or people that you see potential relationship. Then we score the relationship in our SocialJack.com system to arrive at your Valued Reach. Now you don’t have to have our system to get the juice we are talking about here, although we would like you to join us, you can still gain a valued reach for yourself by following these simple rules below.

Social Reach

In summary

  1. Own your destination, your outcome
  2. Be clear about the target that will take you there
  3. Build a team of connections with the intent for relationship
  4. Engage in relationship with your new team
  5. Keep scouting for more targeted connections (#3)
  6. Keep engaging and driving to your destination (goal)

Now – Your “Valued Reach” keeps going up – your “Social Reach” is now ignited!

About Dean DeLisle

For over 30 years, Dean has demonstrated his ability to accelerate companies, stimulate business development, and make operations more efficient. He has harnessed the ever-evolving power of technology, paired with his consulting, coaching, and training skills, to implement sound business practices. Using the power of online social networks, as well as traditional media, he has helped numerous clients pack the room for events, establish their online and social media presence, and develop countless company, brand, product, and service launches. Dean uses every tool available, weaving aspects of every medium to achieve the end goal and accelerate his clients’ business growth.