Building Real Relationships on LinkedIn

Today, we're going to talk about how you build real relationships on LinkedIn. This is super important if you want to do anything really on LinkedIn, but especially if you're wanting to get clients, you want your marketing to feel easy, and authentic relationship marketing is the way to go.

So that's what we're gonna talk about today so that you nail this and your business grows like gangbusters. That's what we're all about.

Alright, guys, let's dive into how to build real relationships using LinkedIn.? In my opinion, relationship building and genuine conversations are the fastest and most reliable ways to make sales. In my experience, every sale I've ever made has always been because I took the time to talk to somebody and build an actual relationship and that somehow led to a sale sometimes with that person or that person introducing me to somebody else. But I have never gone wrong by caring about somebody and putting in the work to build a relationship.

Tough Lessons

It is to me the best way to grow your business. And I learned this lesson the hard way. I have really put in the work in a lot of different ways to grow my business. And one of the ways that I tried was just what I teach not to do now and that is to message a ton of people.

There was a time in my business when I was just messaging every day, trying to talk to as many people as possible. And after a while I looked at what I was doing, I was like, man, I'm talking to all these people, I'm DMing all these people, but I don't really care what they're saying in response. I'm only motivated by making the sale and when I really looked at myself, I was unhappy with my marketing.? I was unhappy with what I was doing, it was out of alignment with who I was and what my business stood for.

So when I realized that, I made the switch to providing value and being more focused on building a relationship with people and providing value through content and through other ways.? (I'm actually gonna give you some really specific tips and just a little bit of how you can do this.) But once I made that switch to being really focused on relationship building, that's when things really began to click for me. I was able to sell to bigger clients, I was able to retain clients longer, and honestly, it just felt better and because clients are sticking around longer, I had a bigger impact on their business.

So that's the sort of thing that I want for you. I want you to have that similar experience of being able to work with bigger, better clients for longer periods of time and get better results. And in my opinion, and in my experience you do that by building relationships.

A Powerful Philosophy for LinkedIn

Okay, so again, I'm going to give you some really specific tips in just a minute. But before we do that, I want to talk about my philosophy around relationship-building because this is going to change the way you approach LinkedIn.

It's going to change the way you approach business building in general and that is to think about your marketing and your sales process almost like a recipe and finding balance and harmony between three different elements.

Being Aggressively You

The first element is to be aggressively, I mean aggressively, you.? You are an individual:? your brand, your style. It's important and when you really lean into who you are, you're going to see a big difference.

Don't try to hide. Don't try to be someone else's brand. Be you. It makes a huge difference. So that's ingredient number one ... be aggressively you.

Actually Care

Number two is to actually care about people. You've been in this experience. I have to. I just told you the story of how I used to do this to other people but I've been on the other side of that to where I'll get messages and felt like this person is just talking to me because they want to sell to me and I can tell and it feels sleazy. It feels slimy. I don't want to talk to them.

You've probably had that experience as well. Do you know how you counteract that? By actually caring about people, not just trying to meet your quota but actually caring about how that is person doing. How is their business doing? How can I help them? When you actually show up and care, you're going to see a lot more results coming your way.

Boldness

Number three is boldness. Okay, so being you and caring ... really important. But lots of times people take those two things and say, "Okay, that means I should live in my little bubble and I shouldn't say anything to anybody else. I shouldn't make any offers because if they want it, they will come to me. I'm being aggressively me and I'm really caring about people and providing a ton of value. If they want to work with me, they'll ask later."

Guess what? No, they won't!

They're not going to ask. You have got to balance caring about them and being you with being bold about the value you provide and what are the possibilities if they actually pay you money and start working with you. When you find the balance between those three things, that's when the magic starts to mingle together and business can truly explode.

I've seen that with my business and I've seen that with my clients' businesses.? Finding your individual balance with those three things is super important. Okay, so that's my philosophy. Now, let's get into some nitty-gritty.

How to Show Up on LinkedIn

Here are some things you can do to show up and actually build relationships on LinkedIn.

Messaging

So number one is messaging. And if you know anything about me, you know that I promote having a live event as being the main hub of your LinkedIn strategy. So that makes it really easy to show up and start talking to people in a way that feels really natural because you can point back to your event and say, "Hey, why don't you come in? It's a party, right?" It's really easy to invite people to that.

But in your messaging, you need to actually care about what you're saying and why you're saying it. So don't just throw a ton of words out there actually take a moment, be a human being, go look at their profile. Don't say, "Hey, what do you do for a living?"? That's on their profile. Go check it out. Take two seconds and look at their website. Don't be that person that doesn't take the time to be a human being and actually look at what they're doing. Make an intelligent comment about what they're doing and that will open the doors for you.

Provide Value

Number two is to provide value. Now, value is an interesting concept because where do you actually get value? Value is created in action. It's created in taking action and getting results. So for you to provide value, especially on LinkedIn, it's through inspiring, inviting, motivating people to take action.

Sometimes that means hiring you. Sometimes that means doing something small, right? Like watching a YouTube video. The action itself doesn't really matter except that in order to provide value, they need to be in action. Right?

So you can be of value to them by inspiring, motivating, teaching them how to get results ... how to take action.

Scroll and Engage

Number three is to scroll your feed. Go look at what other people are talking about and actually add to the conversation. Take 10 minutes a day and scroll through your LinkedIn feed and comment on what people are doing.

That's going to start conversations. If somebody supports you, what do you want to do? You want to turn around and support them. So the best way for you to build a relationship is to just go talk to them and comment on their stuff. They're going to notice someone who's always commenting on their stuff.

Those are the things that you can do to build relationships on LinkedIn. Have real conversations - be a human being, provide value, and scroll your feed, commenting on their stuff. And remember the philosophy: find that balance between being aggressively you, caring about them, and being bold and inviting them to take action.

So if that's something you're interested in doing and you want more information on this or even if you want to implement the strategy for yourself and you want some help, go to BrightworksTraining.com. That's my website where we've got resources, done-for-you services, and coaching that you can check out.

I'll see you there!

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About the Author

Craig Severinsen is a business consultant that helps entrepreneurs grow their business and reclaim their life. He is on a personal mission to end entrepreneurial burnout, and help every business owner live life to the fullest.?

Craig is best known for his innovative approach to building an engaged audience through Real Time Market Research, which helps entrepreneurs build better offers and more effective Marketing campaigns.

Craig is the founder of Bright Works Training, a business consulting firm based out of St. Louis Missouri.?

Bright Works Training’s programs focus on taking action, so that you can finally have the success, freedom and support you deserve - without sacrificing your personal life.??

Go to BuiltToScaleHQ.com to listen to Craig's Podcast.