LinkedIn - Making connections and Sales Navigator

[Frimley111R]

I've not really used this in the past for making new business connections but have had some recent success through LI and want to try to use it to build connections with suitable contacts. However, as with any new system, some of it is simple and then some of it isn't.

I am hoping we have some LI experts on here who can help and , if possible/needed, chat me through a few things related to this. A couple of questions to get me/you started:

• Inmails cost and seem to simply allow you to write a bit more by way of an introduction, is that correct? At the moment I cannot see the point of the cost of these as you can write a message up to 300 characters to anyone.

• As strategy of searching for people with specific job titles and then messaging them directly to connect seems worth trying but will be labour intensive and slow (although happy to work through this)

• Sales Navigator seems good but I am not sure what else it will gain me that will be of real value. Or am I missing something?

Also, I post relevant interesting news on my own LI account/profile but do I need to double it up onto the company page (I think so, not sure why I am asking!)

 

[Andy Harris]

I hope this helps ...

I'm embarrassed to say that I've been on LinkedIn since it started, but utilised it poorly. Sales navigator is good, but only if used properly. I highly recommend getting into the funnel of Adam Houlahan - he's an Australian who gives away a ton of useful info (including his books downloaded if you attend webinars etc.), and although he does want to gain customers, there are many low priced entry points that result in benefiting from his expertise.

Just wish I'd found him a lot earlier! You'll find things like a 4 week free course, etc. via https://adamhoulahan.com/ (scroll down the page to the 'Work with Adam' part).

Andy

 

[Clinton]

#1 If you don't have a premium subscription you can't message people outside of your network. And, also, you'll very, very quickly run out of your monthly quota of mail (though there's no limit to the number of messages you can send your first level connections).

#2 Er, automate! (But, to be honest you're aiming for the wrong target. You're just want to get them to connect? That's not necessarily the best approach. Just amassing numbers is largely a waste of time)

#3 You get to do tons more searches with a Sales Navigator account. You'll be highly limited without this premium subscription.

That said, I've cancelled my premium subscription in LinkedIn. I never use any of the "sales" features as I'm fortunate enough to get enough clients to keep me busy. I should have cancelled this years ago and saved myself a few grand!

 

[Frimley111R]

Thanks.

What do you mean by Automate?

My aim is to target hotel owners and it seems I can quite simply search for their job titles and send a short message to connect.

 

[intheTRADE]

What do you mean by Automate?

My aim is to target hotel owners and it seems I can quite simply search for their job titles and send a short message to connect.

Automate the search and contact process, essentially creating rules of who you want to connect with (i.e. industry/job title etc) then it automatically connecting with them and sending an automated introduction.

This can be useful if you're wanting a high volume of new business.

 

[Clinton]

What do you mean by Automate?

I don't approve of those programs so am not going to give you links. Try Google.

 

[Strent12]

We tried linkedin inmail and it didn't work very well at all and was clunky to use.


Additionally, the InMail messages are marked as sponsored so that might increase the likelihood of them being ignored and viewed negatively from the outset which is something else to consider.

 

[Andy Harris]

Ref: automating connections, there are various software systems that let you automate views of profiles, connection requests, etc. None are perfect, they break the LinkedIn T&C's, but they are widely used. Linkedhelper is an example of many on the market.

 

[Julia Sta Romana]

Automation or hiring people to mass connect or scrape data off LI is not a good idea. It will flag or even block your account. And it's not going to help you make the meaningful connections you need when networking.

A better option if you're looking for leads would be to check out trade associations.

 

[ethical PR]

Why do you feel Linked In is a good channel to reach hotel owners @Frimley111R ?

 

[Frimley111R]

Why do you feel Linked In is a good channel to reach hotel owners @Frimley111R ?

They are easy to target and I can see how many of which of them are on LI regularly.

 

[ethical PR]

They are easy to target and I can see how many of which of them are on LI regularly.

Fair enough - I just wasn't sure how well used a channel Linked In is for hotel owners and how they would response to receiving a first communication from you this way. I would have thought you could more easily reach them and be more credible through advertising/partnering with dedicated trade media like Hotel Owner or relevant trade shows.