LinkedIn Secrets you need to know

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Author Randy Taylor 2/3/2015

LinkedIn is What You Make of it.

Like any other social media site; it is more effective if you follow the basics:

Content is king and engagement is queen and she runs the household.

1. Be secretive. When you’re updating your LinkedIn profile, it can annoy your contacts if they’re alerted to every little change. When you’re in edit mode, head to your privacy controls. Turn off activity broadcasts and change the setting for  “select who can see your activity feed” to “only you.”

3. Be redundant. Know the top five strengths for which you want to be recognized and use them in your profile – repeatedly.  Be specific. If your top skill is marketing training, but not sales training, explain in simple terms your  proficiency in your summary.  Also list multiple experience descriptions. This will help the right audience find you. Sometimes logic is as important in writing your profile as key word searches are.

4. Be ungrateful. Ask your contacts to endorse you for only your top skills. Having the highest number of endorsements for your signature strengths will influence those who are looking at your profile. Have the courage to delete or reject the endorsements that aren’t central to how you want to be known.

5. Be promiscuous. Ignore LinkedIn’s advice to only accept connection 
requests from people you know. That helps sell Premium, but it doesn’t help you get found. LinkedIn’s search algorithm favors those who are in your network. That means when people are looking for what you have to offer, the results of their searches are displayed with 1st level connections first, then 2nd level connections and so on.

LinkedIn also has several free features that allow you to build your audience faster and with less hands on time than other media.  Please message me for a free telephone conversation or to schedule a hands on workshop for your sales force. 1 (916) 572-6730 .  No MLM solicitatons please.

Reach: Randy Taylor, Interviewed on TV, Radio, and Forbes Magazine. Sales trainer since 1975. Message  at:   www.RandyTaylorMC.com

Compare: cheap term life insurance with refund options*

How to spend all of your retirement funds, die broke, but STILL, provide tax-free funds for your children

                                                       

                            Retirement Planning Made Easy

                                           Author,: Randy Taylor, Lic. # 0643596,

                                            Calif.  Retirement specialist since 1983.                                         

                                           Published in financial periodicals since 1998.

                                           Copyright, Creative Commons Licensing. This article 

                                           may be copied or re-distributed as long as it is copied in

                                           it's entirety and not altered in any way.

The Problem: How Can I defer taxes on my retirement until needed, spend it all and still pass on a financial legacy to my children income tax free?

The solution: Combining the benefits of two safe financial vehicles to do all of the above.

Step #1: Making sure that you will accumulate saving tax-deferred without losing any of your current funds to bad investments, taxes, or stock market fluctuations.

Step # 2: Keeping the savings accounts safe while deferring taxes on future income received.

The closer that you get to retirement the more important it becomes to keep all or most of your 

nest egg safe so that it will be there when you are no longer working and need it the most.

Annuity savings accounts are often the best solution if your goal is future income payments.

Why choose an annuity savings account instead of a bank c.d. or possibly a bond?

 This is easy!  Annuities are designed specifically for retirement purposes and offer 3 major benefits for the retiree:

                   1.) Income tax deferral on all interest until it is received.

                   2.) Guaranteed safety of principal and a minimum interest rate if held 

                   3.) Any unspent funds pass to your heirs at death without the need of a will or trust.

There are approximately 1.200 insurance companies to choose from in most states. (1,274 in California for example) You will want to find a company that has minimal exposure to junk bonds so that they can stay competitive while you are growing your account. 

What type of annuities are best for retirement and which product features should you consider?

                 1.) Variable annuities are best suited for those that want maximum upside growth potential but may not offer safety of principal as a result

                 2.)  Fixed Indexed annuities have minimum interest rate guarantees and no exposure to decreases with the market drops if they are used specifically for retirement purposes.

#3)  How to provide  an income tax free account for your children after you have passed away.

A simple solution would be to buy a life insurance policy equal to the value of your retirement account projection payable to your children. This gives you "permission" to spend everything you own on your retirement since the children will still get theirs income tax free when you are gone.

Very important:

Both of above alternatives offer an option to have a guaranteed level & in some cases and increasing income payment for life that is often higher than bonds. For a 65 yr. old this could be in the 6% range for life, even if the entire account is spent. The variable annuities might pay out approximately 1% less but offer more money if you cash the account in in 1 lump sum. These alternatives involve paying from .75 of 1 % to 1.5 % approximately in exchange for lifetime payments should the product itself perform poorly.

Summary:  This is not meant to be specific legal, tax, or investment advice but is offered up rather for entertainment purposes and a different point of view. An honest and experienced multiple company insurance broker or financial planner can help you with this. Do not make any purchases or transfers of any type before sitting down with your advisors.

I personally am still accepting new clients in the California area for those that would like a second opinion of life insurance, annuity savings accounts, or legal shield/ identity shield programs.

I can be reached at the links below. If you find this article helpful; please share it in it's entirety without alteration via social media.

