Linked to Influence
Linked to Influence
7 Powerful Rules for Becoming a Top Influencer in Your Market and Attracting Your Ideal Clients on LinkedIn
By Stephanie Sammons
StephanieSammons.com
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Copyright © 2015 Stephanie Sammons
This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-Book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is dedicated to Mike Stelzner, founder of SocialMediaExaminer.com and the Social Media Marketing World Conference. Thank you for giving me a multitude of opportunities to grow my influence and for pushing me to be better.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The LinkedIn Opportunity
Linked to Influence
Chapter 1—RULE #1—Power Up Your Profile (with Precision)
Chapter 2—RULE #2—Build a Smarter Network
Chapter 3—RULE #3—Grow Your Visibility through Value
Chapter 4—RULE #4—Network Smarter
Chapter 5—RULE #5—Go One-to-One
Chapter 6—RULE #6—Get LinkedIn to Groups
Chapter 7—RULE #7—Become a Thought Leader
Conclusion
Connect with Me
Thank You
About the Author
Introduction
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In June 2009, I quit my job. I walked away from a fifteen-year corporate financial services career to pursue my dream of becoming an entrepreneur. I wasn’t exactly prepared for this move, nor did I anticipate the major identity crisis that would accompany it. But I knew deep down that I had to do something different with my life. Ultimately, I no longer had any real job security, and I was not in control of my destiny. It was time to go.
Although it was a terrible time for a career change (on the heels of the major financial crisis), it ended up being the best move I have ever made. The timing of my departure coincided with the emergence of social networking platforms like LinkedIn, which were quickly changing the way we connect and do business.
LinkedIn had been around for a few years, but I had never paid much attention. My company restricted the use of online social networking due to regulations. As a new entrepreneur, I was free to explore. I slowly began to dive into LinkedIn to learn more about the business-networking opportunities.
LinkedIn ended up saving my life. I needed an effective way to quickly seek out people, ideas, and resources that could help me launch and grow my marketing consulting business. LinkedIn was the answer for me.
I don’t recommend waiting to leverage LinkedIn until you need it, like I did. Instead, start building your presence before you ever need help. You never know what curveballs life is going to throw you, especially in this day and age.
While I was learning how to master LinkedIn, I saw many of my digital marketing peers focusing on other platforms like Facebook and Twitter. They tended to be less excited about the potential of LinkedIn. But I stuck with LinkedIn, because I knew that access to this vast database of businesspeople and content was extremely valuable (if I could figure out how to effectively tap into it).
It certainly wasn’t my intention to become a teacher of LinkedIn. However, I am a teacher and a coach at heart. I spent my first couple of years out of college as a high school business teacher and girls’ basketball coach. Teaching has always been a core part of my business experience working with clients.
The more I understood the value of LinkedIn as a business tool, the more I wanted to share this knowledge with my clients and community. I began writing and speaking about my LinkedIn insights and strategies for entrepreneurs and professionals. When you speak on a topic, you have very little time to go into great detail in your presentation. This book allows me the freedom to share in-depth knowledge with you. Essentially, this book is a comprehensive LinkedIn marketing playbook.
My LinkedIn marketing methodology is different than that of most of the experts’ out there. I take a more strategic, patient approach. I come from the school of employing “trust-based” marketing for developing long-term (and loyal) client or customer relationships. This method of marketing is designed to build your personal influence. The more influence you build, the more attractive you become to your ideal clients.
As a financial advisor, I had to earn the trust and respect of my wealthy, retiring clients. I had to guide, influence, and serve these individuals for months, and in some cases years, before they made the decision to work with me.
I learned that landing a new client wasn’t so great if that person was someone you didn’t enjoy working with. Finding ideal clients became my mission. Who wants to build a business where you work with a bunch of clients you don’t really enjoy?
My LinkedIn marketing strategy is designed to help you become more influential and to grow your business with your ideal clients in the process. It is grounded in building trust with anyone and everyone who matters to your business. For me, there is no other way to protect your reputation and attract the best client relationships.
The great advantage of LinkedIn is that you can accelerate the trust-building process like never before. You have access to information about people and avenues to connect with them that were not previously available.
