Mike Williams

What are people really using Twitter for?

2009-08-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

The Winner: "Pointless Babble" at 40.55% read on for more interesting info...

Pear Analytics released their study of Twitter usage this month and it had some interesting surprises. To conduct the study, they randomly sampled 2000 Tweets over the course of a 10 days between the hours of 11am and 5pm. Their original hypotheses was that Twitter was being used primarily for self-promotion.

What the results actually showed was that the majority of tweets were totally pointless babble (41%) followed closely by total conversational (38%). I knew that I see a lot of totally pointless babble in my Twitter feed, but the beauty of Twitter is that it makes it easy to scan and filter out the nonsense.
I am surprised that the News and Pass Along value are so low.

Excerpt from Pear Analytics Twitter Study :

Pear also analyzed the Twitter usage by day of week and time of day. For example, most re-tweets occurred on Mondays and a higher percentage of Pass Along tweets occurred early in the day. Of course, individuals may get different results based on strictly your screen name or how rigorous you are in pruning out Twitter ‘deadwood’.

It would be interesting to see Pear conduct this survey again or to have it verified by another research study. But for now, it’s the best analysis out there.
The Pear study also provided these Twitter statistics from Quantcast from June 2009:

Twitter reaches 27 million people per month in the U.S.
55% are female
43% are between 18 and 34
78% Caucasian, but African American users are 35% above Internet average
Average household income is between $30 and $60k
1% of the addicts contribute 35% of the visits
72% are passers‐by, while only 27% are regular users

You can download the entire Pear Analytics Twitter study from this link.

Interviewing tips 101

2009-08-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

10 basic points before you go on that all important interview.

Look Sharp
Before the interview, select your outfit. Depending on the industry and position, get out your best clothes and check them over for spots and wrinkles. Even if the company has a casual environment, you still want to dress to impress. Dress for confidence. If you feel good, others will respond to you accordingly.

Be Prepared
Bring along a folder containing extra copies of your resume, a copy of your references, paper to take notes and your recommendations. Take notes about comments the interviewer makes, questions they ask or if a question pops up in your mind. You don't want to interrupt someone while they are talking. This way you have questions prepared to ask at the end of the interview.

Research, Research, Research
Researching the company before the interview and learning as much as possible about its services, products, customers, competition and person that's conducting the interview will give you an edge in understanding and addressing the company’s needs. The more you know about the company and what it stands for, the better chance you have of selling yourself. You can research the interviewer by searching through Face book, Twitter, Google, etc. Be careful when you research the person interviewing you. You do not want to come across as a stalker or make them feel uncomfortable that you know quite a bit about them. Use the info to your advantage by relating with them on similar interests.

Be on Time
Never arrive late to an interview. Allow extra time to arrive early in the vicinity, allowing for factors like getting lost. Enter the building 10 to 15 minutes before the interview. I cant tell you how many interviews I have personally conducted and the interviewee was late! Punctuality will make or break the whole interview for you. Would you hire someone who is late?

Show Enthusiasm
A firm handshake and plenty of eye contact demonstrate confidence. Speak distinctly in a confident voice, even though you may feel shaky. Most of all have fun! What is the worst that will happen? They will say NO.

Ask Questions
Many interviewees don’t ask questions and miss the opportunity to find out valuable information. Your questions indicate your interest in the company or job. Also by asking questions you may reveal important information pertaining to the position you are interviewing for and also about the company.

Answer the Question Asked
Candidates often don’t think about whether or not they actually are answering the questions asked by their interviewers. Make sure you understand what is being asked, and get further clarification if you are unsure.

Give Specific Examples
One specific example of your background is worth 50 vague stories. Prepare your stories before the interview. Give examples that highlight your successes and uniqueness. Your past behavior can indicate your future performance.

Listen
One of the most neglected interviewing skills is listening. Make sure you are not only listening, but also reading between the lines. Watch the interviewers body language. Watch how they react and interact. Sometimes what is not said is just as important as what is said.

Follow Up
Shoot a quick thank you email but a letter through regular mail is the best. I won over a company by sending a follow up letter in the mail. You don’t want to miss this last chance to market yourself.

Do you have additional comments you would like to add? Anything I may have missed?

SALES FACTS - RECESSION

2009-08-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

SALES FACTS FOR THE CURRENT RECESSION

Recession Fact #1
Companies that significantly reduce Sales & Marketing in 2009 will be gone in 2010. This is a strong statement, but justified. I would like to add that Sales will not cure all ills. Cash Management, personnel, and making sure you are touching base with all aspects key to your business is a must. Do not accept mediocrity from yourself or your people.

