As someone who believes there is definitely such a thing as too much social media, I want to discuss why you need to ration and structure your time on LinkedIn and how to prioritise quality over quantity to get the most out of the experience.

Why too much LinkedIn is not a good thing

I’m an independent LinkedIn trainer. I know exactly how important this platform is for individuals and businesses wanting to grow their online presence and achieve greater successes. But because LinkedIn is aimed at business professionals, it can be easy to forget that it is still a social media platform.

We’re hearing more and more about how too much social media is dangerous for us, and I agree. This year in particular, when we have been confined to our homes for long periods of time, there has been a huge temptation to spend large portions of every day connecting and conversing online.

However, this is exactly what social media is designed to do – clever algorithms, driven by artificial intelligence, are continuously refining and improving our experience online to meet three core objectives.

These are objectives all social media platforms have:

1. Engagement goal, keep us plugged in for longer
2. Growth goal – gain more subscribers (for LinkedIn the goal here is to transition free subscribers to paid accounts such as LinkedIn Premium or Sales Navigator)
3. Sell us advertising (largely Facebooks goal, however we have seen elements of this appearing on LinkedIn in recent years with sponsored posts)

Many people also don’t realise that the user experience design of social media platforms is actually based on ideas that originally came from the gambling industry. Scrolling through the newsfeed triggers similar responses to slot machines, and “likes” give us a rush far more addictive than a “win” could ever be, making us feel validated and successful, all while tapping into that caveman desire for belonging, acceptance and social connection.

So it isn’t surprising that social media addiction has become a growing concern. These sites are actually designed to create addiction and compulsion. It is in their interests that we never sign out.

And, just like in the movie, if we don’t realise we’re plugged into The Matrix, how are we supposed to wake up?

This is why I always outline a number of steps people can take to make sure they don’t spend too much time on LinkedIn and that the time they do spend here is productive.

How to make your time on LinkedIn productive

Because LinkedIn is a business networking platform, just spending time on the site each day can make us feel productive. But you’re only productive if you’re actually achieving something. Scrolling mindlessly through the feed for an hour is not doing anything to further your business goals.

It’s essential to keep a number of things in mind when using LinkedIn:

1. What are your objectives?

The whole point of being on LinkedIn is to help you achieve your goals. You need to write these objectives down if you want to make the LinkedIn experience productive and positive. For example, do you want to:

• Attract new clients?
• Bring in investment?
• Find a new employee?
• Secure a better job?

Or you could simply be on LinkedIn to keep yourself memorable to your peers and stakeholders as this is much harder to do in these times when we can’t meet face to face.

Whatever your objectives are, your time on LinkedIn has to be concentrated on helping you achieve them!

2. What is your ROI?

Just like in any business campaign, you need to keep track of your return on investment when you are spending time on LinkedIn. These days, attention is our most important commodity, and we need to be careful where we spend it. Are we actually getting anything out of the time we put into LinkedIn? If not, you need to look at where you are putting your time and change your activities.

LinkedIn should be seen as a tool. Are you using it, or is it using you?

Ways to ration your time on LinkedIn

If you want to get maximum results from your time on LinkedIn, it is important to ration the time you spend on the platform and make every minute count. I always advise setting yourself definite tasks at specific times, so you can actually start to measure the results you’re getting from the time you’re putting in.

Daily:

• Check your notifications
• Scroll through your newsfeed (set an egg timer if you need to)
• Like and comment on anything you find interesting or useful, particularly if it is from someone who you would like to see more of in your newsfeed
• Unfollow those people who produce content you find annoying – you will still stay connected and they will not be alerted that you have unfollowed them

Weekly:

• Check who has looked at your profile and send them invitations to connect
• Check your diary and send connection invitations based on who you have met, or simply spoken to
• Post content

Fortnightly:

• Look up the people you are targeting
• Like and comment on their posts
• Look at whose posts they are commenting on, or the “people also viewed” sectionof their profile and consider if connecting with these people would further your goals

Monthly:

• Craft content for the month
• Download contacts and send direct messages to people you have recently connected with or who you want to stay top of mind with. DO NOT SPAM. Aim instead to give. Forward articles of interest; facilitate helpful introductions. Aim to serve.

