Ever thought about your E-Reputation? Know what it is? Guest Post Author Lynn Zimmer of Sales Pro Insider shares information on a topic many have never considered: Our E-Reputation. Nancy Bleeke will return on April 17th (hopefully she has found some sun and warmth…and time away from everything electronic 🙂
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Many of us know that protecting our reputation or making sure our actions lead to a good reputation is an important business strategy. But today technology has changed the way we do business and our reputation is more transparent than it ever has been!
Technology has made it easy for us to research everybody! This is so helpful in sales as we can learn about them and their business before we call them. And we need to know that they can do research on us at any time during the sales process as well! And this research may help us…or hurt us.
While this might be unsettling to some, it’s a REALITY that people can find out a lot of information about us without ever personally having a conversation.
What information is out “there” about you? Are you familiar with your “e-reputation” and what is available about you and your company online?
You can check if you perform a search on:
- Your name using a popular search engine (Google, Yahoo)
- Your company name using a popular search engine. Don’t just go to your website, find out where the search of your company name takes you!
- LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter
More and more people are using a variety of online resources to post personal information, reconnect with old classmates, meet new people, etc. LinkedIn is recognized as a business-oriented social networking site used by more than 30 million professionals to market their products, services and themselves.
To help you ensure your e-reputation is pure, here are some guidelines for using a social networking site:
- Create a complete profile, including a picture, so that people can find you (and know it’s you!)
- Be sure that you’re accepting invitations from people that you know and who would “represent” you well, should anyone ask about your relationship.
- When making connections, concentrate on quality, not quantity.
WHAT DO PEOPLE SEE? Know what is posted under your name and your company so that you can keep it updated, professional and accurate.
Reputation is what other people know about you. Lois Bujold
Check in on your e-reputation often to make sure that it works for you. And then you can use that reputation to get your foot in more doors.
