You may already have your LinkedIN profile set up, but are you maximizing its potential when it comes to identifying warm leads for your business?
If the idea of cold-calling leaves you, well, cold, then why not use your LinkedIN contacts to warm things up a bit? In today’s post, we show you step-by-step exactly how.
Step One – Search
Go to the search bar on the top right hand corner of your LinkedIN profile and enter a search term for the area you are interested in. I’ve chosen to search for “social media”.
Step 2 Refine Search
Now I refine my search – in this case, to Ireland.
Scrolling down through this list, some of these people I am already connected to (1st connections) but I want to refine my search further to 2nd connections.
I can continue to further refine my selection, by choosing to narrow my search to location or industry until I find exactly which area or people I am looking to connect with. When I am happy with my selection, I can see who our shared connections are and I can then ask one of them if they’d be willing to make an introduction.
Step 3 – Get Introduced
In this case I have chosen to get introduced to Fiona Ashe and I have 11 of my 1st connections who can do that for me. Now it’s just a matter of choosing which of these 11 I think would be the best person to effect that introduction.
Now some of you might think why not just click the “add to network button”? And yes, you can try this, but that is the more scatter gun approach to making connections. Think about how much more effective your approach will be with a personal introduction and how it can help you identify warm leads for your prospecting. It allows you to “sound” out your first connections on the best approach to make to your prospect and to gather some first hand knowledge of whether they are in the market for just what you are offering.
Now for an example of how this would work for our own business, Write on Track, which provides a ghost blogging service to SMEs and those who wish to get started with blogging. Say we come across a new start-up with their shiny new website but no blog. We know a blog would greatly enhance their ability to promote their new product or service, drive sales to their online store, and help raise their profile. We would like to approach them and offer our services, and by using the method we’ve outlined above, we can ask one of our previous clients on LinkedIN, to make that introduction and recommend our services.
We all prefer to do business with someone who comes personally recommended. So, why not try this method for yourself and see if this is one way you can warm up those cold calls when approaching your prospects and do let us know how you get on!
Marie Ennis-O’Connor BA, MIAPR, holds an Honours degree in History from University College Dublin. She is a graduate of the Irish Academy of Public Relations and has worked in a variety of PR roles over the past 12 years. Marie is editor of several award-winning blogs ranging from life sciences to health to business. She is a panel member of the newly established Bloggers International and is a regular contributor to Health Works Collective, an online community for thought leaders in international healthcare. She is a featured blogger on Webicina, an online service that provides curated medical social media resources in over 80 medical topics and over 17 languages, and has been awarded a top blogger accolade by Empowered Doctor.com and most inspiring writer by WegoHealth. Marie is also in demand as a trainer in social media marketing and travels the country teaching small business owners how to get online and maximise their online presence.
