The Fastest 7 Ways for Coaches To Get Connected with New Clients on Linkedin

Finding new coaching clients on LinkedIn can be a daunting task. There are 420 million business professionals on the social network (March 2016). That is a crowded collection of diverse individuals. Because of this, it can be difficult for your clients to find you, and for you to generate leads.

Never fear, simplicity is here.

The following 7 proven lead generation tactics are simple to implement, but can have a big impact on your business. Get started today benefiting from these 7 easy and speedy ways for coaches to connect with new clients on the world's largest professional online social network.

1 – Maximize Your Opportunities, and Use the Right Words

LinkedIn provides plenty of opportunities for search engines to find you. When you publish a post to the LinkedIn Pulse blog, you have a character limit of 40,000. That translates into roughly 6,000 to 8,000 words!

You can also respond to comments and updates, engage LinkedIn users in groups, and should obviously have a summary, professional headline and other personal profile information filled out.

These are free areas where LinkedIn is allowing you to promote yourself. You should be using every posting opportunity you possibly can. If you publish a helpful LinkedIn Pulse blog post and your competitors don't, you have just created a way for the LI and web search engines to find you that your competitors are not taking advantage of.

Here's what you need to know about optimizing every piece of content you put on LinkedIn.

When you use industry-specific words and phrases that relate to what you do and the benefits you offer, search engines take notice. Whether someone is searching on LI, Google, Bing, Yahoo or some other Internet-based search engine, they do so by typing specific words that are important to them.

If you're a lead generation specialist, you should have phrases like "lead generation" and "how to get more leads" in any content you post on LinkedIn. This is how search engines find you, and send you free traffic.

Make sure you are using keywords and phrases in your LinkedIn content that apply to the services you offer, and the benefits your clients receive.

2 – Publishing on LinkedIn Pulse 

We just mentioned the power of using every publishing opportunity that LinkedIn provides. One of the most powerful ways to do this is by adding content to the LinkedIn Pulse blog.

Choose "Pulse" from the "Interests" drop-down menu in the main navigation bar. Then click the rectangle in the upper right corner of the new page you are taken to, which says "Publish a post". This is the free LinkedIn blogging platform, and there are a lot of reasons why this is an excellent LinkedIn lead generator.

First off, your competition is simply not using it.

It is free, and there is a massive 40,000 character limit. As mentioned earlier, this means you can get anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 words in a single post. This provides search engines with a lot of information to find you, and it allows you to really help answer questions and solve problems for your target audience.

Another reason why this publishing platform is so powerful is what it does for your reputation. The user interface is professional looking. LinkedIn has done a good job with the physical layout and usability of the Pulse blog. When you publish a blog post here, you are looked upon as an authority in your field.

Fill those 40,000 characters with words and phrases that are important to your prospects and clients, and this single lead generation tool can work wonders.

3 – Expanding Your Reach with LinkedIn Groups

Did you know that you can join up to 50 LinkedIn groups? Most users on the world's largest professional social network are only members of 2 or 3 groups, if any. Remember, everywhere you can be found, there are potential clients and customers there.

So you should definitely join 50 LinkedIn groups, but only if they are relevant to your field, market or niche.

For instance, let's say you are a social media coach. You show people how to use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social networks for lead generation and customer acquisition. It would be a smart idea to perform a web search for "top 25 social networking sites".

You then search LinkedIn groups for those sites, and join the 50 largest groups.

Another way to expand your LinkedIn lead generation efforts is by creating your own group.

This allows you to laser target your prospective group members. A social media coach could start a group called "Top Facebook Marketing Strategies" or "Profit Producing Pinterest Tips".

Just remember that if you start your own LinkedIn group, you must be active. If you create a group and are never there to interact with your fellow members, that doesn't say much about your professionalism or reliability.

4 – Use a Professional Looking Profile Pic

Would you hire someone on LinkedIn if their profile picture looks unprofessional? You may have seen LinkedIn users with less than professional profile pictures. This is a real problem, because the human eye is attracted to pictures before text.

You may have the perfect LinkedIn profile. However, no one is going to read it if your profile picture is out of focus, a group picture, you are wearing your swimsuit at the beach or it is otherwise unprofessional. Have a professional looking head shot taken for your LI profile picture.

You may be the best possible solution for someone who has found your profile. However, remember this person is meeting you for the first time. They know nothing about you. They instantly judge your professionalism, or lack thereof, by your profile picture. Your lead generation efforts will be rewarded when your LI pic is as professional as you are.

5 – Build a Company Page

Your LinkedIn profile is your personal and work biography section of the site. Whether you work for someone else or own your own company, there is another section of your LinkedIn account where you can list this information.

Did you know you can build a company page on LinkedIn? This is something most LI users don't do, and it can add to your professionalism and reputation.

Hover over "Interests" at the top of your homepage. Select "Companies". Click the yellow "Create" box and enter your company's official name and pertinent information. That's it, that's how easy it is to create a company page on LinkedIn.

This gives you a more professional appearance and one more area where LinkedIn will help you generate leads. It is also an additional page to be found by Google and the other top Internet search engines. It helps you attract more followers and engage your audience, and takes only a couple of minutes to set up. This makes creating a company page a top tip for quickly developing coaching leads.

6 – Ask for Recommendations

You probably have plenty of satisfied customers and LI connections. Why not ask them for a LinkedIn Recommendation? Each recommendation can be as many as 3,000 characters, roughly 400 to 600 words. This is simply one other piece of content where the benefits of your services can be displayed.

How do you ask for a recommendation?

Hover your cursor over your picture, in the upper right corner of your screen after you have logged into your account. Choose "Privacy and Settings" from the drop-down menu, and then click "Manage Your Recommendations". Click on "Ask for Recommendations" and enter the required information.

You can handpick a current or past position or job, as well as up to 3 connections you want to ask for your recommendation. (You can dramatically improve your chances of success here with one very simple trick.)

Each time you choose a LinkedIn connection for a recommendation request, you can type them a short message. If you offer to create the recommendation for them, this will save them a lot of time. Also, you get to write the recommendation, ensuring that you effectively communicate the benefits you offer your clients.

So start reaching out to your connections for recommendations. Offer to write the recommendation, so you are not asking someone to take much time out of their busy day. You will find your recommendations growing, as well as the number of leads this simple technique produces.

7 – Stay Active

It is really easy to stay active on LinkedIn. Log on at least once a day, and take a few minutes to comment to updates. Head over to your LinkedIn groups and interact. Don't let any incoming messages or connection requests last too long without your responses.

One of the easiest ways for coaches to find new clients on LinkedIn is to be accessible. Stay active on LinkedIn frequently, and creating a steady flow of targeted leads is a snap.

What To Do Next?

Are You a Coach, Business Professional or Entrepreneur? Would You like a Constant

Stream of Targeted Leads That Requires

Minimal Time or Effort on Your Part?

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, connect with Bashir at https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/joinbashir

My name is Bashir, and I have developed a process of creating B2B LinkedIn lead generation streams that keep you supplied with targeted prospects. I would love to discuss how I can help you reach your business goals with my proven B2B LinkedIn lead generation strategies.

You can connect with Bashir at: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/joinbashir