Blog Archives
I’m FINALLY on Instagram! How ‘Bout You?
Hey Everyone!
Sorry I have been MIA for so long. I started a new job in February which I LOVE, but I have been very busy travelling and meeting everyone.
I am also working on a new project which is very exciting.
Hopefully all is well with you.
So big social media news from me. I have finally taken the plunge and joined Instagram 🙂
You can find me at:
https://instagram.com/timmushey/
When I had some time off over Christmas and in to January, I repurposed a lot of my blog content on LinkedIn Pulse. You can see it over at:
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/timmushey
Since we are on a roll connecting today, you can also find me at:
https://www.facebook.com/SellLeadSucceed
https://twitter.com/TimMushey73
https://plus.google.com/+TimMushey/about
https://www.youtube.com/user/TimMushey/videos
I will follow back.
Have a FANTASTIC Thursday.
All the best!
Tim
My Two Cents – LinkedIn Do’s and Don’ts!
I have spent a lot of time on LinkedIn lately, and have made many valuable new connections!
Weather you want to improve your LinkedIn presence, draw more attention for your business and brand, or draw “eyeballs” for potential job opportunities, this post is a must for you 🙂
Think of your LinkedIn profile as being in a tall stack of resumes. What makes you stand out, and why should somebody click and have a look!
I will expand on these points in future posts; but for today, here is a checklist to keep near!
Do…
- Post a picture
- Complete your profile
- Keep your headline simple, and eye-catching
- Personalize your intro when requesting to connect, and say thank you when people accept
- Ask for recommendations
Don’t…
- Post a picture with other people in it, or if your face is not clearly visible
- Cram too much in to your headline (this includes no email addresses, websites or credentials that have as many letters as the alphabet)
- Connect and run! Get to know people and engage with them
- Just post your current job title in the headline – get creative
- Have grammar errors or bad sentence structure in your profileÂ
In LinkedIn, go under “People You May Know” and scroll through.
- What stands out on profiles? What made you click to see more?
- What made you bypass people and keep scrolling?
This should give you the good, the bad and the ugly of what is happening on LinkedIn!
Have fun learning.
Would You “Scroll Past” Your Profile?
Think of all the times you have scrolled through long lists of profiles on social media sites.
I like to use the analogy of what makes you stop and look at a résumé when flipping through a big stack of pages?
- What makes you stop and click to find out more?
- What makes you keep scrolling past?
How is your online presence looking lately?
Is it maybe time to check your :
- Pictures
- Profiles
- Links to other social media sites, videos, blog posts etc.
The social media space is becoming more crowded every day. What are you doing to entice others to stop and take notice of what you are doing?
If the answer is not much, you will blend in and just be another “rĂ©sumĂ© in the pile”.
Make today the day that you step up your game 🙂
My Favourite 5 Posts Of 2013 – #4 “Social Media”
It was April of 2011, and I had been writing for some time. As I reflect back now, it was well over a year that I was carrying around a notebook and writing about sales, sales management and leadership. But I was feeling lost. It felt like I was stranded on an island, wondering if my message would have meaning to anyone else. I was quickly coming to the realization that Google was “letting me down” when I needed it the most.
What I mean by that was I was having trouble finding out what I really wanted to know about sales and who the key players were. I wanted to connect with influential people in the industry, but just did not know how. Then I saw a commercial from the website www.ancestry.com and it inspired me greatly. Their tagline was,
“You don’t have to know what you are looking for, you just have to start looking.”
I was pumped up! I was going to dig deep online and search for influential people who were doing similar things do what I wanted to be doing.
Shortly after I started my search, I came across a website called:
http://www.salesandmanagementblog.com
Paul McCord’s fantastic website and blog not only provided great value for me, but he also had a “Blogroll”. For those who do not know, a Blogroll is a listing of favourite blogs that the author follows. It was like I had won the lottery! Many of the influential sales leaders that I follow today are on that list, and I have thanked Paul personally for enabling me to connect with a great group of people. I immediately started to follow their blogs, but it was time-consuming.
