Using LinkedIn to get Clients

[Andy Black]

Using LinkedIn to get Clients

I watched this video over the weekend and thought I'd revisit LinkedIn.

A more important take-away is how methodical Cody is at signing up new clients - something I should do for sure.

So I thought I'd start a discussion on how we're using LinkedIn as a marketing tool.

Last week I logged in for the first time this year and accepted about 150 connection requests. Just doing that meant I got a load of profile views and a few PMs.

As an AdWords freelancer I've landed some 6 figure contracts.
As an IT Contractor I've probably made even more over the years.

I've been on LinkedIn for years, and here's the very simple strategy I've implemented (stumbled upon).


1) Create a good profile

Look legit.
Make it obvious what you do.
Make it obvious who you do it for as well (this is on my to-do list).

Know what people will search for on LinkedIn (recruiters especially if you're looking for a job or contract).
Optimise your profile for those keywords.

Bear in mind that your profile also acts as your online CV or business card.
People who are referred to you or who you speak to will go check it out.

I'm still working on my profile but I think it's fairly obvious what I do right?





2) Grow your network

I've got work from LinkedIn purely by sending connection requests.
I have a profile people want to connect with, and one that makes it obvious what I do.

When people connect with you, they often check out your profile, and some strike up some good conversations. At the very least, they now know they're connected to a guy who does XYZ (which is why it's important to make your profile focused).

Spend 5 minutes each morning clicking the Connect buttons:






3) Inbound?

I've only dabbled at posting articles on LinkedIn. It seems so spammy I'm not that interested tbh.


4) Outbound?

I've never used LinkedIn for outbound, but here's the beauty of having a large number of connections in Ireland:





So what's working and not working with LinkedIn for you guys?



Further reading:
www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/500-linkedin-connections-in-30-days.67735

 

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[Joe Cassandra]

Nice @Andy Black

I get pretty much ALL my clients from cold e-mail or Linkedin.

1.) Like Andy, I start with my profile (attached): What I recommend is starting with a specific niche. You don't have to only sell to that niche, but when prospecting, you want to seem that way.

For my profile, I target financial publishers. Whenever I reach out to one through LI or email, they immediately go check out my profile. In this day-and-age, we're in the knowledge economy. The expertise you bring to the table is incredible.
Your headline is most important:
- I help construction companies never be late to an assignment using software
- I make million dollar homes stand out so they sell faster
- I create toys for your children to learn how to read before they're 3

Whatever it is. Get ultra-specific so when it comes to reaching out to folks, you're already on a different level.

2.) Join Groups with your target client in it (not so much others like you unless your ideal client would be in it). Spoiler alert: You're not joining the groups to 'engage' and post random stuff. Linkedin Groups are 99% junk.

You're simply looking for names. It's where you can more easily find potential prospects.

You can join around 50 groups.

3.) Next, I connect with a bunch of people. I like to personally write a message to them as I get a much higher connect rate plus now Linkedin automatically starts a "chat" with them.

Here's one connection request 2 weeks ago, that got a response from him 22 minutes later and he's now a client. 5-figure project.



As you can see, I write a personal message that takes 2 minutes to craft based on their information on their page.

I have some more tips but need to jump off now.

The most important piece comes next...

 

[Andy Black]

Nice @Andy Black

I get pretty much ALL my clients from cold e-mail or Linkedin.

1.) Like Andy, I start with my profile (attached): What I recommend is starting with a specific niche. You don't have to only sell to that niche, but when prospecting, you want to seem that way.
View attachment 14877
For my profile, I target financial publishers. Whenever I reach out to one through LI or email, they immediately go check out my profile. In this day-and-age, we're in the knowledge economy. The expertise you bring to the table is incredible.
Your headline is most important:
- I help construction companies never be late to an assignment using software
- I make million dollar homes stand out so they sell faster
- I create toys for your children to learn how to read before they're 3

Whatever it is. Get ultra-specific so when it comes to reaching out to folks, you're already on a different level.

2.) Join Groups with your target client in it (not so much others like you unless your ideal client would be in it). Spoiler alert: You're not joining the groups to 'engage' and post random stuff. Linkedin Groups are 99% junk.