With LinkedIn, you can literally see beyond your 1st-degree network and gain exposure to your extended network, which has never been possible before. And you can provide value by sharing your ideas and insights. I believe that LinkedIn represents one of the greatest business-building opportunities in history, especially if your business depends on relationships and referrals.
With this book, my goal is to serve as your instructor. I will teach you my proven process for building personal influence on LinkedIn, so that you can start attracting ideal clients and opportunities to your business.
The book consists of seven powerful rules. These rules are meant to serve as strategic guideposts for you to follow. They will give you a framework for understanding and leveraging the most important tools that LinkedIn has to offer you.
I am excited to share my process with you and help you take your LinkedIn presence (and your business) to the next level. I want these words to truly make a difference in your business and in your life. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share my ideas and insights with you. I hope you find them to be valuable.
To help you follow along and think more clearly about your LinkedIn strategy, I have created a complementary mini PDF workbook for you. You can download your workbook by visiting this page on my website.
The LinkedIn Opportunity
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LinkedIn is the most powerful business-networking resource in history. It is a global, virtual, perpetual networking event! LinkedIn is currently the best professional platform for growing your personal influence, building a loyal referral network, positioning yourself as a thought leader, and attracting your ideal clients.
At the time of this writing, LinkedIn is quickly approaching 400 million members worldwide. One in every three professionals is an official LinkedIn member. LinkedIn members view the platform as a valuable, trusted destination for growing their networks, uncovering job and business opportunities, and gathering professional and industry insights.
LinkedIn members are also active, educated, and affluent. Over 40 percent of members earn $100,000 or more per year and 60 percent earn more th
an $75,000 per year. LinkedIn members are businesspeople, and a good majority of them are the decision-makers!
Having access to a trusted, professional platform where you can accelerate the growth of your influence and network is a game changer for those who take advantage. If you are an entrepreneur or business professional in the digital age, LinkedIn is a no-brainer opportunity for growing your business.
Do You Need a Premium LinkedIn Account?
A question I am frequently asked about LinkedIn is, “Should I sign up for a premium account?”
My general answer to this question is YES. If you are serious about tapping into all that LinkedIn has to offer and you can afford to upgrade, do so. The additional benefits of a premium account are quite valuable, especially with regard to one-to-one communication and LinkedIn search tools.
Over time, LinkedIn has continued to take away some of the benefits that were available previously with a free account. That doesn’t mean a free account is worthless. There are still plenty of benefits if you do stick with a free account.
A premium LinkedIn account includes benefits such as enhanced searches (more results and filters) and InMails (the ability to send messages to any LinkedIn member, even if you’re not connected). Premium members gain greater visibility on LinkedIn and access to more profile data.
There are several premium account options and pricing levels to choose from. You will save money if you pay on an annual basis. You can also upgrade or downgrade your account at any time.
A premium LinkedIn account has exposed me to invaluable connections, business opportunities, and insights. You will have to make your own decision about whether it makes sense for you to upgrade your account.
Making the LinkedIn Commitment
Whether you decide on a premium account doesn’t matter nearly as much as making the commitment to developing and growing your LinkedIn presence.
You can leapfrog your competitors by applying what you learn in this book. You will learn strategies and tactics that, without a doubt, will separate you from your competitors. I can’t guarantee results for you, but I can tell you that if you consistently implement what you learn in this book, you will become more influential in your industry, market, or niche, and good things will happen for your business.
You may have noticed that the title of this book is Linked to Influence. Let me share with you why I believe building your personal influence on LinkedIn (and across the social web) is so critical for attracting your ideal clients and customers today.
Linked to Influence
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The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.
- Ken Blanchard
One of the most powerful ways to grow your business in today’s digital age is to build your personal influence. Building personal influence isn’t about marketing your products or services. It’s about marketing your message in a way that provides significant value to your ideal clients or customers.
Influence is no longer limited to the elite few. As my friend, Mark Schaefer, says in his book Return on Influence, “Influence has been democratized.” Mark is correct. YOU can establish yourself as an influencer, starting right now!
You can become that credible, sought-after expert and work exclusively with the clients (and/or customers) you want to work with in the way you want to work with them. It sounds appealing, doesn’t it? With the ability to create a powerful online presence through access to social networks like LinkedIn, it is very achievable.
To build personal influence, you don’t have to wait for someone to choose you or give you permission.
