Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Integrated Visibility for Your Career

Is your company paying attention to visibility?  Are you?

The business world has changed over the last few years, and you cannot expect that doing good work is enough for success.  The road for entrepreneurs is littered with the bodies of those who were good enough, but never found their destiny.

You must create a brand that is recognized in your industry or you will be passed over.  It is not about chasing sales and customers.... those will come.  Instead your initial goal is to make more "short lists" of those who can buy what you sell.  When decision makers are selecting a vendor they can only talk with three or four suppliers who will deliver the products or services they seek. 

In many industries there are hundreds of choices for vendors, so making the "short list" is the first critical step to success.

If you are not on the short list then someone else will win the business 100% of the time.   

Sales professionals used to be able to use persistence and clever sales techniques to get into see prospects.  Today the prospects are out in front, gathering information online and through their network before their needs are ever public knowledge.  Gaining access to busy prospects is more difficult than at any time in history.

Building a brand, having a strong network, being a known industry thought leader, social media, and being seen as the expert are more important than ever.  The skills needed to establish "Integrated Visibility" are different from the sales skills of yesterday, but too many people are still ignoring the business climate changes.

I work with individuals and companies who are serious about creating an industry leader position.  This is obtained by realizing that success does not happen by accident or alone.  It takes work, too.

Creating long-term and meaningful business relationships  requires you to work closely with others in your community. You have to take risks.  You have to step into the spotlight.  You have to help others be significant.

"Cooperative Significance" is the philosophy at the heart of finding success with others, but nobody will line up to be a supportive pillar in your career if you are not helping others along the way.

When combined, serving others while managing your own visibility program will take you to the top faster than just doing your work. 

How are you integrating your visibility?  Are all those in your company serious about being leaders, or are they happy with the status quo?

thom singer

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