LinkedIn became popular in 2003, and ever since, people have been utilizing it to build their professional networks. When it comes down to it, it’s an easy way to post jobs, apply to jobs, and interact with other professionals in your industry.
We know how to use LinkedIn to make ourselves standout, but what about using it to build your MSP and generate more leads? In his new eBook, Nate Freedman, from Tech Pro Marketing, shares a few easy ways to grow your MSP using LinkedIn.
Finding new business using LinkedIn
Nate discovered that most MSPs experienced similar challenges when trying to find new customers. Many of them rely on referrals, rather than taking a proactive approach to generating new leads. Instead, many of them depend on ‘hope marketing’ — but to be successful, you must have a plan. By optimizing your LinkedIn account, generating leads can be easy.
According to Nate, there are three critical components needed to effectively generate leads for your business: Perfecting your profile, growing your network, and nurturing your connections.
Perfecting your profile
It only takes seven seconds to make an impression — and your personal profile has more of an impact than you may think. When your personal profile is setup correctly, it can help you generate more business leads. Using your personal profile to reach out to prospective customers —instead of your business profile — provides authenticity. To make a great first impression, it is important to have a good, professional profile picture and headline. When it comes to your headline, choose one that’s short and to the point. It’s what your potential customer will first see, and what comes up when you post something and/or message people.
Nate recommends making your headline less about you, and more about what you can do for your customers. Typically, people make their profile all about themselves, but the key is focus on what you can do. Afterall, that’s what your customers need you for. They’ll want to know how you can help them. To help them with their businesses and to show your credibility, post regular content that is engaging and informational.
Lastly, you’ll need a call to action. What’s the point of capturing your audience if they have nowhere to go? Show your customers how they can contact you and invite them to do so. Give them options on how they can find out more: Email me, send a direct message on LinkedIn, or call me to learn more. You need to let people know: THIS is how you can take the next step with me.
Growing your network
First, create a narrowed down list of businesses in your area that you want to connect with and take on as customers. Make sure you’re reaching out to a network of business owners, not just colleagues and friends. If you have a premium subscription, LinkedIn Sales Navigator could be your best tool. It has a ‘lead builder’ function, which lets you search by company, and it allows you to drill down the exact business owners you’re looking to reach out to.
The next step is to contact your leads. When you send an invitation to connect with someone, you can include a message. LinkedIn technically lets you send around 100 invitations a day, but it’s best to keep it to 50 or 75 so you don’t get flagged for spam. When you contact them, send a friendly, professional, yet personable message explaining why you want to connect. Let them know you’re interested in connecting with them as a contact, and not just as someone to sell to. (For some strong examples, check out page 10 of the eBook.) Nate recommends having a simple message to send locked and loaded. For consistent results, try to connect with the same amount of people every day.
Following up with the connections in your network is your key to making an actual connection with them. Not everyone is going to answer, and that’s okay, but it’s important that when they do accept, you follow up with a more personable message.
Nurturing your connections
Once you build more connections, it’s important to stay active on LinkedIn. Posting content is the most natural way to nurture your connections. It creates an easy, natural engagement where they can comment and like your posts. In regards to the contents of your posts, try to share helpful information for them, but also can create a selling opportunity for you. When you post regular content like this, people will see that you’re credible and active, and they will be more likely to reach out to you for your services when the time is right.
Sharing your own written content boosts credibility. Nate recommends staying away from scare tactics and any language that might come off as straight selling or ad-like. When you pop up on someone’s feed, you want your message to be insightful and informational. Another simple way to nurture your connections is to export your connections that you think might need your services. Send them an email from your personal account, remind them that you’ve connected on LinkedIn, and let them know what you can do for them.
By making these three critical shifts, your MSP will grow exponentially. All you need to do is take a chunk of your time every day and focus it on taking these steps. ‘Hope marketing’ doesn’t need to be your only answer. Now you have the tools and knowledge to get the customers you want.
Photo: mirtmirt / Shutterstock.
