You Talk the Talk, Now Walk the Walk
Posted on 17. Mar, 2010 by Adam in Entrepreneurship
You’ve probably heard the clichés about the doctor who doesn’t take care of himself or the mechanic whose car is always in need of repair. And in the offline world, it usually isn’t as big of a big deal. If you really need heart surgery, chances are you won’t care if your cardiac specialist weighs 400lbs as long as he’s good at what he does. Online businesses aren’t the same. Whatever you claim as your specialty, it’s vitally important that you demonstrate your skill set in everything you do. Let’s look at what we’re talking about…
Below are screenshots from the pages of two graphic designers on Twitter. Both are plain. Both are unimpressive. Both are forgettable. They have a prime opportunity to show off what they can do as a designer, so why wouldn’t they take such an occasion to display their talents? Here’s the thing: a small percentage of your followers will ever click on the link to your website. But a much larger percentage will see your Twitter page. And not only will followers see your page, but if you really make the most of your Twitter canvas, you might end up on one of the many lists of cool Twitter pages, like this one. Of course, just because these two examples don’t have impressive Twitter backgrounds doesn’t mean they aren’t talented designers. They might be fantastic. The point is, they haven’t given us a reason to find out.
Here is another great example of a lost opportunity. The below screenshot is from an active web designer. Surprisingly, the portfolio for this designer reflects some real talent. But how many will ever click through to his portfolio after visiting his home page?
Unfortunately, this sort of thing isn’t uncommon – there’s the so-called social media expert who has few followers himself and almost never sends out a tweet. And the business coach who doesn’t have a business website. Or how about the copy writer who has grammatical errors up and down her site? Often, these people are fully qualified to do what they say they do, but they blow it by missing the chance to demonstrate their genuine abilities and failing to optimize every opportunity.
So how do you avoid costly blunders that can detract from your talents and abilities? The key is to take a step back and look at your business from the perspective of your customers and potential customers. Look at everything your prospects might see. How might they first hear about you? It could be on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, or it could be through a search engine, or by going right to your home page. Check all of these sources with a fresh pair of eyes. If you were looking for someone doing what you do and didn’t know anything about their abilities, would each of these areas communicate your talents in the very best way possible? If not, step it up a notch and fully optimize them. Once they show your prospects and customers what you’re really capable of, then you’ll truly be walking the walk!
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18 Responses to “You Talk the Talk, Now Walk the Walk”
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Keith
17. Mar, 2010
This is exactly why I NEVER follow anyone on Twitter (or any other social networking site) that self proclaims to be a coach, guru, wizard, expert, or ninga. Maybe a new hashtag could come out: #successlifecoachguruningaexpert
Credit Girl
17. Mar, 2010
Very important point! For example, if you had a fitness trainer, you wouldn’t take that person seriously if they weren’t in great shape themselves. Certain professions require people to talk the talk and walk the walk. You’re right- while they may have good quality stuff on their webpage, I’ll never click through a page that looks like that because it simply isn’t alluring and doesn’t look all that great.
Maren Kate
17. Mar, 2010
Way to keep entrepreneurs & bloggers honest, thank you! I’ll take this into mind next time I “preach” something :)
real estate in australia
18. Mar, 2010
I believe it should be first you “talk the walk” Your plan of action, etc now that you have made the statement you must be able to “walk the talk” in other words do what you said you were going to do.
Andrew@BloggingGuide
18. Mar, 2010
Yes, this is really a very important point. Personally, I consider the appearance of the person if it coincides with what he/she is saying. I wouldn’t want to let a barber cut my hair if his hair doesn’t look good. I would want evidence of his talent.
Cash Genie
18. Mar, 2010
Great piece! The point mentioned is really important and you can make anybody believe in something when you yourself believes in that.
It is the same.
Laptop Briefcases
18. Mar, 2010
This is just like the seo companies that e-mail you, but when you check out their website they have lousy rankings. With some web designers I find that they can’t come up with much on their own, but with some direction they can create great websites. I’d assume these web designers with lousy portfolios just aren’t very serious about their work and getting new clients.
CameraBags
18. Mar, 2010
So true, I have talked with many people who are experts in their field yet fail to show it. I have one person who wants to increase his social media exposure without being social, just posting ads. LOL
Web Design Beach
19. Mar, 2010
Very nice examples. Only actions and real hard work can bring results. If you are not expert in something then don’t proclaim yourself as such, or hire someone to do the job for you.
Wall Decals
19. Mar, 2010
In the world you will find home builders for example that live in run down house while they provide a excellent home for others. One could wonder if this was the case? Either way I would want to make sure the my best foot is always forward in all that I did.
Jarrod@ Optimistic Journey
19. Mar, 2010
The thing that’s different about being online verses in real life is that, online your work is your resume. If you’re applying to become a paid blogger, or looking for clients for your web-design business, you have to submit a sample of your work. Whereas in real life, there is no sample human for a surgeon to perform sample brain surgery on… or at-least not that I know of. We must be mindful at all times of our work online because it is our resume. Great post, it really makes me think!!
Dress Sandals
21. Mar, 2010
To me it sounds like these designers just got lazy with their marketing. In many cases they likely setup these portfolio pages a long time ago and then don’t bother putting more time into them. The reason why may be varied. They might be lazy, they might be busy with existing clients or they might be busy with school or other things.
Ballet Moves
22. Mar, 2010
So true, especially in the online world where proof is fundamental to success. It is interesting though, I can understand why a web designer would spend more time on their clients projects than their own, but it would seem to be a case of money being left on the table if you didn’t put your best foot forward.
Thanks for this, I’ll definitely be thinking very differently about how I design my businesses moving forward.
SEO Tricks
26. Mar, 2010
LOL, nice Subject header.
And ya thanks for the great article.
Very Informative.
tattoo kits
28. Mar, 2010
Commmon sense really but as you point out too many people who should know better are missing these points
Romantic Room
08. Apr, 2010
So true. I actually feel sorry for SEO consultants whose site ranks low for Alexa/Compete/Google KWs!
Bryan
Jane @ Limoges Boxes
11. Apr, 2010
Personally, it’s either the designers have well established themselves and have made some loyal customers and connections for them not to care about their own site or they’re to busy to flaunt what they can do. On one hand, I think our site can be a way to showcase our skills and abilities, so for people who are new to the business, they got to have some impressive site designs.
chalikovas
20. Apr, 2010
it is 100% true information. Thanks for sharing all this information..