You're simply looking for names. It's where you can more easily find potential prospects.

You can join around 50 groups.

3.) Next, I connect with a bunch of people. I like to personally write a message to them as I get a much higher connect rate plus now Linkedin automatically starts a "chat" with them.

Here's one connection request 2 weeks ago, that got a response from him 22 minutes later and he's now a client. 5-figure project.

View attachment 14878

As you can see, I write a personal message that takes 2 minutes to craft based on their information on their page.

I have some more tips but need to jump off now.

The most important piece comes next...

This is great Joe. I love how you're headline is so niched down. That's what's missing with mine at the moment - you know what I do, but not who for. (Which explains why I get clients in so many different niches.)

Mine isn't addressing WiiFM? either. Still tinkering...

Rep+

 

[Contrarian]

Great discussion Andy! I'll have some thoughts to add when my brain's not addled from a long day staring at this here screen.

 

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[The-J]

This is great Joe. I love how you're headline is so niched down. That's what's missing with mine at the moment - you know what I do, but not who for. (Which explains why I get clients in so many different niches.)

Mine isn't addressing WiiFM? either. Still tinkering...

Rep+

We've talked about this twice and I haven't got it either

 

[Joe Cassandra]

This is great Joe. I love how you're headline is so niched down. That's what's missing with mine at the moment - you know what I do, but not who for. (Which explains why I get clients in so many different niches.)

Mine isn't addressing WiiFM? either. Still tinkering...

Rep+

I used to do the same. Here's what's great about it...

The better you get at Adwords with one [insert niche] client, the faster/better you get at others. The more 'elite' you get...the more you can then charge. I used to have copy clients in telecom, software, event management and I felt I had to start from scratch every time.

With financial publishing, the folks who read newsletters are 50+ year olds. Next client I nab, no more research about "who will read this" anymore, just the big idea and product.

To put the cherry on top, you can change your Linkedin profile everyday until Jesus comes, the goal is solely to position yourself at showtime when a potential client gets their first look at your profile and says "This guy understands my business, and I've been needing help with Adwords."

 

[Andy Black]

I used to do the same. Here's what's great about it...

The better you get at Adwords with one [insert niche] client, the faster/better you get at others. The more 'elite' you get...the more you can then charge. I used to have copy clients in telecom, software, event management and I felt I had to start from scratch every time.

With financial publishing, the folks who read newsletters are 50+ year olds. Next client I nab, no more research about "who will read this" anymore, just the big idea and product.

To put the cherry on top, you can change your Linkedin profile everyday until Jesus comes, the goal is solely to position yourself at showtime when a potential client gets their first look at your profile and says "This guy understands my business, and I've been needing help with Adwords."

Exactly... we can change the focus in our profile very quickly.

I'm going to go after clients in a specific vertical in the next couple of weeks so am in the process of changing up my profile (hence starting this thread actually).

I'm also changing up my website to reflect that, including asking for testimonials from clients.

I've noticed already that less people are accepting my connection requests than last year. It could be the "AdWords Agency Owner" is putting people off (am I about to spam them?). The problem is, I can't remember what tagline I had before.

Like AdWords ads and landing pages, I'm sure most of our impact is from our headline and tagline...

 

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[Nicoknowsbest]

I've noticed already that less people are accepting my connection requests than last year. It could be the "AdWords Agency Owner" is putting people off (am I about to spam them?). The problem is, I can't remember what tagline I had before.

Same here.

Currently trying to get it right.

My experience so far:

You work for a big, known company in an important position?

You can send out requests to almost anybody and expect a positive outcome.

You seem like a small business owner?

Suddenly your requests come across needy.

 

[Joe Cassandra]

Exactly... we can change the focus in our profile very quickly.

I'm going to go after clients in a specific vertical in the next couple of weeks so am in the process of changing up my profile (hence starting this thread actually).

I'm also changing up my website to reflect that, including asking for testimonials from clients.

I've noticed already that less people are accepting my connection requests than last year. It could be the "AdWords Agency Owner" is putting people off (am I about to spam them?). The problem is, I can't remember what tagline I had before.