Influence is the New Authority
Being viewed as an “authority” is no longer enough in today’s democratized, digital society. Certainly you need to know your stuff and be competent at what you do. That’s a given. But you need more than expertise and experience to attract your ideal clients. You need influence. Influence extends beyond authority.
We follow and work with influencers because of who they are, what they know, what they believe, and how they think. They strike a chord with us and make us feel inspired. They lead us. They motivate and empower us.
Think about the people who have influenced you. Why do you follow them? What have they done for you? How have they impacted your life?
Trusted influencers are leaders in their respective industries, markets, and niches. They have impeccable reputations and operate with integrity. Influencers do not try to help everyone. They know exactly whom they can help. Influencers are laser focused on serving their ideal clients or customers.
People admire, trust, and respect influencers. They seek the advice and guidance of influencers. People want to learn from and work with influencers because of who they are, and people are willing to pay for that privilege.
When you build your personal influence, your digital activities will have a much greater impact, and you will spend less time and energy to achieve the same results!
How Do You Build Personal Influence Today?
Building your personal influence on LinkedIn (and online in general) is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight—it accumulates over time. Influence is like an investment portfolio where you keep adding to it consistently until you have a substantial nest egg that will pay you dividends and interest for the rest of your professional life!
First, to build your personal influence, you need to be more personable online. Show your personality and share personal insights and stories that your ideal clients can relate to. Can you do this on LinkedIn? Absolutely.
Creating a more personalized professional brand through your LinkedIn presence is something I strongly recommend. I’ll talk more about this in Rule #1.
Next, you need to consistently share your perspective. It’s not enough to share what you know. You also need to share what you think! It is your unique message that you want to market in a way that adds significant value to your ideal clients, not your products and services.
Last, but certainly not least, you need to add real value to the lives of your ideal clients or customers. You need to give away knowledge, insights, and guidance that can change their lives for the better.
With so much information available online now, it is very difficult for most people to synthesize and process it all. By doing this work for your ideal clients and customers while infusing it with your own personality and perspective, you will be viewed as a trusted influencer.
When you build your personal influence, your business will grow automatically and exponentially.
Personal Influence and LinkedIn Go Hand in Hand
LinkedIn provides an incredible opportunity to build your personal influence.
Everything you do on LinkedIn is tied to your personal LinkedIn profile. You have opportunities to build your personal influence on LinkedIn through your profile, your networking activities, group discussions, one-to-one contact, content sharing, content publishing, and more.
Throughout this book, you will see that this personal-influence concept I’m so crazy about serves as the underlying foundation to everything I teach about LinkedIn.
Just remember this: if you focus on building your personal influence on LinkedIn, it will compound your results.
Hopefully you have a better understanding about why I’m such a fan of building personal influence. That’s truly how you get Linked to Influence. Now, let’s move on to the seven rules for becoming a top influencer in your market and attracting your ideal clients on LinkedIn! Are you ready? Turn the page!
Chapter 1—RULE #1—Power Up Your Profile (with Precision)
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Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.
- Thomas Jefferson
A neurosurgeon is very precise when operating on a patient. Using the exact medical procedure and surgical tools required, the neurosurgeon operates on the patient’s specific problem.
Do you operate with this level of precision in your busin
ess? Do you have a targeted message and method to address a specific problem with your ideal clients or customers?
Your LinkedIn profile serves as your surgical tool for attracting the right people and opportunities to your business. Your profile should include precise information that is designed to specifically appeal to that exact prospective client you are looking to work with.
You don’t have to be a neurosurgeon, but if you want to leverage your LinkedIn profile to grow your business, power it up with precision.
Your LinkedIn Profile = Your Professional Identity
Your LinkedIn profile is, by default, your new professional identity. Whether you are prepared for it or not, it is likely that hundreds, if not thousands of people are going to stumble across your LinkedIn profile. Some of these individuals undoubtedly will be your ideal clients. These are the people you want to be prepared for!
Your LinkedIn profile is also the gateway to growing your professional network and building your personal influence. It is the center of your LinkedIn presence.
Just claiming your LinkedIn profile and completing the basics is not enough. You need to create a strategic, compelling, and optimized LinkedIn profile in order to stand out and attract your ideal clients and customers.