Networking for Sales - Part Two

Last week I promised to discuss ways to warm up a cold call. One of the first recommendations I have is to use LinkedIn. I love LinkedIn for business calls because most people are on LinkedIn for business connections! In other words, they are not necessarily going to be turned off by you connecting with them around business, although there is a right way to connect using social media platforms. (We'll have another conversation solely on how to make those connections in an authentic professional way that makes you stand out as an expert in your industry rather than come across as a sleazy salesperson.)

I’d like to suggest interacting in a LinkedIn group discussion and then bring them offline by inviting them into a different conversation! Let's say they mention something specific in one of their posts or in the LinkedIn group and you, by some chance, have written about that. Maybe you have a podcast episode where one of your guests spoke about that particular topic, there’s your chance to say, hey!... I heard you mentioned this, I know this is of interest to you, here is some information that might be helpful for you.

It's a great way to provide a valuable gift instead of trying to just reach out and do that icky weird thing by jumping in someone's inbox uninvited. STOP. DOING. THAT. Don't jump in peoples’ inboxes with no value and only the intention to sell them. That is the quickest way to turn a potential client or connection off.

I love doing this next one. I call them Expert Roundtables, they're not held on LinkedIn but, I find people on LinkedIn and extend the invitation. These roundtables are virtual face-to-face conversations that are going to be valuable for the invited person. The goal is to find people who have a complementary business and introduce them to each other. This is a great way to get people into your space and to create these great connections. Again, these are ways to warm up your connection. What better way to invite someone or to get someone in more of a warm call environment than to give them what they need, which is a potential new client and new connection that's going to complement their business or be a potential customer for them.

Did you know the thing that people love to hear most is their own name? Another way of connecting by “saying their name” is to show interest in something that connects with you. So comment on their blog, right? Jump into the comments and add a value comment. It's not enough just to say, that was great or I like that. I mean, really talk about why this stood out to you, why this was important to you, what did it add to your business, so that they see that their own blog or post has added value for you! Again, if you're going to do an InMail, if you're going to get into their inbox, you want to make sure that's something relevant, something of value, something that's going to cause them to say, yes, I want more of that or, yes, I'd love to talk to you. You want to make sure that it's going to be relatable for them. If you're not positive, stay out of the inbox. Don't jump in if you can't provide something that is of value to them.