Like AdWords ads and landing pages, I'm sure most of our impact is from our headline and tagline...

Yeah I've read it's become more and more a landfill for spam. Some people will just 'connect with everyone' but never check their LI again. Those peeps aren't even worth connecting with.

That's why a quick blurb helps a bunch. You'd be surprised how many people DO NOT add a message with their connection request. Just adding one sentence automatically makes it stand out.

Who stands out more in a sea of connection requests?


Right now, sending a connection request message is as rare as sending a hand-written letter to someone. At some point, some software buff will create a plugin so you can automatically add connection messages. Then, marketers will have ruined another thing.

Until then, take advantage.

I'll do another post on what to do after you connect right after this.

Same here.

Currently trying to get it right.

My experience so far:

You work for a big, known company in an important position?

You can send out requests to almost anybody and expect a positive outcome.

You seem like a small business owner?

Suddenly your requests come across needy.

You only sound needy when you make a connect message about yourself. When you don't make it look like a 'sales-y' message, you get your foot in.

Hi Jack,

I came across your Linkedin profile as we both work in the construction industry. Really interested in your 15 years at Acme construction company especially helping them grow the past 5 years. Interested to hear more.
Would love to connect more, if you're open to it.
Talk soon,
Joe

Simple, easy, personal (showed you actually looked at his background).

It's like writing copy...don't look for the sale right now. You're just trying to get them to the next step. In copy, you just want the line they're reading to get them to read the next line.

Here's what not to do:
Hi Jack,

I work with construction companies like yours. I've done it for 20 years. I could help you get more commercial clients this week. Message me back to talk.
Joe

Doesn't it just feel a bit more slimey? And notice each sentence starts with "I." Big no. It's much better to cut as many "I"s as you can even if it makes the sentence incomplete.

The last sentence in the first example..."Interested to hear more." The reader will automatically put themselves as the subject, so they hear "Interested to hear more about you."

Compare that to "I am interested to hear more." The subject is "I" meaning the reader thinks "It's all about HIM".

 

[Joe Cassandra]

KEY TO LINKEDIN BELOW:

Nice @Andy Black

I get pretty much ALL my clients from cold e-mail or Linkedin.

1.) Like Andy, I start with my profile (attached): What I recommend is starting with a specific niche. You don't have to only sell to that niche, but when prospecting, you want to seem that way.
View attachment 14877
For my profile, I target financial publishers. Whenever I reach out to one through LI or email, they immediately go check out my profile. In this day-and-age, we're in the knowledge economy. The expertise you bring to the table is incredible.
Your headline is most important:
- I help construction companies never be late to an assignment using software
- I make million dollar homes stand out so they sell faster
- I create toys for your children to learn how to read before they're 3

Whatever it is. Get ultra-specific so when it comes to reaching out to folks, you're already on a different level.

2.) Join Groups with your target client in it (not so much others like you unless your ideal client would be in it). Spoiler alert: You're not joining the groups to 'engage' and post random stuff. Linkedin Groups are 99% junk.

You're simply looking for names. It's where you can more easily find potential prospects.

You can join around 50 groups.

3.) Next, I connect with a bunch of people. I like to personally write a message to them as I get a much higher connect rate plus now Linkedin automatically starts a "chat" with them.

Here's one connection request 2 weeks ago, that got a response from him 22 minutes later and he's now a client. 5-figure project.

View attachment 14878

As you can see, I write a personal message that takes 2 minutes to craft based on their information on their page.

I have some more tips but need to jump off now.

The most important piece comes next...

Above I wrote how I use Linkedin and landed many of my first copy clients. Today, it's much easier to type up cold emails since I am so ingrained in the industry now. Another reason to niche is I can leverage my past clients into my next client. Remember, small business owners don't think 'you understand their particular business.' If you show you do, it's a much easier sale.

Hi Pepsi CEO, I contracted with Coca-Cola for 3 years and helped them do X. We should work together.

Compare that:
Hi Pepsi CEO, I contracted with Toys-R-Us for 3 years and helped them do x. We should work together.

You worked in the industry! You have a leg-up.

THE KEY:

Now, the key to any sales, even Linkedin...follow-up.

