This past week, my lawyer faxed over a bunch of personal information, including my social security number. All of my personal details were potentially made public in a simple fax. He assured me that the information was encrypted, but I wasn’t taking his word for it.

It got me thinking that I should protect my credit by requesting a fraud alert to be placed on each of my credit reports.

A fraud alert can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you. You may place a fraud alert in your file by calling just one of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies. As soon as that agency processes your fraud alert, it will notify the other two, which then also must place fraud alerts in your file.

• Equifax: 1-877-576-5734; www.alerts.equifax.com
• Experian: 1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com/fraud
• TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com

An initial fraud alert stays in your file for at least 90 days. An extended alert stays in your file for seven years. To place either of these alerts, a consumer credit reporting company will require you to provide appropriate proof of your identity, which may include your Social Security number.

I took it one step further and requested a credit report from each of the credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.

I know you’ve seen commercials that claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free credit scores,” or “free credit monitoring”. In most cases, the “free” product comes with strings attached.

Back in the day, you had to request a free report via regular ol’ snail mail. Nowadays, you can do this online. The credit bureaus have consolidated the process to make it much easier.

Yet, the thought of providing my social security number online doesn’t make me feel secure. Check out this link. It gives you the option to request your reports online, over the phone, or via mail. https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/order.

I got that link through the Federal Trade Commission and double-checked it through VeriSign to ensure its legitimacy.

Emails and phone calls are what handshakes and in-person consultations used to be.

Here are seven areas that standout to potential clients (PCs) when they make the decision to approach you, and ultimately, work with you.

(1) You have a professional website

PCs glean much from your website at a quick glance. People make snap decisions based on design. If you’re a business owner in today’s world, it’s vital to create a site that sells. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on a website, but it needs to be well developed.

A well thought out website speaks volumes about your commitment to your business.

Website Usability – Creating a Website that Sells

(2) You make it easy for them to contact you

It goes without saying that clients need to find your contact information in order to get in touch with you.

Consider placing your contact information at the top of your website in your header so that no matter where people enter your site, your contact information will always be visible.

Take this one step further and add an online calendar to your website, enabling people to schedule their own initial consultation at a time that works best for them.

While there are options out there, I’ve used Genbook for the last five years. Here’s my affiliate link http://gbk.me/r/QWFKVKW5. When you sign up using this link, you’ll receive 15% lifetime discount off your subscription.

(3) You communicate effectively online

It’s important to learn how to communicate effectively via email. It seems like a simple task, but all too often, missed opportunities occur right from the jumpstart when good email goes bad.

Timing, tone, and overall format of your emails should be well thought out and formatted in way that is easy to read.

Email etiquette: http://www.emailreplies.com/

(4) You take control and have an assured presence

PCs come to you with a need. They want to know that they’re working with someone who can take control and guide them through the process. It’s important to be able to convey certainty and assuredness.

Confidence comes, in part, from enjoying what you do.

The Top Ten Keys to Self-Confidence

(5) You provide clear ‘next steps’ for them to follow

At the end of the initial consultation, be prepared to give the PC the ‘next steps’. Explain to them what it will take to get signed up and started (even if they’ve expressed disinterest). Assume they’re going to sign on as a new client and take them through simple steps and set the expectation.

Explain that you will send them a follow-up email. If they’re interested in working with you, ask them to respond via email and you’ll prepare the paperwork and schedule a second consultation where further questions will be answered and the paperwork can be reviewed in detail.

When they respond, time is of the essence and it’s important to seize the opportunity. A prompt response can make all the difference in the world.

Keep your process simple and avoid overwhelming clients with a 20-page questionnaire. If you do have a lengthy questionnaire, go through it with them during that second call. This saves the PC a lot of time and elevates them the burden of more work.

(6) You think of them

If PCs are on the fence about working with you, know that all is not lost.

Create a Google alert with a keyword that is relevant to this client and when something of interest pops up, send it to them. It’s a good way for PCs to know that you’re still interested and thinking about them.

How to Create a Google Alert

(7) You are flexible

If PCs tell you that your rates are too high, think about creating a package for them including X,Y, Z.

Decrease your hourly commitment without lowering your rates while packaging it with a lower price. This makes it more appealing for the PC and shows your ability to be flexible.

I didn’t mention lowering your rates because if you connect with a PC, they will pay.

Remember that PCs are attracted to you personally.

If they feel a connection with you and trust you, they will find a way to make it happen.