Having a regular schedule like this will automatically help you cut down the amount of time you spend on LinkedIn.

How to prioritise quality over quantity

Connections

The number of connections you have on LinkedIn is not important. However, your connections need to be high-quality – you need to think about the people you are trying to reach, or people who might know these people. Every connection should lead to a potential opportunity. The opportunity might not be from the connection themselves – but from the people they know. I always advocate for being selective but open-minded.

2. Posts

LinkedIn now enables you to see how often the people you follow are posting. I discovered that some of my connections are posting 80 times a week! In my opinion, this is ridiculous.

Your posts need to show thought leadership and add value to your communities on LinkedIn. This does not mean endlessly sharing other people’s posts or posting content that is meaningless – the whole point is to start and contribute to conversations so you can demonstrate your knowledge and expertise in your industry.

It can take time to gain traction, and once a week doesn’t seem like very often to post. But if your content is thought-provoking and encourages comments, you will find you’re showing up much more prominently in people’s newsfeeds.

3. Comments

It is important to comment on the posts of the people you want to reach. Not only does this make you memorable and pull attention to your profile, but it also because comments are like smiles, you have to give them to get them back.

Conclusion

LinkedIn can be a tremendous force for good if you make the best use of your time on the platform. 

The post How Much Online Networking Is Too Much? appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Your excuses, however, will never do anything to deliver your goals, your dreams, or your ambitions. Here are eight things you should make instead of excuses.

New Commitments: When you commit to something new, you are excited by the prospect of pursuing something different. For some time, your excitement propels you out of bed in the morning and motivates you to act on what you want. Over time, as the immediate progress you make begins to wane, you find yourself on a plateau. What was once inspiring is now a grind. Soon after, instead of making progress, you make excuses. Instead of making excuses, recommit yourself to the pursuit of what it is you want. Make the commitment strong enough to sustain you as you slog it out, until you start to progress once again.

New Disciplines and Habits: One of the reasons you might fail to reach your goal is that anything worth having is going require the disciplines or habits necessary for producing it. Many are smart enough, and with more than the talent required to reach their goals, only to fail because they are unwilling to hold themselves accountable for doing the work. They lack the discipline and habits, and lacking them, can only fail. Instead of giving up, give yourself over to the work.

New Skills: Much of the time, the idea that inspires you will require you “be more” before you can “do more” or “have more.” In the pursuit of your goal or ambition, you are going to have to become the kind of person who is capable of reaching that goal. The greater the goal, the more it will require that you grow. Instead of using an excuse for struggling to achieve your goal, develop the skills necessary to move you closer to your goal. If one person is capable of something, another person is also capable, but not without becoming that person (the person that comes after the person that you are now).

New Plans: There are not too many character traits that will serve you better than persistence. Reaching your goals and achieving your dreams requires intestinal fortitude, the spirit that allows you to continue in the face of challenges. There is, however, a difference between sheer, dumb, pigheadedness and the persistence that is enabled by your resourcefulness. Instead of excusing your failure, make new plans. If your plan isn’t working, try something different. When that plan doesn’t work, try something else. While your excuses will never bring you success, persisting and making new plans will.

New Strategy: You made some assumptions about what is going to be required if you are to reach your goal. If you are like most, your strategy seemed like a good idea when you developed it. Now that your plan has run headlong into an unforgiving reality, you may find yourself absolving yourself of the failed attempts to bring your vision to life. If your theory isn’t turning out to be a successful one, it’s time for a new strategy. Failure always precedes success. Most of the adjustments successful people have made have been the result of an approach that needed to be replaced or improved.

New Counsel: There may come a time when you need help. You may need someone with different or more experience to provide you with another view, another idea, another approach, or additional insights. You may need new counsel. Some people believe the idea that they must be the rugged individualist, refusing to ask for—or accept—help from others. Throughout all of human history, the wisest of all people have sought the counsel of others who offered a perspective or advice that would allow them to improve their results. You are always free to find new counsel when it is necessary, a better decision than any excuse you might conjure up.

