13 WA YS TO MAKE SELLING EASY WITH
LINKEDIN NOAH RICKUN
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ........................................................................................................ 3 1. Show Up Prepared ........................................................................................ 7 2. Allow Your Reputation to Precede You .......................................................... 11 3. Reach Out and Appoint Someone ................................................................ 15 4. Join a Group ................................................................................................. 20 5. Create Your Own Group ................................................................................ 22 6. Earn Recommendations ................................................................................27 7. Stay Connected ............................................................................................ 29 8. Introduce Yourself ......................................................................................... 31 9. Host an Event ................................................................................................ 33 10. Make a movie. Make more money. ............................................................... 38 11. Keep Good Company ................................................................................... 41 12. Supercharge Your Network ........................................................................... 43 13. Advance Yourself .......................................................................................... 46 Final Note ........................................................................................................... 48 Noah Rickun ....................................................................................................... 49 Copyright Info ..................................................................................................... 51
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INTRODUCTION
13 WAYS NOAH RICKUN
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The book that you hold in your virtual hands will unlock the door to limitless sales success. It’s not a magic pill. It’s not the Holy Grail. It is, however, the key to optimizing your sales activity and to evolving from salesperson to sales pro. These are the strategies I have used to successfully prospect, appoint, connect, uncover, relate, prepare, engage, attract, qualify, close, and stay in touch with customers. These 13 Ways are the ways I out-sell my competition and out-earn my quotas and targets.
13 WAYS I’m going to assume that you already have a LinkedIn account, or that you can gure out how to create one on your own. I’m going to dive right into the meat – and share how to best use LinkedIn to support your sales efforts. Don’t worry, though, 13 Ways is not a LinkedIn mastery book; it’s a sales mastery book. I’ll provide links to resources along the way that will show you the LinkedIn basics if you need them. For instance, if you have not yet created an account visit https://www.linkedin.com/nhome/join-create and do so now. Most LinkedIn users are passive users. They sign up, they ll out a few prole details, they connect with a few people they already know, and then they wait. What are they waiting for? What are YOU waiting for?
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Sales success comes down to one thing: putting yourself in front of the most (and the best) prospects. Once you’re there, your ability to sell is directly proportional to your ability to connect. How well do you... • • • • • • •
Connect the needs, problems, concerns, and questions of your prospects to your answers? Connect with your prospects and customers on a personal level? Connect your professional network to your prospect? Connect and align your business philosophy with your prospects’ philosophies? Connect on a level that establishes condence and trust with your prospects? Leverage your connections to establish a reputation and proof of your sales claims? Stay in front of your connections regularly to ensure customer loyalty and to earn additional wallet share?
LinkedIn’s value to the sales process stems from the fact that LinkedIn centers on connections. Your connections. And so I give you, 13 Ways to Make Selling Easy with LinkedIn. Read it, try it, use it, prot from it, and then hide it from your competition. During your journey, I’ll be here to help you every step of the way. Connect with me at http://www.linkedin.com/in/noahrickun and be sure to join my group, “Selling is Social” on LinkedIn as well. Yours in Sales,
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Noah
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Note: Everything in the rst 12 sections can be performed with a free account. There’s no need to pay for a premium account until you’ve fully maximized the opportunity herein. There are some very compelling reasons to subscribe to a premium business account (full disclosure: I’ve been a subscriber for several years), but I’d recommend that you upgrade only after you’ve read this entire book and mastered the techniques I am going to share with you.
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SHOW UP PREPARED “80% of success is showing up.” - Woody Allen That statement is wrong. It should read, “Showing up will make you 80% successful.” It’s like getting to the 80-yard-line and then not scoring. It doesn’t count for much. And, it’s the equivalent of getting 80% through your sales cycle and nding out your prospect is going with your competition. I don’t know anyone in sales that wants to be 80% successful. If you are happy with almost winning the sale, stop reading now and go back to watching Dancing With The Stars or American Idol. Oh, you’re still reading? Good. Let’s get to work. The secret to success is showing up prepared. And LinkedIn is one of the best ways to ensure that you are prepared in terms of your prospect. Most salespeople spend too much time memorizing their PowerPoint deck and every feature and benet of their product or service, and not enough time (think, none) preparing intelligent questions or searching for commonalities that will help them to connect on a personal level. But not you
…not anymore. What you will be able to accomplish in under fteen minutes will take days, weeks, or even months off your average sales cycle.
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I’ve started with preparation rst because I want to show you impactful results immediately. If you do nothing else, I implore you to follow the steps in this section and cash-in on the strategic advantage that you will have given yourself. Assuming you already know your prospect’s name and company, here’s what to do in advance of your meeting: (if you don’t have a prospect
…I’ll show you how to nd one later) •
Find your prospect on LinkedIn. Click through to the prole and look for: •
How youre connected to your prospect. Often, you’ll nd that you are a 2nd or 3rd degree connection and that you have a mutual connection that you can reach out to for insight and the inside scoop.
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Previous employment. Has your prospect worked with or worked for anyone that you know? Have you done business with a former employer? Perhaps you worked for the same company at some point?
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Education. Do you love the school football team? Do you hate the school football team? Did you go to the same school? Did your prospect earn a degree that is completely unrelated to her current position? For instance, I look for people who attended law school but do not practice. Or a VP of Sales that studied molecular biology. Makes for a fun conversation.
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Websites. Does your prospect have a blog or link to a non-prot organization or foundation? If so, click! Read the blog and print a post or two out to bring with you to your meeting. Same thing about the social cause – be prepared to ask questions about your prospect’s involvement.
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Twitter. Many LinkedIn users list their Twitter account. Click on it and uncover what your prospect likes to tweet about. Is it something related to business or does your prospect tweet about a hobby or personal interest?
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Status. What is your prospect working on? What has your prospect commented on?
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Recent activity. This gives you an understanding of how active your prospect is on LinkedIn. If there’s no activity, that’s an indicator that your prospect is a passive user and that you’ll have to do a little more digging to nd out what’s new.
