Unlock the power of LinkedIn for lead generation! With over 930 million users worldwide and advanced targeting options, LinkedIn is the go-to platform for professionals and entrepreneurs to reach their ideal clients. Join me in this week's episode as I chat with LinkedIn expert, Jen Corcoran, who shares valuable tips and insights on how to generate quality leads in an aligned, easy and fun way. Get ready to discover gold nuggets of information that can help take your business to the next level.

YOU’LL LEARN:

• The biggest struggle and lesson learnt in Jen’s first year in business

• Why you need a website when you’re an introvert

• How to optimize your LinkedIn profile

• How to find and connect with people on LinkedIn

• How to generates leads on LinkedIn without posting the content

• How to DM people without being spammy

• Why you should invest your time in the newsletter

• What should be the first step when you’re only starting on LinkedIn

ABOUT MY GUEST:

Jen Corcoran is a Linkedin expert and consultant on a mission to help sensitive, introverted and empathic female coaches, consultants and trainers to toot their horns on LinkedIn in an aligned, easy and fun way. She helps them super boost their LinkedIn profiles, make genuine connections and attract consistent ideal clients using her 4-stage PACT framework (Presence – Action – Connect – Track). Her Clients left feeling reinvigorated, confident and raring to go, excited to tap into all the prosperity and endless opportunities that LinkedIn offers them.

You may follow Jen on ⁠Linkedin⁠ or visit her website at: ⁠https://mysuperconnector.co.uk/⁠

Also, don’t forget to download her value packed checklist “64-Point Profile Checklist to Attract More Leads on LinkedIn” - ⁠click HERE⁠ to get it free with the coupon code: LINKEDINPROFILE

LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST EPISODE:

EPISODE SUMMARY:

19:52

Let's talk how to generate leads on LinkedIn.

Build Your Profile

It's quite often where people Google you, your LinkedIn profile can show up over your website. You should put the same effort and time into your profile as into your website. Make sure it's on brand, it looks similar to your website and it's got similar information. It's filled out properly and fully optimized. Make sure you're not missing out sections and do your research and know what your keywords are. You have to position your profile like a sales page, like a website.

Build Your Network

And then just be intentional about who you connect with. Who is your ideal client? Or who could you collaborate with? Like us today on this podcast. You have the opportunity to shape your network, how you want. You may connect with interesting people, ideal clients, partners, suppliers.

Connect

Once you build your network, use the connection in a way that suits your personality, your energy, your goals, your time and your diary. Because there's no one size fits all. So, with my clients, I help them figure out what works for them best. Some of them only want to do content on the home feed, they want all of their leads to be inbound. And they hate DMs. And then others hate showing up on their own fees. And they like DMs. It's about figuring out what's going to work for you.

Track Your Leads

And then tracking it, making sure you've got some kind of a CRM or a tracker. Otherwise, you forget the conversations you've had and you could lose your leads if you don't track it. 

You're like me, you're not trying to target everyone, unless you're selling the product, then you are. But if you're working as a service provider, you don't have the capacity and time.

You really have to make sure you're nurturing the right people and not wasting your time and energy on the wrong people.

23:23

Would you connect with your ideal clients or maybe with people who you can collaborate with?

Absolutely. Connecting directly with your ideal clients might take a little bit longer. But if you talk to somebody who has an audience like you with your podcast, then you get to reach so much more people. I'm always like collaborating to reach my ideal clients to other people's audiences. Also don’t be afraid to lean in and ask for introduction as well, if you know people who are connected to your ideal client. LinkedIn is so much more than just your first-degree connections, usually everybody you want is in your second degree.

Also give introductions for other people because in the end, it will come back to you. People will be like thank you. Then if I hear somebody who needs a Squarespace web designer, I will be like chat to Ella.

I am all about relationship marketing that happens behind the scenes and that's really powerful.

24:38

Recently, you’ve posted a very interesting article that you don't have to post content on your home feed to generates leads on LinkedIn. I find it very refreshing because we all think, you have to produce the content consistently to attract clients and get visible.