New Alliances: Success often requires help from others. That help may come in the form of a partner, an assistant, a friend, a family member, or an employee. Early success often stalls when advancing requires additional help. Instead of seeking to justify why you were unable to break through, you are better served by finding the help you need, regardless of the type of assistance you might need.

Adjustments to Your Timeline: You may want what you want now, or sooner than now. The time it takes to create the result isn’t always something that is within your control, no matter how much you try to bend the curve in your direction. It never makes sense to believe that some goal is going to take too long. As Jim Rohn once offered as counsel, the time is going to pass anyway. It makes more sense to adjust your timeline than give up. You can always put forth the effort to move the result closer to you, but that isn’t possible if you quit altogether.

Reaching your goals is rarely a straight line. Instead, it is likely to be marked by fits and starts, with progress made only to be followed by a retracing of your steps. The first try is essential, but the second attempt, and all that follow, are every bit as necessary. The reason so many people miss their goals is that they give up, making an excuse instead of making a more positive change. It is impossible to succeed if you accept failure as final and absolve yourself of the responsibility to try again, improving on your first effort.

Think of this list as a menu of choices as to what you can change to improve your results. Maybe you are one change away from success, or perhaps success is going to require several modifications and more effort than you imagined. Whatever it takes, make the changes, and persist. There is no benefit in quitting, and while excuses provide no satisfaction, the eventual attainment of your goal will.

The post 8 Things You Should Make Instead of Excuses appeared first on Head Of Sales.

I commonly see survey results indicating that more than 3 out of 4 customers of the salespeople I’m working with, have indicated that they would be happy to recommend.

And yet, when I do an analysis of the number of meetings with referred prospective customers, I generally find that the majority of salespeople have had NO referral meetings in the previous 60 – 90 days. When I analyse how many deliberate referral conversations salespeople have had with happy customers, I generally find a similar result.

The point I’m making here is that despite customers indicating they’re happy to help, the majority of salespeople are not turning that willingness into actual referrals. And customers aren’t the only people in our lives that would help us, if we were better at asking for help and staying top of mind.

This article is all about leveraging the credibility, networks and goodwill of others as part of your sales growth strategy. “Who can help me?” is a question not enough salespeople ask.

Let me share a few exercises and questions worth considering in relation to this very important part of your sales growth strategy.

1. Identify influential people

The first question is something I picked up at a Verne Harnish conference and it had a significant impact on my thinking and focus in this area. It’s a simple question but it normally takes 3 to 4 sessions to really answer it effectively. The question is “Who are the 20 people that will have the BIGGEST influence on your success or failure in the coming year?”

As you write out your list two things will become apparent. The first is that there are people that can help you and have a major impact on your success. The second and more confronting realisation is that there’s a very high probability that you’re not paying the top 5 enough attention.

2. Develop third-party referral relationships

The next consideration relates to developing third party referral relationships. In nearly every industry there are natural partners dealing with the types of customers you want to be doing business with and a single partnership can often deliver all the new business leads you need to achieve your sales growth targets.

My strong advice when considering this area is that less is more. Most salespeople have a lot more success if they focus more energy on less potential referral partnerships. The starting point is identifying 2 – 3 partners that you think you could deliver value to as part of the relationship.

3. Maximise customer referrals

And then there’s referrals from your existing customers and prospective customers. The first question to ask in this area is WHEN are the best times for engaging in a referral conversation. If you fail to identify the moments, you’ll miss all the opportunities there are for engaging people in a conversation about the potential to refer you. Here’s a big tip. The research indicates sooner is a better time to ask for a referral than later.

Once you’ve figured out WHEN you need to determine HOW you’ll engage customers in the referral conversation. Once again, a big tip here. If you’re not asking or you’re not turning asking into referrals, you need to review HOW you’re asking. You’re either not confident in asking or you’re asking the wrong way.

As a simple example of the impact this type of questioning can have, an Adviser I worked with in Canada was able to attribute $225 000 of additional annual revenue from just a single year of using a single strategy at the right time in the customer relationship.

There is major power in asking “Who can help me?” and taking it to the next level with the more detailed questions and exercises I’ve shared here.

The post How to Find Sales Opportunities Within Your Network appeared first on Head Of Sales.