Sometimes stepping back to understand your customer, how they think, what they need and how you can best deliver your services is vital. It’s critical that we continue to provide value and high-touch to current and potential customers. Stepping back and observing stretches us so we can continue to grow and remain relevant in a continually frenzied and rapidly changing world.
We, at Intero Advisory, have spent 2018 doing just this. Our goal has always been to teach people how to fish using LinkedIn. We want to help people establish a professional brand, connect with a continual stream of the right people for any number of professional purposes; talent, sales, networking, supplier, donor, membership opportunities and more.
Over the years, we’ve learned much about people’s experience with, the perception of and adaptability as it relates to selling, recruiting, branding and LinkedIn. It’s all over the board from a cold calling, only sales approach to posting jobs and waiting for just the right applicant to apply to a lack of dedicated resources and digital skillset for a digital world. And, we’ve heard from those who have applied our best practices, followed our workflow, optimized their profile and hired great talent, closed new business and landed their job of a lifetime. We’re delighted by those stories.
Throughout 2018, as a team, we’ve discussed over and over the following questions.
Why are companies still hiring salespeople who have no LinkedIn profiles or understanding of how to leverage their network and LinkedIn for growing their business? As time goes on, the reason, “they’ve been here a long time” or “they have a lot of industry experience and a good network, just not on LinkedIn.” will no longer be acceptable. Obsolescence in one area spills over into other areas.
Why is it okay for the CEO and executive team to say they don’t need to be visible and represent their companies and brands in a socially-driven world. If you think millennials want transparency, wait until you meet iGeners, GenZ or Plurals. As they begin their careers and you need to hire them (and, you do), it’s best to understand what they value and expect in an employer.
Why are people sending the same annoying, silly or non-personalized messages to people of different generations expecting them to “get it” and respond? Different language for different folks pays off my friends.
At a recent workshop with MBA students, I asked them what they valued in an employer. Among their answers — a compelling and positive culture, transparency, suite of competitive benefits, meaningful work. Nothing you haven’t heard before. However, the question is, do you offer those things today? If so, how would an applicant know? If you aren’t conveying that socially, you’ve missed an enormous opportunity to connect with your future talent pool.
Why is it still okay to drop LinkedIn know-how for sales and to recruit into the already overburdened lap of marketing and human resources with no regard to their digital skillset, appetite for learning or current workload?
Recruiting requires a specific skill set and so does identifying and nurturing a network for greater new business.
Why is that LinkedIn works for some salespeople and others see lesser results?
In pursuit of the answers to these questions and understanding how we work today, we’ve decided to take a leap and flip our model from services only to engaging with you through our membership site.
We want to help you overcome that challenge in a way we are confident will drive higher value for you, our readers and customers.
As our goal remains the same — help you (and, if appropriate, your team) build your brand, grow your network and increase business opportunities, we need to provide you, our readers and customers, more ways to improve the value you bring to your professional brand, marketing, sales and recruiting efforts in a way that increases accessibility at a competitive price.
To that end, we want to introduce you to in:side, Your LinkedIn Mastery Program. With two versions of in:side, one for companies and one for individuals, we’re providing you with a program that will give you ongoing support, flexibility, accountability, and encouragement to leverage LinkedIn for long-term results and success.
in:side will serve as the foundation of any engagement with us so that you have access and skin in the game. You will receive our brains, expertise and best practices within our membership community when you need it. You will find that the vast majority of your questions and needs will be answered through in:side resources and, best of all, you will use in:side on-demand and virtually.
As a member, you will receive 10% savings on all additional services including profile development, 1:1 coaching, strategy, tailored webcasts, in-person workshop training and recruiting services.
Each version of in:side is designed to deliver what you need whether you carry a quota, are looking for a job or career, need to hire or are a CEO who finally realizes your brand can help your company.
From student to CEO, in:side will be the quickest path to mastering LinkedIn most professionally.
From novice to uber-user, in:side will provide ways to get up to speed and nuggets for the power-user who needs to get creative to continue to crush it on LinkedIn. Just today, a customer mentioned that by modifying his InMail message based on our recommendations his response rate increased by 20% within one week. As a recruiter, that resulted in more conversations and opportunities to deliver good candidates to their client.
If you and your team recognize you need help with LinkedIn, you owe it to yourself to join our waiting list and be among the first people to know about our mid-September launch.
Here are next steps to choose from:
Sign up and become a member today as an individual or for your organization.
Arrange a call to discuss your company’s needs.
Register today for our free webinar, LinkedIn Top 5. During this session, you will leave with greater insight into the five most important reasons, ways, mistakes, tips and actions to take to grow your brand, network, and results.
Pick one or all three; it’s up to you.
Just decide your best path today and start gaining the traction others just like you have.
And, by the way, beginning mid-September, we will have ungated content only once a week. All of our Quick Tip posts will ONLY be accessible through in:side. Don’t delay, join us in taking the chaos out of LinkedIn and providing you with the best of our brains and expertise, all for your benefit.