I really think your profile is the ultimate content. And if you're reaching out and connect with the right people and having conversations behind the scenes, I don't think you need to post content because I know the first five years I used LinkedIn, I didn't post any content.

I had a good profile, I connected with the people I wanted to and I really built opportunities for myself. I won the title of the most networking PA in London just from connecting to people in the DMs. I've got lots of awards, I got promoted at work, got bigger salary, and I never posted any content.

The content was the DMs and my profile.

So I think everybody's different and what there's a lot of hype about, it's all content, but you have to think who's telling you that and they're usually content influences.

If you're not going to do content on the home feed, you need to have an optimized profile and you need to be able to chat to people properly in the DMs, I do both. I don't rely on one over the other. The thing about the DMs is that you're in control. You know, you can send the message, everybody will get it. They may not respond, but they will get it. Where is with the content on the home feed with the algorithm, you're not in control. You don't know many people are going to see that post.

26:45

What is your opinion about DM-ing people? Is it okay to DM people who just connected with you, or just accepted your connection request?

I'm a big fan of warm at reach. I try to find something in common. That way it doesn't feel spammy. It's about thinking how can you get these people warm. So for example, maybe you’re a female entrepreneur and you belong to a networking group, a networking association and you're like, okay, I'm going to reach out to all these ladies on LinkedIn. You have the networking in common. So it's not super cold. So it's like, you know, hi Mary, we both belong to XYZ network. I'd love to connect with you here on LinkedIn.

My approach would always be about finding out those touch points.

What are you doing in your business? Do you go on networking? Do you do speaking gigs? So obviously if you do speaking gigs like lives or webinars or talks, all of those people are warm. If they've got to hear you speak, they're interested in your work.

Or it could be if you have an email list on your website and people have downloaded your lead magnet, you can connect with them on LinkedIn because they already know you.

It's about figuring out how can we do this warm.

Reach out to all the warm leads first before you go to cold leads.

And then if it's cold, it's about making people feel special, seen and heard. And of course, you can’t sell straight away. It's about building up relationships, listening for clues. Some people you will connect to may say, thanks for connecting, I think I need a new website and you're like, bingo, you get a client straight away because they're ready. Other people may not be there yet. So, there's no point in saying, let's hop on a call. Here's my link. It does really turn people off. It's just about connecting as a human being and having a chat and seeing where it goes. And if it goes cold, that's fine. You just focus on the people who are engaging with you. And you never know when somebody's going to start the conversation again.

An easy thing is always like, references something in their profile.

You know, if you're reaching out, you read something interesting, reference that or look at their content and say, like you just said, that post from yesterday. I'm like, oh, thank you for reading that. Just reference something like that. I give an example, like one of my clients, Larry, was like really new to LinkedIn and she's only got like 40 odd connections now. And she didn't really have any content because she's new to business. She is in the messy stage of what do, so I was telling her, just connect to people. She reached out to an author that she really loves. She's read their book. She was super specific when she reached out and, she said, I love your books for example, on page 39 paragraph five and they were blown away and get on zoom with her the next day.

Just follow that formula. Make people feel special and make them feel like seen and heard. Because most people won't take the time to do that. Don't just send generic messages because people are all busy.

You really have to think what's in it for them to connect with you and not what's in it for me. Think about, how you can help them. It’s really like, you wouldn't just suddenly be throwing your business card at people and saying, book with me. You have to have that cheat chat first.

31:21

I don't like receiving messages from people I don’t know with their freebies or sign-up links to their webinars. What’s your opinion on that?

I think that freebie could be something amazing. But they could ask that in a different way. They could say: Hey, I'm not sure if you're interested, but I've just created XYZ. Let me know if you fancy a copy. I'm asking for permission. You'll get a far better response. Throwing at someone link or freebie doesn't work anymore. I think it worked maybe five years ago. People responded to it. Now it’s I don't want your freebie. I've got enough of freebies.

Also, I think you have to position your freebie as something really sexy for them. For example, if I was giving a freebie to you, it would be like, I've just been working on my e-book about how to attract more clients on LinkedIn as a Squarespace web designer. Then you would be okay, I'm interested. I think if you can tailor it and make it sexy to that person, you will get like at least 50% success.

