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Introduction I’m going to talk to you today about how to sell on LinkedIn.

And what I mean by that is how to actually sell to prospects – to people. This is the #1 challenge that I see right now when it comes to utilizing LinkedIn to generate new business for yourself or your company.

Because I can show you where the prospects are. I can show you how to find hundreds of your ideal customers on LinkedIn, all in one place, and how to engage with all of them – even send them direct, 1-on-1 messages - for free.

But if you don’t know what to say to those prospects, or how to actually sell to them … then it’s all for naught.

So I want to spend the next few minutes helping you understand the psychology of selling on LinkedIn … what goes into the relationship building, how to interact with people … all that good stuff.

Sound like a plan?

Great!

 

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Strategy #1: Get Fired Up! The number one thing we need to start with is enthusiasm.

My business coach, John Michael Morgan says it best: “Shy sales people have really skinny kids.”

If you’re shy, if you’re passive, if you’re just ho-hum about your product, your service, your business, nobody is going to buy from you. Why would they? If you’re acting like you have no pulse, why would I get excited to buy your product?

We see this all the time in advertising. Think about TV commercials for new cars aimed at men.

What is that type of TV commercial typically like?

It’s AGGRESSIVE.

It’s RUGGED.

Stuff EXPLODES.

There is ADVENTURE.

Guys drive a sedan up the side of a mountain, or across a raging river. They tear through a forest, just missing trees … then the next shot shows them setting up a tent, sitting by the campfire with their beauty, looking up at the stars together, snuggling close. Or maybe sharing a cold one with the guys after a day of adventure.

Mission accomplished!

Here’s the point: People want to be excited about using your product or your service. They want to feel something.

People buy when they’re emotional.

Logic doesn’t convince people to buy. Emotion does. They just use logic later on to justify their actions.

 

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Now, you may be coming back at me saying, “But, John, I sell search engine optimization services. How do I make that exciting or emotional?”

Simple – what would get your potential client excited?

“Imagine if every time someone searched on Google for a chiropractor in Chicago, your clinic showed up on Page 1 of Google? How would that impact your business? How many more new patients would that bring in?”

If I’m a chiropractor in Chicago, the idea of new patients finding me and coming through my door gets me excited.

Tap into that benefit (more new patients finding you online) to sell the features of your product. (SEO for their website)

In my case, I’m selling video modules that teach you how to leverage LinkedIn to get more sales, clients and revenue.

I’m not exactly taking you to Mount Everest for expedition, but here’s the deal: I know that what I sell with LinkedIn Riches, with the training, and the enthusiasm behind it is going to change your life.

It sounds like hyperbole, but it’s not.

I know this because it changed my professional life. LinkedIn allowed me to quit a day job I was miserable at, to start my own company from scratch, and to make more in my first 90 days working for myself than I had in an entire year at my day job.

Since then, I’ve seen LinkedIn change the professional fortunes for hundreds of my students, too.

And I convey that excitement, that energy and that anticipation … that hope … when I’m selling my training.

You need to be doing the same thing. And you need to be passionate about it!

 

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Strategy #2: Stop Apologizing! The single biggest mistake I used to make – and that I still see tons of people making – is what I’ll call apologetic selling.

As someone who has struggled with depression, anxiety and self-hatred, I know what it’s like to feel worthless and lack confidence. When I’m in that state, I feel like I’m bothering people, like I’m selfish to ask them for money, like I’m a bad person for trying to sell them my product or service.

More important, when I’m in that state, I don’t attract buyers. In fact, I repel them.

Because nothing (and I mean nothing!) turns off a buyer like a lack of confidence.

By the same token, the more confident you come across, the more appealing you – and, by extension, your product or service – become to your prospects.

Today, I have so much belief in LinkedIn Riches, what it’s done for me, what it’s done for people who have gone through it, that I’m confident and excited to tell others about it.

