Sales Prospecting in the 21st Century means you have to be blogging to raise your industry profile. Here you will discover the essential first part - the right name choice.
Are you blogging? If you are not then you are missing out on one of the greatest tools for accelerating your sales success in 2011 and beyond. If you are a business then you absolutely must have a blog. If you are a sales individual then you absolutely must have a blog.
A blog can provide you with:
Credibility in your marketplace - become an instant Industry Networked Expert
A window to the real you and your real personality
High search engine rankings for commonly searched terms relating to your business
The easiest way to quickly set up a web presence
An opportunity to develop a long term relationship with potential customers and clients
A way for people to identify with YOU
BUSINESS
Some of the benefits of a blog:
It's easy to add new content
Content is generally updated frequently
Blogs allow people to leave comments - this allows the development of a community and conversation.
People "trust" blogs more than normal websites because blogging is a conversation
Who am I to talk?
I know a little about blogs because I learned the hard way! I started in 2008 with absolutely no idea what I was doing and I made a lot of mistakes along they way. I will point these out to you so you don't have to. I do OK with my blog now.
Your Domain Name:
Whether you are in sales or not, you absolutely must have your own domain name. If you do not own your own domain name i.e peterodonoghue.com then head on over to Godaddy and register your name immediately. Do it now before you read on. While you are there why not get the domain names for your partner and children. They might just thank you in the future. They will cost you about £7 or $9 per year and might just be one of the best investments you ever make.
You may find that your name has already gone. If that is the case then try some alternatives like:
peterodonoghue.co.uk- If you are mainly UK based or substitute your country peter-odonoghue.com podonoghue.com peterodonoghueonline.com
I would avoid.net and.info if possible and always try to get a.com or the domain of your country.
At this stage you might also consider getting a domain name relevant to your business. For instance if I sold RFID Equipment, I could get rfidinformation.com or something similar. This is your choice. The plus side of this is that it can contains the phrases that people use to find you and provides you with an industry specific web presence. The choice is yours. If you are an industry expert and intend to stay in that industry for a while it might be a good idea.
Make sure you get one that you will be comfortable with promoting as your online brand. You might think something like petercooldudeodonoghue.com is a brilliant idea now but it might not be so appealing to your potential clients!! As a side bonus the registration of your web domain name allows you to get the email for that name too. This can be a great reflection of your professionalism when looking for new sales jobs. Who would you think is more suited to selling in the current technology led business climate?
a) Peter9786767666gggtggATyahoo.com OR b) steveATstevejones.com
If you are not at all technical then don't worry. The registration of the domain is easy. They will offer to sell you things - just say NO! Don't sign up for hosting, advanced email or any other services. If you are really planning on going with this then it is a good idea to register your domain name for 10 years as Google recognises this as a positive sign of a professional business and rewards it in higher search rankings. High search rankings are good.
Congratulations - You are on the path to setting up your own web presence and being an Industry expert!
We now invite you to find out hundreds more sales prospecting strategies at Sales Training and Negotiation Training