Follow my blog :http://randytaylorfinancial.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AskRandyTaylor

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Linked in Recommendations:http://www.linkedin.com/in/randytaylorlifeandannuities

Life insurance and I.R.A. Account Specialist
Serving clients and brokers since 1983
(916) 601-5270

Photo above from Sheboygonwidds.com

The Key to Success is not Goal Setting or Motivation , Ask The Beatles

About the author: 

Randy Taylor has been a state or national speaker regarding the sales process in 3 different industries since the 1970s. He was first published in in 1998 and was quotes in Forbes
regarding small business practices in 2012. He also has appeared as an actor on T.V. and in films.

So you want to be a pro?  Are you willing to pay the price?

There is no such thing as a natural. There are those  born with more talents than others; but not with real world class or even "next level",talent. Please read the brief examples below of what really separates the good from the exceptional!

The secret to success in sales or entertainment is skill development. Skill development is never by chance, but rather by hard work.  

Ask yourself: When is the last time that you practiced your craft?  When you did practice did you do it in a real sales call when money was at stake, or did you practice dozens or hundreds of times with a mentor or accountability partner before testing your skills?  

What did the legends do when they wanted to become legendary?

The Beatles:  The Beatles made a huge splash when they "came out of no where and appeared
on the Ed Sullivan show. Did they arrive with talent from just playing in their garage. Philip Norman, author of Shout, disagrees. He said that before 18 months of nightly performances in Germany, that " They were no good onstage when they went there but they were very good when they came back." They performed 270 times during that period for up to 8 hours per day! Naturals? Hardly. naturals. When they were seen on Ed Sullivan; they had already done 1,200 live performances.

Gary Player: Inducted inducted into the world golf hall of fame, was once approached by a fan.
The fan said to him: I want to practice and be able to play like you.  Player's self absorbed but candid answer was: "You can't play like me unless you are willing to get up at 5:00 a.m. get to the course
before anyone else and hit golf balls until your hands bleed.  Then you have to tape them up and hit another 1,000 balls? Excessive? yes, but the point to be made is that motivation alone, reading, mentoring, will not get you to the top unless you are willing to practice your skills until they improve.

George Young Olympic Steeplechase Competitor:  My high school track coach was a brother to George Young who was the American record holder in the steeplechase and the oldest competitor in the world to  run a sub 4 minute mile. He held down a full time job, had a bleeding ulcer and and managed to still run up to a 100 miles per week in training before the olympics. He placed third in the high altitude of Mexico City. Not a natural, but rather a highly trained athlete that tried to out train his competition.

Summary even if you goal is only to succeed in your local community in a narrow niche market; you have to practice your skills. Start today, call a friend and set up a practice session. " If I become complacent, I will remember my competition"  Og Mandino, "The Greatest Salesman in the World"

Creative Commons Copyright  5/26/2015
This article can be copied or distributed as long as it is not altered in any way and is coped in it's entirety.

Please contact at:        https://www.RandyTaylorMC.com
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The Fastest Growing Crime in The World, Identity Theft

About The Author

Randy Taylor has been involved in insurance and financial services for 32 years and was first published in 1998.  He has additional specific training in identity theft  and was quoted by Forbes Magazine relating to small business practices. He can be reached at: https://www.facebook.com/RandyTaylorFinancial

Why We are at Risk

Identity theft is reported to be the fastest growing crime in the world. It is a crime where the criminal is more often able to remain anonymous than other crimes while being able to steal money directly from individuals by breaching social media sites, large retail store credit card databases and more.
Bob Sullivan, technology correspondent for MSNBC, estimated that there are as many as 10 Million cases worldwide. As social media sites grow exponentially; these online communities offer an ever growing market for exploitation by cyber criminals.
In this article I will address areas that might be overlooked by the consumer that put them at risk as well as how to be prevent the occurrences of identity theft and finally, what to do after the fact if your information has been compromised.

In some instances you cannot protect yourself. 

 Several large companies that have experts trying to safeguard clients information have been hacked by cyber criminals. This includes sophisticated companies like Go Daddy, Target, Neiman Marcus, and LinkedIn. The key is to do the best you can on your own to protect any of your sensitive account information by taken precautions like those mentioned below.

Scams to Watch Out For

Emails asking for personal information relating to a tax refund or economic stimulus payment.

Income Tax Fraud: The criminal actually files a fake tax return with your social and claims a refund.

Job offers by email: Beware of official looking emails with links to websites suggestion that you only have to complete on online application.

Phishing . This occurs when online scammers send you e-mails disguised as legitimate organizations while asking for personal information. They may ask you to confirm an account number or address.

Fake U.S. Census emals

Medical Identity Theft: Don't give out your social security form unless asked..

Fake jury duty phone calls.


How to Best Protect Yourself

Social Networking: Do Not Make Your Date of Birth Public

One of the first things people should do is to keep their date of birth hidden on all social media sites.
In 2011 for example 67% of all identity theft cases reported were cases where people had made their true dates of birth public. With many social networking sites your password can be stolen by a hacker with just your date of birth and the email address you used to sign up with.

Protect your passwords

Hayley Tsukayma, of the Washington Post August 7, 2014,  suggested that first you write down passwords, keep them separate from the user names, and store the document in a safe place.  The also recommend a strong password with letters, numbers, or more. Finally they also suggest password managers, online services such as I pass, or free alternatives like LastPass or Dashlane.