In fact, my attitude can even border on arrogance. Sometimes I want to yell: “Look! You’d be foolish not to take advantage of this! It’s that important. It’s that effective! This has worked for so many people in so many different walks of life … across so many different industries … I know it will work for you, too!”

And I’m not saying that to try to put anyone down. I’m just saying it because I’m that excited about my product. I’m that excited about my service. I truly believe it will help you. When you get to that state of emotion and feeling about your own product or service, it becomes contagious.

The #1 reason people buy from me is always this: “John, you’re passion and enthusiasm for LinkedIn is contagious. You’ve got me all fired up to do this!”

So you’ve got to have enthusiasm, and (more important) you’ve got to believe in your product.

 

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Because if you’re selling something you don’t believe in, it is going to be hard to fake it. If anything you’ll come across as one of those phony, smiley-faced people that are way too enthusiastic and way too phony. We don’t want that. We can see through it, anyway – smell it a mile away, in fact.

So, hear me well: I’m not calling for false bravado, fake confidence or pretend excitement.

What I am saying is that you better be the biggest fan and biggest believer in your product or service out there. You better promote it and evangelize it like a pre-teen girl in the early 2010s would promote Justin Bieber on social media networks.

Last thing: If you don’t believe in what you’re selling right now, then go somewhere else. It’s time to leave, and find a product or service you would die for before you’d stop telling others about it.

Otherwise, you’re going to have some skinny kids.

 

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Strategy #3: Sell Transformation I make a real paradigm shift in my mind when I talk to people about LinkedIn Riches.

I make it clear: This isn’t just a series of video trainings, because you can get those anywhere, right?

There are a million people out there trying to do what I do now. I call it the LinkedIn gold rush. Everyone’s out there claiming he or she is a LinkedIn expert, trying to train you – “Take my course! Buy my modules!”

So, in my mind, I’m not selling video training on how to make more sales using LinkedIn.

Instead, I’m selling transformation. I’m selling enthusiasm. I’m selling you on the idea that if you do what I’m trying to teach you to do with LinkedIn Riches, with the trainings, you will change your life, because LinkedIn is the tool you can use to get more sales, to get more clients, to get more revenue.

And, I will ask my audience, what do more sales, clients, and revenue mean for you? They mean more money. What does more money mean to you? More money means more time, more of the ability to pursue the things that you’re passionate about. More money and more time means you get to live the life you want.

To quote Mel Gibson in Braveheart: “Freedom!”

Your product – no matter how large or small – must sell some sort of transformation to its users.

Otherwise what’s the point? I want to transform my body – therefore I’m going to use your diet or your gym or your exercise equipment.

I want to transform my financial situation – therefore I’m going to purchase your sales training program.

I want to transform my personal psychology – therefore I’m going to purchase your positive self-talk program.

 

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I can go on and on, but you get the idea – how will your product or service transform someone’s life or business? Figure out what that transformation is – and sell it!

 

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Strategy #4: Sell Benefits (not Features) Nobody cares (at least initially) about all the bells and whistles your product or service might have. Instead, they care about the benefits.

Here’s what your prospects are thinking: How will buying this product or service benefit ME? How will it make MY life easier? What pressing problems of MINE will this product or service solve?

Here’s an example: With LinkedIn Riches, one of the benefits I really sell is time.

We only get 24 hours a day. LinkedIn, with the prospecting methods that I promise to show you, helps you get more time, because you’re finding, engaging and closing deals with your ideal prospects much faster than other lead generation and sales methods you’ve tried in the past. That means you get more time to spend on other areas of your business, or with your family, or whatever it might be.

In the same vein, you have to really look at your product or your service and figure out what the key benefits of using it are. Sell that.

Remember this: Features tell. Benefits sell.

For example, as I type this, I’m looking outside the window at our deck. Another Minnesota winter did its deed, stripping away the stain and leaving the wood in poor shape for spring and summer.

I hate staining my deck. It takes time to stain my deck. (Time I don’t have.) It takes energy to stain my deck. (I’d rather spend that energy playing street hockey with our three young boys and the neighbor kids.) It takes effort, sweat, stress, trips to Home Depot … on and on I can go.

