LinkedIn Through The Ages

I got started with LinkedIn way back in the beginning, I’ve been a power user of the platform for a long time so I’ve seen it evolve through its different phases. I work with B2B businesses helping them utilize the site for their sales and marketing efforts.

I was already heavily into networking as a means to build my business and when I heard about LinkedIn I realized I could scale my efforts even further.

I started learning more about the platform and one of the associations we were a member of decided to fly me out to NYC to do a training.

I quickly realized I was teaching in front of a room of extremely high net-worth individuals. That’s what tipped me off that I was really onto something and it wasn’t long before I took on LinkedIn training full time.

This was right before Facebook and Twitter blew up leading to the social media revolution so LinkedIn was just seen as a business tool at the time.


LinkedIn, fortunately, has integrated their suite of apps into their main app so the functionally I’m talking about here no longer requires you to connect multiple apps together.

What’s great about knowing the important milestones in your network is that it gives you an easy jumping off point in which to strike up a conversation with members of your network you may have lost touch with.

Everybody likes to be acknowledged so don’t feel like it’s a canned entré when you reach out to send somebody a birthday wish or congratulations on a work anniversary.
 
Relationships are all about give and take, and LinkedIn is doing a great job at helping you create that initial “give.”

I have a client who landed a $3 million deal that started with sending a congratulatory message. The online conversation led to a coffee meeting which in turn evolved into an RFP that she ultimately won.

That never would have happened if she didn’t send out that first prompted message.
 
I like that I can manage my contacts directly from LinkedIn and before I head to a meeting I’ll get a notification from a linked calendar. Then I can review that contact’s background, see their picture, and call them if I need directions or something like that.

This is a great tool to have if you’re a salesperson whose business depends on networking and booking client meetings.
 

Action Steps

  1. Open up your LinkedIn dashboard, either online or the mobile app.
  2. See what network update notifications you have. (Turn this feature on if you’ve disabled it.)
  3. Congratulate contacts on promotions, work anniversaries, and birthdays as a means to reconnect.
  4. Start with messaging over the app via its messenger or Inmail, and move to phone or offline as it makes sense.

 

Result You Will Achieve

Revived connections with your network by using LinkedIn’s built-in prompts to start conversations and maintain your relationships.

Mentor: Viveka Von Rosen

Co-founder of Vengresso. Viveka has personally worked with several Fortune 500 Executives and New York Times authors, as well as both large corporate and smaller local businesses.

 
This article is based on an EHQ interview with the mentor.