Other practices to consider when on social media sites

Go to your account settings and select posts to be private or to be seen by friends only.

Do not include your age or hometown in any screen name or home page.

Do your research, and If a new unknown friend asks to join your network;ask your friends if they know him or her.

Use common sense. Do not click on any link on the sites or in personal emails that was not solicited or those with no subject line listed in the case of an email. Assume that you are not the winner of any contest that you did not enter and when in doubt; call the person who sent you the communication.

Maintain an up to date virus protection and malware protection program on your computer. While there are several free virus protection programs available; the cost for a state of the art upgrade is minimal compared to the time and money lost if you are hacked.

Change passwords frequently

Purchase an identity theft program which not only monitors changes in your credit reports etc; but also monitors your M.I.B., Medical Information Bureau account, V.A. accounts

What to do if you suspect that you have been hacked

If it seems like only your password has been stolen, first change your password, then clear your cache or history. You might also want to contact some friends on you email list to see if they have received any emails that you did not send out.

What if it appears to be a serious identity theft situation:

Immediately contact your identity theft provider which can advise you, and your credit card companies. Most I.D. Theft programs do not help you repair any credit issues etc. so you would have that responsibility yourself.  A select few companies will make the phone calls for you and restore your credit retroactively.

If you do not have a identity theft program in place; you should contact the FTC and request their reporting forms and help.

In summary, Take every precaution to protect yourself when supplying personal information on social media, group sites, or by email. Maintain a professional identity theft program, and respect that many cyber thieves are professionals that are out to do harm.

Creative Commons Copyright 4/27/2015
This article can be copied or distrubuted as long as it is not altered in any way and is coped in it's entirety.

How to Increase Event Attendance Dramatically, and for Free

Simple Steps for Increasing Event Attendance

I have helped get a group page add   874 Likes in one day and have managed to keep

very high attendance in a networking group for 52 weeks in a row by inviting directly from an event group page. I also multiply  my reach by adding myself to large groups and sharing the event url addresses to them. How to set up a facebook  events here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8tP7D-kwEk

1.)  Reach 40,000 people, not 5,000.

 Don't rely on a non-specific data base like your Facebook page. Use target marketing lists & groups. I can only reach 5,000 from my page but can reach around 40,000 by posting my event link on group pages that allow it.

2.) Create a Group Page on Facebook: 

With a Facebook group, you can create a new event page from your

target audience; then with a single click of the mouse send out both a Facebook invitation and an email that includes the link back to your event.

3.)  With all event notices use engaging, eye catching photos. 

4.)  Keep your event page descriptions brief by using bullet points instead of text.

5.) Create a second group on LinkedIn.

  Linked In allows you to belong to as many as 50 groups. Create your own, start your own discussions and develop a following.

6.) Ask your friends to share your links to their databases and above all, their groups.

7.) When posting on any site about your event, Keep your text description of one sentence and then copy and paste the event url address. The url address will create the photo and  back link for you.

8.) Finally, think about how you can automate and  simplify the process . Use 1 link or two only, Copy and paste them to all social media sites and groups.

For weekly tips that teach field tested ideas; please go to this free page  ( Content, not Commercials ) at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/salesandmediatraining/

Protected by Creative Commons  Copyright , Author Randy Taylor, 4/21/ 2015

Spam Social Media Ads Don't Work, 4 Easy Solutions

Spam Advertising Posts Don't Work & Can Even Cost You Followers.

Question: When you open up the newspaper or a magazine; do you go to the classified ads section or
stay on the pages that have content?

Question #2: When you are on Facebook and you see an obvious spam ad, do you skip it and to to something more interesting like a video or photo from a friend?

The Real Risk to the Spammer

If you spam too frequently on social media, even group pages, you run the risk of people actually getting offended, skip your ads, deleting them, blocking you, or just unfollowing you. The above reactions are not only common; they can result in the opposite effect that you were looking for.

What is the Solution ?: 

Engaging people while spreading your brand is not rocket science. The secret is not better technology either. Here are 3 easy but effective ways to keep people engaged without hurting your SEO rankings:

1.) Post Tips that are related to your industry. This establishes you as an expert, not as a salesperson.

2.) Use the chat feature on Facebook or messaging on other media to actually schedule appointments with people. Instead of sending more spam or a sales video; ask for a networking appointment via chat.

3.) Keep your status updates short: 82 characters only; like a tweet might be. Keep your videos under 60 seconds sot that they also do not appear like a infomercial.

4.) Finally, use back links to your website, blog, or other content filled sites.

Because I have personally tried to do the above I have been able to contact people that had networks much larger than mine that were willing to hep me. The result: I now have access to 2 media networks that each have 20 million viewer monthly and I have met individuals with up to 500,000 Facebook followers that have posted my business page links for free.

Weekly tips and workshop notices are also available at  https://www.facebook.com/groups/salesandmediatraining/
You can also message me at the above url address or request to join the group page:
Content not commercials  , on Facebook via the above link.
Creative Commons Copyright 3/31/ 2015