But the fact remains: I have a problem. I need to get my deck stained.

Now, imagine someone stopping by my yard, seeing my deck, and my glum expression as I type this, and then getting my attention.

 

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“Hey!” this person could say. “Aren’t you excited about summertime here in Minnesota? Finally! Thank God! We can see the grass again. The snow is gone! I bet you’re getting excited to get the grill out, right?

“John, I can’t help but notice your deck, it’s looking pretty worse for the wear. It looks like it needs some serious TLC. Now, I have some good news. I’m going to take care of this for you.

“In less than a week, John, you’re going to be putting your feet up grilling on a deck that looks and feels brand new. (Benefit!) And what I want you to realize is, yes, our services cost X dollars to stain your deck. But think about this. Think about the hours that you’re going to save (Benefit!) not having to do that, and what you could be doing instead with your business, your family, or whatever while we take care of this annoyance for you. (Benefit!)”

Not once does the person mention what type of stain they use, or what type of brushes … because, frankly, I don’t care. Emotionally, I want those benefits they told me about. That is why I buy.

Later on, I can justify my purchase intellectually by looking at their sales brochure and telling myself, “Oh, see, they use an all-weather sealant and reverse-bristle brushes that improve the application process. This was a smart decision I made!”

There – I just sold myself deck-staining services. So hey, if you’re in the Twin Cities and want to stain my deck, come over and give me that pitch, because I don’t want to do it this year! LOL.

 

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Strategy #5: No Pain (Points), No Gain It’s a pain, right? That’s the other thing with talking to people on LinkedIn and finding out how they are doing with trying to sell on the network.

When I’m talking to a prospect, what I want to know is, what are his or her biggest pain points? What are his or her problems? I figure out what those are, and then I offer solutions to those things.

You must do the same. It’s a simple process:

• Figure out WHO your ideal audience is. • Figure out WHAT their biggest problems or pain points are. (If you don’t know,

ask them. Create an online survey, reach out via 1-on-1 emails, etc.) • Once you’ve done your research, go back to that EXACT audience, and offer

them a SOLUTION to their PROBLEM. • Make money. • Repeat.

I can’t emphasize the “ask them!” part enough.

Here’s what I mean: No matter how long you’ve been doing this, no matter how many years you’ve been serving a certain audience, never assume you know exactly what your clients’ deepest desires are or how they want something presented to them.

For instance, my webinar sales increased dramatically when I added in a confirmation page survey that asked registrants, “What’s the biggest question/problem you have related to LinkedIn?” and “What difference would it make to you – personally or professionally – to get a good answer to it?”

People filled out the surveys, and trends began to emerge. The same questions, the same frustrations, the same problems were there. So too were the same aspirations … the same types of transformation people were hoping LinkedIn would bring them professionally.

 

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Even more important, I noticed what words people used to describe their problems as it related to LinkedIn.

I started to use those same words in my registration and sales page copy. I also worked in references to their specific aspirations and desired transformations, as part of the “benefits” part of my sales pitch at the end of each webinar.

People responded. Sales went up. WAY up.

 

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Strategy #6: Be Human (No Matter What!) In the first email I send people on my mailing list, I’m telling them, at the end, “Look, I’m going to try to sell you stuff at some point. Okay? In the weeks to come, yes, you’re getting free tips and free training, but I’m not going to try to pull a fast one and pretend I’m just doing this out of the goodness of my heart.

“I know that if I train you, and teach you, and give you a bunch of great free tips, quick wins and success with LinkedIn, you’re going to want more. And that ‘more’ is my LinkedIn Riches Premium Training. But don’t worry about that for right now. Instead, let me earn your trust. Let me show you I know my stuff. Let me get you going, get you momentum, get you excited seeing how this can work for you.”