I think a lot of people, have the wrong approach. They're calling their freebie something boring and they're not really building that relationship. Whereas if they reframed it, they would get much higher acceptance and people would actually have a look at that.

 33:23

What is the difference between an article and a post?

An article is more long for me, has more characters and it's just more kind of elevated content, I would say. Post is more like short form content, short and snappy, you know, whereas an article is more like taught leadership, longer.

You also have articles and newsletters. So, article and newsletter are the exact same thing. They just have a different name. And the difference is anyone can do an article. And when you post an article, you're relying on the algorithm. You don't know who's going to see it. But if you create a newsletter, the first time you post it, absolutely everyone you're connected to in your first network get notified.  Then you can get subscribers. So, a newsletter is way better than an article.

If you want to get newsletter access quicker, you have to switch to content creator mode on your profile. And that just gives you access. The only way you'll find out is if you have newsletter access, is if you try to create an article on the home feed, and you click on the article. It says article and newsletter.

The good thing about the article or the newsletter is that you get a separate, URL and it can be found on Google and search.

37:03

If you’re only starting with LinkedIn, what should be the first steps?

Profile, definitely. Before you rush to connect to people or create content or anything like that, dig deep and really build your profile and think, who are you trying to attract? What are your services? How can you position them and just optimize your profile as much as you can from top to bottom.

Fill out as many sections as you can, so you give yourself more opportunity to be found in search. Fill out sections like the skills section. You've got 50 skills in there. Make sure you've got the right keywords. Make sure you've got social proof on your profile. Have like up to date recommendations because we all need that social proof when we connect to people online now.

Have a good branded banner. That's the most thing people will see. Make sure it's on brand and it's clear what you do and who you help. Have a good headline. You've got 220 characters in that section and make sure you're showcasing who you are, who you help, and how you help them. What is the transformation that you offer instead of just putting up like founder or CEO? It's a missed opportunity.

And have a good headshot as well. I remember the day when I switched from just a crop-top picture of personal picture that I had to a professional headshot. And the way people treated me instantly changed and the connections were accepted so much quicker. And the conversations were so much better.

Investing in your branding like the visual part and then invest in filling out the copy part.  There is a lot of people who say that LinkedIn doesn’t work. And then I look for their profile and I'm like, well, your profile is rubbish. You've got like no banner, a terrible headshot. Really bad headline.

It's like you're trying to attract premium clients and you're not showing up as premium.

I’m a big believer in treating your profile the same as your website. Yes, you can create a banner on Canva, but it's far more impactful if you get a graphic designer to do it. It's just going to look so much better. I would not design something on Canva myself and stick it up on my website. So I would have that same approach on LinkedIn and again, you know, professional headshot makes such a difference. Treat your profile like your website and realize that they’re buddies, they work together.

40:01

Final words

I think we've covered really everything. If people are feeling a bit scared or blocked about LinkedIn, realize there's just great opportunities on that. It's such a great platform if you're an introvert and you can position yourself how you want and get your voice in the room.

There are just over 930 million members now on LinkedIn.

We're going to hit a billion either by the end of 2023 or at the start of 2024 so LinkedIn is not going away. Your clients are on there. It's just the case of attracting them and finding them and thinking bigger as well.

I think a lot of people are not sure if their clients are on LinkedIn, but there are people on there who will give you access to your ideal clients.

So for example, you could get a Pilates teacher or yoga teacher or a photographer and they might think, my client is not on here? And I'm like, well, connect with an event manager who is running an event. It could be a wedding fair and then a makeup artist gets exposure to thousands of people or hairdressers gets exposure or a well-being event and the Pilates teacher gets exposure.

So think bigger because everyone is on there. And if you really think they're not on there. People who have access to them are on there. So yeah, it's just the case of finding them and attracting them. 

If you found this blog helpful, please feel free to share it with others and sign up to our email list HERE, so you’ll never miss any episode. Thank you - Ella

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