Let’s be honest, if you own a business, you want to make money. You probably also have a great product or service that genuinely helps people, but you also have a desire to make an income. As a business owner, you’re probably also extremely busy. Therefore, anything you do needs to contribute to your bottom line. Networking on LinkedIn is no different.
LinkedIn is not just another social network. It’s the the world’s largest Business to Business network with over 450 million users. Having a LinkedIn profile and being connected with former colleagues and friends is simply not enough. If you want to generate new business, which leads to future earnings, you have to monetize your LinkedIn connections. Here are 4 tips on how to do so:
One of the first things you need to do when you want to use LinkedIn to generate new business is to connect with the right people. If you’re just getting started on LinkedIn, it’s perfectly acceptable to connect with former colleagues, current clients and friends. In fact, you want to be connected with these people because they can endorse your skills and leave you recommendations, which are valuable for future prospects.
When you’re ready to connect with your ideal prospects, the first step is to determine who they are. You can do this by creating an ideal prospect profile based on the Advanced search features LinkedIn provides or better yet Sales Navigator. The key is to be specific in narrowing down your ideal prospect.
If you already have a client base, look at who your best, most profitable clients are. This will help you identify who you want to target for future business. However, it’s also important to be open to new audiences and new targets.
What’s great about LinkedIn is that it will help you identify who to target. When you go to LinkedIn, go to the Advanced Search tab. This will allow you to target individuals based on Keywords, Title, Company and Location, and so on. If you’re a premium LinkedIn member, you will have access to additional filters such as Company Size, which can be very valuable.
Once you’ve filed in the information, you hit search and a list of potential prospects comes up. You can then begin sending these prospects connection requests. Be sure to send a personal message with each request stating why you want to connect. Also, LinkedIn only allows you to send requests to a certain number of people each day so be sure to save your searches for the future.
2. Send Messages Once a Month to Stay Top of Mind
When you first connect with someone, you’ll want to send them a message. After that, you’ll want to strategically message them to stay on the top of their mind. The key is not to bombard your prospects with information, but to send them useful blogs, articles and webinars that pertain to their business.
These messages don’t have to be extremely long or detailed. The key is to provide value while staying top of mind. You can simply say you’re reaching out to share some valuable information, and then explain what you’re sharing and why it’s beneficial to them.
Remember, the goal is not to sell them a hard pitch. You want to provide value and become the go-to expert in your industry. They may not need your service now, but if you stay top of mind, you’ll be the first person they think of when they do.
3. Manage your LinkedIn with a CRM or other Tracking System
One of the biggest mistakes you can make with LinkedIn Marketing is not properly documenting your progress and results. Once you start getting connected with hundreds of people and sending several messages, it’s easy to get disorganized. The best thing you can do is manage your LinkedIn with a CRM or other tracking system from the beginning.
You may not have the money to invest in a CRM system and that’s okay. You can create your own using Excel.
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As a fellow business owner, I know you’re busy. LinkedIn is a great source for generating new business, and you want to make sure you’re getting the most out of the time spent on LinkedIn. If you’re interested in using LinkedIn for marketing purposes, I’d love to connect.
Click this link to schedule a meeting with me: jimena.biz
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