And that’s the same approach you need to be taking with your prospects on LinkedIn. You have to start there. You have to start with authenticity and transparency and enthusiasm. But more importantly, you have to start by not trying to close them on the first date.

John Morgan, my mentor and business coach has a great line: “You don’t ask somebody to marry you the first time you meet him or her.”

Maybe some people do. But the very first date, you’re probably not trying to plan a wedding.

Maybe you are, but typically there’s some courtship, there’s some romance, there’s some trust building, get to know each other, all that good stuff.

You want to start by bringing people value. And I’m going to give you an example of how I’m doing this on my own business so that you can see and apply it in your own world.

In fact, I’ve done this a couple of different times back when I was working full-time and I really wanted a new job.

There was one instance where I wanted this one particular job really, really bad.

 

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It was a PR and social media job at a trade association. When it came open, I knew it would not be enough for me just to apply, to throw my résumé out there and go, “I’ve done all this stuff already, here’s my work history, I’m qualified, now give me the job.”

Instead, I went above and beyond. So when I put together the cover letter, before I even knew if I’d get an interview, I did a bunch of research on the company. I wrote up a PR plan for the company, for certain initiatives I noticed the company had listed as priorities on its website.

I wrote up a social media plan. I wrote out a detailed itinerary of podcasting, and getting them started, and episode ideas, people I would bring in, videos I would do, and more.

It took me 5 or 6 hours to put it all together. And I sent all that in with my cover letter.

I got the job.

Now, does that always work? No. I’ve had other occasions where I’ve done a bunch of work and it doesn’t pay off. But it’s never wasted time. I always learn something new every time I do it, and I save everything I create.

That way, I have it as a work sample or case study to pitch as part of a new opportunity. I can go to a different employer and say, “Look, I actually put together a sample of podcast plan for this one trade association. We could easily take and replicate that for you. Here’s a work sample of how I think when I put together a PR plan from scratch. This was something I did for a trade association a couple of years ago when I was applying for a position with their organization.”

You can always repurpose your stuff. So never look at it as a waste of time. Instead, look at it as an opportunity to hone your skills or practice your craft. You can always learn something new from doing the work.

Just be smart, save and repurpose what you can, and keep moving forward into the next opportunity you find.

 

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One of the questions I get from young professionals just starting out their career is something along these lines: “Well, I don’t have a long work history and all these awards. How do I impress people?”

Simple. Do some work! Be creative. Be a self-starter. Don’t come to me with your hand out asking for a job. Instead, come to me bearing gifts – ideas you have, proposals you’ve written up, samples of a product or service you’d help me with, and so on.

Impress me! Be original! Show me you’re not afraid to think outside the box, to be different, to take the ball and run with it … all the stuff people say they are all about during job interviews. Instead of saying it, do it.

Most important of all, personalize to ME and MY COMPANY.

Research my company. (It’s easy enough to do this online.) Find out what I’m trying to do, what products I’m trying to sell, what services I’m trying to provide. Look at the job that you’re applying for, the department you want to work in. Just pretend you’re already working for me. Start emailing me marketing plans, business plans, logistic plans, SEO tips … anything that applies to the role you want inside my company.

Actions speak louder than words.

As a result, one of two things is going to happen. I’m either going to get turned off and say, “Go away. Who are you? Leave me alone!”

In which case, you don’t want to work for me anyway. I’m a jerk.

Or I’m going to go, “Wow! Who is this guy (or gal)? I need to look him (or her) up. What’s going on? You’re sending me great ideas. This is actually actionable stuff. This is better than what my paid staff is doing! Let’s get this person in here. Let’s get him (or her) a job!”

I’ll give you another example. As I’m trying to blow up the LinkedIn Riches platform even more, I’ve been reaching out quietly behind the scenes to some big shots – social media influencers, bestselling authors and other “high-level” people online.

 

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What I’m saying to these folks, completely cold via email or messages, is this: “Hey, I know you don’t know who I am. I’m not here with my hand out or trying to sell you something. I’m here because I see an opportunity with you on LinkedIn that you’re not capitalizing on.

