James Potter — November 23, 2016 Follow @thelinkedinmanIf you are reading this, and have a LinkedIn profile, you may be wondering why you haven’t had an influx of new business. Isn’t that surely the point of LinkedIn? Shouldn’t you be able to generate more leads, new sales, connect with more of the right people, and solve business problems? Yes, you should.
Having trained literally thousands of business people on the use of LinkedIn, I can share two pearls of wisdom. First, LinkedIn can help people achieve very positive business outcomes. Of course, that depends on what your objectives are, but in many cases the results can be six, seven or eight figures in value. Second, while the platform itself is important, the results you achieve will be in direct proportion to the effort and energy you invest into LinkedIn.
Speaking to Forbes, LinkedIn CEO, Jeff Weiner noted that, “Our professional audience by composition is one of the most affluent, most influential and best educated on the consumer web.” Being an active member of this audience can unlock doors and new opportunities at a level many would be surprised about. But the rewards don’t just present themselves uninvited.
So where might you be going wrong?
Firstly, LinkedIn works best when you connect with the right people (see my blog LinkedIn works best when you connect with the right people).
Secondly, make sure your profile is working for you. Have a clear strategy in place to create and maintain your profile as this will make a huge difference.
Thirdly, don’t forget that LinkedIn has a wide range of rich content providers integrated with the platform that can be beneficial to you, including embedding YouTube videos into your status updates, connecting WordPress blogs (if you use WordPress) directly into your LinkedIn profile, and using SlideShare.
When it comes to attracting new clients on LinkedIn it comes down to the three factors I’ve outlined above. Connecting with the right people, both at first level (people you truly know) and using these to reach second level (people who look like clients!). Investing in getting the core elements of you profile right. And finally, spending time talking to people and integrating in the extras – the “bells and whistles” of LinkedIn for increased impact.
Do these things well, and you are much more likely to get the results you are looking for.
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