Phase 2 | Module 2: Selling On Social Media

Let me pull up my screen here, guys. So what we're really talking about today is LinkedIn. I know our module is called Selling on Social Media, but what I'm going to tell you is because all three of you are in the business to business space, LinkedIn's where you need to be. Now, there is an argument to be made that platforms that are emerging, something as you know, like TikTok, we could argue that, you know, well, my buyers aren't there. True. But they might be in the next five years. And so there's always an argument to be made that you should be trying other platforms. But I will tell you today, LinkedIn is where you need to be. Now, just a couple things I want to make you aware of, like truths. I want to speak into you as you start your really diving into using LinkedIn the right way. The first one is don't bring your personal bias to your prospecting. What I mean by that is, you know, it's easy to say I hate social media. I actually don't like social media. I think there's a lot of toxicity on it. But you can't bring your bias to it because the, the reality is if your buyers are there, you need to be there. You have to figure out how to use it effectively. The second truth is we have to think about who our buyers are going to be in the future.

Right? Our buyers are getting younger every single day. I know when I got in the industry, most of the decision makers, especially in the C suite, were probably in their early 60s. Well, that's changing. And so as buyers get younger, guess where they're hanging out. And one thing I'm going to say to you guys a lot over the next few weeks, this is the modern day country club. This phone I'm holding in my hand is the modern day country club. What do I mean by that? Well, I was told long ago when I got in the industry to go buy a membership to a country club that I couldn't afford because that's where the CEOs hang out. I was told to go eat at the most expensive restaurants in the city because that's where the CEOs hang out, right? Well, this is the modern country club. This is where they hang out. So we got to find a way to be here too. Now, couple LinkedIn stats, right now there's over 930 million members. So I want you to think about that because that means that's a big networking party. More than 50% of decision makers use LinkedIn content to vet organizations think about that. More than 50% of the decision makers out there are checking content out to vet you.

The site has had over 1.5 billion visits in the last 90 days. What does that mean? Your prospects are there.

And the one stat I don't put on this to make a point is of the 930 million members, what percentage of them do you think make content for LinkedIn? Any guesses?

Maybe like less than 5.

A little more than that, but it's about 7 or 8%.

Think about that. What that means is opportunity. Most people are actually on the platform digesting. So if you can use the platform the right way with posting, you can be really effective. And not to mention, it is the world's largest networking event. And if you have the free subscription, it's free.

There's a lot of other ways we can try to market that are expensive, that don't work really well. This is free if you want it. Now, I'm going to give you guys a business case today. Why you want to buy one of the paid subscriptions if you don't have it? Matt, do you have any of the paid?

I do, yeah. I have both versions.

Okay. Jeff or Nick, do you guys have any of the pay like premium or sales Navigator? I do not. Okay.

You don't need it.

Go ahead.

I had the premium.

When I was looking for a job a year ago, but then I got rid of it.

Okay, I'm gonna show you guys one business case today. Why buying one of the paids would be helpful, but technically you don't need it.

Real quick.

That was one of my questions because I was similar to Jeff when I was looking. I bought the premium.

Yeah.

But my company now has a corporate sales nav account, so does it make sense to have both and vice versa?

Sales nav. If you've got paid sales now get rid of premium. Okay, yeah, you'll see why. Now let's talk about some losing LinkedIn strategies. First thing is, guys, we don't want to be posting for our peers. We're here to do business with prospects. It's a big mistake. I see a lot of advisors make in the industry is they spend their time posting content to get reactions out of their buddies. You are just there for one reason and that is to do business.

Another losing strategy is using automated sales messaging systems. You guys have probably all have received the messages. Somebody connects with you and immediately after you accept the connection, what do you get from them? You get a sales message. No, we don't want to be doing that. And Then the last one is not engaging with those who engage with you. So if you commit time to post, somebody commits the time to leave a comment. Make sure you comment back, because you never know where that conversation could go.

By the way, that's a great strategy to deploy with prospects. I bet you all three of you have certain prospects that you really want to get in front of, right? You probably have names, company names. I would love to get them in the pipeline. Why not go find out who their decision makers are? You may already know who they are. And go see if they're posting content on LinkedIn and start commenting on it.

It's a great way to do it. Great way to get their attention.

I think of it this way. Imagine you're at that networking event because this is what it is, and you're in a circle of people and your prospects in that circle, and they're talking and they show you guys a picture. I always use the example. Let's say it's a construction company and they show you the. The CFO is in the group you're talking to, and he pulls up a picture of a new site they're building. And think of it. Now he does that same thing, but it's a post on LinkedIn. Well, if you were in the circle of people talking to him, what would you say? If he showed you the picture, that would be the exact comment I would leave on his LinkedIn post. Make sense?

But don't be afraid. Sometimes the best way to get a prospect's attention before you even connect with them is to start commenting on their stuff if they're posting.

And a great way to do that, by the way, is to start following these people. So I know, Jeff, you might not be able to see this, but the other two can. You guys can see my LinkedIn page, right?

Yep, I'm parked. So I can.

Oh, okay, cool. Real quick.

Is there a difference between connecting with somebody and following somebody?

You just took the words out of my mouth, my friend. So look at me. So if I go to. Let me. I gotta find a second connection. I'm just gonna type in a very common name to get a second connection. John Smith. Okay, here's a great one. He's actually a producer. John Smith is a producer with McGriff in Charlotte. But he's a second connection. So we're not connected yet.

I have the option, right, to connect.