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Interests. If you’re meeting with the CEO of a stafng agency and your prospect lists ne wine or marathons, it’s time to study up. People love to talk about their passions, and this is your opportunity to uncover the path to your prospect’s heart. Come prepared with relevant information and questions.
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Groups and Associations. What groups does your prospect belong to? Anything look familiar to you? Are you members of the same group? Are there groups listed that stand out as unique or unexpected?
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Honors and Awards. How is prospect known within his industry? Is there something recent that you can congratulate her on?
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Recommendations. What do others say about working with your prospect? What is he known for? What value does she provide?
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Additional applications. Some LinkedIn users will turn on the Amazon.com, Wordpress, LinkedIn Events, TripIt, or SlideShare applications (to name a few). If so, you’re in luck. Check to see what books your prospect has read recently and be prepared to ask engaging questions about how your prospect has used something he’s learned from that book in his business. Has your prospect traveled somewhere you have been (or perhaps to your birthplace)? What events has your prospect attended recently?
Sound like a lot? It is. A lot of gold.
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And it’s all on one page, right in front of your face. With a little practice it will take you only a few minutes to uncover enough insight to warm up a prospect at a rst meeting. I’ll make you one guarantee: you walk in armed with the information you gather from your prospect’s LinkedIn prole and you will instantly differentiate yourself from the 98% of salespeople (think, your competition) that show up and “wing it.” And, being prepared with engaging questions sure beats looking at the walls in your prospect’s ofce trying to come up with something pithy to say about bass shing.
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ALLOW YOUR REPUTATION TO PRECEDE YOU Just as you research your prospect, your prospect will research you. Just as you research your prospect, your prospect will research you. And, you can actually encourage it by including a link to your LinkedIn prole in your email signature. Try sending your prospect an email prior to the meeting that offers your LinkedIn prole as an “introduction” so that you can spend more time at the meeting talking about your prospect’s needs rather than “getting to know one another.” How’s your LinkedIn prole? Is it complete? (You’ll know this because LinkedIn gives you a percentage indicator and will show 100% when you’ve done everything required.) My guess is, probably not. And, even if you have completed your prole, there are several ways to further optimize your presence in a way that will create a stronger reputation. You have the opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in your eld and as someone your prospect is excited to meet with. Spend the time required to make your prole something you can be proud of. What do you want your prospects to know about you? What picture best represents who you are and what you stand for? What interesting items can you add that will spark interest, conversation, or differentiation?
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I want you to walk in with the condence that comes from knowing that your prospect respects you before you have even met. I want you to walk in able to focus on the sale you’re after, not the sale that must be made rst. You see, before your prospect will buy what you’re selling, your prospect has to “buy” you. Sell yourself in advance of your meeting, and you’re one step closer to the deal. Here’s how: •
Complete your prole. Do what LinkedIn says you have to do to get to 100% completeness. You can learn all about that here: http://learn.linkedin.com/proles. Or, you can dive in and start lling out the elds under “Edit Prole” and not give up until LinkedIn congratulates you.
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Be sure to include a good photo. Something recent and recognizable. Or should I say, when you show up at your meeting, be sure you look like your picture. Something that shows a bit of your personality. Something that makes others say, “Looks like a good guy (or girl).”
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Unlike with a traditional resume (where everything is supposed to t on one or two pages) you should feel free to enter as much information as you’d like on your prole. In fact, the more detail you provide (past employment, projects, interests, hobbies, etc.) the better LinkedIn will be able to match you with suggested connections and the more likely it will be that your prospects will nd something interesting about you.
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Earn recommendations. The more the better. More on this later.
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When LinkedIn says you’re done (i.e., you’ve completed your prole) you can focus on spicing up your prole in ways that will make you stand out. There are several applications that I use and recommend:
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TripIt. I travel a ton. Connecting TripIt to my LinkedIn prole allows my network to know where I’m going and when I’m going to be there. It leads to meetings and appointments, and it often gives my prospects something to talk about with me in person (as in, “Looks like you travel often. What’s your favorite city?”).
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Reading List by Amazon. If you list well-respected business books here you will in turn become well respected by your prospects. After all, a salesperson can never know too much – it’s talking too much that gets you into trouble! Be sure to keep this list up-to-date and relevant.
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Tweets. If you use Twitter, connect your account here and your prospects will see your most recent tweets right on your LinkedIn prole. If you’re not on Twitter, get with the program. It’s not going to disappear.
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Wordpress or Blog Link. If you have a blog, connect it here. Your blog posts will become visible on your LinkedIn prole and your prospects won’t have to click and leave LinkedIn to read your stuff. If you don’t have a blog, you might want to think about starting one. But that’s a tip for a different book! Google Presentation and SlideShare. I’ve saved the best for last. This is where all the magic happens. You can share content about your products and services and yourself with these applications. I recommend that you use one to share PowerPoint decks (and they better be good) that focus on your company and the other to show a video of you introducing yourself to your prole viewers. Imagine a prospect coming to your LinkedIn prole and you welcoming them with a quality video that tells them what your personal mission statement is. Or your philosophy on serving your customers. Or what you do for your customers that makes them love you.
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The video is the single best way I know to make your prole standout and to create an impression on your prospect. It’s also the most personal element you can add to your prole. So make it count. Shoot it with an HD camera (the $100 ip will do) and do as many takes as you need to look and sound good. Then upload to YouTube, embed in Google Presentation or SlideShare, and voila! (Here’s the complete explanation: http://blog.slideshare.net/2009/06/22/add-avideo-to-your-linkedin-prole). More to come in Think of your LinkedIn prole as your opportunity to make a strong rst impression. It’s an impression you can control and that improves the outcome of your upcoming meetings – if you create a stellar prole.
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One nal tip: You might want to ask your customers and peers to evaluate your prole and to provide feedback as to how to make your prole better or more representative of who you are, what you stand for, and what it’s like to do business with you. Sometimes (ok, most of time) it’s difcult to write about yourself – let the people that know you best help!