Fast forward a few weeks, and I was visiting an account for work. One of the employees was on Twitter and enjoying it a lot. I made fun of her a bit, and stated that I did not need to know every little update of celebrities and regular people. She said that I had it all wrong, and gave me a quick tutorial. I was very impressed and kicked myself that I had not joined sooner!
After work that day, I rushed home and feverishly started searching for people who I had recently discovered in the sales space. Many or them were actually on Twitter! I started to follow them. The first thing that I noticed was the time savings for following blog posts and other valuable content. As an example, if I was following ten blogs and had to go to each of their pages on a regular basis, it would take a long time. But if I was following them on Twitter, they were all updating their profiles with new tweets and I could see what was new in a fraction of the time. That was awesome!
As I progressed and became a daily Twitter user, I realized that the social interaction was becoming very beneficial to me as well. I was having a blast, and contributing daily! I must admit, trying to get my point across in less than 140 characters was a challenge, but I learned to adapt. As the list of people I followed quickly grew, I proceeded to group them in to sub lists, to keep each list of people to follow a manageable size.
LinkedIn was a website that I had previously used for job searches. I soon realized that it was much more than an HR platform. I started to connect with people in the sales space, fellow entrepreneurs, and old friends! I have now connected with close to 900 people, and am looking to add to my network daily.
Starting a Facebook fan page and joining Google+ a few months ago has provided me with other platforms to share my message on. Internet marketing leader Gary Vaynerchuk put his spin on social media during an interview with Tony Robbins once. He was posed the question about where people should be connecting with social media. His answer was a very emphatic “ALL OF THEM”. His explained the point with this analogy….
“If you were invited to several important business mixers, would you attend all of them, or just one?”
If you are attempting to spread your message to as many people as possible, the correct answer is all of them of course!
Social media has changed my life. I now know others are interested in what I have to say (which is an incredible feeling). I post my content in all the social media outlets mentioned above!
If you are looking to connect with people in your areas of interest, social media is certainly an incredible venue to do so. If you are looking to take things a step further and start, sustain and eventually grow a business, it is a must!
Most of you reading this are already connecting on social media, so congratulations! But please consider your connections that are on the fence, and send them the link of this blog post! It changed my life, and will hopefully change theirs too.
One last thing… if we are not connected on social media, I would love if you joined me at:
https://www.facebook.com/SellLeadSucceed
(Don’t forget to like to stay connected!)Â
https://twitter.com/TimMushey73
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/timmushey
Google+
YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/TimMushey
Timmy’s 10’s – My Favourite Websites!
As much as many of you support my sometimes long-winded blog posts, there is something to be said for quick, to the point content as well. Today I start a new ongoing series called “Timmy’s 10’s”.
For my first post, let’s start with a bang! These are my favourite websites/blogs RIGHT NOW!
• Paul Castain  http://yoursalesplaybook.com/
• Pat Flynn  http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/
• Lewis Howes  http://lewishowes.com/
• Scott Ginsberg  http://www.hellomynameisscott.com/
• Dan Rockwell  http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/
• Bob Burg  http://www.burg.com/
• Gary Vaynerchuk  http://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/
• Michael Margolis  http://www.getstoried.com/
• Guy Kawasaki  http://www.guykawasaki.com/
• John Lee Dumas  http://www.entrepreneuronfire.com/
Who is on your list?
I will compile all the responses and post the “best of the best” later in the month!
But I Just Don’t Like….
We all have a least favourite social media platform that we are building relationships on.
What is it for you?
- Google+
- or maybe a newer one like Pinterest or Stumble Upon
Take my “Social Media 7 Day Challenge!”
Put the most energy in to your least favourite social media platform for the next 7 days, and send me an email at TimMushey@gmail.com to let me know how it goes.
If you customers and/or prospects are congregating there, you still need to be visible.
Internet sensation Gary Vaynerchuk said it best several years ago,
“If you get invited to several after work mixers over time, which ones do you go to?” (paraphrased)
“ALL OF THEM”!
