by tradespeopleinsights | Jan 18, 2012 | Uncategorized
One of the biggest issues all of us have is finding good people. People who know what they are doing and can help contribute to the bottom line. In my travels talking with both manufacturers and contractors, top on their list is finding good help. One contractor told me recently finding work isn’t the problem, finding people to do it is!
So whether you’re a manufacturer, distributor or a contractor, what are you doing to play it forward to make sure we have skilled people ready for the work force? Might I suggest you get involved especially on a local level.
- Talk to high school students and show them that there are options to a 4-year college degree.
- Let them know that technicians in the electrical, HVAC or plumbing fields use sophisticated equipment in doing their jobs.
- Let them know they can’t export those kinds of jobs and the rest of us depend on them on a daily basis.
- And oh, by the way, they can make a damn fine living.
For those who want to work in a manufacturing facility, they may be running machining cells worth millions of dollars. In order to compete for those kinds of jobs, you need to be trained and must come to the table with skills like math.
So what are options if we want to be good corporate citizens? There are local trade schools, technical and community colleges that either have or could initiate programs to train future workers. One such program is Skills America which is a regional program that can be taken and adapted to your needs.
More importantly, you can support the schools by giving away scholarships to students in need. Financial help via government loans are drying up. For those who want to improve themselves and contribute to society, what better way of supporting them. Now I’m not talking thousands of dollars in scholarships. What if you could give a few $500-a-year ones? It would help with books and tuition. More importantly, it will send a message to the community about who you are.
Most of you belong to national trades associations and some might have local programs you could participate in. If you can’t find a local source, there are always places like Mike Rowe’s foundation that supports the trades.
The key is now that the economy is starting to turn around, let’s do something that will improve the workforce and eventually come back to help each and every one of us. The key is DO SOMETHING.
by tradespeopleinsights | Jan 17, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
If you’re not on LinkedIn you should be, and if you are, when was the last time you updated your page?
Did you set goals when you first went on, but as time has passed you kind of let it slip a little? You and 131 million of your possible friends are on this site. How many are you connected with?
Let’s review some basics and make sure we’re all on track.
- Profile page – Great place to make a good impression. Have you updated your photo or are you using one from 10 years ago? How about your accomplishments? I’m sure if you haven’t touched it for a while, something good must have happened at work that you could highlight. Have any other things changed like you started a Twitter account, a blog or new website? Be sure to include links.
- Key words – SEO is king. When was the last time you looked at key words within your profile? The best place to do this is on the summary section.
- Adding to your network – It was easy when you just started to get a list of contacts linked in. But what about all those grandiose plans of adding so many new contacts each week? I’m sure you haven’t stopped taking phone calls or going to meetings? What ever happened to asking them to link in with you? At least then when you do a posting, you’ll be getting it in front of them. I admit I’m as guilty as everyone else, but I’m back on track now to add at least 3 contacts a week. What’s your goal?
- Status updates – So what good is 500 connections if you never connect? You need to be active and say something. It doesn’t have to be something original. It could be something as simple as a comment and link to a morning news story that might have some impact on your industry. Try to do at least one a day. Lunchtime is LinkedIn’s prime time.
- Groups – This is the “holy grail” as far as I’m concerned. 80% of members belong to at least one group. Search and join relevant groups. They allow you to join as many as 50. Talk about shooting fish in a barrel…where else can you find a group of like-minded individuals to hold a conversation with? A great place to build relationships and also build your visibility and credibility as an expert in the field.
Those are some of my thoughts on recommitting to using a great networking site. What are you doing to capitalize on LinkedIn?
by tradespeopleinsights | Jan 12, 2012 | Uncategorized
For those of you that are planning to attend the AHR Show later this month, weve enclosed a link to an Insider’s Guide to restaurants, bars and nightlife in the Windy City. We’ve asked some locals to give us some “GEMS” that might not be on the concierge’s list.
We hope you have a good show and enjoy Chicago.
by tradespeopleinsights | Jan 11, 2012 | Marketing Trends, Traditional Marketing
INDUSTRY OVERVIEW/TRENDS/ISSUES
A lot of our clients know they need to get into the “green” arena but do not know how to approach it or how to bring value to the “green” market. Thus, the following is both an overview of the alternative energy industry (focusing on certain segments within the larger context) to be used as a means of educating, and a list of trends and issues to be used for planning for the types of products and services needed in the future.
Renewable Energy Consumption in the Nation’s Energy Supply, 2008
This overview covers the following portions of the Alternative Energy market:
•BioMass/BioFuels/BioProducts
•Geothermal
•Hydropower
•Solar
•Wind
For those of you who might want to look at this market, the 54-page report highlights the industry, trends and issues. We also touch on associations, training, codes, trade shows and publications that cover this market. You can sign up to receive a copy here.
by tradespeopleinsights | Jan 10, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Social Marketing
Content is King for more than one reason. One of the reasons we want to put out good-quality content is to become the thought leader in our market segment.
Content like white papers, fact sheets, case histories and webinars are just a few examples and might be used at different stages of the sales funnel. Online content is the fuel for new leads in the B2B arena.
It stands to reason that if people see that you both identify problems/issues and address possible solutions, that you not only will accomplish the first goal, but they might even identify themselves as a possible new lead.
A recent survey from MarketingSherpa was highlighted in a post in eMarketer.com that highlighted the kind of content customers are looking for. Highlights include:
- Why content marketing is essential to B2B leads.
- How B2B buyers use content.
- What type of content is best for generating leads.
- How marketers can leverage content marketing formats.
Sonnhalter is partnering with Joe Pulizzi, a nationally-known content marketing expert and founder of the Content Marketing Institute, in hosting a webinar on the growing area of content marketing for B2B. This free, one-hour webinar will be Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. EST. Participants can click here to register for the “8 Content Initiatives You Need to Seriously Consider for 2012” webinar.
by tradespeopleinsights | Jan 5, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
Content marketing expert and founder of the Content Marketing Institute, Joe Pulizzi will review the practice of content marketing and why it’s one of the fastest growing areas of marketing today. In this hour presentation, Joe will discuss eight initiatives that all marketers need to consider now when it comes to corporate storytelling and social media.
Joe is a leading author, speaker and strategist for content marketing. Joe is the founder of the Content Marketing Institute and the CEO of SocialTract. He’s also co-authored Get Content Get Customers and Managing Content Marketing: The Real World Guide for Creating Passionate Subscribers to Your Brand.
I’ve heard Joe present before, and you are in for a real treat. Please join us on February 2nd at 1 PM EST for this free, informative presentation. Joe will also be taking questions at the end.
This webinar is available on our YouTube channel – click here.