STEP ONE: Connect with them on Linkedin after positioning your profile as an expert in their niche.
STEP TWO: Here's where it can get tricky. You used to be able to export all your connections to a CSV file and scrape all your connections' emails. But, they moved that feature and it's buried. So, follow these steps:

1. Click the My Network icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Click Your connections on the left rail.
3. Click Manage synced and imported contacts near the top right of the page.
4. Under Advanced actions on the right rail, click Export contacts.
5. Click Request Archive.
6. You will receive an email to your Primary Email address which will include a link where you can download your list of connections.

STEP THREE: Download Streak Streak - CRM in your Inbox . This does a ton of stuff:
1. You can manage a pipeline
2. For about 200 emails/month, it shows you how many times they've been opened
3. They verify an email address if it's connected to a social network
Obviously these weirdos are interested, but not responding yet. The emails probably circulating. I know that because that little "location" icon next to the computer images shows the city,state where the email is being read. Pretty cool .

The beauty of Streak is you can store prospects in a pipeline and then follow up 6 months later. You're not digging through spreadsheets or your inbox.

I just followed up on a guy I wrote back in August. He never answered. Followed up with him, "Hey, I emailed you back in August, but you were busy..." Got on the phone on Monday and closed him. Now, he's super stoked to work together and LTV will probably be mid-5 figures.

STEP FOUR: Start the follow-up process:
You want to send 4 email follow-ups. Typically, if you reach out quick after they accept your connection request (wait 1-2 days), you'll get a response fast:

Here's the first email example I'll send out.


Response a few minutes later...

Let the connection go through first, wait a day or two, send them this email where you get a bit more to the point on what you do. Then wait. I've gotten dozens of strategy sessions using a script like this. It's all about breadcrumbs.

STEP FIVE: FOLLOW UP LIKE MAD:
To keep this short, you simply just follow up after this. You'll get plenty of people saying "No thanks" and that'll be the end of it. But, you're connected with them on Linkedin, so as your name pops up in their news feed, you'll stay in their heads.

FOLLOW UP #1:
Hi Jack ,
I never heard back, does it make sense to set up a time next week? If not, is there an appropriate person you recommend I have a chat with?

Thanks!!
Much more direct now you want to get on the phone.

Follow Up #2:
Hi Jack,
Hate to be pest, I just never back.
I understand it's all a 'timing' thing as work comes in, so hope to 'time' it correctly, you know?
Curious if you've ever used outside copywriters in the past for some of your marketing materials?
Thanks Jack, hope we talk soon,

This is much more direct and addressing a particular question that they might need help with. In my industry, they use copywriters, so I'm trying to give them an easy 'yes' to push the convo.

Follow Up #3:
Hi Jack,
Haven't heard back. If it doesn't make sense to chat right now, that's okay.
If there's some value I can provide upfront for free to you, I'm happy to do that and do it regularly (such as writing a quick email for you or just coming up with a promo idea --- new angles is my secret sauce...)
If not, I'll close out your file so not to be a pest and you won't get another email.
Hope we connect soon, Jack. Thanks!

You might think it's a pain to send these follow-ups, but they work. This last follow-up nabbed me one of my favorite clients I work with. Don't give up after 1-2 emails. You never know what's going on in their life.

It takes work. As you wheezle into an industry, you can soon skip Linkedin for later and just cold email and say, "Yep, I've worked with X, Y, Z, " and the person you email will know who X, Y, Z are and you get a call.

Have a call in an hour doing exactly this...

 

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[jessicajones]

Thanks for sharing to get client using LinkedIn...

 

[Andy Black]

KEY TO LINKEDIN BELOW:


Above I wrote how I use Linkedin and landed many of my first copy clients. Today, it's much easier to type up cold emails since I am so ingrained in the industry now. Another reason to niche is I can leverage my past clients into my next client. Remember, small business owners don't think 'you understand their particular business.' If you show you do, it's a much easier sale.

Hi Pepsi CEO, I contracted with Coca-Cola for 3 years and helped them do X. We should work together.

Compare that:
Hi Pepsi CEO, I contracted with Toys-R-Us for 3 years and helped them do x. We should work together.

You worked in the industry! You have a leg-up.