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REACH OUT AND APPOINT SOMEONE We’ll do business together. OK, let’s pretend you’ve identied a prospect but you can’t get past the gatekeeper. Or that your prospect won’t return your calls. Or that you don’t know the right way or the best way to approach your prospect. Let’s even take it one step further and pretend you’ve identied the company that you’d like to call on, but you don’t know who to talk to yet. Or, you know you have to get to the Director of Operations (or any other specic title) but you don’t have his name. Find a name and prole (you can skip this part if you already have the info): •
The best place to start is by looking up the company you want to call on in the Search Companies box on your prole. On every page in LinkedIn (once you’re logged in) you’ll nd a search box in the upper right corner.
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Most of the time it’s on the default “People.” Just click the “People” button and change it to “Companies.” Then enter the company you’re looking for, and you’re off to the races. •
Select the name of the person you’d like to reach out to. You’ll notice that the rst results page that LinkedIn displays employees in your network. You may want to start here. If you have a direct connection, or you know one of these employees in your “real” life, this can be a great way to uncover the real decision maker: call your friend and ask! Let’s say your network is a bit thin; just select the “Employees” tab to see everyone at the company. Pick the prospect you feel is most appropriate.
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Note: Many salespeople have access to sites like Hoovers, D&B, or Jigsaw. These sites may be better at identifying key decision makers within your prospective company, but often fail to provide much information beyond a name and title. Combining the power of sites like these with the info LinkedIn provides gives you a leg up. Start with Jigsaw.com, for instance, to identify the name of the specic prospect you’d like to approach and then dig for the meat on LinkedIn.
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Now: •
Go back to Section #1 and use that guide to help you nd something interesting to use in your outreach.
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In the off chance your prospect lists a phone number on the prole (hey, I have my cell phone listed there – and I know I can’t be the only one), CALL your prospect. The single most effective outreach is still the phone call, if you can actually get your prospect on the phone. So try. If you get through, you’re in business. Just start with – “I’m looking at your prole on LinkedIn and it looks like we have a lot in common. I’d like to ask you a few questions about
…”.
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If you can’t reach your prospect quickly via telephone, now comes a crucial moment in your decision making process. LinkedIn has a “Request an Introduction” feature that I will be discussing later in this book. LinkedIn also has a feature it calls “InMail” (note: it’s a feature available to paid subscribers only). I have found, however, that both of those features pale in comparison to what I’m going to show you next. More on that in a minute. The reason I referred to this step as “a crucial moment in your decision making process” is because you must decide which one of the six ways LinkedIn allows you to connect to your prospect is best for you. When you click “Add [prospect name] to your network,” you’ll be presented with the following radio buttons in answer to the question, “How do you know [prospect name]” (my notes are in red): •
Colleague – used for someone that you currently or previously worked with.
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Classmate – current or former.
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We’ve done business together – my second favorite option for reaching out to prospects. I’ll explain below.
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Friend – requires that you enter your prospect’s email address, which you may or may not have.
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Other – same as above, but less personal (as in, less invasive).
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Groups – the BEST option, if available. LinkedIn only presents this option if both you and your prospect belong to the same LinkedIn Group. It shows your prospect that you have a mutual interest.
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I pretty much only ever select “Groups” or “We’ve done business together.” I use “Groups” whenever possible, because I have found it’s most effective in getting a response from my prospects – and because it’s a completely kosher method of connecting according to LinkedIn. If you don’t have a common group with your prospect, visit her prole and nd out what groups she belongs to and then
…join! You can be a member of 50 groups, and you can always drop the group later.
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“We’ve done business together” seems like it’s not even designed for prospecting. That’s because it’s not. LinkedIn intends this option to be reserved for connecting to those with whom you have a past history with. I, however, have always pretended this option reads, “Well do business together.” Note: my method teeters on violating LinkedIn policies, but in over 1,500 such requests, I’ve only had my hand slapped once. LinkedIn suspended my account for less than one hour and I simply had to read a reminder about the policy and then click “I agree.” LinkedIn only knows that you have not done business with someone if that someone takes the time to report you. If you write a relevant, engaging, personal invitation, the odds of your prospect reporting you are slim to none.
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Include a personal note. LinkedIn offers this as an option, but fails to explain what your options are. I’ll make them clear: • Option 1: Write a personal note and increase your chances that your prospect will accept your invitation request, grant you the meeting, and buy from you. • Option 2: Be an idiot.
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In your note, include a sentence or two about what you feel you can offer your prospect and ask for the meeting right there. Don’t be sneaky. Don’t wait until you connect to ask for the meeting. Put it all in immediately.
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You might be wondering why you need to use a LinkedIn invitation as your initial point of contact with your prospect. You don’t have to. You can try email or InMail if you prefer. My experience, however, has been that emails are ignored or devalued because they sit in the same inbox with your competition, distasteful jokes, and 372 to-do items your prospect is facing. In other words, your email is clutter and it’s in the way. InMail has become nearly synonymous with “cold call,” though I know people who swear by it. I don’t use it. I’ll explain more in Section 13, but I promised I would show you how to use the free version of LinkedIn rst, so you’re best option now is an invitation request. Let’s look at what your prospect considers upon receiving your request:
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Do I know this person? Does this person know me? Why do they want to connect with me? Why would I want to connect with them? What’s the personal note say (i.e., is it personal or is it the form letter)? 6. I wonder what this person is all about
…I think I’ll check out his prole. 7. Wow, lots of recommendations, impressive prole, great video, interesting product/service, good picture – looks like a worthy business association. 8. OK, I accept. The point here is that if you’ve done your homework, written something engaging in your invitation request, and established a reputation on LinkedIn that serves as social proof of the value you provide, prospects will want to connect with you. If you’ve failed on any level, you’re missing a powerful opportunity. Now, get to work and ll your calendar!
