Skip to main content

Take Advantage Of LinkedIn During the Virus Part 2

In the previous post we went over why you need to be using LinkedIn. With the Coronavirus keeping salespeople from meeting prospects in person, any resource you have at your disposal should be utilized, and LinkedIn is a great one. Especially if you're going to be working from home for a while.

There are some great ways to maximize your time and efforts on LinkedIn and I thought it would be great to go over a few things to help you get your message to prospects and influencers in your network. Here is a short list to get you started.


  • Have a professional looking profile picture. As I stated in the last post, this is super important. If you can't afford a professional headshot by a real photographer, no worries. You can get away with a photo in business casual. I've seen some pictures from recent college graduates with a golf shirt and khakis that were very good. On the other hand, the worst thing you can do is leave the default avatar as your picture. I refuse to accept connection requests from people who do not have a picture.
  • Post stuff. I enjoy posting articles that are industry specific as well as general business information. If you are in sales, your clients can come from any industry, so just because you are a realtor, that doesn't mean everyone wants to read about the latest real estate trends. A news article on the local economy can be good too. By posting often (once a day), you keep your name and brand top of mind.
  • Join groups. If you don't have a lot of connections this is a great way to find some. And the groups aren't just industry specific. As an insurance agent, I am a member of several of LinkedIn's insurance groups, but I'm also in a group for my college's alumni and local networkers in my area. 
  • Click on the profiles of people you would like to connect with. If someone takes a look at your profile, which you want by the way, LinkedIn notifies you. With this logic, wouldn't you want certain people to know that you're interested in them? And if they see that you're checking them out, they may send you a connection request. 


 When trying to network on LinkedIn, remember that it's a professional networking site and not Facebook or Twitter. No one really cares about your political views or wants to see pictures of your kids on vacation. The users of LinkedIn are looking for business prospects, job opportunities and general networking. Another key point is that LinkedIn doesn't want you to randomly send out connection request to anyone and everyone. Start off with people you actually know and expand from there. As I mentioned before, the groups feature is a great way to find new people to meet and network with.

Keep plugging away and you'll find that your time on the site was well worth it. And if you have any other suggestions to share put them in the comments section. 

Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Short Post On Social Media

Are you leveraging social media to help your business? Are you posting daily and creating content like the "experts" say to do? Most importantly, are you getting results? I've tried using most of the more popular platforms for my insurance business, as well as my writing and speaking business. To say the results are "mixed" would be generous. This may be because I really haven't invested much into advertising on these platforms.  The way I see it, when Facebook, for example, allows me to set up a free page for my business, that is like a "free trial" to see if I can get any interest in my product or service. After nearly 15 years of this trial period, I have garnered little to no business.  One can come up with two arguments here. The first is why would you throw money at advertising when you haven't seen any returns. The other side is that "you could have done better if you had quit being a tight ass penny pincher." Fair enough. But ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How To Prevent (Or Lessen) Momentum Killers

Have you had a great sales run, with the wind at your back as you continue to sell and make money, only to have some event or holiday slow down your momentum? It's happened to all of us. I compare it to running at full speed down a field, and out of nowhere comes a patch of mud and tar, designed specifically to slow you down and make you work harder.  An example of this is the holiday season. For some industries, the end of the year is a great time to make those last minute sales and thin out inventories. But for others, it can be horrible. Let's face it, the holidays are about spending money on fun stuff, like electronics and clothes. No one is even thinking about buying insurance, unless they have to.  "I can't spend any money on life insurance because I have to buy Christmas gifts," is what I hear each year. (Nice priorities, by the way!) Having been through this for a few years I now plan ahead. Instead of beating my head against a wall trying to get people to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Keeping Your Pipeline Full

One of the biggest hurdles I've faced in my career has been finding prospects, moving them through the sales process, and turning them into clients, all while constantly being on the hunt for more prospects. It's an endless cycle. (In my industry, it can be even harder to sell something when people ultimately don't want to buy. If your client is a young couple with kids and a mortgage, do you think they would rather spend money on a vacation or a life insurance policy?) Having a good referral system and making networking effective are the best ways to start the process of keeping the pipeline full. Having a center of influence or creating a friendly relationship through networking can save a lot of time and be much less expensive than buying leads.   One of the most effective things you can accomplish is to establish a "referral network". This may take some time to get going but if you can find four or five good sources who are willing refer to each other, you can...
Post a Comment
Read more