THE KEY:

Now, the key to any sales, even Linkedin...follow-up.

STEP ONE: Connect with them on Linkedin after positioning your profile as an expert in their niche.
STEP TWO: Here's where it can get tricky. You used to be able to export all your connections to a CSV file and scrape all your connections' emails. But, they moved that feature and it's buried. So, follow these steps:

1. Click the My Network icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Click Your connections on the left rail.
3. Click Manage synced and imported contacts near the top right of the page.
4. Under Advanced actions on the right rail, click Export contacts.
5. Click Request Archive.
6. You will receive an email to your Primary Email address which will include a link where you can download your list of connections.

STEP THREE: Download Streak Streak - CRM in your Inbox . This does a ton of stuff:
1. You can manage a pipeline
2. For about 200 emails/month, it shows you how many times they've been opened
3. They verify an email address if it's connected to a social network
View attachment 14895 Obviously these weirdos are interested, but not responding yet. The emails probably circulating. I know that because that little "location" icon next to the computer images shows the city,state where the email is being read. Pretty cool .

The beauty of Streak is you can store prospects in a pipeline and then follow up 6 months later. You're not digging through spreadsheets or your inbox.

I just followed up on a guy I wrote back in August. He never answered. Followed up with him, "Hey, I emailed you back in August, but you were busy..." Got on the phone on Monday and closed him. Now, he's super stoked to work together and LTV will probably be mid-5 figures.

STEP FOUR: Start the follow-up process:
You want to send 4 email follow-ups. Typically, if you reach out quick after they accept your connection request (wait 1-2 days), you'll get a response fast:

Here's the first email example I'll send out.
View attachment 14896

Response a few minutes later...
View attachment 14897
Let the connection go through first, wait a day or two, send them this email where you get a bit more to the point on what you do. Then wait. I've gotten dozens of strategy sessions using a script like this. It's all about breadcrumbs.

STEP FIVE: FOLLOW UP LIKE MAD:
To keep this short, you simply just follow up after this. You'll get plenty of people saying "No thanks" and that'll be the end of it. But, you're connected with them on Linkedin, so as your name pops up in their news feed, you'll stay in their heads.

FOLLOW UP #1:
Hi Jack ,
I never heard back, does it make sense to set up a time next week? If not, is there an appropriate person you recommend I have a chat with?

Thanks!!
Much more direct now you want to get on the phone.

Follow Up #2:
Hi Jack,
Hate to be pest, I just never back.
I understand it's all a 'timing' thing as work comes in, so hope to 'time' it correctly, you know?
Curious if you've ever used outside copywriters in the past for some of your marketing materials?
Thanks Jack, hope we talk soon,

This is much more direct and addressing a particular question that they might need help with. In my industry, they use copywriters, so I'm trying to give them an easy 'yes' to push the convo.

Follow Up #3:
Hi Jack,
Haven't heard back. If it doesn't make sense to chat right now, that's okay.
If there's some value I can provide upfront for free to you, I'm happy to do that and do it regularly (such as writing a quick email for you or just coming up with a promo idea --- new angles is my secret sauce...)
If not, I'll close out your file so not to be a pest and you won't get another email.
Hope we connect soon, Jack. Thanks!

You might think it's a pain to send these follow-ups, but they work. This last follow-up nabbed me one of my favorite clients I work with. Don't give up after 1-2 emails. You never know what's going on in their life.

It takes work. As you wheezle into an industry, you can soon skip Linkedin for later and just cold email and say, "Yep, I've worked with X, Y, Z, " and the person you email will know who X, Y, Z are and you get a call.

Have a call in an hour doing exactly this...

This is awesome.

 

[Andy Black]

LinkedIn "Content Marketing" (hate that phrase)

Here's how I'm helping more people with content I create in other sources. (That's better.)

It's stuff I drop into TFLF or Facebook groups anyway, so I could probably post once a day tbh:

 

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[Andy Black]

Updated my title to make it super quick to see what I do, and that I'm for hire.

Also updated the blurb below the profile as it was a bit wishy-washy.

• Hopefully it's punchier now. Could still do with being tightened.
• It doesn't talk about the visitor much and WiiFM... will get round to that.

