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Profit Success Using LinkedIn – Actions You can Replicate

Written by: Merra Lee Moffitt

Article Overview: LinkedIn is networking virtual style. But will it help you find and get new clients. See the latest research.

Profit Success Using LinkedIn – Actions You can Replicate

If you are searching for techniques that you can replicate to get business from LinkedIn, here are some success examples I found along with their specific tips from small business owners already experiencing profitable results using LinkedIn. I’m not talking about getting a job, although I did find numerous examples there too. These examples and the hints & tips they include are all people who’ve stated that they successfully got projects and sales using LinkedIn.

“I’ve made millions of dollars through LinkedIn” states Jeff Ragovin, Buddy Media. He says it’s important to find the right person at a company. For Jeff, doing just that has netted his company “over two to three million dollars”. By reaching out to the right person with a valuable proposal. Jeff says they’re more inclined to reply when approached via LinkedIn, because “they already have the opportunity to look you up … and maybe even see in your network where you have 14 recommendations. So there’s trust.”

Xurxo Vidal indicates in his comment on the above post, “I’ve found that participating in LinkedIn Answers by answering questions in my field of expertise has allowed me to help others while showcasing my knowledge of search marketing in front of a wider audience. This one activity alone has provided me with tremendous results by allowing me to connect with interesting people and by directly bringing in new contracts.”

Steven Shimek (Ruder Finn), used LinkedIn to build client relationships by following up over 20 leads that led to business worth over a quarter of a million dollars! He says, “people like to help people by human nature and they want to see their friends and associates get up to the next level”. He uses LinkedIn as a litmus test to qualify leads for his business development practice and explains his philosophy of in a video. “LinkedIn isn’t just about networking. It’s about your friends, clients, and associates being a resource to you. I like helping people because they’ve all helped me!” He is also a strong believer in Answers. He says to answer questions in a ways that shares and showcases your company’s skills. See
http://blog.linkedin.com/category/users/. Ron Lissak talks about LinkedIn as a research tool and its ability to unearth hidden connections through the power of common contacts. He claims over $300L in business through LinkedIn.

Although many of the stories came from blogs and members at LinkedIn, there are lots of other examples found elsewhere.

Tim Hayden, President of Game Plan Marketing & Events In the past two months, used three to identify more than 20 new business leads -and converted two to clients!

1. Focus on connecting. Anytime you receive a business card, search for that person on LinkedIn. Because you have their email, you can send them an invitation to connect. Do it right away so they’ll remember you.

2. Increase your visibility. Don’t simply add people to your network. Ask or answer questions on LinkedIn. Make sure your public profile is complete. But most of all, recommend people in your network and ask them to recommend YOU!

3. Make LinkedIn your homepage. Whenever I open my browser, I can immediately review my “LinkedIn Home Page” which shows what others in my network are doing and who they’re connecting with.

If you consider that LinkedIn can increase traffic to your Website, then Geraldine Roy says, “yes, it can increase your sales.” For small businesses, Google Ad key words and SEO can be a bit of a long shot. Social media is an interesting approach for businesses that have limited resources. We track the origin of visitors to our website and found out that 15-20% come from LinkedIn. Again, that’s small business perspective but I’d say for B2B where most of the business comes from referrals, LinkedIn definitely has a play.

Attorneys are getting LinkedIn to clients online. Thomas N. Shorter, a shareholder in the Madison office of Godfrey & Kahn S.C., says he has LinkedIn set as his homepage. Every time one of his 200 or so connections adds a connection, he is notified of that. If the new connection is someone that Shorter would like to know professionally, he telephones his connection and asks him or her to make an introduction. This has happened a number of times since joining LinkedIn in February, and he’s garnered a number of new cases and clients via this method.

BizBox contributors Peter Montoya and Tim Vandehey state “if you are in the right industry and you are a savvy user and network, then absolutely yes [LinkedIn can help you build your business and cultivate your personal brand.]