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JOIN A GROUP It’s the easiest method of connecting on LinkedIn, and it’s a method that most salespeople ignore. On the main navigation bar of nearly of LinkedIn page, you’ll see a Groups button. Hover over it with your mouse and select Groups Directory. From there you can browse or search. Start by joining groups that your customers and prospects belong to. How do you know which groups your customers and prospects belong to? You visit their proles, scroll all the way to the bottom, and their groups will be listed right there! You can join up to 50 groups and my suggestion is you do so as soon as possible. Once you join a group, you can invite group members to connect with you in two clicks (see Section #3 for more details). It’s the easiest method of connecting on LinkedIn, and it’s a method that most salespeople ignore. I’d also recommend that you look to see whether your ofine associations run LinkedIn groups as well. For instance, if you’re a member of Toastmasters, Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, etc., you’ll likely nd a relevant LinkedIn group. This helps to build your presence and connect you to people with similar interests.
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Begin to search for professional groups in your local community or industry as well. These can be great resources for timely information, industry trends, sales leads, and upcoming events. Which leads me to my next point: if you see that a prospect is a member of a local group in your community, and that the group is holding an event – reach out and ask your prospect to go to the event with you. It’s a great way to get a prospect out of the ofce into an environment in which you can have an engaging conversation. Have fun with groups – it’s my favorite place to hangout on LinkedIn, because it helps me to nd places to hangout (and prospects to hangout with) ofine.
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CREATE YOUR OWN GROUP “It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.” - Jeffrey Gitomer In his Little Black Book of Connections, Jeffrey Gitomer writes “It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.” On LinkedIn, its who knows YOU and who THEY know! The best way to become known on LinkedIn is to create your own group. Find a topic that you are interested in (you don’t have to know anything about the topic – but you do have to be willing to dedicate a signicant amount of time researching, sharing, and discussing it), search LinkedIn to ensure that somebody else hasn’t already created the exact same group, and then you create it. I’m going to tell you why to do it and then I’m going to tell you how to do it. Why you should create a LinkedIn Group: 1. You become known as a person of value. Even if you do nothing more than create the group and post interesting questions and links to articles, you are forever recognized as the group Owner.
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2. People will want to connect with you as the Owner. I receive new invitations daily from group members who nd the discussions interesting. It’s an easy way to grow your network. 3. You control the discussion. The content is entirely up to you – meaning you can lead the discussion in a way that is interesting to you and to your prospects. 4. You attract attention to yourself. Every group email lists you as Owner – and the recipients will click on your prole. 5. As the group Owner, you have instant communication with all members. If you want to send a message to all of them – it only takes one click. It’s the only place on LinkedIn that allows you to email blast more than 50 people at a time.
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6. Your prospects will reach out to you – if you create the right group, lead the right discussions, and present yourself as a resource. How to Create, Promote, Moderate and Leverage Your Very Own LinkedIn Group: 1. From pretty much any page on LinkedIn, select the “Groups” tab in the banner near the top of the page. 2. Now select “Create a Group.” 3. Fill out the elds on the next page. Be sure your description and summary are complete and compelling. This is how your group will be found on LinkedIn via search. You can adjust and modify most of these elds later, and you may want to experiment to see what content gets you the best results. There are two areas, however, that you should think hard about now:
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a. Access – Do you want to control membership or allow any LinkedIn members to join your group? I prefer to select “Request to Join” so that I can manually review each member, send a personal note welcoming him/her to the group, and ensure the requestor is not a spammer. While this is an important decision, LinkedIn does allow you to change your mind later. Try both ways to determine what works best for you. b. Open Group v. Members-Only Group – this is LinkedIn’s newest feature and your biggest decision. I’ve included a chart that highlights the differences of the two types of groups. Depending on the content of your group’s discussions – and the personality of your members – you may wish to give visibility to the entire world, or you may wish to restrict access to only those people who you grant access. Shortly after LinkedIn launched this feature, I chose to make “Selling is Social – Leveraging Social Media to Make Sales” an Open Group. Since the discussions in my group are about social media, I gured the group should be as social as possible – which meant opening the group up to Facebook, Google, and the rest of the web.
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4. Invite everyone in your LinkedIn network (or a subset that you feel would be most interested in your content). You’ll simply click “Manage” and then “Send Invitations.” In the “Connections” eld button, you can begin typing names, or you can click the which brings up your entire list of connections. Notice you can only invite 50 connections at a time, so if you have thousands of connections on LinkedIn, you’ll be clicking thousands of times. Watch out for carpel tunnel. If you happen to have a .CSV le of all of your connections, you can upload that and save yourself a ton of clicking.
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5. Invite others from your email database. Let’s say you have hundreds of contacts in Outlook that you are not connected to on LinkedIn, but that you would still like to invite to your group. No problem! Export the contacts from Outlook to a .CSV le and then click “Upload a le” on LinkedIn just below the “Connections” eld on the “Send Invitations” tab from Step 4 above. 6. Make everything personal. Owning a group allows you to demonstrate your creativity and your personal brand. One of the best ways to do this is to modify the templates LinkedIn uses for group communications. Click “Templates” on the “Manage Group” tab and you’re off to the races. The most important template is the “Welcome Message.” This is where you’ll want to establish expectations and set yourself up for success. Include your contact information in the message body and let your group members know how to connect with you.
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7. Discuss! This actually has two meanings as a Group Owner. First, you’ll need to start new discussions to get things started. Second, you’ll want to respond and contribute to the discussions and comments of others. Here are a few tips: a. New discussions – Start with a welcome message and an engaging question that encourages participation. Something simple like, “Welcome to the XYZ Group! Please introduce yourself below and let everyone know what your experience with XYZ has been.” The more you involve your members immediately, the more they will be involved in the future. b. Your responses – Owning a group can be a lonely adventure, so when you do receive a comment, or when group members start their own discussions, be sure to respond!
