I had the pleasure yesterday of recording a training CD that will be published by the Direct Selling Women’s Alliance as part of their Mentored by the Masters series. It was an honor to be asked, and so much fun sharing about establishing an online presence in your direct sales business. We chose to emphasize not so much the how-to’s as the ‘being’ part of conducting business on the internet. I am looking forward to hearing and sharing the final product.

Today I received a media query from HARO that allowed me to kind of sum up my thoughts about online presence in writing, and I thought I’d share my answer, here so you’ll understand. The question was basically does it pay to be “nice” in business, especially with the popularity of social networking sites? My answer is:

I am finding that with the combination of the downturn in the economy and the availability of information so accessible through the internet, customers and potential business clients are more discerning than ever. This results in the need to redefine our images online so we can build rapport and trust in the people we meet. Now more than ever, it is important to be the kind of person you’d like to do business with – in person and online. This means focusing on the other person and their true needs; it means being fully present and attentive; it means conducting yourself with integrity, and it means less hype and more authenticity. Business owners who can adopt these principles not only receive more sales, income, and future business, but they also receive more referrals from others, and in the social networking world, that means more ‘friends’ and ‘followers,’ which widens their reach even further. The golden rule applies in business today more than ever!

Last night my team training topic was about social networking and I was able to share some of what I do with my team. I am happy to say I have a few more followers, on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter! Add me, too!