http://www.closingbigger.net Social Media Speaker Shane Gibson's Sales and Social Media Podcast and Blog is a blog and sales and social media training podcast and leadership blog devoted to celebrating and creating big deal closers in every industry. Tips on Social Media, iPhone podcast compatible for the mobile sales professional. Discover many other ways you can enhance your ability to close big deals, master complex sales challenges, and build client relationships. Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:50:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This is another (unedited) excerpt from the new book Jay Conrad Levinson and I are writing: A guerrilla positioning story tells your specific niche the following: 1. What your corporate values are and what you represent 2. What you offer and specifically what business you are in 3. What makes you unique, and distinct 4. What you do better ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/03/guerrilla-social-media-marketing-positioning/ Here's another excerpt from the book I'm working on with Jay Conrad Levinson. Truth: Marketing is the truth made fascinating. Guerrilla social media marketing is about using all of the tools available to tell your fascinating brand story in a way that drives trust, consent and profits. With that said, guerrillas tell ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/03/guerrilla-social-media-marketing-truth/ Momentum can cause friction. Don't be moving so fast that you forget your community. To build a big network, build many interconnected communities. If you're going to be disruptive aggressive and edgy you also have to be able to take what you dish-out; with a smile! A social media listening strategy has to ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/03/social-media-speaker-tips/ This is attribute #6 of the Top Ten Attributes of a Guerrilla Social Media Marketer. (unedited excerpt from my upcoming November 2010 book published by Entrepreneur Press and co-authored with Jay Levinson): #6) Free and Variable It is important to use free digital give away’s that have real value and customer benefits. ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/03/guerrilla-social-media-marketing-marketer/ It started with a tweet from Jason Baker. He had been in contact with Guy Kawasaki and Guy wanted to meet the local twitter community at a Tweetup. Guy is here in town until Sunday morning enjoying a gauntlet of Olympic Hockey. Jason contacted Stephen Jagger and I and ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/02/guy-kawasaki/ [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="192" caption="Photo Credit Terry Chay"][/caption] Today's podcast is an interview with Larry Chang author of What They Don't Teach You At Stanford Business School. Larry is also a seriously Sociable! guy and can be found organizing after parties at some of the biggest social media and cultural events ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/02/podcast-interview-what-they-dont-teach-you-at-stanford-business-school-larry-chiang/ A big thank you to all those that came out to the Sociable! Book launch party. The event was a massive success with over 500 people through the door of the V Lounge in Yaletown. Thanks You! PHOTOS: [caption id="attachment_660" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Sociable Book Launch Party Photos"] [/caption] Have you seen the pictures from ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/02/sociable-by-stephen-jagger-shane-gibson/ These are social media tips under 140 characters that I have posted on Twitter over the past week or so. For those of you who may have missed some, I have put them into an archived list here on my blog. Add your own tips and comments in the comments ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/01/12-social-media-tips-under-140-characters/ [caption id="attachment_649" align="alignleft" width="179" caption="Amacus"][/caption] Today's podcast is with sales technology thought leader John Cousineau who is President of Innovative Information the creators of Amacus.  John and I have had a number of coffee chats and debates around why and how to use technology and social media to improve sales performance ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/01/sales-crm-scrm-technology-podcast/ If you follow me on Twitter you know that I like to tweet social media tips. This is a collection of social media tips under 140 characters that I tweeted out in 2009. It's not all of them, just the ones I personally archived. They are chronologically organized from most ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/12/159-social-media-tips-from-2009-in-140-characters-or-less-by-shanegibson/ Here's a summary of social media tips I have posted on Twitter over the past week. They're usually inspired by conversations, client questions or things I have observed that work well or don't work at all. I like to archive them for those of you who don't want to sift ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/12/10-social-media-tips-under-140-characters/ Today's podcast is about 10 Things That Will Not Change About Social Media in 2010.  There have been 1000's of bloggers who have put fingers to keyboard and pounded out their predictions for social media in 2010. While there's many predictions about future technology advancements, new demographics and debatable Twitter ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/12/social-media-podcast-2010-vancouver/ Today's social media podcast is on social media ROI or return on investment and why it's not nearly as important as ROR.  