by Alice Heiman on May 11, 2012
Have you ever wondered how companies get on the “Top” lists. I recently made Evan Carmicheal’s Top 100 Sales Experts to Watch on Twitter. He publishes this every month. In April I was #77 . Pretty exciting, I think. How did I get on this list? And what does it mean? Does it get me any business?
One of the things it means is that I am showing up and someone is noticing. Are you showing up and is anyone noticing? And really not just anyone, but your ideal customers. The game is to get noticed by them and have them contact you. Social media is certainly one of the ways to get noticed, along with traditional media and great customer service that turns your customers into a walking advertisement.
The real question is are you at the top of your customer’s list. Do they think of your first. I’d like to think so, but I make sure. I use social media, email marketing, networking, one to one calls and visits, handwritten notes, fun gifts, this blog and anything else I can think of to stay there.
by Alice Heiman on May 3, 2012
On Saturday night, I had the great pleasure of emceeing the Summit Awards. NAIOP, CCIM and CREW, all commercial real estate organizations, give these awards annually to brokers, 
developers and construction companies. It’s great for businesses to win awards for many reasons. Once you have won an award you can position your company as “Award Winning” company. So how do you get that notoriety for your company? Every company should apply for awards. There are so many different ones out there you can win. Start by looking in your industry for organizations that give out awards and start applying. If you think that is conceited or self promoting, guess what, the only way you can win most awards is by applying or asking someone to nominate you. Awards are just another way to celebrate your accomplishments. Companies don’t spend enough time celebrating what they do right, awards give you a great opportunity to do that. Take advantage and apply for an award today. I’ve given you some places to start below.
The Addy Awards – given by the America Advertising Federation for great ideas.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Blue Ribbon Awards - 75 small businesses are selected for their innovative business practices and strong contributions to their communities. (I’ve won this award twice.)
The Stevie Awards – The world’s premier business award competition.
These are national awards. You can find local and regional awards to apply for as well. I am sure your local chamber gives out awards. I won the Community Spirit Award from my chamber a few years back and yes, I asked people to nominate me. Is it shameless self promotion, maybe. But I really do a lot for my community and it is nice to be recognized. I also won Marketer of the Year from the Reno-Tahoe AMA, that one I didn’t have to apply for but that is unusual. Our community also gives awards for the best places to work. I bet your community does that too. Your employees can nominate your company. Your company deserves to be recognized for all it does. If you don’t want to apply for awards you can still use the idea and develop an awards program within your company to recognize people and teams. Hold an annual event and give out awards to your customers. What a great way to appreciate them and keep them engaged. Once you have given your awards you can do some PR and send info on the winners to your local media outlets and post on social media.
Let me know of awards you have won and your ideas about how you can use awards to help your company build it’s brand and promote itself or it’s employees.
P.S. I am launching my newsletter, watch for it and tell me what you think.
