I am enjoying seeing a new part of my business grow and new relationships being made with LinkedIn's Profinder platform. While many are seeking career and coaching help, there is an increasing velocity in true management consulting engagements, mostly around PR and marketing project management. If you can provide a service and find an electronic introduction to companies that may have never found you, then that is value. I look forward to see what 2017 has to offer in this emerging gig-economy. I am sending you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.
Monday, December 19, 2016
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
LinkedIn Profinder - A Jewel in the Rough
When confronted with a problem, you find ways to get to a solution: through collaboration, through process flow sticky note exercises, through laser focused thought or even via “Sure, why not…” abandonment.
In 1995, Dell Direct, the $1.0b consumer division of Dell Computer had a line of site that it would miss its quarterly revenue forecast in a FY that had it growing 100% Year over Year. It was a horrible position to be in during those duopoly, hyper growth times. The group of Dell Direct marketers, all around 30 years old or under, spent a Saturday throwing “spaghetti against the fridge” to see what would stick. An outlandish idea that made it to the “Sure, Why not?” list of actions was to sell pre-built computer configurations on the splash page of the Dell.com website. Without all the details of how the sausage was made, the weeklong test, etc., the rest is now history.
Without being privy to the strategic meetings of LinkedIn, I can only guestimate that the Profinder platform for free-lancers, consultants and companies was born out of deciding to create a revenue vector away from just Premium subscription growth and the brand being seen as a gargantuan resume cloud service. It is rather ingenious to create a platform that can morph into multiple revenue paths – all while helping small and single employee businesses gain scale and prospect lead velocity, sort of a Consulting Company-In-A-Box approach. I fell in love with the concept and in crowdfunding speak, decided to test the waters.
The initial data suggests two observations after 60 days in the Profinder pit: 1) Profinder is still in an embryonic stage when measured by the breadth of people looking for traditional management consulting service providers, and 2) there are a whole lot of people looking for help with career issues – resumes, career coaching and executive coaching. In the best entrepreneurial fashion, where there is a problem seen and measured, there is an opportunity.
I now have the data to see the IoT approach to an ultra-small business of consulting through this new online platform. Based on the quantity of leads sent to me and the speed of having to respond to service requests, close rates, daily trends, I can clearly see a transactional online services model based on past results, a network of connections and the Puritan Work Ethic - rewards come to those who work the hardest, or now replaced with - work the smartest. Plus, and I NEVER expected this result, I am truly joyous when I can help someone with their career, or even help them find work. In a weird way, I may be receiving far more than a fee to deliver a service.
I am encouraged by LinkedIn Profinder’s vision and my initial results attracting and winning new customers, albeit in consulting areas I did not pursue until Profinder taught me there was business to be won there. This platform has the possibility to scale well beyond the traditional ways of seeking and winning new business and bring real value into an established industry.
You should see for yourself what LinkedIn is doing with Profinder and see if you might find value oriented, expert help. www.linkedin.com/profinder
This blog posting reminds me of the old question, ”Is the glass half empty or half full?”
In 1995, Dell Direct, the $1.0b consumer division of Dell Computer had a line of site that it would miss its quarterly revenue forecast in a FY that had it growing 100% Year over Year. It was a horrible position to be in during those duopoly, hyper growth times. The group of Dell Direct marketers, all around 30 years old or under, spent a Saturday throwing “spaghetti against the fridge” to see what would stick. An outlandish idea that made it to the “Sure, Why not?” list of actions was to sell pre-built computer configurations on the splash page of the Dell.com website. Without all the details of how the sausage was made, the weeklong test, etc., the rest is now history.
Without being privy to the strategic meetings of LinkedIn, I can only guestimate that the Profinder platform for free-lancers, consultants and companies was born out of deciding to create a revenue vector away from just Premium subscription growth and the brand being seen as a gargantuan resume cloud service. It is rather ingenious to create a platform that can morph into multiple revenue paths – all while helping small and single employee businesses gain scale and prospect lead velocity, sort of a Consulting Company-In-A-Box approach. I fell in love with the concept and in crowdfunding speak, decided to test the waters.
The initial data suggests two observations after 60 days in the Profinder pit: 1) Profinder is still in an embryonic stage when measured by the breadth of people looking for traditional management consulting service providers, and 2) there are a whole lot of people looking for help with career issues – resumes, career coaching and executive coaching. In the best entrepreneurial fashion, where there is a problem seen and measured, there is an opportunity.
I now have the data to see the IoT approach to an ultra-small business of consulting through this new online platform. Based on the quantity of leads sent to me and the speed of having to respond to service requests, close rates, daily trends, I can clearly see a transactional online services model based on past results, a network of connections and the Puritan Work Ethic - rewards come to those who work the hardest, or now replaced with - work the smartest. Plus, and I NEVER expected this result, I am truly joyous when I can help someone with their career, or even help them find work. In a weird way, I may be receiving far more than a fee to deliver a service.
I am encouraged by LinkedIn Profinder’s vision and my initial results attracting and winning new customers, albeit in consulting areas I did not pursue until Profinder taught me there was business to be won there. This platform has the possibility to scale well beyond the traditional ways of seeking and winning new business and bring real value into an established industry.
You should see for yourself what LinkedIn is doing with Profinder and see if you might find value oriented, expert help. www.linkedin.com/profinder
This blog posting reminds me of the old question, ”Is the glass half empty or half full?”
- The entrepreneur sees the glass as undervalued by half its potential.
- The boss expects the half empty glass to be filled in half the time it took to fill half the glass, and at half the previous costs.
- The engineer says the glass is over designed for the quantity of water.
- The politician says the under the previous administration, the glass was half empty and becoming emptier but thanks to his/her own party’s new leadership, the glass is definitely now half full and becoming fuller; But if the other party were to return to power, the glass would once again undoubtedly empty rapidly.
- And last, the consultant says let’s examine the question, prepare a strategy for an answer, and all for the daily rate of $….
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