Here’s what I learned from Chris Brogan:

1. Social media extends you and gives you greater range to deepen relationships.
2. Regardless of your job title, YOU are in sales and customer service.
3. When your readers commit to you by opting in, YOU OWE THEM to write a better newsletter. So please stop whacking them over the head with sales pitches.
4. You have a voice. You are the media. Express yourself.
5. You should be listening at the point of need. Consumers use social media to share their buying experiences. Use these opportunities to heal broken relationships, or attract a new customers.
6. Never presume people on the web are there for you. Help others first.
7. Become a corporate story teller. Find and tell stories about people you hope are your customers. This is significantly more effective than boring your listeners with self-congratulatory happy talk.
8. Online networks are your farm. You must cultivate them over time.
9. Be proactive rather than reactive. Get out there and develop relationships before you need them.
10. New to social media? Not sure where to start? Begin by listening.
11. Expanding on #10: Vanilla Ice gave you the blueprint for social media way back in 1990 when he said, “Stop, collaborate and listen.” (Extra props to Chris for being able to make Vanilla Ice relevant once again!)

What do you think? Got anything to add?

* Hat tip to Ed Skimin and the Emerge, Inc. staff for putting together a top-notch seminar.

** Photo credit

With minds wide-open, this group appreciated the importance of fostering trust with their customers. Afterward, bright eyes spoke of new possibilities for growth.

And with the new year poking its head around the corner, surely you’ll be thinking of new possibilities for your own business. Perhaps you already have.

Whatever your situation, I’d like to share with you the parting advice I gave yesterday’s group:

Forget for a moment, the intoxicating possibilities that may result from implementing an unconventional strategy like purchasing credibility for your business. Rather, focus on the internal challenges you’ll face with implementing such a strategy.

Like your customers, you are guided by a nervous system that is programmed to avoid risk and the pain of loss.  And what you stand to lose or gain from your available choices impacts every decision you make.

Emotion is the driving force used by your nervous system to influence your decisions.

Feelings of fear and trepidation are triggered by the unknown. These emotions prompt you to invest your resources cautiously.

Feelings of trust, comfort and security are triggered by things familiar: Family and friends. Ethnic background. Political affiliations.

Humans have long trusted the wisdom of groups as a survival mechanism. Neuroscientist Read Montague explains, “There is, of course, great value in belonging to a group. Safety in numbers, for one. But there is also a mathematical explanation for why the brain is so willing to give up its own opinions: a group of people is more likely to be correct about something than an individual.”

In essence, your natural instinct is to follow the herd. And it’s counterintuitive for you to go against the grain. Which means you must battle human nature if you wish to implement an unconventional strategy for your business. And keeping your emotions in check is not enough. Your opinion will likely be dwarfed by those within your own organization.

Yes, there will always be risks. But playing it safe is a deceivingly risky strategy.

Just remember, fear and trepidation is the monster that will prevent you from buying the credibility for your business. So have the courage to walk the road less traveled. I’ll be cheering you on.

P.S. My thanks to Ed Skimin and the entire staff at Emerge, Inc. who did an exceptional job organizing this conference. For those of you interested in learning how to speak more credibly with your customers, there’s still one session left to attend on January 13th, 2010. The speaker for this event is best-selling author Chris Brogan.