218 | How to Leverage LinkedIn for More Leads and Sales with Colin Hirdman

LinkedIn is a powerful tool for your business–but only if you use it properly. Today’s guest will show you how to make the most of this platform with authentic, non-spammy connection strategies. 

Colin Hirdman started his first business a week after graduating from college with no background in business or marketing. He’s the co-founder of Monkey Island Ventures, along with two of his childhood best friends. Over the last 18 years, they’ve built over a dozen software and service businesses. Their newest venture, Rainmaker, helps people in sales roles build their network, leads, and sales through LinkedIn.

The LinkedIn Philosophy

There are three components for success on LinkedIn. The first piece is philosophy. You need to be authentic and genuine. Speak to people with a conversational tone. The second aspect is approaching it with an educational mindset, because no one wants to be sold on LinkedIn. Jumping right into sales tactics doesn’t work. Focus on building relationships, not pitching meetings. Lastly, try to understand the pain points your prospects are experiencing. What do they want to be educated on, and what can you teach? 

Grow Your Audience

The easiest way to build an audience on LinkedIn is to identify your ideal client profile and use Sales Navigator to find people who meet that criteria. Another option is to attend LinkedIn events in your industry. Start building a prospect list of people who are participating in those events. You can also use influencers as a proxy: if there’s someone in your niche with a large following, reach out to them for a connection. If their connections are open, you’ll be able to see them in Sales Navigator.

The final step is to create proactive connection campaigns. In Colin’s business, they connect with 25 people a day, Monday through Friday, which works out to 500 connections per month. Out of those, around 20-25% will connect back. If a prospect doesn’t connect within 30 days, they withdraw the invite and then re-invite those people at a later date. 

Enjoy this episode with Colin Hirdman…

Soundbytes

9:30-10:01
“We came up with the five F's, which are freedom, finances, friendship, family, and fun. And those are the five F's that the three of us live by. I would highly recommend, if you have someone as a business partner that you can just innately trust and rely on to go through the ups and downs of what it's like being in business…I highly encourage you to do that, because when you're doing it all yourself, it can be lonely at the top.”

13:27-13:46
“LinkedIn is incredibly powerful because it's the only business social network out there. It's growing like crazy. Everyone's trying to crack the nut of how you leverage LinkedIn, but you have to approach it still in wanting to build relationships, and having that educational mindset is absolutely paramount.” 

Quotes

“Nobody wants to be sold on LinkedIn.”

“Everyone is trying to crack the nut of how you leverage LinkedIn, but you have to approach it still in wanting to build relationships.”

“If you approach LinkedIn the right way, that's where you can have a lot of success.” 

“The messages that you are sending should not be salesy in any way. It should be providing value. It should establish you as a thought leader.” 

Links mentioned in this episode:

From Our Guest

Website: https://www.rainmakergrows.com/

Connect with Colin Hirdman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinhirdman/

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