Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1260962
wbjournal.com | June 22, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 21 10) Write online reviews. Reviewing your clients and contacts helps promote their business and shows them you really care enough to contribute (maybe they'll do the same for you). 9) Guest blog. Businesses are struggling right now and may not have the extra budget for marketing. If you have the resources, offer them content to help their customers and business. 8) Engage on social media. You can't engage in person, and Zoom calls are getting old. Take the time to engage with them on social media. Comment on their posts, like and share their content. Engagement keeps content relevant and keeps them (and you) at the top of the feed. 7) Newsletter features. If you have a company newsletter, save some space for your favorite clients and partners. Here you can talk about their services, add their logo, and link to their website. 6) Be a guest. Offer your services as an expert guest on a podcast or webinar (especially nonprofits, who rely on events for revenue). You will build a strong relationship with not only the hosts but expand your network to include the attendees. 5) Host an online event. Create an online panel of experts you want to build relationships with. You are doing them a huge favor by promoting them as an expert and exposing them to your audience. 4) Collaborate. Now is the time to work together. Create projects requiring collaboration such as online events, blog posts, or joint podcasts. Get creative here. 3) Give referrals. If you participate in online com- munities or networking sites such as Alignable, you know people are always looking for referrals. Keep your contacts at top of mind and refer them in the online groups (make sure you tag them). 2) Recommend them. Most professionals have profiles on LinkedIn. Show some love by sending your trusted confidants a glowing recommendation. Even better, share it! 1) Create a community. Online groups of people with common interests (I recommend Facebook or LinkedIn Groups) is a great way to build your network and get to know more like-minded people. Keep your group limited in size so you can really get to know them. Then work together on these suggestions. K N O W H O W Don't choose a family member to manage your estate plan 10 1: W hether concerning COVID-19 changes or reac- tion to racial issues aer the death of George Floyd – a black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer – company statements have been issued at a furious pace. In terms of leadership, they are necessary, accord- ing to experts, but can backfire if not backed by action. Here are concepts on company statements and how business- es should look at them in these crucial times. Leaders should not assume their organization's stances on issues are known. ere is risk in being silent on issues such as racism, says Forbes Con- tributor Terina Allen. "If your organi- zation isn't firmly on record as standing against racial injustice, then you are creating a wide-open gap for people to presume you just might be for it," she says in an article on the George Floyd killing and conversations leaders should be having. Noting these are difficult and uncomfortable issues, she said not only consumers are paying attention – but employees. "If you deem yourself a leader, this crisis is yours," she says of the Floyd killing. With statements should come action, says J. Walker Smith, chief knowledge officer of brand and marketing at Kan- tar, a global insights, data and consult- ing company. Consumers expect com- panies to practice what they preach, he told MarketWatch.com. "ey want to see brands do something," Smith said, "use their institutional weight and authority to make a contribution to the communities in which they operate." Examples: Donating money and manu- facturing face masks in the coronavirus outbreak. Above all, don't be vague. is is no time for platitudes, said Wendy Melillo, associate professor of journalism at American University of Washington, D.C. She told CNBC putting out a state- ment for the sake of doing so is easily seen as inauthentic. "People are just going to call that out," she said. "It's not truthful, it isn't transparent … It looks opportunistic." 1 0 T H I NG S I know about . . . ...Building relationships during a pandemic BY MELISSA A. MARANDA Special to the Worcester Business Journal I t's a scenario straight out of a movie: An oldest adult child is named the trustee or personal representative of a parent's trust or will and before you know it, the whole family is fighting over everything from money to property to funeral arrangements. As we navigate through these uncharted waters and adjust to a new environment, it's more important than ever to address your financial planning needs. When setting up a trust or will or doing any estate planning, it's wise to not appoint a family member or friend – whether an adult child or anyone else – as trustee or personal representative, for a few reasons. 1. It creates unrest and tension. Even within the most well-adjusted families, money seems to bring out the worst in people. Sooner or later, spouses, grown children and extended family suspect they're not getting their fair share and the trustee or personal representative is to blame. It can create permanent damage to relationships built over a lifetime. 2. It puts the trustee or personal representative in unfamiliar territory. Most family members do not have legal or investment training. Having to decipher those complex concepts and translate them to other members of the family can be stressful and result in errors in understanding and execution. 3. It raises the chances of error. If there is paperwork to be filed or payments to be made, it is unwise to saddle one person with all those tasks, in addition to running their own life. It exposes the family member to personal legal liability, in the case errors are made in properly completing the tasks of the trust or estate. A corporate trustee or personal representative can make sure everything is done according to the intention of the individual and in full compliance with the law, shiing the burden of expertise and workload to an independent and objective overseer. Enlisting the services of a corporate trustee or personal representative can not only remove the huge emotional burdens of executing a trust and/ or will but can also avail the entire family of the expertise of professionals in law, finance, investing, real estate and even health care. Choices about investments, liquidations, the sale of property or the operations of limited liability corporations can all be made with the guidance of people trained in those fields. In certain cases, trustees can research nursing homes for elderly parents in need of ongoing care and set up payments for the care directly from the trust. Part banker, part counsellor, a corporate trustee or personal representative can help guide the process the average person simply doesn't have the expertise or time to navigate. It can be a relationship saver for the entire family, giving everyone equal peace of mind. Losing a family member is stressful enough. Fighting over a trust or will shouldn't compound the tragedy or loss. Melissa A. Maranda is senior vice president of wealth management at Rollstone Bank & Trust, which has an office in Worcester. BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal By Lysa Miller Lysa Miller is the founder and CEO of the Ladybugz Interactive Agency in Southborough. Reach her at lysa@ theunagencyonline.com. W W M A K I N G S T A T E M E N T S W