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Begin your response with a sincere appreciation and then help move the discussion forward. Sometimes you’ll be answering a question, sometimes you’ll point the member to a help forum, and sometimes you’ll simply say “Right on!” Whatever you do, though, don’t be silent. You’ve created a group, you’ve asked people to join, and you’ve asked them to contribute. When they actually do post, reward them with your time and your feedback. This alone will do wonders to make your group successful. 8. Moderate. Yes, it’s possible that one of your members will post something irrelevant or offensive. Yes, it’s possible that one of your members will only be interested in shameless selfpromotion. Yes, it’s possible that one of your members will violate the group rules you’ve created. So, can you simply delete the comment or in extreme cases, kick the member out? Yes, it’s possible! You can delete and comment you’d like, you can ag comments as inappropriate, you can block a member from contributing, and you can even go as far as deleting a member from your group altogether. Since creating my group, I have yet to use any of the above moderation features. LinkedIn is a very professional forum and I nd that most users are professional in their activities, but it’s good to know that LinkedIn itself has given Group Owners the tools if needed. Just don’t abuse your police powers – your members will be less likely to contribute if you delete opposing viewpoints rather than discuss them!
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9. Leverage. Hey, you own a group! Put it on your business card, in your email signature, and on your website. If your group gets good enough, you can even call hard-to-reach people and ask them to contribute content for your members’ consumption. After all, it sure beats cold calling! Follow the steps above, and you’ll be well on your way to owning and mastering your group. If you’d like to learn more feel free to join my group, “Selling is Social,” to see what I’m doing.
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EARN RECOMMENDATIONS The LinkedIn recommendation is the new testimonial. The LinkedIn recommendation is the new testimonial. It’s credible, powerful, and instrumental in establishing your reputation. It’s also the hardest element of your prole to complete – chiey because you don’t get to write your own recommendations
…you actually have to get others to do it for you. LinkedIn only requires that you earn a handful (two or three, I think) in order to get your prole to 100% completeness, however I would challenge you to set your target MUCH higher. The more recommendations you have on your prole, the less you’re going to have to prove yourself to your prospects. Something said about you by a satised customer is innitely more powerful than anything you can possibly say about yourself. Aim for a recommendation from every single one of your accounts. If you have fty customers, get fty recommendations. If you have 5,000 customers, don’t worry about getting 5,000 recommendations. Shoot for a hundred and be proud that you’ll be among the top 2% of users on LinkedIn. Most people have very few recommendations (if any), and don’t know how to go about getting them. If you follow LinkedIn’s instructions, you’ll use their “Ask to be endorsed” feature and then ask (eh, beg) your network for recommendations with a default message, “Can you endorse me?”
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If you follow LinkedIn’s instructions, you look desperate and you will get lackluster results. I know, I tried doing it years ago. I sent 100 requests, and received exactly three recommendations back. I can imagine the other 97 people seeing my pathetic attempt to make myself look good and thinking, “I’m not going to waste my time endorsing this sales guy
…nice try, chump.” There’s a secret that I’ve learned over the years and it’s so simple I can’t believe I didn’t realize it sooner: in order to get recommendations, you have to give recommendations. Duh! Now, it’s not a 1:1 ratio. You won’t get ten recommendations back for every ten you leave, but you’ll get six or seven. And, you won’t look like a chump.
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There’s one more benet of my method: when you leave a great recommendation for someone else, they are compelled to return the favor in kind. It’s human nature to repay a compliment. In this case, it’s better to give and receive. So that’s it. Now, get going on giving recommendations to your best customers.
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STAY CONNECTED Using LinkedIn to stay in contact with your customers and get your message through beats email ve to one. Salespeople often complain that there is simply not enough time in the day. If you’re like most salespeople, you’re balancing outbound calls, inbound calls, account management, accounting issues, presentations, trade shows, new customers, old customers, happy customers, angry customers
…you get the drift. You’re judged and measured on your revenue (often only new revenue) and rarely on customer retention. Yet, present customers are usually the most underutilized revenue stream in any business. I’ll bet you have a laundry list of customers willing to spend more money with you if you could just spend more time with them. More time communicating, more time uncovering needs and opportunities, more time sharing new ideas, new products, new anything. Your challenge is staying connected to a large customer base in a way that does not seem impersonal. You could send a bulk email. Lame. You could send a direct mailing through a service like SendOutCards. Phony. You could send a bulk SMS (text message) if you know your customers’ mobile phone numbers. Invasive. The best way to stay in touch is by posting relevant industry information and new business ideas or best practices to your LinkedIn stream. It’s very similar to Facebook in that your post will show up on your connections’ “walls,” but you also have the choice on LinkedIn to change your visibility settings to “anyone.” You do this from the Home screen once you’ve logged into your account. Just type your message in the “Share an update” box.
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How many people will actually see your update? That’s a great question. One I didn’t know the answer to. And, more importantly, how many people will pay attention to your update? I decided to test the power of the status update while writing this book. I simply posted an update that read, “I'm doing a study for an upcoming book. Today I'm testing the power of the LinkedIn status update. Please click 'Like' so I can count how many people actually see this. Thank you for your help!” and sat waiting for the response. 30 minutes later: 26 likes 1 hour later: 79 likes 1 day later: 3,731 likes & 166 comments Total likes? I’ll have to update that in a future, but I’d bet the most visibility comes in the rst 24 hours. It’s not much of an “update” after that point.
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The sheer volume of likes and comments shocked me. Think what 3,731 people paying attention to your message might do. You can also use LinkedIn to send a personal message to a connection. I do this from time to time if I have a customer that is not very responsive with email. I nd that people reply very quickly to LinkedIn messages. Maybe it’s because there’s a lot less junk mail or clutter in their LinkedIn inbox. Maybe it’s because a LinkedIn message is still relatively new in the grand scheme of things. I could go on guessing, but I don’t really care so much at the moment. What I care about is what you should care about: using LinkedIn to stay in contact with your customers and to get your message through beats email ve to one. So, focus on delivering a regular value message to your network on LinkedIn and stay connected!
