LinkedIn can be a great tool for prospecting, but only if you invest time and resources in knowing what it's really capable of, then actually taking time to utilize it on a regular basis.
A client was recently on LinkedIn, and saw someone had looked at his LinkedIn profile. He then took five seconds to send a message to that individual.
He said, "I saw you looked at my profile. I don't know what you're looking for, but it may be worth us spending some time to get together."
The person messaged him back, "Please call me."
My client called him back, ended up meeting with him, and in less than a week after seeing him on LinkedIn was working on a a deal worth thousands.
Before receiving that notification on LinkedIn, my client didn't even know the other guy's company existed!
Just five seconds on LinkedIn resulted in a great deal!
Of course, it took some guts. Many people don't utilize that feature on LinkedIn. And even if they know about it, they don't typically message the people that look at their profile!
He also had to be aware of that feature of LinkedIn. He knew that LinkedIn was beneficial, but had also attended our Maximize LinkedIn class, where we go over many of the capabilities of LinkedIn as they relate to sales.
Had he not been willing to invest time and money in educating himself, he never would have known about that feature of LinkedIn.
Look for opportunities to educate yourself on the tools you can use, including LinkedIn. Then once you've learned what they can do, block out time on your calendar to actually use them.