ROR is a term introduced to me by Darcy Rezac author of Work the Pond. From a social media perspective and a general marketing perspective most people are ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/12/social-media-roi-return-on-investment/ Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know I'm a big Hootsuite fan.  I interviewed Ryan Holmes CEO of Invoke Media (the company that made Hootsuite) a few months ago about the Twitter app and I've been a loyal user ever since.  It is a web based Twitter ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/12/mobile-social-crm-hootsuite-for-the-iphone/ Today's podcast interview is with Dr. Denis Cauvier bestselling author of the ABCs of Making Money. The podcast interview is on his new book "Hired 2.0 - Recruiting Exceptional Talent at the Speed of Light" and explores how social media, social networking and Generation Y has changed the way we ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/12/social-media-recruiting-book-training/ Many organizations want to create a sales culture but many also fail at doing so. Today's podcast covers nine lessons around creating sales culture that I have learned while helping non-sales organizations create sales culture: You need buy-in It's really about creating an opportunity culture You need to reward people, that means everyone "What ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/12/creating-a-sales-culture-in-your-organization/ I have posted this file to our Sociable! FaceBook page but have yet to post it for non-members in my podcast feed for iTunes until today. This is a free audio preview of Sociable! How Social Media Is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside-down by Stephen Jagger and myself (Shane Gibson). ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/12/free-audio-download-of-chapter-1-sociable-by-shanegibson-and-sjagger/ Today's podcast is on developing a prospecting discipline and why you need to plan it out and make it part of your sales and marketing strategy. Bullet points on the podcast: Four Types of Prospecting: Face to Face Extended Personal Community and Network Prospecting Media Marketing/Prospecting Make a Plan: Have the intent ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/12/prospecting-is-a-discipline/ Bill Gibson Chair of Knowledge Brokers International has put together a condensed goal setting guide called "Get a Fast Start for 2010." You can download the PDF free here or you can view it via Scrib below. Enjoy! Bill Gibson Free Goal Setting Guide http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/12/free-goal-setting-guide-for-2010-by-bill-gibson/ Today's podcast is on the connection between serendipity and discipline as well as the connection between training and intuition. I'm also going to talk about why very few people experience high levels of positive serendipity or tap into their intuition because they quit too soon. I'd love your feedback and ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/12/serendipity-and-intuition-are-not-random/ Our book Sociable! has been signed off.  Stephen Jagger and I are now waiting on the very first hardcopy. After that’s singed off, you’ll be able to order the book from Amazon.com and CreateSpace.com this coming month. I thought while we all wait I would give you a sneak peek into ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/11/three-truly-sociable-media-leaders-and-a-book-update/ I'm doing a seminar on December 2nd in Victoria and December 3rd in Vancouver and thought I would share some of what I will be talking about with you in my podcast.  Today's focus is on how to engage, lead and train Generation Y / Millenials in the workplace. This ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/11/generation-y-millenials-leadership-podcast/ Jay Levinson and I put our heads together and came up with "The 10 Personality traits of a Guerrilla Social Media Marketer" they will be part of a program we're developing together.  I thought I would give you a sneak peek into these traits and the Guerrilla way: Immune to hype: There ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/10/guerrilla-social-media-marketing-traits/ Cada cierto tiempo, me dedico a hacer una colección de mis tweets mas populares de Social Media (Twitter updates via @shanegibsones) y los archivo en mi blog para que las personas que se los perdieron o para los que aun no se encuentran en Twitter. Aquí hay una colección de ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/10/social-media-tips-pensamientos-modas/ I have two seminars coming up in Vancouver in the next 60 days. If you're a manager, executive or entrepreneur these two sessions are designed with you in mind.  Today we need solid relationship development and leadership skills that are honed for today's hyper-connected stakeholders and team member.  These are ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/10/leadership-training-vancouver/ Today’s podcast is more about questions than answers, this is somewhat of a roughly formed thought at this point. Tribes by Seth Godin really resonated with me when I first read it a year ago. Jay Conrad Levinson’s concept of Nano-casting to small unique groups (often only parts of a ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/10/why-you-need-to-be-a-nomadic-social-media-tribalist/ Every few weeks I take a collection of my most popular social media Tweets (Twitter updates) and archive them on my blog for people who missed them or are not yet on Twitter.  Here's a collection of 25 tips, thoughts, and trends from the past 10 days. Enjoy! Social Media Thought: ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/10/social-media-trends-and-tips/ Listening is a core part of all strategy, military, personal relationships, sales and social media. Observing your competitors before forming strategy and taking action, or listening to your customer for the purpose of engagement, rapport and opportunity seeking.  