Recession Fact #2
Sales people need 20% more prospects to stay even. No one can rest on their laurels, or think that a sale is coming in. Do not assume. Get as many prospects in that pipeline as possible.

Recession Fact #3
It takes 20-30% longer to close a sale. People just are afraid to buy. It is actually quite strange, because it is the best time to buy. There is less business so better service, interest rates are low. Why keep your money in a bank?

Recession Fact #4
Lack of insight into sales activity and the target markets loses 10% of all sales. Not having a full understanding of a standard processes, information, and interfaces, forced salespeople to lose sales. The average business loses 10-20% of the business they had the previous year due to financial reasons, poor service, or unforeseen competitive advantages. Do you keep track? What actions do you take to correct this issue?

Recession Fact #5
Why do we lose sales? 22% of deals are lost to “no sale.” Don’t chase garbage, select better targets. Use a score card to identify good customers. This is so true. I do not know how many business owners I asked, who their target customer was, and they had no real idea how to identify. The statement that everybody is my potential customer is just not true. Benchmark which customers generate the most and are easiest to have and target new ones just like them.

Your thoughts? Anything else you would add?

Hosteses spiffed on increased business?

2009-07-30T22:34:00.000-07:00

The other night we went out to eat for dinner. I am fairly diverse in different cuisines so I have a good idea how something should taste. We were driving down Ventura looking for a restaurant and came across one at the cross streets of Ventura and Balboa in Woodland hills. It was a Creole restaurant, one of my favorite cuisines and I have traveled the world sampling multiple cuisines.

Ambiance was ok (Music was a bit loud), for entertainment they had movies playing on some large plasmas throughout the restaurant.

So I order something I have ordered in the Creole capital of the US (Louisiana), Jambalaya! Food finally comes and it was the worst jambalaya I have ever had. As we were finishing our meal a friend and his girl walked in to be seated. We briefly chatted and he asked how the food was? I was honest with him and told him that it is the worst jambalaya I have ever had. Could some of the other entrees have been great? Sure, but if you can’t get jambalaya correct at a Creole restaurant, I wouldn’t count on the other entrees to be good. So he and his girlfriend left after hearing this.

I did tell the server about the dissatisfaction and she just looked at me and said ohh ok, sorry. I also told her she lost two customers because I told my friends not to eat here. This got me thinking, should the hostess get spiffed on increase business? I think so... It would have definitely put the hostess in a different mindset to ensure I was satisfied. What are your thoughts? Remember word of mouth can make or break a business! Fact: Word of mouth marketing is a $1.56 billion business.

Mike Williams - Starbuck Squatters

2009-07-26T15:37:00.000-07:00

Have you ever gone to Starbucks and realized everything that takes place around you? Some people are students, just trying to get away and study. Other people are there for business meetings and then you have the average Joe who is just trying to get out of the house and hang out in a real life social networking location: Starbucks!

My Condo was flooded last week because of my upstairs neighbor’s defective washer. Approximately 100 gallons of water flowed into our wonderful two bedroom condo on a 105 degree afternoon. As the days go by and we argue with the insurance company, I realized I can’t work in this damp carpet stench. I did what any other person would do when looking for somewhere to work, I went to Starbucks. Good thing I have AT&T U-verse for my home internet. Starbucks has teamed up with AT&T which means I get free internet.

4 hours and two Iced Tea drinks later… I decide to leave my little niche at Starbucks and grab lunch. I head back to “my” starbucks (I’ve taken ownership of the location after being there the whole morning)... and wham! All the seats were taken!! I had no choice but to look for another location... fortunately there were dozens of Starbucks in my location... 4 coffee shops later I finally found one that was not full.

I make the usual scan of my enviorment to pick the best place to sit and see this interesting guy... He was literally set up a whole editing studio. I walk over to take a peek (pretending like I am looking at the seats around him) and see that he is in fact editing movies. Looking around his table, I also noticed he had BBQ sauce, Ketchup, Robitussin cough syrup and a box from 7-11 with some left over fast food. At this point, my curiosity was piqued... have I seen my first actual Starbucks squatter???

I head over to the barista and politely inquire if the gentleman is here every day. She confirmed my assumption. Now I’m thinking... you at least have to purchase something from the store to stay there right? So I ask the barista if he ever buys anything. She tells me no! He’s already got his set up, so he doesn’t really buy anything! My next question was why not ask him to leave? The barista lady said, per their district manager... as long as he’s not bothering anyone... they can’t ask him to leave.

Here is the question of the day. Do you have a Starbucks squatter near you? Please share your story! What crazy or unusual things have you ran into at Starbucks? How long is too long at Starbucks?

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