The wonderful thing about being connected to wonderful people is that they introduce me to wonderful people, who introduce me to other wonderful people. Two networking referral iterations from last week’s guest blogger Scott Mason, and early in one Zoom call, I “Vulcan mind-melded” with sales expert and optimistic encourager Nate Peo. We quickly concluded we share the same credos, learned in life the hard way: the power of freely giving of yourself, and that it’s better to give than receive. We have more to explore together: I will be on his podcast, and here he is on my blog, for you to learn from his sage sales and marketing advice, and a LinkedIn twist. Thanks, Nate!
How to stop wasting time on LinkedIn
Everybody has most likely told you that LinkedIn is the place you need to be. The experts have spoken and they’re decreeing that to be successful; you need to be networking. They’ve also decreed you need to be active on social media if you’re going to grow your business… But you’ve been on LinkedIn and you haven’t seen any of your customers or clients posting. So instead of posting yourself, you end up scrolling through the feeds a few times a week, maybe liking an interesting article, but not really do anything – you got to stop wasting time on LinkedIn.
Hold on for a second, I don’t mean what you think I mean – social media cleanse, get off LinkedIn and don’t even bother. What you need to do is get active, post engaging content, start liking some people’s posts, send some connection requests, make a few comments on their posts, and start commenting on their comments.
Why do you ask?
None of my customers were on LinkedIn – Now my clients are on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a blue ocean. The algorithm gods haven’t complicated this platform just yet… This is a chance to grab some prime networking real estate.
None of your customers are on there? Good!
Now you can be seen, build a solid network, and create an experience for new potential customers to enter.
None of your clients are on there? That’s where you’re wrong.
Most people have a LinkedIn account and if they have a LinkedIn account, they’re doing just what you’re doing – they’re logging on and lurking and scrolling through the feed. The potential to hook new clients is unlimited.
The difference between you and them is they’re not liking, commenting, and not posting, so it just looks like they’re invisible, but they’re there and they’re watching.
How do I know? I’ve been told many times in person, by people that have never liked my posts, never commented on my posts, and never post themselves, that they see my post every day and they like what I’m doing.
We can conclude that the chances are, your customers are doing this same thing. Now, if they’re on there looking, that means you can get your profile in front of them and you better be posting some valuable content.
Let’s define ‘Valuable content.’ Valuable content isn’t ‘Hey, look at my business and how awesome it is and how much it’s gonna change your life!’ No, not at all… Value on LinkedIn is solving problems.
The problems you want to be looking out for and solve are not ‘How can you as a person can become my customer’ no, they have other problems. These problems proceed the problem your business solves. Solve the problems in the way first – this is where you provide the value.
You answer the questions they are asking and provide information that they can find useful. To be clear, it’s not ‘Hey look at this shiny object,’ instead, it’s ‘Hey let me explain to you this shiny object, what it does, why it’s beneficial to you.’ You could also provide insight into who you are as a company and the heart and soul behind what you do.
The goal is to post valuable content daily. When you post valuable content daily, you’re going to start getting in front of potential customers and grabbing valuable digital real estate. This will also help more people discover you and your business, which will in turn give you more opportunities and create more inbound leads.
In conclusion, if you’re on LinkedIn scrolling aimlessly, not taking part in the conversation, you’re wasting your time. Meanwhile, there’s a good chance your competition will seize this opportunity, sneak in and will be the ones that are going to land grab. Please, I’m begging you, do yourself a favor and get out there. Be bold because, as we all know, Fortune favors the bold.
______________________________________________________
Nate Peo is the Chief Relationship Officer of Procurvia Consulting Firm and THE Residential Purchasing Expert. Prior to founding Procurvia, he served as VP of Purchasing and Construction for a successful California-based real estate company.
Nate holds an M.B.A. in Business Administration from Pepperdine University and a B.S. in Construction Management from the University of Nebraska.
In his personal life, he is a proud dad, loving husband and motivated fitness enthusiast. Get connected with Nate at www.natepeo.com or linkedin.com/in/natepeo/.
