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Linking Who You Know into Trusted Business Relationships, New Business & Referrals
Taking advantage of business networking sites where people congregate and affiliate based on trusted networks. It‘s the Kevin Bacon parlor game played out on the web and one each of your sales reps should be playing.
Strategy
The six degrees of separation theory has it that every actor and actress can be connected to actor Kevin Bacon in six steps or less. This theory has been put into action by LinkedIn. Backed by people like Marc Andreessen and VCs Sequoia Capital and Greylock, LinkedIn now boasts an online database approaching 12 million* with more than one-half of its members outside the USA.
Assignments
You:As with other business networks, your relational capital should be used with a degree of caution. I say this because LinkedIn makes it so easy to network to other people and to invite others into your own network, that it could be abused. Please don’t spoil this tool for the rest of us.
Once you become a member, you’ll be able to upload your contacts and see how they’re connected to businesses and other people you want to know. The upload process is a cinch, especially if you have your contact database stored in Outlook. A simple e-mail from inside LinkedIn facilitates your request for introduction.
In each of my workshops I never fail to mention LinkedIn. Here’s what I tell them to do:
- Get everyone in your company on LinkedIn and make sure each person invites the others into their network.
- Encourage your entire staff—especially your sales reps—to devote time each week to invite customers and prospects into their networks. This will create connecting points between you and your customers.
- Do the same with your vendors.
- Be purposeful about answering questions posted on LinkedIn (a new feature added in 2007). The more your answer is chosen as the best answer by the person posing the question, the more well regarded you and your team will be perceived.
- Have your sales reps ask all of your former clients and current clients to endorse the work of key members of your company. Since everyone in your company is in Linkedin, you’ve made the endorsement process easier.
- In kind, offer to endorse the work of your vendors and partners. What goes around comes around.
- Within a few months, your immediate network should easily have more than 100 contacts and the number of people who are two degrees away from you should be approaching 40,000. Now you have enough contacts to use LinkedIn as a powerful networking tool.
- Start with your Top 25 target accounts and search LinkedIn. Unless you haven’t been diligent in managing your network, you will be able to identify key contacts at 50 percent of these accounts. Then it’s a matter of getting introductions, which shouldn’t be too difficult for your crack sales team.
Coaching Points
- Remember your etiquette and manners. Take care when you ask to be introduced to someone else’s contact. Your request should fully explain why you need be put in contact with this person.
- Conversely, when someone requests an introduction into your network, pass the request along with an explanation. This little bit of screening is appreciated by all of us.
- When you build your online profile, be sure to list past employers and education. These all become key word search phrases.
- Be open to others’ requests. It’s a terrific way to build your own network. In fact, let me invite you to reach out to me from within LinkedIn. Become a LinkedIn member and send me an invitation to join your network.
Costs
- Basic membership is at no cost.
- Paid memberships range between $19.95 and $200 and include priority customer service and the option of sending additional invitations and contacting members directly without the necessity of being introduced by someone who knows you.