“I see some ways that I think I could help you improve your profile or your LinkedIn publishing or whatever else because that’s my thing. I’m the LinkedIn guy. This is what I do. And I think, if you give me your permission, and with no strings attached, I can really help you out. You don’t need to do anything other than say it’s okay for me to try.”

If the person gives me permission to go ahead, I spend 8-10 hours rewriting his or her LinkedIn profile from the ground up. I apply all my best tips, tricks and strategies, and I personalize the entire thing to this big shot and his or her platform, along with focusing on what goals he or she wants to achieve on LinkedIn.

I’m bringing these people value first, and not asking for anything in return.

And it’s opening some amazing doors for me. My name and my talents are getting out there.

One of these big shots, someone who has millions of followers online, told me this: “I know plenty of LinkedIn ‘experts’ and I tour all over the country and nobody’s ever offered what you just did.

“Of all my friends who are LinkedIn gurus and experts, no one’s actually ever come to me and said, ‘Hey, let me rewrite your profile for you. And let me do it for free, no strings attached.’”

That same person, in a reply to my cold email, said this: “So let’s go for it. Let’s see what you can do! I’ve vetted you, I’ve Googled you, I checked you out. You don’t look like a criminal or a stalker so, yeah, what do I have to lose?”

So I put in almost 15 hours of research and work, and wrote this person’s LinkedIn profile up.

 

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The person loved it, and it’s going to lead some really big opportunities for me – speaking opportunities, joint venture opportunities, introductions to other big shots with massive platforms … on and on the list goes.

The same thing is happening with some other players. Now, there’s some players in the industry I’ve reached out to who were like, “Yeah. I’ll take your free advice,” and then came back to me and were like, “Nah,” or, “Well, I don’t really get it,” or blew me off. So those people may not bring me any value over the long haul.

But that doesn’t matter. I’ve got momentum going now. I’m taking the endorsements of one big shot and getting the next big shot to open my email because I can say, “Hey, Big Shot A is trusting me to do his LinkedIn profile, and I know you know Big Shot A, so feel free to check my bona fides out with him. But you can see how great Big Shot A’s LinkedIn profile looks, and how happy he is as a result. I’d like to make you the same offer.”

And again, to take my own advice, even the ones that I’m not going to hit on … well, I still learned a lot and honed my expertise in this area just a bit more.

Now, of course, I’m being strategic about it. I’m not offering all 365 million members on LinkedIn the same deal.

But with the ones I am targeting, I’m looking to take a page from one of my favorite books – The Godfather.

If you’ve never read the book or seen the movies, The Godfather (an Italian mob boss) builds his entire empire on doing people favors. And he knows that when he helps people out of jams or he gives them something they really need at just the right time – food, money, whatever it is – later on, he knows that they’re going to owe him one. They’re going to owe him a favor.

A big one.

For a non-mobster example, look at New York Times bestselling author and Internet marketing celebrity Gary Vaynerchuk – he’s built his whole empire on this philosophy.

 

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Gary gives his followers, fans and even perfect strangers so much free advice, so much help, and is so engaged and enthusiastic that when he does “ask” them for something in return, they’re happy to oblige.

There’s this social norm, this social cue that we all have of feeling indebted to someone that helped us for free, people that really took an interest in us and didn’t ask for anything in return.

I think of this guy I met a decade ago.

At the time, I had self-published some books and novels on sports fiction with a Christian theme. My graphic design was terrible, and I had these horrible, “do it yourself” type book covers.

And this guy came up to me, at a church actually, where I was doing a book signing.

“Hey, I’ve design books for a living,” he told me. “I’d be happy to help you with your book covers. And I see, it looks like you kind of do it yourself but I’d be happy to help you. I do books for all these famous people in the industry.”

And I was like, “That’s great but I don’t have any money for that. I’m self-publishing, I’m bootstrapping.”

