How to Meet the Right People on LinkedIn

TO BUILD A PROSPECT NETWORK ON LINKEDIN

We all know what the LinkedIn ‘rules’ say. People shouldn’t be inviting others to connect without knowing them or having met them in some professional capacity in the past.

But despite these rules people everywhere are using LinkedIn as a tool for meeting and connecting with the right people and building amazing networks of prospects in the process. Here are three easy steps you can take to do the same:

Step 1: Envisage

Have your model client (or ‘Avatar’ as many like to refer to them) in mind. This is simply the perfect prototype of a person with whom you can make contact to help you drive new business. Include in this consideration:

• Their Position or Title
• The Size of their Company
• The Industry in which they are involved
• Their Location

Step 2: Search

Once you have your perfect prospect in mind, the LinkedIn Search functions make it incredibly easy for you to find people to add to your prospect network.

Simply type in the title or position of the person you are searching for, such as “CFO”.

You can then use the ‘Advanced’ Search functions on the left to help you filter through the results and narrow down their location, how closely you are currently connected to them, as well as their company and industry of employment.

Step 3: Approach

Once you have the perfect prospect lined up, send an invitation to connect. MAKE SURE to include a personalised message, not the suggested LinkedIn message! This will:

• (ideally) mention something that you have in common such as a connection, group, industry, position or interest.
• Briefly outline why you would like to connect with this person.

Finally, to avoid just piling a list of random faces in your connections page, after connecting with someone it is always a great idea to send them a brief message, give them a call or suggest meeting up sometime.

For any further help with your Personal or Business LinkedIn Strategy, email us a [email protected] or leave a comment below.

Andrew Archibald is the Commercial Director at Social Garden.

He works with both companies and individuals to develop their brand into a valuable (and marketable) digital identity that gets their foot in the door with the key people in their industry.

Andrew specialises in LinkedIn Marketing, Facebook Advertising and Commercial Strategy.