Yesterday I shared how sales professionals can optimize their LinkedIn profiles to become more “connectable” with prospects. Today I’ll share my tips for optimizing your Twitter profile so that it’s easy for people to get in touch with you. Remember: Buyers are impatient. The more barriers you put up, the more likely they are to move on to your competition.
Here are four changes you can make right now to your Twitter profile to capitalize on prospecting opportunities:
1) Add your phone number to your profile headline.
Some people might disagree with me on this one. The concern I’ve heard most often is that in doing so people leave themselves open to be stalked by salespeople with something to sell. Thinking as the salesperson that I am, I want you–my future customer–to call me if that’s your preference. Besides, you can use a service that lets you easily monitor incoming phone calls. I use Google Voice.
2) Arrange to have an email sent to you from Twitter whenever someone sends you a direct message (DM) on Twitter.
I don’t converse via DM often, so I find this particularly helpful in responding to people who choose to use DM to communicate. Heaven forbid that someone I’m connected to has an interest in purchasing my services and decides to use DM to reach me, but I don’t see the message for days or weeks.
3) Arrange to have an email sent to you from Twitter whenever you get a mention or an @reply in a Tweet.
It is likely that you’ll see the message more quickly via email and then you can quickly respond online or by reaching out to the individual directly.
4) Have an email notification sent to your inbox or your mobile device whenever you get a new Twitter follower.
Schedule time into your day to check out the profiles of people choosing to follow you. You never know when that might turn into a sales lead!