It all starts with listening.  In marketing, as in battle it is ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/10/social-media-listening-strategy/ Esta es una colección de Tweets enviados a traves de la cuenta de @shanegibson y @shanegibsones.  Son tips sobre medios socials con una longitud máxima de140 caracteres. Aquí les present mis 25 Tips Sobre Medios Sociales (PDF): [caption id="attachment_599" align="alignleft" width="221" caption="25 Tips sobre Medios Social"][/caption] http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/09/25-tips-sobre-medios-sociales/ I'm writing this blog entry here in my hotel in Bogota Colombia. I'm here speaking on social media marketing for an international congress on sales and marketing. I thought I would share some of the results from the research I had done on social media in South America: South America and ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/09/social-media-south-america-latin-america/ I was recently asked to summarize the what marketers must know about social media marketing by Jay Levinson. I was about to answer him when he added a stipulation in, in 3 points, only 3 summarize what marketers must know about social media. I thought I would share with you ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/09/3-things-you-must-know-about-social-media/ [caption id="attachment_592" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Social Media Engagement"][/caption] There's a lot of talk about being engaged. In particular in social media we talk about engagement as one of the key benchmarks of being a successful brand, marketer, blogger or personality online.  Today's podcast is on what engagement is about. Here's a short ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/09/social-media-engagement/ [caption id="attachment_587" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="The End of Social Media"][/caption] Yes I have consumed the social media Kool-Aid. In fact I have opened my own roadside stand.  Social media is an exciting disruptive technology.  But the ride is almost over, the hype will die down after everyone has found everyone on Facebook ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/09/the-end-of-social-media/ Over the past 16 years I have done a lot of speaking on stages in Canada, USA, Southern Africa and South America. In the past 36 months more and more of my speaking, training and writing has been focused on social media and how it integrates (or doesn't) with sales ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/08/social-media-speaker-south-latin-america/ Here are a selection of Tweets (Twitter Updates) I recently shared on Twitter (via @shanegibson). I’ve put them all in one place as a brief social media tip digest. Social Media Tips: Unique, brief sound bytes produced consistently can yield great results. Once in a while ask your FB and Twitter friends for ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/08/social-media-tips-2/ Common Questions About a Tweetup What is a Tweetup? A Tweetup is: A gathering of people who use Twitter It can be a general geographic Tweetup like a Tweetup of people in Vancouver It can be a Tweetup for a cause where Twitter friends organize a get together to do something for the community It ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/08/what-is-a-tweetup/ I'm doing a keynote seminar on Implementing and Integrating Social Media in Bogota Colombia for a marketing congress on September 28th. As a professional speaker this is one of my favorite parts of the job, getting to share my ideas and passions with people from all over the world. ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/08/social-media-speaker/ Tuesday August 11th 2009 1:00 PM EASTERN How Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside-down It's not who you know but who knows you in today's hyper-connected marketplace. The consumer now owns your brand, and in order to profit from this new dynamic, we need a solid strategy and set of ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/08/how-to-profit-from-social-media/ Social Media Training Events This Month: Reachd training founded by Stephen Jagger (co-author of Sociable!) is putting on several great courses on everything from online video, to social media, search engine marketing training. Use the discount code CLOSINGBIGGER when you register. Training in Wichita Kansas August 13th - "Market Like a Sniper with ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/08/social-media-training/ I had a number of people (close to 300) complete the 28 Days to Better Selling Program I put on in May and June.  Many of you were asking when I was going to do it again? My next one will be in the fall but it will be marketing ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/free-sales-training-tips/ I'm doing a webinar for the Association of Professional Design Firms this morning and while I was compiling a resource list for them I thought I might as well blog it instead.  I've put up a lot of video, podcasts and blog entries up in the past month on Social ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/social-media-strategy-and-resources-list/ Well I'm done. I haven't tallied all of the pledges yet but it appears that with the help of my blog readers and twitter friends that over $1200 was raised for the Vancouver Food Bank.  