Author Archives: Jason A.

I spent a lot of time building an online presence and I finally feel like I have learned enough to share with you what has worked well (and… not so well) for me. I suppose I could have gone with titles such as: “Your Professional Online Presence: Learn from my Mistakes” or “Your Professional Online Presence: Do as I Say, Not as I Did”, but I don’t know… they just don’t seem to pop like this one does.

Twitter:

Your handle, bio, and avatar are the three most important things to be conscious of on Twitter since this is what potential followers…

On a daily basis, I speak on the phone with clients of different ages, different levels of experience, and from different industries. In a nice little bit of juxtaposition, there are times when I hang up with a first-year marketing manager, pick the phone back up and immediately begin a conversation with a seasoned CEO. Regardless. I learn a lot in these conversations and, once in a while, I get to teach clients a thing or two about how to effectively use social media.

However, I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight some odd things that I’ve picked up on…

In our recruitment and interview sessions for the Sales Consultant position, candidates often ask us to describe a “typical day” at work and I think that this is an important discussion to set reasonable expectations. Well heck, I’m a pretty typical guy. So here is my typical day as a Sales Manager selling Meltwater Buzz:

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7:35: My primary job is to manage a sales team and to pitch our social media monitoring software to companies and organizations in the U.S. The office typically starts its day at 8:00 am, but like any responsible manager (who also happens to be documenting his…

After college, I spent a year training in long form improvisation at the world famous iO Comedy Theater in Chicago. Improv is tough and humbling. It’s hard to be funny. Being funny without a script is the holy grail of comedy. Taking time to look back, I think there are parallels to sales, and I see where I was able to apply concepts from improv into my sales career.

There is truth in comedy. To be funny, you have to be honest in order for the audience to relate. For example, it would be difficult to carry a scene doing something unbelievable…