Linking In With LinkedIN For Your Business
I really like LinkedIN as a social network. There are many opportunities for business people to get their foot in the door by using this service. While they have a paid service, you can 'test the waters' with their basic level. The premium service offers additional benefits. While LinkedIN is often used as a service for salesmen to get their foot in the door with potential clients, it is undervalued by the rest of us in other aspects of business. That's why I've put this list together for you to build your own business relationships (no matter what business you are in) and put LinkedIN to work for you.
GETTING YOUR NAME ON PEOPLE'S LIPS
When you are trying to build your business you often have to rely on word-of-mouth marketing. The best way to get someone talking about you is pretty simple: Introduce them to someone else you know. Suddenly, you become the common denominator between both parties and they are now thinking about you. While you can do this in the "real world", this form of networking is often easier when you have a list of people in front of you. I often talk to clients about looking for 'naturally existing economic relationships' (N.E.E.R.S.). By looking at the people you already know, you can start in motion potential business for all parties involved.
If you are serious about using LinkedIN to help your business succeed, download this book by Judy Cullins. It is a great price and you'll make your money back from the first person you make a sale to. How can your business NOT afford to get involved? CLICK HERE and buy this book today!
ASKING FOR EXPERT DEVICE
As anyone in business can tell you, you can't know everything. There isn't enough time during the day to read up on everything you need to know about your accounting, marketing, industry news, and customer service. One of the largest benefits of LinkedIN, in my opinion, is the ability to join groups and ask questions. Of course, this is a two-way street. If you are going to ask questions, you need to respond to other people's pleas for help. Join in on the discussions! It only takes about a half hour a day to jump in and answer some questions and participate in discussions.
LEARNING ABOUT SOMEONE YOUR MEETING WITH
When you are going to meet with a new client, information can give you a serious edge on making them a customer. Send an invitation, join similar groups and take a look at their education, company history and goals. Knowing that the person you are meeting with went to the same school, belonged to the same fraternity, or if you both like the same professional football team. A little information can put you one step higher in making a contact into a customer and making a customer into an advocate for your business.
IDENTIFYING THE STABILITY OF A COMPANY
Do you want to find out the quality of a company you are going to work with? Do an advanced search on the company and uncheck the "Current Companies Only" box. This will give you an idea of the turnover rate with your client. If they have tons of people who had a job there, then were gone after a year, you might want to ask yourself 'Why is this?' You can also use LinkedIN when trying to identify the stability of the whole market of a business you are considering. Looking around and finding that the Amish Furniture store you want to start (that also sells electronic equipment) might not be the best use of your money. LinkedIN can give you a market and industry edge!
BUILD YOUR EXPOSURE ONLINE AND OFF
This is probably the most important aspect of LinkedIN for me. It's getting your name out. While using LinkedIN won't help you get backlinks to your web site (they are no-follows), it will expose your company to many people that might be interested in your services. Not a month goes by that someone doesn't contact me through LinkedIN to do some work for their company. Often times it happens 2-3 times a month. They don't always lead to a new job, but my company is being noticed. When you go onto your LinkedIN profile and see that 200 people have looked at it in the past 15 days and your phone has been ringing, it is a good feeling. How do I do it? Participation. It's a social network and to succeed within this domain, you can't stand on the sidelines. You have to dive in and communicate. I hope these ideas help you in your own business. If you are interested in finding out more about me or my company, feel free to send me a request through LinkedIN. (http://tinyurl.com/fowler-james)
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[...] business. Find out more information on what LinkedIN can do for you on our blog site, myFiveBest: http://myfivebest.com/linking-in-with-linkedin-for-your-business/ about the [...]
the article is really good, its a good start for beginners.
[...] is becoming a power partner. I have talked about these in the past with a concept called N.E.E.R.s (Naturally Existing Economic Relationships). It is a way for people who have similar, but not exact businesses, to push business towards the [...]
[...] is becoming a power partner. I have talked about these in the past with a concept called N.E.E.R.s (Naturally Existing Economic Relationships). It is a way for people who have similar, but not exact businesses, to push business towards the [...]
[...] is becoming a power partner. I have talked about these in the past with a concept called N.E.E.R.s (Naturally Existing Economic Relationships). It is a way for people who have similar, but not exact businesses, to push business towards the [...]