“No, no, no,” he said. “I’m just going to do it for free. I believe in your mission and what you’re trying to do. I’m a Christian, too, and I’m going to help you out. Long-term, maybe something will benefit me or you’ll bring me a client or whatever.”

I’m still working with that guy 10 years later. Not only have I given him thousands of dollars of my own money for graphics, I’ve referred him tens of thousands of dollars worth of clients because he came to me first. I didn’t know him. He didn’t ask for a penny. He gave me three free book covers and interior designs. That probably on his end was probably 50 to 100 hours of work. That was a huge risk that he took.

But for him, over the next 10 years, I’ve paid that back 10x or 20x. And I’m going to be loyal to that guy, to a fault, because I feel indebted and obligated, like he gave me a shot when nobody else did.

 

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Now, obviously you want to be strategic about this. One the trade offs you see with someone like Gary Vaynerchuk is he works 18 hours a day (or more) trying to keep up with everyone who wants a piece of him. I’m not advocating that.

But if you see a certain type of company or a person who’s going to be connected to a bunch of your potential clients … go to them and give them free stuff, free advice, free insights. Do the work for them. Make them look good, make them more money, make them impress their friends … and they’ll love you for it.

And it will pay off 10x, 20x or even more in the long run.

 

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Strategy #7: Do their job for them! Despite the fact that I had no formal schooling in public relations, within six months of taking my first PR job I won a national award for a campaign I put together. I ended up getting my trade association a weekly slot on a national TV news show for 14 straight weeks, along with coverage from several other large radio, print and television media outlets.

And it was easy.

Here’s why: I’d been a journalist – working for the Associated Press and other news outlets – for a decade before going into PR.

When I was at the AP, I used to sort through hundreds of press releases a day. So when I switched over to PR, even though I had no training, no credentials, nothing other than having been a journalist, I killed it.

I crushed it because I knew the number one thing that journalists that I was reaching out to needed was time.

They didn’t have enough time of the day to get through it all, and if I could come to them with a press release or story idea that did their job for them, I was in.

I knew, for instance, if I wanted to get coverage for my pitch, I needed to line up everything – photo opportunities, text, pre-done FAQs or Q&As, the phone numbers and contact information for key people, all the key stats, and trends, and studies to hook the story into, a person in their town to embody the trend or story and “localize” it for TV, etc.

I went so far, one time, with one of the books I was promoting, to actually write an entire column for a sportswriter in town. Every week, he would write something on Page 2 of a newspaper here in Minneapolis/St Paul, and it would be an interview with a local author or athlete that had some kind of a sports theme to it. They were pretty simple Q&A interviews, but I knew how busy the guy was. He was on the radio and he was doing TV plus writing for the paper. I knew the best way to get him to publish my stuff was not to

 

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ask him to call me and interview me to set up a time. Instead, I would just do the interview for him.

After all, I knew what I wanted to say, and I’m a former journalist, so I just wrote out the Q&A of if he was interviewing me, what he would want to know about the book, the sports angle, and how it applied to the Twin Cities, and his audience.

So I wrote the whole thing out and I sent it to him and said, “Hey, I know how busy you are. I know you have to do interviews all the time. I thought I would save you the trouble. I actually wrote out a Q&A for you with the questions I thought you’d ask, and the answers I know I would give.”

He loved it.

He published the whole thing verbatim – all he did was write a sentence at the top that said, “Well, this is a first. Normally I have to do some work and interview people. This guy John Nemo actually wrote the whole interview for me, and I decided to publish it because it’s good and it’s relevant…”

So that’s the power of doing some key work for free upfront and really engaging people around what they need.

 

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Strategy #8: Engage (or else) Now, this brings me to my last huge point when it comes to selling on LinkedIn.

It all needs to start with a conversation.

Ok, you might be wondering, so how do we actually start conversations? How do we actually talk to people?

The key thing on LinkedIn is to treat your prospects like human beings. Do not send them invites or messages or subject lines that sound like boring, work-related topics or offers.

Instead, send them something personal.

