How to Harness Your LinkedIn Network to Find Quality Leads

By: williamjones
December 2, 2016

By: Peter van Aartrijk

LinkedIn’s database of 400 million members is a goldmine of sales intelligence. But this social platform isn’t just about swapping business cards and collecting connections.

Social strategist Kip Gregory suggests using LinkedIn’s simple tools to get in front of more prospects who look like your top clients. “In an industry that is based largely on word of mouth, that is prospecting gold,” he says. “If I can figure out who your best friends are, that puts in me in a position to take the initiative.”

If your clients are active on LinkedIn, the platform can provide insight into the worlds they travel in, the relationships they maintain and the people they’re connected with. Here are five ways to make it happen:

Connect with intent. Connect with your close relationships—clients, friends, centers of influence, Gregory says. Study their profiles, group memberships and network connections. Flesh out who they are and what makes them tick.

Be honest. Look hard at that collection of virtual business cards you’ve amassed. Who does it really make sense to keep? LinkedIn makes it easy: Go to their pages and disconnect. The platform won’t alert them to any change.

Stay current. A LinkedIn profile should not be “set it and forget it,” Gregory says. It’s easy to update: Simply select the Edit option under Profile in the main menu. Keep your photograph and headline updated. Post video, links, articles and other material. You also can move sections of your profile around to give it a fresh look.

Upgrade, please. It’s not enough to impress a market segment with article shares. Producers need to reach specific people to fill a pipeline. To go beyond posting content, Gregory recommends buying a premium version of LinkedIn to access more data and slice it more finely by title, geography and business type.

Search. Use LinkedIn to prepare for client meetings. First, connect with that client. Then, use the advanced search field to whittle down a large list of decision makers and discover who that client is connected with. In your meeting, you can say, “Can you help me reach a few folks whom I think are a good fit for the firm? I see you’re connected with them on LinkedIn—would you introduce me?”

Peter van Aartrijk is an IA contributor.

Share the Wealth

Consider turning on “Shared Contacts” in LinkedIn. The platform will share these names only with your direct connections.

“This is a core business networking tool,” Gregory says. “If you have a relationship with some leading people in the industries you focus on and the markets you serve, that is a real calling card for you.” —P.V.