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INTRODUCE YOURSELF I’m an impatient sales guy who wants immediate results. LinkedIn provides the option for you to “Get introduced through a connection” when you’re visiting a prospect’s prole. That option sits near the top of the prole and off to the right side in the same box as “Send InMail” and “Add [name] to your network.” It’s a good option in theory. I often receive introduction requests (people request that I introduce them to others in my network) and I almost always oblige. In practice, however, I nd the introduction request is not all that great. The problem is that I’m an impatient sales guy who wants immediate results, and sometimes when I request introductions the other person does not respond for days, weeks, or sometimes months! There’s also the possibility that for whatever reason, the person I’ve asked to introduce me to a prospect is no longer active on LinkedIn, doesn’t want to be bothered with my request, or simply is opposed to the introduction feature. Therefore, I recommend you spend very little time (if any) requesting introductions, and instead introduce yourself. Go back and review Section 3 for exactly how.
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Don’t swear off the introduction feature completely, though, because I do use it as a last resort. You can, too. Start with reaching out to new connections directly and if you nd that a particular outreach is ignored, then try the introduction route. At that point, you’ve got nothing to lose. I think the introduction feature is the LinkedIn equivalent of a “No Soliciting” sign or a gatekeeper that tells you that, “Mr. Jones does not meet with salespeople unless you have an appointment. Oh, and he doesn’t allow me to make appointments with salespeople.” Take a risk. Take a shot. Introduce yourself. Just be sure to make your message compelling.
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HOST AN EVENT Your attendee list will grow exponentially, and so will your sales. From a positioning standpoint, there’s no better way to become known as a person of value within your community than to stand in front of a room of businesspeople and give a talk. Don’t worry about charging admission – you’re probably not that good at speaking
…yet. For now, just focus on putting twenty or thirty people in a room and delivering your passionate, engaging, intelligent message about a subject in which you have special knowledge. If your goal is to attract prospects for your business, speak on the industry rather than on your product. Don’t use the platform to make a sales pitch – think of this as your opportunity to sell yourself to people that will eventually call you because they view you as a resource rather than salesperson. At the end of nearly every free talk I deliver (which I still do regularly in Charlotte at non-prot organizations and networking events) people approach me, thank me, and give me their cards. Those would be called leads. And when it’s time to follow up, those people remember the speaker. Even if you fear public speaking more than death (which, by far, is the case for most Americans
…and is, in my humble opinion, the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life
…I’d take speaking in front of ten million people NAKED before death), there is still considerable value in hosting an event at which you bring in a speaker. You’ll still be respected and appreciated, though you may not end up with all the leads you’re hoping for.
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Whatever the case, your event will only be successful if you can get people to show up. In my experience, LinkedIn is the single most powerful way to promote a public business event. I have tried Facebook, Eventbrite, Twitter, Meetup, email, direct mail, yers, phone calls – you name it. The best solution is a combination of all the sites above, but I have found LinkedIn drives the most trafc to seminars, networking events, and other business functions. Why? Because LinkedIn is strictly business. Users need not consider whether the event will be business-oriented or simply a party, and your potential audience for a business event spends more time on LinkedIn than on Facebook. Every one of those platforms above (and especially Facebook and Eventbrite) is powerful in its own right. I use them all. When it comes to hosting a local business lunch & learn, or breakfast networking session, I use LinkedIn exclusively.
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Here’s what to do: 1. Decide on an event. Will you have a speaker? Will you be the speaker? 2. Pick a location, book it, arrange the details, etc. 3. Arrange for good food and coffee. If you screw up your talk, people will still come back next time for the food! 4. Go to http://events.linkedin.com/ and click “Add an Event.” 5. Enter the information LinkedIn requests next (all the basics – date, location, general info, etc.).
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1. Click “+Add more details” and ll out EVERY eld. The more detail you provide, the more likely it is that your event will be found. Pay particular attention to the “Keywords” and “Who should attend?” elds. LinkedIn makes suggestions to users it feels would like your event; people will come out of the woodwork to attend if you do this right. 2. Be sure your description is accurate, compelling, engaging, enticing, interesting, and attractive. Think: would you want to go to this event if you happened upon the description? 3. Preview, publish, and pat yourself of the back. Wait, it’s not over! Now you have to promote your event by inviting the appropriate people in your network.
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Here’s how: 1. On the upper right of the event page there is an RSVP box. Click the “Attending” button and change it to “Presenting” if you’re speaking, or simply click “Attending” otherwise. This lets your network know (via status update) about your involvement. 2. From your event page, select “Recommend” just below the description. This posts an update on your stream. 3. Just next to “Recommend” is a “Share” link. Select it now. 4. In the “To:” eld you can paste in email addresses (if you have them) of the people you’d like to invite OR you can simply click the button and select the appropriate people from your network.
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5. If you have large network, you’ll want to Narrow Your Connections by either Location or Industry. Since you’re likely hosting a local event, grab the drop down box below Location and pick your city. 6. Now only those people located within your geographic area are displayed, but they are separated by the rst letter of their last names. You’ll actually have to select the people you’d like to invite under the A’s, then the B’s, then the C’s, etc. 7. Also note that you can only invite 50 people at a time, so if you have a large network in your area, you’ll have to send multiple invitations to groups of 50.
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8. There’s one shortcut that will save you from a huge amount of clicking at this point: if you have less than 50 connections under a specic letter (i.e., you have 37 connections with a last name beginning with A), you can click on “select all names” at the bottom of your screen or press the checkbox above the letter A. This will save you 36 clicks in my example. 9. Final tip here: customize the message LinkedIn provides in the invitation. It will default to “[your name] found an event on LinkedIn and thought that you might be interested in going!” Make yours more personal by writing something like, “To give you the chance to grow your network, have a great lunch, and learn something new, I’m hosting an event and would love for you to attend.”
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I’d still recommend that you tell everyone you bump into about your upcoming event. Tell them you’ll send an invitation via LinkedIn and you’d appreciate their RSVP. If you’ve already invited someone you speak to, ask if they’ve seen the invitation and if they are planning on attending. Your goal is to get as many people as possible to respond via LinkedIn; every time a user clicks “Attending” or “Interested” (the LinkedIn equivalent of, “Maybe”), your event gains visibility. When a user responds, their entire network receives an update that includes a link to your event. Suddenly, you’ll have RSVP’s from people you’ve never met. Your attendee list will grow exponentially, and so will your sales pipeline as a result.
