Most of us probably use LinkedIn as a networking tool. Using LinkedIn to make connections is good. Using it to make money is better.
Marc Halpert can show you how.
Meet Mister LinkedIn
An uber-networker (and that is an understatement), Marc has been using LinkedIn for five years. He now has over 700 direct connections. These contacts, together, have over 100,000 connections. That’s quite a network.
You might ask how anyone could possibly know 700 people. I’m not surprised. Marc gets around.
And Marc does not allow just anyone into his network. He must (a) know the person and (b) believe that there could be a mutually beneficial relationship.
Marc’s principal business is Your Best Interest, LLC which provides electronic payment services to businesses and non-profits. He’s also developed a separate LinkedIn consulting and training business called Connect2Collaborate .
Marc says LinkedIn has been essential to his success. Some examples:
- The Go-To Guy – When the head of a fraternal organization wanted to launch an Affinity credit card, he sought Marc’s advice about a very specific question. Marc reached out to his (vast) network and got exactly the right answer from, of all places, Belgium. Marc was subsequently able to bid on the business.
- The Chilean Connection – As a personal gesture, Marc contacted a long lost Chilean business colleague after the earthquake there. He re-connected Marc with another former colleague in New York. That person is now a potential source of business
- The Speaking Gig – A chance encounter with the head of a large non-profit at a party led to a more extensive connection via LinkedIn. And that led to a speaking engagement, getting Marc in front of a large number of prospects.
- The Big Client – A brief introduction and then a subsequent LinkedIn connection blossomed into multiple projects with a business owner in Long Island.
- The Referral Source – Marc posted a note on one of his Groups asking who was attending a trade show. He got a response and connected with that person at the event. They are now regularly referring business to one another.
Online meets Offline
Note the pattern here. The offline feeds the online and the online feeds the offline. Relationships launched in the physical world grow in the virtual world and vice versa.
Marc says Linked In is the “centerpiece” of his networking effort. But it’s not the only piece. You still need to attend networking events, have one-on-ones, and actually talk to people on the phone.
Branding, Branding, Branding
“It’s all about branding,” says Marc. “Think of yourself as a cereal box on a grocery store shelf. You’ve got to stand out”
The first (and most important) step to success on LinkedIn is your Profile. It has to be “absolutely stellar,” says Marc, “no one ever got any business with an anemic profile.” You need a good photo and you need to communicate your experience quickly but completely to accommodate readers’ short attention spans.
Marc likens the profile to a website. But on the internet, with untold billions of web pages, it’s hard to get found.
LinkedIn is different. It has 65 million members, 13 million of whom are small business owners, all looking to make business connections. By perfecting your profile and promoting yourself effectively, you can easily be found. “It’s all within your control,” says Marc.
After completing your profile, the next step is to be highly visible on LinkedIn. This means being active EVERY DAY. Marc religiously posts on groups, provides updates, asks and answers questions, and promotes events he’s attending or speaking at.
The secret of Marc’s success is no secret at all. He works at it. Hard. All the time.
Marc regularly speaks in front of groups and offers webinars. He also offers a four week LinkedIn course via weekly webinars. Week #1 – Your Profile; Week #2 –
Making Connections and Getting Recommendations; Week #3 – Groups; Week #4 – The Extras.
To learn more, you can contact Marc at ybillc@optonline.net or 203.373.0875. And I would be utterly remiss if I didn’t provide his LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/marchalpert.
