How to Improve Internet Presence by Listening to Your Clients

(This article has been updated to reflect current trends.)

This morning, over coffee with my friend Casey, we got to talking about how each of us spends their time each day.

Casey spends his time each day doing a lot of outbound telemarketing — I think his goal is to make 20 phone calls each day. Casey sells on-hold messages that callers hear when the business they’re trying to reach places their call “on-hold”.  He offers a great product at an attractive price.  He also writes a weekly blog for his website — he’s diligent, consistent, and disciplined.

I, on the other hand, do no outbound telemarketing whatsoever, and my blog writing schedule is erratic at best.

“You really should blog more often,” Casey said to me.

He’s right, I should.

Are you listening?

This conversation got me to thinking about the activities that make-up my day, and how I might find the time to blog more often.

Here is the breakdown of where I am spending my time each day:

1. I spend one-third of my day helping my clients grow their businesses;
2. I spend another third of my day expanding my business contacts (networking);
3. I spend the final third of my day working on my own Internet presence.

Why is helping my clients at the top of that list? Why isn’t working on my own business at the top?

The answer is simple — because for me, helping my clients grow their businesses and become successful is the way I grow.

It wasn’t long ago that quotas and sales goals were being placed on me by others. Before I owned my own business, I had to do as I was told.

But I prefer to work with clients who are successful as a result of the work I’m doing for them. I believe that if you can impact someone else’s business by what you have to offer, growth will come naturally.

What does your Internet presence look like?

Today, do a Google search for “internet presence” — there are literally millions of Google results. But we are almost always at the top of Page One.

So maybe my friend Casey is right — I should blog more often. Because if your business has a story to tell, you ought to be telling it online.

And isn’t that precisely what Internet presence is all about — improving the way you and your business appear online.