Josh Morgan of “Don’t Eat The Shrimp” told the story of his success in Using LinkedIn as a Small Business Owner. Basically, someone posted to LinkedIn asking for suggestions for a Bay Area PR agency with a special background in education; Morgan humbly put forth his own business; and–whaddya know!–soon enough he had himself a new client.

Josh Morgan, recommends that you check out the “Answers,” section of LinkedIn. This is a forum for people to ask questions. He cites a question that he answered of someone looking for a PR firm in the San Francisco area, which by answering in a professional and helpful manner he ultimately won the business.
A LinkedIn member, Zale Tabakman claims success: “With sites like linkedin and Facebook, I get more business than I ever did with traditional print advertising.” His Blog and video, Seven Ways To Generate Revenue On LinkedIn, will help take you to the next step. He advises to use LinkedIn to create useful 1-to-1 relationships with people. Don’t focus on the 30 million or even your own large network of thousands. Think about getting to the right contact in a meaningful way.

One example he provides is to find 15 people to fill a seminar. Using Profiles he identifies 60 people who fit the profile of his target audience and reasons why they would want to attend. Then he uses his network to get introduced to them so he can invite them personally. Wow! Several articles mentioned an A-hah! moment where they clicked about how to use LinkedIn to grow their businesses.

So to summarize, here’s the top 5 things recommended by those already getting business:

1. Add people you’ve just met and invite them via email to LinkedIn immediately after you’ve gotten their business card.

2. Make recommendations to people you like working with now or in the past.

3. Find people who fit your profile for sales you want to make and ask for introductions from people in your network.

4. Research the profiles of people and companies you think you’d like to do business with so you can identify why they need what you offer.

5. Answer questions in your field of expertise so people will come to view you as an expert.

Related Articles
  Legal Marketing: More LinkedIn questions and answers
  Leverage Social Media - LinkedIn Strategies
  Legal Marketing: LinkedIn's professional growth
  Part IV: Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales?
  The Truth About LinkedIn That You Might Not Want to Hear

Article Tags: answering questions, audience, business development, business worth, client relationships, contracts, getting a job, human nature, jeff ragovin, linkedin, litmus test, marketing, million dollars, next level, philosophy, profitable results, proposal, ruder finn, shimek, small business owners



Related Forum Posts
Re: On Which Social Media Sites Are You Most Active? - I'd be curious to hear how you guys use LinkedIn. I have close to 3,000 connections and never use it. I've been told the secret is to use groups (which I don't) so I'd love to hear how you guys are benefiting from LinkedIn.
Re: Twiiter an sales - [quote="soldlab":1ycb8vnm]I guess though LinkedIn is better for actual leag generation and personal contacts. What do you think?[/quote:1ycb8vnm] I've had a lot more success (thus far) with Twitter than LinkedIn or Facebook.
Re: Social Media Effectively? - Personally, I use social media to build my company brand in order to get awareness of the various franchises I work with. I am active on LinkedIn and Twitter (@DougSchadle), always posting information about the franchise opportunities I work with. I have started discussions and basically just try to get the word out there. Also, I turned one of my clients to social media as well. I work with Doctors Express, the first national urgent care franchise, expanding their franchise base. They are quickly spreading throughout the country and I told the founder to jump on to Twitter and LinkedIn as well. He just started a few weeks ago (Twitter handle @Doctors_Express) and tells me he is loving it. He is posting different medical issues he sees and is tweeting about Doctors Express. He is joining medical groups on LinkedIn and trying to connect to other doctors. So in short, I do think franchises can be very successful with social media, they just have to put in the time to do it.
Which kind of industries are you interested in? - Ecological or E-business or Investment or Finance or Management or Non-Profit or Retailer or others.
More Profit Women! - I really enjoyed the stories of Lisa Shepherd and Julie Mitchell - More Profit women CEOs would be great!


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