This quarter the students in my Fundamentals of Sales and Networking class are being asked to use Twitter. Why? There are many reasons but one of the more important lessons is to have students network amongst themselves outside of class. They need to build relationships and find things they share in common with one another. Already, we found out that there are several of us who enjoy music from @andrewbird.
To show the power of networking on Twitter, a call was randomly placed to one of Twitters biggest celebrities @Scobleizer. Robert picked up right away as he posts his phone number for anyone on his blog.
In order to get the students to buy in even more to the power of Twitter, we needed the insight from an expert. Several questions were prepared before calling with insight into his thoughts since we follow his blog. Below is a sample of our conversation:
Q: If you were a student, how would you use twitter?
A: Students can really benefit from using twitter for spreading word about events they are hosting around campus. For example, Scott Beale from @laughingsquid hosted a secret party at South by SouthWest by having folks follow @bit32. The invite was sent out at 3pm and by 6pm they had over 1,000 people attend.
You could also use twitter for study sessions. Students needing help in chemistry could post a tweet looking for anyone in the library studying chemistry.
Q: You are big on filters. Should students move away from Facebook and more towards Friendfeed to set up filters?
A: Facebook is more private where Friendfeed and Twitter are public. Filtering will be something to watch change on Facebook as right now it is not offered. By filtering, you will choose everything in the future based upon your filters. For example, I chose a doctor recently based on several reviews at Yelp. Funny thing is the doctor did not even know about Yelp.
Q: How has online networking lead to offline networking?
A: There are so many examples but here are a few. The doctor is an excellent example. Car companies are on Twitter and if you post any questions you are more than likely to get a response from one of them like Honda or Toyota. Replies lead to sales as it is hard to ignore when people take the time to get back to you. Another example is Tres Generations sent several influencers a bottle of tequila. What will we do? Not only enjoy the tequila but talk about it to our followers.
Selling: Even in the ER
Last night my daughter was playing with her cousins and she fell from her bed. She had all the signs of concussion: tired, lethargic and vomiting. It was pretty easy to diagnose when a two year old asks to go to bed early. That NEVER happens.
We decided all the signs were indicating we should take her to the Emergency Room (ER). After talking with a sister, we were informed that a CAT scan is a must to ensure no bleeding or swelling is taking place.
How this all relates to selling is quite obvious. Arriving at the ER it was clear that it was going to be a long wait as the waiting room was packed. The first step in selling yourself is to the nurse who you check in with at the ER. After breathing issues, head injuries are second on the priority list. How did we find this out? We asked.
We asked because we were selling the nurse on the severity of my daughters injury. If not, then you are put at the bottom of the list and wait. Once brought in to see the doctor, you have to sell the severity again. At first, the doctor was hesitant to provide a CAT scan. The sales cap was thrown on again and we had to sell the doctor on the severity of the injury.
After much deliberation, the doctor finally agreed and the CAT scan was approved. Luckily, for all of us, the results showed no swelling or bleeding. A concussion was the diagnosis.
Remember, no matter where you are you need to sell and advocate for yourself unless you like waiting and being on the bottom of a priority list.
We decided all the signs were indicating we should take her to the Emergency Room (ER). After talking with a sister, we were informed that a CAT scan is a must to ensure no bleeding or swelling is taking place.
How this all relates to selling is quite obvious. Arriving at the ER it was clear that it was going to be a long wait as the waiting room was packed. The first step in selling yourself is to the nurse who you check in with at the ER. After breathing issues, head injuries are second on the priority list. How did we find this out? We asked.
We asked because we were selling the nurse on the severity of my daughters injury. If not, then you are put at the bottom of the list and wait. Once brought in to see the doctor, you have to sell the severity again. At first, the doctor was hesitant to provide a CAT scan. The sales cap was thrown on again and we had to sell the doctor on the severity of the injury.
After much deliberation, the doctor finally agreed and the CAT scan was approved. Luckily, for all of us, the results showed no swelling or bleeding. A concussion was the diagnosis.
Remember, no matter where you are you need to sell and advocate for yourself unless you like waiting and being on the bottom of a priority list.
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