Happy Monday folks,
Another week, another good batch of updates and fun stuff to talk about in the business world.
Let’s jump in:
Trying a new/fun marketing strategy for Visto
It was definitely a slower week.
While summer is usually a bit slower here, we’ve managed to have a pretty strong few months on the business front. But something about last week was just very quiet.
Lots of vacation auto-responders, voicemails, etc. Did you have the same?
And that’s okay, because it’s just the name of the game at certain times of the year. Also gives you time to catch up on other stuff that’s been lower on your list for a while, and also spend some time outdoors, recharging and recouping that energy for when things pick up.
I also launched a LinkedIn Growth program through Visto, which so far is off to an exciting start. What is that, you may ask?
Well as you know, my tech company (visto.ai) builds immigration software for immigration professionals in Canada. As I’ve gotten to know more of them, I’ve learned that most are looking to build their presence online, but don’t know where to start and/or don’t have the time to. And they lean towards LinkedIn as it’s more professional.
So after hearing this from far too many of them – and because I know a thing or two about LinkedIn with over 14,500 followers – I decided to put together a 6-week paid program on how to grow your presence on LinkedIn for immigration professionals. Not only do I enjoy it, but it’s another fun way to market ourselves to our target market and build trust in our industry.
It’s also a nice way to mix things up as I spend most of the rest of my day selling tech, so mixing in some other stuff helps keep me on my toes.
We had the first session on Friday where I went over setting LinkedIn goals, intentions (and why they’re so important) and optimizing your LinkedIn profile, including tips and homework.
As I said, so far, so good, and I’ll keep you posted on how it goes over the next 5 weeks (as it’s a 6-week program).
Key takeaway(s): listen to your audience and get creative to serve them
Now this program is still new, so it might be a complete flop, but the first session went well and I have a great feeling about it. Mainly because I know I’ll provide them with a ton of value, and it’s a cool new way to network.
One of my biggest learnings from this year, especially as we improve on our immigration platform at Visto, is to always be listening to your audience instead of forcing what you think may work on them. Of course, there’s a little bit of that that’s required (especially early on when you’re just starting and don’t have clients), but the last ~6 months of new product features for us have just been based on what our users are asking for.
Ironically, it actually makes improving your product really easy – because users just ask for stuff. But make sure you’re listening and/or giving them the space to communicate their wants and needs with you.
It could also mean testing out some new products or services you hadn’t thought of before, because if enough people are asking you for it, it’s probably for a reason. So get something out there quick, then show it to as many people as possible and listen to what they say (good or bad!).
Book of the week
I’m still not done Jack: Straight From the Gut by Jack Welch, but not for a lack of trying. At almost 500 pages, it’s a doozy.
Luckily it’s also a great book. Jack shares a ton of details on how he worked his way up at GE, what it was like running it, chapters on the cool deals he and the company did, management of people and more. I will hopefully be done it for next weeks email…
Episode 14 of the Grind Mastermind podcast also went live, where good friend Chris and I share updates as we grow our businesses, set goals for the next 2 weeks and talk about books/tools we find. Watch or listen to it here.
That’s it for me – have a great week, make sure you’re getting my updates right to your inbox here, and keep grinding,
– Josh