I go through this in-depth through my LinkedIn Riches premium trainings, but when you find somebody on LinkedIn, do NOT scan his or her profile for something work-related to ask about.

Instead, get personal. Look at their profile and try to figure out: Where do they live? Where did they go to college? Do they have interests or hobbies listed? Volunteering? Causes they care about?

And what you do is play off that … have fun with it!

So if I see a prospect on LinkedIn who lives in Fairbanks, Alaska, I might write the subject line, “Are you crazy?” and send a LinkedIn message to him or her.

And then the first sentence of my LinkedIn message might be, “I thought I was tough living in Minnesota during the winters, but I can’t imagine surviving in Alaska. LOL. How do you do it? How long have you lived there? How do you deal with the winters?

“By the way, the reason I’m reaching out is that I think I have something going on that I thought you’d be interested in. I see that you’re the vice president of sales at Company A, and I wanted to know if I could help you rewrite your LinkedIn profile.

 

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“I’m willing to do it for free. There’s no strings attached. My only motive here is to introduce myself to you to demonstrate some value and benefit upfront to get on your radar.

“Because I know if I do that, we can start building a relationship and good things will happen for both of us.

“And, last but not least, I need to know … are you really crazy? Or are winters in Alaska not that tough? LOL.”

And that might be my pitch to that guy to sell the guy my LinkedIn Riches training program to his sales team of 1,000 people.

But the key here, guys, is he’s going to open that email because it’s going to be arousing some curiosity. When you write a subject line that is conversational (“Are you crazy?” “Did you see this?” “Is this for real?”) or, even better, when you combine a conversational subject line with your prospect’s hobbies or interests (“You live in Fairbanks? Are you nuts!?”) it works like a charm.

One of my favorite things is to play off listed hobbies or interests. So if they put on their LinkedIn profile that they love golfing, fishing, boating, sailing, reading Stephen King novels, whatever it is … I’ll work that into my message’s subject line or invitation to connect.

So I’ll say, “Favorite Stephen King book?”

That would be the subject line on my LinkedIn message.

And my first sentence would be, “Hi [NAME] – Dying to know what your favorite Stephen King book is. Mine is ‘Under the Dome’ or ‘The Gunslinger’ series … how about you?”

Not only will my prospect open that message; he’ll engage with me right away too. He or she is going to enjoy our interaction as well, because if there is one thing people love, it’s talking about themselves and their own hobbies!

 

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So if you message me on LinkedIn, and your subject line is something like, “Minnesota hockey?” I’m going to immediately open it.

I’m going to be salivating like one of Pavlov’s dogs, because there’s nothing I love more than talking hockey.

And if you say, “What do you think of the Minnesota Wild,” or “Do you miss the Minnesota North Stars?” or “What do you think of the high school game in Minnesota these days?” I’m going to have, like, a 5,000 word reply. And more importantly, you’re going to get my attention and I’m going to go, “Who’s this guy that messaged me about Minnesota hockey?”

I’m going to look you up because you’ve got me talking hockey, but you also got me intrigued because you said you can help me with SEO on my website.

I’m going to look at your profile. And wow! Your profile looks really good. It’s all about your ideal customer (someone like me!) and how you help us, and you’ve got testimonials and social proof too. It makes a lot of sense what you’re saying. I want to have a sales call with you. Plus, I like you. We’re bonding by talking hockey!

There’s this key element you cannot escape with sales: We want to do business with people we Know, Like and Trust.

And when you take this approach on LinkedIn, you will build that instant likability, credibility and trust that’s critical to making a sale.

Think about this: If I come to you as a sales guy or a potential vendor, and I’ve already put 10 or 15 hours in to trying to give you something for free, you’re going to really see some credibility and value in me if the work is good and if it’s quality. If it stinks, what do you care? It’s no skin off your nose – you didn’t put any work in.

And if I’m engaging you around the stuff that’s not about work so we can just talk and have fun, that’s a great way to build a relationship and have something low-key and low-pressure to talk about.