That for me was worth the 24 hours of no sleep. Here's a partial list of ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/a-big-thank-you-to-everyone-blogathon-2009-is-a-wrap/ Following is an excerpt of an article I wrote for the BC Chapter of the AMA (You can download the entire magazine and read the full article here) Great conversations in the offline world are about listening, providing insight, empathy, and at times the right measure of humor. The same goes ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/social-media-implementation-article-in-the-bc-ama-magazine/ Social Media Speaker Shane Gibson Social Media Speaker Shane Gibson on Social Media Etiquette http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/video-social-media-etiquette/ To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps! [caption id="attachment_493" align="alignleft" width="235" caption="Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank"][/caption] http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/video-are-you-chasing-the-puck-in-social-media/ To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps! [caption id="attachment_493" align="alignleft" width="235" caption="Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank"][/caption] http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/video-make-social-media-part-of-what-you-do/ Social Media Speaker Shane Gibson Video on Why Blogging is Critical: To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps! [caption id="attachment_493" align="alignleft" width="235" caption="Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank"][/caption] http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/blogging-social-media/ The Manager’s Thought for the Day It is not uncommon for salespeople and/or sales managers to get caught in the throes of everyday problems and miss seeing the trees because of the forest. In most cases there is much more support and help around us than we can see. If most of ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/the-power-of-grattitude/ You see this in the business world all of the time whether someone is selling cars, insurance, real estate, or electronic equipment.  They try really hard to become successful.  They read all the motivational books and they go to all the personal development seminars yet, no matter how hard they ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/picking-the-wrong-profession-by-fredshadian/ Being online and making connections is fun. We all love to see out Twitter, blog, and video following increase.  For me though, it's events like this Tweetup that was organized by Capones that make it all real for me. Meeting people you are connected to online seems to slow things ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/some-of-my-favorite-vancouver-twitter-and-blogging-friends/ Walking the middle path between the yin/yang is where all harmonious and balanced answers are received and expressed.  This was a very powerful principle that was taught to me by Master Fook Yueng. It is important when focusing on the holistic approach that we look at things in multiple ways.  We ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/walking-the-middle-path-guest-blog-entry-by-fredshadian/ My friend Trevor Wallace decided to not do a cash donation and donate food directly at a Vancouver Food Bank collection box. If you believe in the cause and would prefer to do that fantastic. Send me a pic like Trevor did and I will put it up on the ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/thanks-to-trevor-wallace-from-vancouver-cigar/ In our book Sociable! Stephen Jagger and I talk about the importance of having a set of guiding principles and policies for your organization as you enter the social media space. We developed one for ourselves and the other people that are involved in Sociable! with us. Following is a ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/developing-a-social-media-policy-and-guidelines/ This guest blog entry is by Fred Shadian (on twitter @fredshadian) my very best friend and mentor: Momentum is a progression of movements that are created just like an ocean wave. You can become part of the flow of momentum and be caught by the wave and ride it to ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/momentum-fred-shadian/ This podcast answers another version of the question "Why?" with the answer "Why not me?" To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps! [caption id="attachment_493" align="alignleft" width="235" caption="Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank"][/caption] http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/why-not-me-whynotme/ This podcast is about the question: Why? This is an important question. It's the most important question. Why? To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps! [caption id="attachment_493" align="alignleft" width="235" caption="Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank"][/caption] http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/why-why/ Ronald Lee of Man Meets Woman Happy Sexy You and Vancouver Social Board sponsored this post for the blogathon for the Vancouver Food Bank. The topic Ronald chose was: What It Takes and/or How to Become a Thought Leader? This is a great question, have a listen to this podcast to hear ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/becoming-and-influencing-thought-leaders/ Jay Levinson says it takes up to 18  months for a the market to react and accept a new brand. Jim Janz says it takes 18 months it develop a leader. Fred Shadian says it takes 1000 training sessions to become a master.  