- Hey hey guys!
In this video we're gonna to tell
how to find prospects on LinkedIn
without being Spammy McSpammerson.
- Let's do this!
- Ah LinkedIn!
We love you.
The yo-yo of social media,
which one second can be really boring
and the next really cool and then really boring
and really cool.
But no matter whether it is currently boring
or currently cool, there will always be one constant.
- You mean connection requests from strangers
and then followed by spammy messages
asking you to buy something?
- Yeah.
So instead of being that person,
here's a five step process for finding potential customers
on LinkedIn without being a slimy douche.
- Number one, let's set some boundaries.
Who do you actually want to work with?
The majority of spam messages on LinkedIn are spammy
and you can absolutely tell that they're spammy
simply because they're just copied and pasted
and they're more generic than generic Mr. Genericson.
- So let's set yourself some boundaries.
Who do you want to work with?
Are they in a particular industry
or work for a particular business or in a particular role
or even all of the above.
Remember, guys, the riches are in the,
nah, can't say it.
- Niches.
- No I can't say it. - Niches.
- No, don't do it. - Niches.
- There we go.
- Number two, professional stalking or, to be not so creepy,
let's use LinkedIn's terminology, following.
- Still pretty creepy, though,
if you think about it.
- Following.
Use this fancy little Follow button
before you drop a connection request.
This way you can start to see that person's content
and engage with it.
You may even want to create
a little stalking spreadsheet folder
with the links to all their profiles
as a reminder.
Other columns in that spreadsheet could include shoe size,
favourite flowers, and how likely
they are to date you or not.
- Moving on, number three is
to drop that connection request.
Like it is hot.
Once you have had some interaction with them,
once you've warmed them up, you may feel like,
now it is time to drop that connection request
and connect properly on LinkedIn.
They may even do this first
so high fives and fist bumps all around
if that is the case.
- Make sure you personalise your connection request
if you really want to make an impression,
said every single LinkedIn marketing expert ever,
but it's really true
and then you can start conversations in the DMs.
- Top tip from our friend Jo Saunders,
if someone does disobey the unwritten rules of LinkedIn
by sending an un-personalised connection request,
don't hate them, just scold them privately
and use it as an excuse to start the conversation yourself.
Simply thank them for the request
and ask them why they wanted to connect with you
in the first place since they didn't have the decency
to tell you.
- Who's this?
Number four, or technically this could be number one
or it could just be a sole new list
and a whole new point in itself,
because really you should be doing this
alongside point number one to three
or maybe just for an easy life,
we could just call it number four.
- Let's do that.
- Create content for your potential customers
that makes them feel either happier
or smarter in either your LinkedIn posts--
- Which includes video now and we've got a video
on our channel all about that.
Go check it out.
- Oh yeah or in LinkedIn Publisher, too.
- If your name is Bob, you want people to say,
oh yeah, Bob, he really knows his stuff.
The stuff he shares on LinkedIn is really, really useful
to me and if Bob ever reaches out,
I'm gonna actually give him the time of day,
because I see Bob as a really valuable part
of my LinkedIn community and really, deep down secretly,
I think I'm a little bit in love with Bob.
- And if your name isn't Bob,
just skip to point number five.
- Number five is move your face off LinkedIn.
Once that relationship is built, now you can reveal
to all those people that
that relationship was just completely fake
and you were just doing all of that stuff
so you could sell to them--
- Hang on, hang on, hang on.
- Yeah, what?
- I am, I edited that bit for you, just.
- Oh, I see it. - Yeah.
- Alright, okay.
Once your relationship is built on LinkedIn,
then maybe now is the time to move it off LinkedIn.
You could maybe drop them an email
or ask for a phone call just to see if there's any way
that you two could potentially work together.
I feel like the first one sounded better.
- So basically you have two options to prospect on LinkedIn.
The first is to take your chances
at annoying half the LinkedIn population
and sending them spammy LinkedIn requests and sales messages
until it makes us want to kick you in the face.
- Or other body parts.
- Yes.
- Like the ear lobes.
- That's what I was thinking.
Or two, actually build up an audience of potential customers
and potential referrers and that's gonna be much better
in the longterm.
- Let us know in the comments whether you're gonna be
in camp number one or camp number two
and, whilst you're down there,
you might as well hit that big, red, shiny Subscribe button
for more Marketing-Unboringed every single week.
- He's been Andrew.
- He's been Pete.
Go on, say it, go on.
- Really? - Go on.
- See you same time next time.
- Yes, see you same time next time!
It's catching on.
I can feel it. - It's not catching it on.
- I can feel it. - It's not catching.
(upbeat music)