Why am I updating it?

• I have my LinkedIn profile in my email signature and I sent out an email last night to a prospect.
• If she clicks through to check me out I want it to look like I'm a freelancer rather than an agency owner.
• If she reads the blurb I want her to worry that I'm an expensive freelancer (so if we get to the point where I tell her my actual prices they seem cheap).

 

[Andy Black]

Today I got a note saying I can do videos on LinkedIn. I presume some algorithm is deciding who to grant that to. I've no idea what I've done that triggered it. Wrote a wee update asking people if there's anything they want me to talk about.

I've been posting almost once a day. It's easy to take content from all the places I'm in, polish one, and drop it into all the other places.

I'd consider this a sort of content marketing strategy, and I've already had a few business owners PM me wanting to meet up for a coffee and have a chat.

What's worked better though is scrolling through my feed to find out what people are talking about and then engaging in conversations that are ongoing.

On Monday there was a bit of a debate on a subject and I agreed with one guy trying to defend his viewpoint. I then connected and messaged him to continue he conversation there instead of fuelling the fire in the public LI post.

He asked what I did, I said, then we jumped on an hour long Skype call on Tuesday, which led to a two hour Skype call on Thursday, which has led to some work we're going to do together.

Simple enough really.

 

[Joe Cassandra]

It's funny I got notified about this thread again.

Last night I got a buzz on my phone with this message:



We're going to continue this convo in the coming week. Solid lead!

In the past month I had 2 others send a very similar message...

Get that profile shaped up! I do all my prospecting outbound...but a few inbound leads sprinkled in are pretty sweet!

 

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[mom]

No Thanks. All i come across are B*Sers and dreamers.

 

[Andy Black]

Thu 14-Sep-17

"Who already has your clients?"
(Paraphrasing Jay Abraham)

Who can you create a win-win with?

I'm just off the phone with an agency owner who has 1,000 website clients. He's never offered AdWords to them.

He's excited about offering more value to his clients.

He's excited to get 20% of any recurring revenue I make serving his clients.

He's excited I could use my skills to generate more website clients for him.

Business is about building win-wins.

...

Fri 15-Sep-17

I saw a post on LinkedIn on Monday. It got as heated as it gets for LinkedIn. I agreed with this bloke and replied to his posts saying so.

Then I connected and messaged him on LinkedIn and we took it to Skype.

Initial connection was Monday.

Initial 1 hour Skype call was Tuesday.

Second (2 hour!) Skype call was Thursday.

He says he can't sleep he's so excited about what he can do working with someone like me.

He's already referred someone to me, and has three more next week.

...

LinkedIn is just a channel... so we can connect with people and build relationships and win-wins.

 

[Andy Black]

No Thanks. All i come across are B*Sers and dreamers.

How would you find the ones who aren't B*Sers and dreamers?

 

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[jpanarra]

Loving this thread,

I've already worked on beefing up my LinkedIn profile ever since I graduated from college because my gut told me this is where I need to be to find stable jobs. It has treated me well with 2 connections that led me to 2 employment opporuntieis and it's really now the online resume for busisnesses to really take a look at your background and professional experience.

However, i am making the shift to being more active rather than a pretty page. The interesting thing about me is that my background is two completely different topics. Chemistry and Web development/marketing, This can work for me or against me. Take a look at the web screenshot i took, and the information is full of my chemistry background... I need to figure out how to integrate the web/marketing technical side of things..

 

[BenHeath]

I've been amazed with how ready complete strangers are to connect with you on LinkedIn.

I'm still setting up my profile on LinkedIn at the moment, but I've already learned a fair bit about my industry from complete strangers.

I need to have a consistent LinkedIn strategy, so I'll try out this one Andy and get back to you on this thread.

 

[Andy Black]

I've been amazed with how ready complete strangers are to connect with you on LinkedIn.

I'm still setting up my profile on LinkedIn at the moment, but I've already learned a fair bit about my industry from complete strangers.

I need to have a consistent LinkedIn strategy, so I'll try out this one Andy and get back to you on this thread.