Malcolm Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/how-long-is-a-long-term-marketing-goal-are-you-quitting-too-soon/ Guest blog entry by Tris Hussey, author, blogger, new media maven: Can a fictional character blog? This was a huge question in the early days of blogging. Blogging stalwarts felt that only "real" people should be blogging, especially for a company. There were a couple notable character blogs that were pretty controversial ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/can-a-fictional-character-blog-guest-blogger-tris-hussey/ Well the last post went over well, and since this is for charity I thought I'd share a few more pics that I managed to capture and put on Twitter. Nothing out of the ordinary really. #1) Raul in his happy place (He's blogging for charity tonight too) #2) This guy I ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/twitpics-gone-wrong-part-2/ In a Hyper-transparent World You'll Be Found Out In our book Sociable! Stephen Jagger and I talk about some of the do's and don't's of social media. One thing we talk about is wherever you are, there's a camera, and at 2:00 am that funny twitpic might not be so funny ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/twitpics-gone-wrong-shane-gibson-exposed/ Guest blog entry by Tris Hussey, author, blogger, new media maven: Encouraging comments and discussion Comments are what keep blogging going. The dialogue and feedback that helps you not only grow as a writer, but also ensures that you stay on track. Through comments you learn, interact, and gain inspiration. I've written ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/uber-blogger-tris-hussey-on-managing-blog-comments/ This doesn't need much of an intro. The title says it all. Marketers are lying to you about social media. People are designing speeches, and marketing packages around a topic they have very little background in. Listen to the podcast to find out why this is happening and what to ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/podcast-marketers-are-lying-to-you-about-social-media/ The last podcast I did was about "Getting Real in Social Media" and this is an extension of that. I'm a big proponent of the use of social media marketing and social networking in business. With that said, often social media helps us start a relationship, it can also help ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/sales-skills-are-part-of-a-good-social-media-strategy/ This podcast is a cautionary one for those of us that dove in blind and head first into Social Media. We were right. It's the future of marketing and it's changing the way we work, lead, and sell. With that said, we can still go broke wasting our time with ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/get-real-about-social-media-its-not-a-video-game/ I have made a few videos about Tweetups, Twitter, and social media over the past few months. Here's some of my favorite ones. Enjoy Twitter For Sales Part 1 Twitter For Sales Part 2 What the Heck is a Tweetup? Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside Down How Hard is it to Video ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/social-media-and-twitter-videos/ Thank-you to 6s Marketing for your support during the 2009 blogathon for the Vancouver Food Bank. I first met Chris Breikss and John Blown founders of 6s Marketing when I was working as a sales manager for an online advertising company during the first dotcom boom of the late 90's early ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/blogathon-sponsor-6s-marketing-inc/ Doug Morneau and his team from Rhino Marketing really stepped up to the plate and made a sizable contribution to the charity Blogathon.  When I thanked Doug and Rhino on Twitter here's what he said: to whom much has been given, much is expected" - happy to help you and ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/blogathon-platinum-sponsor-rhino-marketing/ #10) You only read @replies and don’t care about the meaningless stuff people post #9) You retweet like it was your own idea forgetting to give credit #8) You send everyone the same pitchy auto direct message when they follow you #7) Your auto direct message has a link to an affiliate site ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/top-10-reasons-you-might-be-a-twit-on-twitter/ You no longer own your brand. The customer owns your brand. Listen to this podcast and tell me what you think. To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps! [caption id="attachment_493" align="alignleft" width="235" caption="Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank"][/caption] http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/you-no-longer-own-your-brand-so-get-used-to-it/ This podcast is in response to the following question (via twitter):From @jaypiddy @shanegibson should front line sales staff blog? If so what should they blog about? Have a listen to this podcast to hear my thoughts on the subject. To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/should-frontline-sales-people-blog-and-about-what/ A big thank-you to Richard McLaughlin for guest blogging on LinkedIn to help me out with my 24 hour Blogathon I'm doing for charity today.  Here's Richard's Guest Blog Entry Linkedin Groups by Richard McLaughlin (@_McLaughlin ) There are many social media groups out there and I have come to the decision ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/linkedin-groups-by-richard-mclaughlin/ My wife Wannapan and I had the fantastic opportunity to spend several days with Jay Levinson and his wife Jeannie while we were in Santiago Chile in April. Jay and I both spoke at the Annual Sales and Marketing conference put together by Seminarium, the leading provider of executive ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/19-guerrilla-social-media-marketing-secrets/ Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies Authors Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff of Forrester Research have put together a no non-sense practical guide to winning in a world transformed by social technologies.  