 

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Also, once we have a non-work connection, I have an excuse to message you anytime I want to talk about the Minnesota Wild, or the New York Islanders, or sailing, or golfing, or traveling to Europe.

When you can find non-work related excuses to stay in front of people, to send them a note once in a while, it can make all the difference.

Timing is everything.

If I happen to send you a note because I noticed a news story about your favorite sports team winning a big game, you’ll notice it, open it, reply to me and remember me. And, if the timing is right, you might have just gotten a new budget approved, and it just so happens that you remembered from seeing my note about your sports team that I also do marketing services, and hey, you happen to be looking for what I’m offering, and one thing leads to another …

See how it works?

I’ve explained elsewhere how to automate, export and track all the leads you come across on LinkedIn. When you do this, just add a little column or note to each profile to remind you of something not related to work that you can talk about with that person.

Make friends with people. Chat them up about what they love to talk about. Then, when the timing is right, slip in a causal mention or question … “So what are you guys doing about SEO on your website these days? Are you looking for any help there? You know, if you ever have questions, I’m happy to jump on the phone and help you out…”

 

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Closing Thoughts There is a specific psychology and strategy to selling on LinkedIn.

It’s about being friendly, approachable and unique. It’s about delivering value first before ever asking for anything in return. It’s about bringing people so much value and with such generosity that you all but guilt them into buying from you (and telling all their friends to!) later on in the process.

Remember: When connecting and building relationships, play to your own strengths, your own interests. Create some friendly banter that’s NOT related to work or a transaction. And hone in on the prospect’s stated interests, hobbies, etc.

Second – bring some immediate value. Don’t come with your hand out asking for their time or their attention or a sale until you’ve proven you’re worthy of it.

As I like to say during my trainings, “You must earn the message open. You must earn the reply. You must earn the time on the phone.”

Remember: Nobody owes you anything.

You must prove that you’ve got something of value, and that they should pay attention to you.

For example, when I’m selling my LinkedIn Riches Premium Training program, I can’t just go to you and say, “Come on my free LinkedIn webinar, you’re going to learn a lot.”

I got to prove to you, in the beginning, before we even do anything, that I’ve got great free tips, that you can get some quick wins, that you can see some success and go, “Wow, that tip about how to get my profile rank higher really worked. And then I followed his other tip about how in five seconds I can change my contact info and link to some landing pages. And then I put in that call to action thing that he mentioned, that only took a couple of minutes, and boy, that’s three things that will help me get more leads and views. Yeah, I think I’ll check out the webinar.”

 

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And then I’ve got you, right? Because then you come on the webinar and now I’ve got your attention. I’ve earned it. I can spend 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes training you, giving you more and more and more and then trying to sell you at the end by saying, “Look, this is it! I’m walking you through the process. See where we can go?”

That’s how I want you to approach selling on LinkedIn. Think of yourself like a kid who wants to peddle homemade cookies.

You can’t just ask someone to buy your cookies or your recipe. First, you have to bring them some value – a free taste – so they can see that you know your stuff when it comes to creating delicious cookies.

And once they eat one, if they are the right prospect – people who are hungry and love sweet treats – they are going to want more.

And that’s when you can sell them a whole box, or the actual “do it yourself” recipe or whatever else … maybe a glass of milk to go with the cookie … the point is, once you’ve got someone hooked on your “free” product or “free” value, it becomes much easier to move them into a paying relationship.

So get out there and get after it on LinkedIn!

And, when you’re ready, drop me an email at [email protected] and let me know how it goes!

 

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About the Author JOHN NEMO is the author of the #1 Amazon Bestseller “LinkedIn Riches: How to Leverage the World's Largest Professional Network to Enhance Your Brand, Generate Leads and Increase Revenue!”

Since 2012, John has helped hundreds of professionals worldwide achieve real, measurable results in dozens of different industries using LinkedIn. Learn more about him online at LinkedInRiches.com.