Written by: Joanne Weiland
Norman Vincent Peale is my original mentor, and he always told me: Do today what others won’t so tomorrow you can do what others can’t.
Recognizing ‘Who Knows You’
In 2002 I created Commanding View, Inc. – your source for proven experts. For 20 years, I worked with thousands of business owners globally. Most telling were the few who thrived were the ones who hired experts to quickly implement their ideas.
Being A Resource Comes with Many Challenges:
Consultants preferred to work alone and only promote each other, the good old boy network. They did not need an agent nor did they have marketing materials.It took two people to convince a dozen or so consultants to allow me to promote their services for commission only. Then the executives I called on said, “I don’t need a consultant with your skills at this time.”Next, I went to many networking meetings. I became the networking queen. On some days, I was attending 3 or 4 networking meetings. But networking can quickly get expensive. I was paying $20 for breakfast and lunch meetings, and sometimes $120 for a chicken dinner. Worse, after attending two sessions membership is a requirement for future participation. And the groups want you to join their board or committee for the honor without pay.So what did I do? Silly me, I had 12 volunteer positions at one time!Related:
Why You Should View Sales as a Sport Getting Past ‘Who Knows You?’
Finally, I was given opportunities to present our experts to speak at conferences, conventions, meetings, etc. The next hurdle quickly caught my attention. When a company or organization needs an expert, they have a Board of Directors or committee members decide who to hire. The problem is everyone has an opinion on what qualifies someone as an expert.I was asked if our experts:
Are published authors Offer an intro video Have been interviewed on CNN, WSJ, CBS etc. Ever worked at companies such as IBM Provide case studies Offer white papersI became a glorified admin instead of a connector. By the time everyone received the information they needed for approval, that project became forgotten. Most often, a more pressing project held the attention.Many companies were downsizing. Often unemployed folks would claim to be coaches or consultants. Those with good reputations stopped referring business to each other. Instead, they chose to claim being an expert in multiple areas to gain more business.I was told hundreds of times I am crazy. And I knew there had to be a better way to connect.
Who Knows You?
In 2007 I was inspired to create a web portal, ahead of the time and what was in vogue. The programmers I spoke to asked, “What is a web portal?”Over the next year, I did a lot of mind mapping with MBA students. Our purpose was to design and create our business plan and portal. I met with many speakers, consultants, coaches, trainers, team builders, authors to learn how they would like to
market their expertise.In addition to research, I interviewed executives to uncover what they wanted to know about experts to hire more quickly. We also formed focus groups to ask how we could make their lives easier. We found a team that builds web portals, and were advised ours would take two months. Nine months later they were still developing.A year later, we finally launched, Next, we needed 100+ experts to create their websites within our web portal. We wanted to make sure it worked before we offered it to the public. Another year was slated for beta testing. Given all the moving parts to this masterpiece, we finally worked out the bugs.
Communicating What You Can Do
People did not grasp the power of an interactive marketing platform. Their reply was, “I have my website, why would I want to join your LinktoEXPERT web portal?”Find the need and develop the serviceSome joined but forget to regularly upload new information. We realized the need to create marketing campaigns for some of our members.Today, we find people to hire our experts.We:
Send out weekly tips Offer weekly training. We text reminders to upload their new blogs, videos, articles, interviews, etc. to reach many thousands of people. Work with Chambers of Commerce, executive organizations, entrepreneur groups and encourage them to become our affiliate partners. Partner with radio and internet TV networks and show hosts and podcasters to interview our experts. Continue building our social media connections on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. to tens of thousands. Created a unique database exchange program for our email blasts to reach tens of thousands contacts. Distribute an eNewsletter that automatically arrives in tens of thousands of inboxes twice a month. Continue to overcome obstacles as they arise.Long ago, I took Peale’s advice and pledged to do today what others won’t so tomorrow I can do what others can’t.We are excited to announce and share our first
LinkToExpert Digital Magazine . Flip through the pages to discover the tremendous power of collaborating.You can find an expert, review their credentials, participate in a 7-minute strategy session, and hire a mentor in minutes to implement your ideas FAST and with ease.Imagine a world where everyone does what they love and loves what they do. Stay tuned we are working on a digital magazine “ForExecutivesOnly” designed to expose Experts to 317K decision makers.
Do you love what you do? You can! And learn how to eliminate the question of “Who knows you?”! Sales Tips to Verify ‘Who Knows You’!
Collaborate with like-minded people Collectively promote one another For quicker advancement, hire a mentor Announce your achievements via the media Be active on your three favorite social media platforms Remain true to your values and priorities Always work toward your fondest dream to make it reality Learn from the difficult lessons Be willing to refine your approach Celebrate Success!These tips are provided to help you achieve
The Smooth Sale!