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MAKE A MOVIE. MAKE MORE MONEY. This is your chance to show your personality, your communication skills, and your passion.
“The pen is mightier than the sword.” - Edward Bulwer-Lytton “A picture is worth 1,000 words.” - Fred R. Barnyard “Video trumps all.” - Noah Rickun One of the most powerful ways to stand out as a person of value on LinkedIn is by harnessing the power of video. Very few LinkedIn users have video on their prole because it’s a little bit of a task to make it work. For starters, LinkedIn does not currently offer a YouTube plugin – or any other video plugin for that matter. The way to post your video on your prole is the same way I mentioned earlier in Section 2 – you upload your video to YouTube, embed it into a presentation with either Google Presentation or SlideShare, and then enable one or both of those applications on your prole. It sounds more complicated than it actually is, and I’d rather you spend your time focusing on creating a great video than learning the technical aspect of this task.
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It’s not something you’ll be doing as part of your regular sales activities, so visit the how-to guides below and if you get stuck, ask your kids to help!
SlideShare: http://blog.slideshare.net/2009/06/22/add-a-video-to-yourlinkedin-prole/ Google Presentation: http://www.linkedstrategies.com/how-to-addvideos-to-you-linkedin-prole-google-presentation
The most important part of this strategy is not to master how to embed a video and post it to your prole; rather the important part is to understand what your video should look like and what you should be doing or saying in your video. Here are a few ideas: •
A talking head video of you introducing yourself to your prole visitors. Check out my prole at http://www.linkedin.com/in/ noahrickun for an example.
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A testimonial video of your customers talking about how great you are. You get bonus points for this one
…it’s the single most powerful video on the planet, and the single most powerful sales tool in your arsenal.
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A company overview video. Boring to most. Your prole should be more representative of YOU as an individual than of your company. Focus on the value you provide, and what it is about you specically that your customers love.
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A product or service demo video. This could be cool IF you have a very unique product or service that requires demonstration or if you have a creative way of presenting it. Check out http://willitblend.com/videos.aspx for examples of engaging product demonstrations that will get you appointments – if you can pull something similar off.
•
A “what happens if you meet with me” video that explains your personal mission statement, your sales philosophy, and what you bring to the table that your prospects and customers perceive as being valuable.
Make it short and powerful. A minute or two at most. Make it look good by using a inexpensive HD camera - like the Flip UltraHD or the Kodak PLAYFULL - and by ensuring that you’re in the right environment. Find somewhere quiet and well lit to shoot your video and then do as many takes as you need to get your video right. Don’t worry about editing, just reshoot it.
You don’t need fancy graphics, music, or animation. You do need powerful content and a great delivery style. This is your chance to show your personality, your communication skills, and your passion. Don’t turn it into your chance to show how much money you can invest in a video. Nobody cares. Really. Unless you happen to be a videographer or studio owner. Then people will care. Really. Before you post your video, take your best cut and show your friends, relatives, and existing customers and ask for their feedback. Ask them, “Is this me? Does this represent me well?” If you don’t like the answers you get, ask for their suggestions on how to improve and go back and try again. Don’t stop trying until you nail it. When you do, you’ll know. People will tell you, and prospects will call you. If you want to get seen, get appointed, get connected, and get money – video is the answer to your dreams.
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KEEP GOOD COMPANY This is one time in your life that it pays to be a follower.
This is short, but powerful lesson. One of LinkedIn’s newer features is the ability to “follow” a company. It serves as a way for users to know when a company posts new job opportunities or makes a new hire, when a current employee gets promoted or leaves the company, or when a company updates its prole on LinkedIn. I follow every company I currently do business with, every company I’d like to do business with, every company I’ve ever done business with in the past, and every company I consider competition. Remember, it’s only one click. Not a lot of work. Here’s what you get in return: •
Industry news and trends.
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A little company information (aggregate info about employees, i.e. tenure, education, promotions, etc.).
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A listing of LinkedIn users that work for the company you’re now following, with degrees of separation so you can look for your way in.
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A few news headlines.
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Which all boils down to a very simple way to keep “in-the-know” and to ensure that you have something timely and relevant to discuss with your customers and prospects.
This is one time in your life that it pays to be a follower. Go ahead, I’ll be right behind you.
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SUPERCHARGE YOUR NETWORK More salespeople have downloaded the latest version of Angry Birds than LinkedIn mobile.
An often-overlooked benet of using LinkedIn is the power you will have in the palm of your hand when you are at a networking function, conference, or trade show
…IF you have a smart phone. If you have a regular phone (ahem, dumb phone), hang up now and call your nearest mobile device provider. It’s time to upgrade to an iPhone, Droid, BlackBerry, Palm, or Windows Mobile device. I use an iPhone. It’s the best data device on the planet. It also is the worst telephone I know of. Once you install the LinkedIn application on your mobile device (LinkedIn currently offers apps for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Palm Pre) you’ll have instant access to information out in the eld. If you happen to have some other mobile device with internet access (i.e., a Droid), just point its browser to http://m.linkedin.com.
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I’m not going to spend time telling you how to use the mobile versions of LinkedIn here.
Instead I’d like to share what having LinkedIn with you all the time can do for your business:
1. You can now connect with people you meet instantly. a. If you both have an iPhone, you can open the application on both devices and swap contact information and add each other to your respective networks on the spot. No business card required. b. With any other device, you can simply add your new contact to your network by searching for them and doing it manually. Still a very powerful move. When they get back to their computer, they’ll see your request, view your prole and consider following up with you – IF you were memorable and engaging in person as well.