Published by Harvard Business press this book is packed with comprehensive proof that social media is ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/groundswell-book-review/ What I want to be when I grow up. I used to want to be a video game programmer, but I think that’s too much work. And now I want to work at  Apple, the company that makes Mac computers and iPods. I think selling them is fun and will give me a ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/guest-blogger-kristian-gibson-9-years-old/ Firstly I would like to thank Tom Everitt for his generous donation to the Vancouver Food Bank Blogathon fundraiser.  As a thank-you I am profiling Tom and sharing with you one of his many entertaining and helpful videos he produces at ThinkTom.com. You can follow Tom on Twitter @thinktomdotcom. About Tom ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/business-profile-of-tom-everitt-of-thinktomcom/ Just for the record I'm one of 26 Vancouver area bloggers that are blogging for 24 hours for charity. Globally according to http://blogathon.org there's 161 bloggers and over $30,000 already raised in the first 6.5 hours of blogging! Here's a list of my friends and fellow Metro Vancouver Bloggers. What ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/vancouvers-blogathon-2009-participants-26-bloggers-with-20-causes/ This blog entry was submitted in support of my 24 hour blogathon for the Vancouver Food Bank (donate here to help feed hunger and poverty). Thank-you Cindy King for all of your support. What an eye opening and incredible blog entry and video. Thanks! Here it is: Can You Use Social Media ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/cindy-king-international-cross-cultural-sales-social-media/ A bit of a warning: there is some profanity in this video. This is Greg Kettner's (@gregkettner) stand-up comedy segment on FaceBook. I know he's working on a Twitter one as well.  Although comedic in nature this bit does bring to light some of the challenges of Facebook, friends, drinking, ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/mom-and-facebook-greg-kettner-comedy-video/ 18 Social Media Tips Under 140 Characters 1.     Use http://www.backtype.com/ to search blog comments about you, your blog or a topic. 2.     Social media is too new for Gurus. We're all amateurs! That's what makes it fun and open. 3.     Social Media Phases: Adoption, Population, Pollination, Aggregation, Splintering, Commercializing, and Globalizing. 4.     Social media ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/18-social-media-tips-under-140-characters/ Sales Best Practices: Keeps track of all the names, titles, and positions of all the key contact people within every account. This is so basic, you would think everyone would be doing it. Not so. I was sitting across the desk from the operations manager of the company for which I had ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/dave-kahle-sales-blog-guest-entry-on-keeping-track-of-names/ This blogathon entry is from @smuttysteff and here was her question: @shanegibson What was your first childhood entrepreneurial attempt, and what did it teach you? To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps! [caption id="attachment_493" align="alignleft" width="235" caption="Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank"][/caption] http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/my-first-business-and-lessons-learned/ For my 7th charity Blogathon entry I’m taking a topic suggestion from Twitter. This podcast is about “The Seven Habits of Highly Defective Leaders.” It came from, @ganga_narayanan. Here was his suggestion: @shanegibson how "about seven habits of highly defective leaders"? :) So here it is: Seven Habits of Highly Defective Leaders: #1) They ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/the-seven-habits-of-highly-defective-leaders/ Sales Best Practices: Asking questions as a means of facilitating every step in the sales process. The single most powerful tool that a salesperson has is a well-phrased, appropriately asked question. Nothing else compares to the impact that a good question can have on ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/dave-kahle-guest-blog-entry-sales-best-practices-asking-questions/ Dave Macdonald (@davemacdonald on Twitter) sent me this great guest blog entry this morning in support of my drive to raise funds for the Vancouver Food Bank today by blogging for 24 hours.  Here's Dave's blog entry on CSR: It’s an honour to guest-post on closingbigger.net during the 2009 Edition of ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/dave-macdonald-cma-on-corporate-social-responsibility/ Following is an excerpt from Sociable! a book about how social media is turning sales and marketing upside down. 22 Types of Updates You Can Post on Twitter: Where you are physically located at that moment. A link to a picture of an event you are at (using Twitpic.com) A question about a business ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/22-types-of-updates-you-can-post-on-twitter/ This is Blogathon 2009 entry #3. I’m blogging for 24 hours to raise funds for the Vancouver Food Bank. You can make a donation below. Ignore Everybody by Hugh Macleod is a fantastic book on tapping into your creative potential and stepping out from the crowd. Following is a video ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/ignore-everybody-and-39-other-keys-to-creativity-book-by-hugh-macleod-book-review/ This is my 2nd blog entry today for Blogathon 2009. I'm blogging for 24 hours to raise funds for the Vancouver Food Bank. You can make a donation below. Here are a collection of Leadership Tips that I have posted on Twitter over the past week. Enjoy! 20 Leadership tips Under 140 ... http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/07/20-leadership-tips-in-140-characters-or-less/