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How to unlock 80% more of LinkedIn’s Potential

  December 2, 2019

By Heshy Friedman

Nobody should be on LinkedIn for the fun of it…that’s what Facebook is for.

We’re here to:
• Publicize ourselves or our business.
• Increase our professional knowledge and skills.
• Create sales.

All of our activity—profile building, posting, following, browsing, and commenting—are ways to accomplish those goals.

So most people work hard on those tasks, build and expand their network of followers, spend time “engaging” with their connections, doing everything they think they need to do. But what have they actually accomplished?

All that frenzied activity only addresses the first two priorities. (And face it: if you really drill down, even those first two bullets are in service to the third one.)

Sales promotion–and actually closing deals–is almost always left out.

The bottom line is, you’re on LinkedIn to move a product or service—and if you’re using it as a résumé site or trying to find a new job, you are that product or service.

Which brings us back to that clickbait-y title: if you’re not addressing bullet #3—and treating it like it’s bullet #1—you’re using LinkedIn wrong. Or at least, not anywhere near to its full potential.

You’re not to blame. Almost everyone does it. But why?

Because most people hate two things more than anything else—even more than death itself, research shows: public speaking and cold calling.

So they hide behind their screens, and “engage” with their community through their online persona. It’s comfortable. It’s just human nature. But because that’s where most people stop their efforts, it doesn’t get priority #1 done.

So how do you move on? How do you overcome your inertia, and defeat that almost primal aversion?

Now you might be sweating a little, squirming in your seat at the thought of stepping out of your comfort zone. But here’s the good news: you’re already more than halfway there.

You’ve executed bullets #1 and #2 pretty well, and you now have people you’re familiar with. They’re not strangers anymore, really. So now it’s not “cold calling,” and it’s not “public speaking.” It’s just a conversation with friends. You’re ready to take that critical next step: bringing your interaction into the real world.

Simple, right? But as we’ve mentioned before, 95% of the online community isn’t doing it. So if you do, it’s a tremendous advantage over your peer group. And since you’ve already gotten past the introductions and the small talk, it’s not scary anymore, right? You’re not approaching strangers; you’re just turning acquaintances into friends. There’s no greater accomplishment than that in life, is there?

So take those valuable LinkedIn connections to the next level. Once you have established an online relationship, arrange a phone call or invite them for a meeting. It can be one-on-one or a group meet-up, whichever feels right to you. Or look for events that are already happening and show up. Didn’t someone famous say, “80 percent of success is just showing up”?

Explore your common interests. See how you can help them, and they can help you. Even if they can’t use your product or service, they’ll be motivated to help you—with ideas, referrals, and encouragement—and you’ll be in a position to do the same.

Face-to-face is how most sales get done. Leverage the power of real-world networking and use LinkedIn to its fullest potential: before the event, to set it up and promote it; and afterwards, to follow up your leads and collaborate on your new ideas.

Bottom line: add your real world to the virtual world of LinkedIn connectivity, and you’ll immediately see results.

Here’s one way to get started: Join me on December 3rd, 2019 at the BAM Expo! I will be hosting a roundtable discussing maximizing sales through networking. And you’ll be able to schmooze with a fantastic group of your peers. You might even get a sales lead or two!

We can help you reach your ideal audience. Contact us today for more information.