2. If you’re attending an event that was promoted with LinkedIn, you can access the proles of the attendees and look for interesting conversation starters and background info of the people you’re standing in the room with. 3. Let’s say you’re out on the road and you get a call from a prospect. Pull up the prospect’s prole on LinkedIn (if you’re driving, pull over rst) and look for things discussed in Section 1 of this book. 4. Standing in line at the DMV? Whip out your Droid and get to work. You can respond to invitation requests, read the day’s top headlines, and check out the status updates of people in your network.
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5. LinkedIn also makes it easy to nd the contact information (email address and often telephone numbers) of your connections. Perhaps you’d like to reach out to a recent connection that you have not yet programmed into your mobile device or address book. Pull up their prole and click to talk. If the above tips sound like an advertisement for LinkedIn’s mobile platform, it’s because it is an advertisement. Unpaid. Unsolicited. Unbiased. LinkedIn’s mobile platform is not perfect. In fact, it’s not nearly as powerful as the full version, but it’s a heck of lot more powerful than nothing. Which is what you’ve got in your pocket now.
Harsh? The reality is that more salespeople have downloaded the latest version of Angry Birds than LinkedIn mobile. I can just imagine them thinking, “Well, I know I’ll make more sales if I can just beat this new St. Patrick’s Day themed Angry Birds level.” Let those status quo loving pikers have all the fun they want playing with their phones – it just makes it easier for you to rise above the pack and be noticed as a real player
…the kind of player that exceeds your quota. Download the LinkedIn application (or save m.linkedin.com to your favorites) and you’ll be on your way impressing prospects and connections everywhere you go.
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ADVANCE YOURSELF It’s time to invest in yourself and increase your income.
If you’ve made it this far, it’s time to get out your wallet. Not to pay me; rather to invest in yourself. LinkedIn offers a multitude of subscription options (all with slightly different features) at a multitude of prices. The lowest package (the one I’m going to suggest you use) is currently $29 per month, though you can spend all the way up to $499 per month if you really want to. For $29 you’ll get all the additional functionality you need to advance your LinkedIn prowess to mastery. Here’s what you’ll be able to do (my comments in red): •
Send InMail – Not so valuable. I don’t use it at all. LinkedIn claims your messages will be trusted by recipients. I nd the opposite is true. Most users see InMail as a red ag that they have no idea who you are!
•
See more proles when you search – With the $29 package, you’ll get 500 prole results with every search. Cool, but not necessary.
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Use premium search features – This is why it’s worth it. You get four additional lters that will make searching for new prospects a breeze: • •
•
•
Seniority Level: Find decision makers quickly! Interested In: This would be great if “your product” was an option, but sadly, it is not. Thus, not such a powerful lter. Company Size: If your product or service is best suited for companies with a certain number of employees, this is your ticket to identifying your next prospect. Fortune 1000: Same as above, but now you can lter by Fortune ranking, allowing you to focus your energies on the perfect prospects.
•
Get more insight with expanded prole views – Extremely helpful for researching people outside of your network. You’ll get much more information with a premium account. I’d pay $29 for this feature alone.
•
Who’s Viewed Your Prole: See the full list, how they found you, and more – This won’t help you make sales, but it will remind you how important it is to have a great prole. Once, I clicked on one of the people who viewed my network and I reached out. I made a new connection, but I still felt like a stalker so I don’t do that anymore. This feature also helps you to understand whether you may need to modify your prole to attract more relevant visitors.
Open up to opportunities: allow people outside your network to message you for free with OpenLink – I’m in sales. I make it as easy as possible to contact me. Feel free to link with me here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/noahrickun
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Final note: LinkedIn claims that 50% of users expense their LinkedIn Premium account to their business. You may want to check with your boss or accountant to see if you can as well. If not, however, you’re not off the hook. You’re in sales. You make commission. It’s time to invest in yourself and increase your income. But wait
…theres more! LinkedIn changes features often and it’s important you stay up to date. Here’s the best place to keep an eye on what’s new and what’s next: http://blog.linkedin.com/ category/new-linkedin-features/
Need more help? Have more questions? I’m standing by to help you in any way that I can: Noah Rickun
[email protected] www.rickun.com 704-759-6624 http://linkedin.rickun.com http://facebook.rickun.com http://twitter.com/noahrickun
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NOAH RICKUN Noah Rickun Gitomer Certied. Audience Approved. A Trusted Leader. As the former CEO of Jeffrey Gitomer’s TrainOne (the world leader in online, interactive sales training and personal development), Noah was hired for one main reason: To innovate, create, and uncover new opportunities. Noah has been a disciple of Gitomer’s training for years and now takes great pride in sharing his message with the world. A Proven Salesman. Before joining the Gitomer family, Noah reigned as Vice President of Sales & Distribution at ETE REMAN, a privately held automotive remanufacturing company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Responsible for business development and leading sales, service, and account reps, Noah grew his division from $2M to $20M in four short years. While at ETE REMAN, Noah became an accomplished and respected speaker within his industry, presenting regularly to associations and customers. A Lifelong Student. A procient reader and loyal follower of everchanging business trends, personal development lessons, and selling strategies, Noah received his Business Degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Law Degree from Marquette University. By choice, Noah has never practiced law – although he does abide by it. A Family Man. Noah shares his love for books and his positive attitude with his wife and their two beautiful daughters. They currently reside in Charlotte, North Carolina – although he still cheers for all Milwaukee sports teams.
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NOAH RICKUN A Passionate Messenger. Noah touches audiences everywhere as a Gitomer Certied Speaker. He delivers customized and personalized seminars to companies and associations on topics such as increasing sales; earning customer loyalty; helping others to nd and build YES! attitudes; and integrating technology and social media into their businesses. As a frequent traveler, Noah is a master packer, refusing to check luggage because he has “yet to make a sale standing at the baggage claim.” He is also a guest columnist for Jeffrey Gitomer’s Sales Caffeine ezine, which reaches 500,000 people each week.
Noah is available for Keynotes, Workshops, or Consulting. For more information, visit www.rickun.com or contact his ofce of friendly, helpful people at 704-333-1112.
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13 WAYS This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
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