It's a professional network. People want to have as big a professional network as possible. As long as you don't look like you're connecting so you can pitch them, I think most people will accept a connection request.

Once they accept your connection request you could always send a quick note to say thanks for accepting the connection request and then ask a personalised question to show you've read their profile. (I haven't done this to date as I was just connecting with loads of people and letting them see my profile and letting the ones who want AdWords help then reach out to me.)

 

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[Andy Black]

It's early days with content posting but my thoughts on LinkedIn as a client acquisition channel are that:

1) Connecting directly and then messaging people works very well. As an outbound tool it's amazing.

2) Posting articles that get read and build authority is a bit meh. The LinkedIn feed is pretty spammy. While the FB feed can be full of cat memes, the LI feed seems full of "5 Strategies to XYZ" and related cr@p.


I've had a LOT of leads and referrals from forums and Facebook groups, and therein I think lies the difference.

Being part of a small(ish) community of like-minded folk means people can get to know, like, and trust you.

Blasting daily content into a generic news feed just adds to the noise pollution out there I feel.

 

[BenHeath]

Thanks for this, Andy.

I imagine it would be tough to reach out after connecting, especially when someone sees that you're a marketer and would therefore be quite weary of anything you may send them via message.

What sort of language have you had success with to get people to respond to you?

 

[MattR82]

KEY TO LINKEDIN BELOW:


Above I wrote how I use Linkedin and landed many of my first copy clients. Today, it's much easier to type up cold emails since I am so ingrained in the industry now. Another reason to niche is I can leverage my past clients into my next client. Remember, small business owners don't think 'you understand their particular business.' If you show you do, it's a much easier sale.

Hi Pepsi CEO, I contracted with Coca-Cola for 3 years and helped them do X. We should work together.

Compare that:
Hi Pepsi CEO, I contracted with Toys-R-Us for 3 years and helped them do x. We should work together.

You worked in the industry! You have a leg-up.

THE KEY:

Now, the key to any sales, even Linkedin...follow-up.

STEP ONE: Connect with them on Linkedin after positioning your profile as an expert in their niche.
STEP TWO: Here's where it can get tricky. You used to be able to export all your connections to a CSV file and scrape all your connections' emails. But, they moved that feature and it's buried. So, follow these steps:

1. Click the My Network icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Click Your connections on the left rail.
3. Click Manage synced and imported contacts near the top right of the page.
4. Under Advanced actions on the right rail, click Export contacts.
5. Click Request Archive.
6. You will receive an email to your Primary Email address which will include a link where you can download your list of connections.

STEP THREE: Download Streak Streak - CRM in your Inbox . This does a ton of stuff:
1. You can manage a pipeline
2. For about 200 emails/month, it shows you how many times they've been opened
3. They verify an email address if it's connected to a social network
View attachment 14895 Obviously these weirdos are interested, but not responding yet. The emails probably circulating. I know that because that little "location" icon next to the computer images shows the city,state where the email is being read. Pretty cool .

The beauty of Streak is you can store prospects in a pipeline and then follow up 6 months later. You're not digging through spreadsheets or your inbox.

I just followed up on a guy I wrote back in August. He never answered. Followed up with him, "Hey, I emailed you back in August, but you were busy..." Got on the phone on Monday and closed him. Now, he's super stoked to work together and LTV will probably be mid-5 figures.

STEP FOUR: Start the follow-up process:
You want to send 4 email follow-ups. Typically, if you reach out quick after they accept your connection request (wait 1-2 days), you'll get a response fast:

Here's the first email example I'll send out.
View attachment 14896

Response a few minutes later...
View attachment 14897
Let the connection go through first, wait a day or two, send them this email where you get a bit more to the point on what you do. Then wait. I've gotten dozens of strategy sessions using a script like this. It's all about breadcrumbs.

STEP FIVE: FOLLOW UP LIKE MAD:
To keep this short, you simply just follow up after this. You'll get plenty of people saying "No thanks" and that'll be the end of it. But, you're connected with them on Linkedin, so as your name pops up in their news feed, you'll stay in their heads.

FOLLOW UP #1:
Hi Jack ,
I never heard back, does it make sense to set up a time next week? If not, is there an appropriate person you recommend I have a chat with?

