What’s your approach to lead generation? Do you play the numbers game and go for the shortest and straightest line to a lead, or would you rather build a strong network of long-term relationships and pick up new leads along the way? LinkedIn enjoys global recognition as a networker’s heaven, but it can equally cater for both approaches to generating new leads.
There are many ways to get closer to prospects you may find on LinkedIn, some more effective than others. Here are nine nifty tips on how to achieve this from Yannis Marcou, founder and creative director at Skyron.
1. Go direct
LinkedIn offers a number of ways to contact people who are not connected to you, although each has some limitations (to discourage aggressive sales hunters).
Send InMail: There are a limited number of InMails you can send, but you have the option to purchase more.
Send a message: Some people have this feature switched off, so it is not always available.
Send invitation to connect: You have a 300-character limit for your message.
Making direct pitches does not exactly follow LinkedIn’s etiquette, but if your pitch is truly irresistible it will yield results.
2. Get introduced
Use the advanced people search tool to compile an initial list of prospects. Searches can be saved and you will be alerted when new people match your criteria.
You can approach second and third-degree contacts via a common connection. Click on ‘Get introduced through a connection’ and write two messages, one to your connection and one to your target prospect. This approach is much closer to the LinkedIn way of doing business, albeit not the most time-efficient one.
3. Look for contact details
The last box on people’s profiles is called ‘Contact settings’. Some people populate the space with their full contact details, such as emails, numbers, IM/Skype details, etc just like an email signature. You might find that people who do this tend to be consultants addicted to online business networking with 500-plus connections and an unnaturally high number of recommendations. Marketing directors of medium to large enterprises tend to avoid putting their full contact details on public display, but despite the slim chances, it is always worth a quick check.
4. Attend events
The LinkedIn events application is an excellent way to book your space and share your attendance with others. Scan people’s profiles for event attendance and you will discover exactly where and when you will find them to start a conversation.
5. Extend your search
If contacting someone via LinkedIn proves difficult, you can extend your search to other online resources. The individual’s LinkedIn profile has already provided you with enough information to search for their contact details on search engines, their company’s website, their Twitter profile, Plaxo or on other industry portals.
6. Engage with groups
Groups are where a lot of the networking action is and where you can witness your prospect’s involvement, and engage in valuable conversations with them. Your search results list will show you who belongs to the same groups as you, so this can be your starting point. You can also scan all the other profiles and join the groups these people belong to.
7. Use Q&As
Scan each person’s profile and find out who has asked or answered questions using LinkedIn’s ‘answers’ function. Not only can you learn more about the prospect’s interests, challenges and level of engagement on LinkedIn, but you can also answer their recent questions to make your self visible.
8. Sync Twitter with LinkedIn
LinkedIn just expanded its integration with Twitter, so that not only can you sync your LinkedIn update with Twitter and vice versa, but now you can also follow the Twitter feeds of all your connections from within LinkedIn. Go directly to Twitter and follow everyone on your list who tweets and you are not connected to on LinkedIn. This is a great touch point that allows you to kick-start valuable conversations.
9. Don’t forget blogs and RSS
Blogs are great touch points. They are thoughts directly from your prospect so you get a clear insight on their business engagements, thought leadership and personal interests. Blogs are also natural conversation starters and will allow you to add value by commenting on posts. Use LinkedIn’s ‘blog link’ application to view all your connections’ posts on a single page.
Change your settings so that LinkedIn generates an RSS feed with all your network updates and use your RSS reader to stay constantly updated.
The actions above will be time consuming and results might take weeks or months to appear. If you market a low-cost, low-consideration product to a broad audience, you are better off with other ways of mass marketing. But if you market a niche product or service to a small audience, then LinkedIn is a powerful tool that will help you connect and, more importantly, stay connected.