You don’t want to miss out, especially if you are avoiding one of the “Big 3” of Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Would love to hear your thoughts!
Hey – Are We Connected? Just Checking!
Hey…
I Â pride myself in showing up as often as I can on several major social media outlets.
You can find me at:
Facebook
www.facebook.com/SellLeadSucceed
(don’t forget to “like” to stay connected)
Twitter
https://twitter.com/TimMushey73
LinkedIn  http://linkd.in/zx0yGN
Google+
http://bit.ly/XvkjRr
YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/TimMushey
And if you ever need to email me
TimMushey@gmail.com
Tell your friends, family, colleagues! The more the merrier!
Enough about me! I would LOVE to know where I can connect with you?
Enjoy the rest of your week! Tim
How Does Music Motivate You?
I love music! I have loved it since I received my first cassette tape (oh wow) when I was ten years old. That Christmas I received a ghetto blaster too, and my love for music was solidified. My wife is always amazed at the “UBI” (Useless Bits of Information) that I know about music. But when you love something, you are a sponge for every little detail!
Family, sports and my career are the most important things in my life, but my passion for music is not far behind. If I had more time, I would go to a concert per week, and travel the outdoor music festival circuit all summer. Getting together with friends under blue skies and the stars to bond and watch incredible music have provided me with some of the greatest memories in my life.
I have connected with many people who have the same passion for music. I have been an active participant in Paul Castain’s LinkedIn Group called “Sales Playbook!” for well over a year now. I have enjoyed posting discussion questions during that time, with two of those threads being very specific to music. The number of comments posted, and the depth of the discussion far exceeded the results that I have received on any other question! People apparently love to talk about music!
Three years ago, I had a one hour drive to work, and I listened to a lot of music on the open highways. I soon realized that I did not have all of my favourite music on a specific iTunes Mix. I had to fiddle with my iPod while driving (now that would result in a distracted driving ticket if caught). I was experiencing some work challenges and my attitude was all over the map. I needed something to help me get back on track at a moment’s notice, or even get me pumped up to a higher level than I already was.
The result was the “Get It Done Mix”. I wanted the title, and not just the music, to have meaning. Every time I looked at my iPod, I would see the words, and it would subconsciously help get me going too.
I am not here to tell you what to call your favourite mix, or what kinds of music to put on it. My point is that if you love music, YOU NEED ONE, if you don’t already have one. Only you will know what feels right. My rule with the “Get It Done Mix” is to never skip a song. If it is all of your favourite tunes, there will be no need to skip!
The nice thing about current technology is that you can add to your mix as you discover more music that you love. Don’t worry about making the “perfect” list, just get one started and let it evolve over time as you discover (or remember) songs that pump you up! If you are as passionate about music as I am, you can connect certain songs to very specific times in your life. Focus on the times that made you very happy, and make darn sure that those songs are on your mix!
When I first checked out Paul Castain’s website ( www.yoursalesplaybook.com ) I went directly to his “Playlist for the Aspiring Sales Rock Star”. I was initially drawn to him by his love for music. I soon realized that his sales content and messages for life were second to none as well! Paul provides incredible suggestions for a music mix if you want to check it out at:
The sales profession and business in general can be very demanding. Incredible swings in emotion can happen even hourly. I do not know how many times that I have played my mix over the years when I needed a pick me up, or to take me to another level of awesome. While driving, I recommend taking some deep breaths to help relax you if the mix is being used at that moment to calm you down!
The true test if your music mix is working may occur when you are driving. If the people in the car next to you catch you singing, drumming on the steering wheel, or nodding your head to the beat, then my mission is complete!
What songs MUST be on your playlist?
Wanna talk music and take a break during your busy day? Stop by the best place to talk music on LinkedIn – The Daily Music Sanctuary. Paul Castain has given myself and my good friend Roger Demas the incredible opportunity to oversee this group. We have met many fantastic people, and are having a blast. Hope to see you there soon!
Sell, Lead, Succeed! 