Your class has finished and one of the things you learned was how to automate your social media accounts. Yet, one quick look at an automated account will tell you that big numbers and auto-posts don’t guarantee social networking success. It just covers up the fact that the lights are on but no one’s home.

As more and more people start using social media for business, they try and find short cuts to make the process easier. That’s one of the reasons why so many people fail to monetize their efforts. Social media is social and requires your time.

Here are four standout reasons why automation doesn’t work:

1. There are no short cuts. When you ‘set it and forget it’, you’re leaving out the most critical component of social media: the human factor. Auto-posting to your accounts is like hanging a sign in front of your business saying, “Back in 48 hours.” As in live conversation, we need to speak directly to people, engage them to establish any connection. From those connections, a possible business relationship can be built, but if you’re looking for the sale using automation, it ain’t gonna happen.

2. Cross-posting is a time-saving no-no. Cross-posting content from Twitter to Facebook and vice versa is a common practice used by many. But just because everyone is doing it, doesn’t make it right. If you’re posting the same exact links to both accounts, you’re training people to look no further. Post different links to different platforms. Disconnect your accounts from one another and give them each a separate voice. Give people a reason to click around to your different accounts.

3. Automation = spam. When Mashable releases a new post, you see it post automatically to 20-30 accounts on both Twitter and Facebook all at once. Our news feeds have become a steady stream of spam, filled with redundant information. Consider opting out of this practice. Instead, dig a little deeper for a few links on different sites and post one or two links to your accounts per day. Take a moment to actually read the link and pull out a gem of an idea and post it as a comment underneath or alongside of the post, making it that much more appealing and click worthy.

4. Knock knock. Who’s there? Nobody. When you’re auto-posting content, you’re not there to acknowledge or respond to comments in a timely fashion. As my mother always says, “Life is timing.” If you’re automating your posts, you’re missing out on moments when you could be connecting with potential clients. Yes, you can always catch up with them later on, but then the spontaneity is lost. People love to be acknowledged. When someone makes a comment to one of your posts, comment back (and the quicker the better). Reciprocity is the essence of success social networking.

There are ways I encourage my clients to use automation, but it doesn’t involve their established accounts. In the following posts, I’ll show you how to use automation that allows you to pull from a steady stream of great links that can inspire your own social networking, but doesn’t overshadow your authentic voice.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you’ve used automation and how it’s worked for you.

I’m going teach you an organic way of increasing your Twitter followers – no auto-follow techniques, no shortcuts.

When you start using automated tools to follow people, you don’t know who you’re following. They could be automated feeds/bots.

Be picky about who you follow. It’s NOT about the quanTITY, but the quaLITY.

These tips assume you know how to navigate well on Twitter and have advanced knowledge of the lingo and terminology. If you need some start-up help with Twitter, check out this link: http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/.

(1)    Follow more quality people.

You want quality followers? Quite simply, follow quality people.

• Check out my Twitter account http://twitter.com/MiaChambers. Take a look at who I follow. Sort through the list and follow people.
• Check out my Lists and follow more people.
• When you come across an interesting Twitter account, check out who they’re following – add some more people. Check out their Lists.
• Click on a favorite #hashtag and follow some more people.
• Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

After you’ve added a whole mess of people, go back and click on their profiles to make sure that the people you’re following are (a) active on Twitter and that they (b) actually engage with people – their account isn’t merely an automated feed.

(2)    How to get people to follow you back?

So you’ve followed all these people – now what? How are they going to follow you back?

Here are a few sure-fire ways to get people to follow you back.

• RT a few of their links to start appearing in their @stream.
• Add them to a List.
• Send them a direct @reply complimenting them on their website, work, picture, bio – pick something you like and make a mention of it.  Start a conversation.
• If all else fails, send them a @reply jumping up and down, waving your arms in the air like you just don’t care. It works.

EXTRAS:

Make sure you’re using a picture as an avatar. Show your face. This will increase your chances of actual people following you back. Logos don’t get the same action as a face does on Twitter (or any other social media platform, for that matter). Personalize your account by showing people you’re real.

Every once in a while I will check out http://friendorfollow.com/ and unfollow anybody who hasn’t followed back. (I get like that from time to time.)

Once a month, I’ll add 200 – 300 people and go through this very process of engaging with people on Twitter to increase my following. It works – it just takes time. Take your time. This isn’t a numbers game like so many people have made it out to be. It’s about connecting with one another and building relationships that are both personal and professional in nature.

Good luck.