Membership Overview
Learn what being a member does for you
The Seller Styles
NASP Programs
Catalog
See a summary of all our programs and certifications
Online Certifications
Certified Professional Sales Person(CPSP®)
Develop your potential as a certified sales professional
Certified Professional Sales Leader(CPSL®)
Grow your impact as a certified sales leader
Certified Master Sales Professional (CMSP®)
Join the elite group of sales professionals and leaders
Certified Master Sales Trainer (CMST®)
Online Programs
Advanced Sales Influence (ASI)
Take your influence and leadership to the next level.
Certified Professional Sales Associate (CPSA®)
Learn foundational sales behaviors, strategies, and skills
Power of Contact Marketing
Learn from marketing expert and author Stu Heinecke
ProSeries Programs
Join the top 1% of sales professionals in the world.
Next Level Virtual Coaching
Sales Mastery
Join our ongoing dynamic virtual coaching community
Career Center
Explore job postings from some of the best companies in the country looking for sales professionals
Training Resources
Daily Dose of Influence!
Enjoy our video series of influence tips and strategies
Leads To Growth
Dig into our podcast featuring industry leaders and experts
Coaches Corner
Learn from our high-level sales coaching video series
Women of Sales & Influence – Facebook Live Series
Be inspired by our Facebook Live series spotlighting top women influencers
Women of Sales & Influence – Video Blog
Enjoy valuable, high-level sales strategies to empower your sales goals
Sales Resources
The Growth Quotient
You’ve heard about IQ, but what is your GQ?
Our Commitment to You
We are here to help your approach to sales, how you interact with others, and how you perform and execute
Articles
NASP Sales Blog
Learn from our member-submitted articles for sales professionals
About Our CEO
Standards of Conduct
Testimonials
Common Questions and Answers
Contact
by Juliet McEwen Johnson
Whatever nefarious intention Mark Zuckerberg had when he originated Facebook, the social media site works best as a “book” that links a name to a face. Twitter arrived with a 140 character minimum to get the word out quickly and for short, efficient exchanges with other key people in your sphere. Google wants a social network to get to you know better such that their search returns fit you perfectly. Pinterest enables a filing system for inspirational, lushly colored imagery for dream-boarding, reference and future use. And then we have LinkedIn. The oldest member of today’s top 5 social media networks in the US.
LinkedIn launched in 2003, built as a professional network by Reid Hoffman and some of the founders of PayPal. It is a virtual BNI (Business Network International) best used for reputation management, live demonstration of superior expertise, and for networking in the traditional business sense. You want your fullest story out there on LinkedIn, so that former coworkers can find you and reconnect. Jobs you might not put on your resume because they are no longer relevant to what you are looking to do moving forward should still be on LinkedIn as it adds to your story of what makes the whole you unique. LinkedIn is the “yeah me” site where you are supposed to post your awards and recognition certificates. This is the network where prospects, future employers, potential partners and investors will find you. Tell them how it is.
A similar focus need to be in play on Google+. Since Google uses all of the information you put into it to get to know you, you will want to honestly and authentic share who you are. This is not in a big brother, spooky sense but simply because of search. The relevance of search results for “how to grow tomatoes” will vary considerably for a crop producer in New Jersey vs. a lady in a retirement community hoping for a useful plant to offer a bit of shade from a sunny window. The more you help Google, the more they help you.
Facebook is a platform to socially interact and connect. Even if that connection is just reminding you which person that was that you just met. It’s about your face – and your public persona. While your cat may be important to you, it doesn’t help anyone connect your name to a face unless you tend to take that cat everywhere you go and always hold it up in front of your face when being introduced to someone new.
Twitter may well be allowing longer posts now, but no-one wants to be bothered with a second click. A concise informative 140 characters that ignites a conversation is what the platform was designed for and yields way better results.
Pinterest is just curation: collecting together images that speak to you on a variety of levels that you categorize by board so that you can find them again. By sharing these ideas, desires, dreams and inspirations with others, you contribute to a greater, organic community. Where that ultimately takes you remains to be seen. For now, this is a happy neighborhood of “love that”, “cute”, “I’m so doing that this weekend” and other positive engagement.
About the author