I hold my own feet to the fire. I hold yours too.

Me

That means I do my homework and research everyone on LinkedIn before I speak to them on the phone or zoom. Sometimes I even peek at their Facebook page, because we are not all work and no play. Double negative, I know.

My researching them creates multiple conversation points, so there is never a lull in the discussion, as I pivot from one topic to the other in their context. Recently I reacquainted with a former client and brought up her “side-gig.” She was surprised I knew about it, although it was shown in detail on FB but she was reluctant to mention it on LinkedIn for fear of sounding “off point” in her original business pursuit.

Not so, I advised as a multipreneur myself, and how to bridge the two interests with overarching commentary to knit the two together. Mine is client-centricity in ALL that I do. That takes prep and forethought before my face shows on the zoom screen or my voice on the phone call.

Had I not researched her, opportunities would have gone unopened. I was pleased to refer her to several connections I have in the second business area and hope it yields at least 1 fruitful matchup. I suspect there will be a few.

Investment yielding dividends.

You

I wish I could say that of some others I meet with there. Many are fully prepped and that’s a pleasure. But quite a few skim the surface and look for buzz words without much insight into me as a prospective connection.

I also assign homework between coaching sessions. Ugh, they say to themselves, homework? Yes, due to me the day before our next session so I can digest your work and offer greater advice and insight to make it work just a shake better. That is spelled out in my onboarding clients and at the end of each recorded zoom coaching session.

The toughest accountability assignment is part of my group training: I present a 90-minute group overview of LinkedIn best practices. Then 2 weeks later each attendee schedules for a 30-minute 1:1 with me to show me what they propose to change in their profile based on what they learned. My model includes the department head or CXO emailing and orally conveying support for my scheduling personal sessions is essential to my and their success.

Investment yielding dividends.

Us

Our investment is made available in time, introspective thinking, planning and written composition, and direct conversation in all of the above. Me and you. An equation. I expect at least 49% back for my at least 51%. Often the total exceeds 100 and that’s a slam-dunk successful project that pays back over time. Mission accomplished.

It just takes wanting to learn and opening to new ways of looking at the power tool we call LinkedIn.

Accountability is taking my side of the bargain very seriously. You too, as a professional. Feet to the fire, right?