Thanks!!
Much more direct now you want to get on the phone.

Follow Up #2:
Hi Jack,
Hate to be pest, I just never back.
I understand it's all a 'timing' thing as work comes in, so hope to 'time' it correctly, you know?
Curious if you've ever used outside copywriters in the past for some of your marketing materials?
Thanks Jack, hope we talk soon,

This is much more direct and addressing a particular question that they might need help with. In my industry, they use copywriters, so I'm trying to give them an easy 'yes' to push the convo.

Follow Up #3:
Hi Jack,
Haven't heard back. If it doesn't make sense to chat right now, that's okay.
If there's some value I can provide upfront for free to you, I'm happy to do that and do it regularly (such as writing a quick email for you or just coming up with a promo idea --- new angles is my secret sauce...)
If not, I'll close out your file so not to be a pest and you won't get another email.
Hope we connect soon, Jack. Thanks!

You might think it's a pain to send these follow-ups, but they work. This last follow-up nabbed me one of my favorite clients I work with. Don't give up after 1-2 emails. You never know what's going on in their life.

It takes work. As you wheezle into an industry, you can soon skip Linkedin for later and just cold email and say, "Yep, I've worked with X, Y, Z, " and the person you email will know who X, Y, Z are and you get a call.

Have a call in an hour doing exactly this...

+1 for streak.

 

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[MattR82]

A friend of mine did a presentation on LinkedIn marketing this year at a coworking space.I was blown away by it. Completely free, just put in ten mins a day. Pretty much as said above. Niche down, establish yourself as an expert, reach out, give out free value, join groups, build your own. That's a simplified version obviously. He has hundreds of thousands of connections now and does very well with it.

 

[Andy Black]

A friend of mine did a presentation on LinkedIn marketing this year at a coworking space.I was blown away by it. Completely free, just put in ten mins a day. Pretty much as said above. Niche down, establish yourself as an expert, reach out, give out free value, join groups, build your own. That's a simplified version obviously. He has hundreds of thousands of connections now and does very well with it.

I think there's a cap of 30k connections. So he has hundreds of thousands of followers? Amazing. If you can't monetise that kind of following you're a bit of a dope.

When you say he joins groups, do you mean LinkedIn groups? I thought they were DOA?

 

[MattR82]

I will have to double check now! But I'm sure that's what I heard?!

I have actually just convinced him to read the book and join the forum so hopefully soon he can clear it up personally and make me look like a fool for my above comment lol.

So there are no LinkedIn groups anymore? Is that what you mean by DOA?

And yes, must be followers sorry. I can pm you his LinkedIn profile if you are interested.

Edit: just checked. I'm way off on the followers. He has thousands, not hundreds of thousands. Think I confused that stat with his YT views! Fact check, lesson learned..
Regardless, He does quite well with acquiring business through linkedin.

 

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[Andy Black]

Thanks for this, Andy.

I imagine it would be tough to reach out after connecting, especially when someone sees that you're a marketer and would therefore be quite weary of anything you may send them via message.

What sort of language have you had success with to get people to respond to you?

I don't reach out as a marketer. I reach out as a person who liked and agreed with their comments.

It wasn't intentional actually.

Last week someone on LinkedIn complained about free websites, and how it was lowering standards and unethical.

Someone else replied saying it doesn't have to do either and can serve small businesses who don't have a fee K to drop. I agreed with the other guy and we both ended up bowing out of the thread. I then took it up on LI messaging to continue the convo without adding fuel to the fire in the LI thread.

Two Skype calls later and we're working out how to JV together.

 

[laurenaria10]

I love LinkedIn. I like its simplicity. I like that this is everything and all the professionals. I also like that you can use it to attract customers, because almost half of its user base are C-level executives and key decision makers.

I realized how powerful LinkedIn is to use other databases, such as Google, InfoUSA, SalesGenie and data.com. I always went back to LinkedIn and because of that:

My prospects are there (and not necessarily on Facebook or Twitter)
Participants constantly update their profiles, so the information is accurate, unlike other databases where information is often outdated
It is very easy to execute and save search queries
My approach consisted of direct contact with marketing managers and CEOs.