Social Selling and Personal Brand Building with Alan Stein

{"blocks":[{"key":"WaSlB","text":"Founding Journey - Kadima Careers","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[{"offset":0,"length":33,"style":"BOLD"},{"offset":0,"length":33,"style":"fontSize_20"}],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"NETfC","text":"Arjun Sundararajan initiates the conversation inquiring about the influence behind the beginning of consumer careers. Alan Stein describes his Japanese philosophy of Eki, a reason for living, and how it relates to his profound expertise in job acquisition. He mentions experiencing 29 different jobs across 21 companies and how this versatility has allowed him to understand the job application process from multiple perspectives. As he notes this knowledge gap in many individuals, including his father, he expresses his enthusiasm to alleviate this issue for others. He comments about the realization of this as a viable business during COVID, contrasting his approach to traditional life coaching by providing measurable benefits by helping people secure work more quickly.","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"Ks4Pd","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"fdvpl","text":"Zero to One - Key Strategies","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[{"offset":0,"length":28,"style":"BOLD"},{"offset":0,"length":28,"style":"fontSize_20"}],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"TzXdT","text":"Arjun questions about Alan's primary strategies to increase his customer base. Alan points out the primary customer acquisition platform has largely shifted from network-relations and word-of-mouth marketing to a more inbound marketing strategy using LinkedIn. Explaining that remarkable dependence on LinkedIn could raise the risk, as seen when his account was shut down, Alan emphasizes creating a balanced strategy to not rely solely on a single platform. He details how the initial stages of acquiring customers started with personal networks like the yard sale at his in-laws or his business school network. The evolution of his strategies has allowed him to reach more customers online, thus enhancing his start-up's visibility.","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"JVIgU","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"jalHH","text":"Social Selling Strategies and Platforms","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[{"offset":0,"length":39,"style":"BOLD"},{"offset":0,"length":39,"style":"fontSize_20"}],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"bohkO","text":"Arjun Sundararajan started the conversation by asking about platforms used for the startup's presence. LinkedIn was at the center of their focus, however, they had dipped their toes in several other platforms, aiming for a holistic approach for their go-to-market strategy. This involved a lukewarm presence on other platforms, such as YouTube where they maintain an academic careers channel with over 685 subscribers, although it is still under improvement. They also have a podcast named 'Stereart Career', which helps people with their career decisions. A bit of Facebook advertising was tried but with less success, and much experimentation was done with TikTok. Still, they were at their strongest on LinkedIn supplemented by events and partnerships with groups as part of their go to market strategy. However, Arjun then questioned whether their approach was too focused on social selling and promotion, over delivering valuable insights and thought leadership on these platforms. They agreed that they have been a bit sellsy and, inspired by industry influencers like Gary Vrannochuck, aim to deliver more value, more frequently before asking for anything in return. Despite being sellsy, they had managed to amass a significant audience due to the importance of the problems they are solving. Their strategy also includes building a stronger personal brand, which started as a more modest effort but has become crucial in the startup space.","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"UIuEt","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"ZvKIT","text":"Building Your Personal Brand","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[{"offset":0,"length":28,"style":"BOLD"},{"offset":0,"length":28,"style":"fontSize_20"}],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"rq3Kp","text":"In this section, an interesting conversation ensues between Arjun Sundararajan and Alan Stein about building a personal brand. Arjun Sundararajan strikes the conversation by asking when Alan Stein decided to build his personal brand and the inspiration behind his decision. In response, Alan talks about how he began his journey focussing on metrics to gain followers, views, and content presence, ultimately realizing the importance of measuring the right metrics. Alan also talks about his experience with LinkedIn, attributing his brand building success to the platform. An early adopter of the platform, Alan details how he connected with other professionals and saw value in building a brand here compared to other social media platforms. Discussing the origins of his business, Alan shares how the murder of George Floyd and the inadequate efforts for diversity and inclusion in the tech space inspired him to focus on underrepresented professionals. Over time, his audience evolved, as did his content creation style. Video content turned out to be a winning strategy for Alan, despite initial hiccups and test runs. Arjun describes the progress from the phase of little engagement to significant interaction. Alan also highlights the importance of being authentic and making content efficient. Key SEO keywords used in the summary include founder, GTM, startup, thought leadership, influence, and go to market.","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"w94cb","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"aOLov","text":"Current Content Creation Process","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[{"offset":0,"length":32,"style":"BOLD"},{"offset":0,"length":32,"style":"fontSize_20"}],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"0Qtka","text":"Arjun Sundararajan and Alan Stein have an insightful conversation about their current content creation process. Arjun points out that despite certain shortcomings in their process, they have a considerable audience and the content they provide is relevant for them. Both Arjun and Alan take inspiration from different sources, then record or jot down notes. Over time, they have found what management style works best for them. Arjun mentions that they want to make their content more authentic, while Alan speaks about his love for their webinars, which receive positive feedback. Despite any negative feedback they receive, Alan sees it as a learning experience and an opportunity to improve their process. All of this demonstrates that they are dedicated to thought leadership and are constantly trying to better their approach to influence their audience effectively.","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"j41ZV","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"1e7TA","text":"Feedback and Metrics","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[{"offset":0,"length":20,"style":"BOLD"},{"offset":0,"length":20,"style":"fontSize_20"}],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"LSAfr","text":"Arjun and Alan discuss the feedback they receive and the metrics they track to measure their content's performance. They both consider feedback as a gift and a powerful tool for improvement, a clear indication of their startup founder mindset. Alan emphasizes that they would like to hear the truth, even if it means acknowledging faults in their processes. Arjun and Alan focus on metrics such as views and engagement on LinkedIn to measure the performance of their posts, with profile views being the most important metric for Alan. All these insights reinforce the importance of go-to-market (GTM) strategies in effectively managing their startup.","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"DxLPe","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"41UOm","text":"Tips for Early Stage Entrepreneurs","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[{"offset":0,"length":34,"style":"BOLD"},{"offset":0,"length":34,"style":"fontSize_20"}],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"GVBIA","text":"Arjun and Alan draw on their own experiences to give tips for early-stage entrepreneurs looking to build their brand on LinkedIn. They advocate for posting content every day and only comparing your numbers and progress to your past performance, not to others. They consider imitation as the best form of flattery, implying that learning from successful posts can be beneficial. They emphasize the importance of being authentic on social media and consistently providing valuable content.","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"TbSVD","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"gYHWs","text":"Open Discussion","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[{"offset":0,"length":15,"style":"BOLD"},{"offset":0,"length":15,"style":"fontSize_20"}],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"MRC96","text":"The conversation wraps up with an open discussion. Both Arjun and Alan express their appreciation for the conversation and the opportunity to share their thoughts and experiences. This element of the discussion showcases their openness, thought leadership, and willingness to share their journey as part of their influence strategy.","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"BrpqA","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}],"entityMap":{}}