Posts tagged ‘Linkedin’

How Professional Service Firms Can Stand Out In Their Industry

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Many professional service firms and small business owners are turning to content marketing and social media marketing activities as the economy is picking up. They are publishing more articles, white papers, blog posts, and reports to establish themselves as industry experts and to attract prospective clients and customers. For example, I have my own free special report at http://www.Free14LinkedInMistakesReport.com.

If you are not able to communicate your value to prospects and prove that you are the expert – then your prospects will begin price comparison shopping and your competitors may get your business. That is why you have to constantly look for new and exciting ways to make your firm stand out from the crowd and get noticed. That is why I developed three easy ways to get your professional service firm that attention is deserves using LinkedIn marketing.

 

3 Ways to Get Your Professional Service Firm the Attention It Deserves Using LinkedIn Marketing

 

1) Create engaging social media profiles

For example, your LinkedIn profile headline should capture your prospects immediate attention. It should jump out and pull them inside your LinkedIn profile to know more about you and in turn your company or business.  Your social media profiles should be result-driven – meaning, you need to find ways to showcase the results you have achieved. You need to prove to prospects, potential referral sources and the media that you are the expert to connect with and engage with. And, talking about engagement, you need to have your blog postings, videos and articles on your social media profiles. With LinkedIn, you should be using Slideshare, Google Presentations and Box.net applications. Lastly, you need to tell your story within your social media profiles so prospects can relate to you.

For some examples, check out the personal LinkedIn profiles for these professional service firm owners:

* Skip Weisman – Workplace Communication Experts -

http://www.linkedin.com/in/skipweisman

* Greg William – Master Negotiator – http://www.linkedin.com/in/themasternegotiator

2) Create a community

People want to be part of a community where they are surrounded by like minded professionals and individuals who have the same passions and are experiencing the same problems, challenges and successes. They want to be part of a group where they can learn and share valuable information that need to do business.

So, you need to create a forum where clients can discuss your products and services and showcase their success stories. You need to create a community where prospects want to gather on a regular basis to get solutions to their problems. And, you can do this by creating and engaging in your professional service firm’s LinkedIn group which will allow you to address their common problems or concerns.  You will be thought of as a thought leader in your niche because as you should be providing value-added ideas and suggestions on a regular basis.

3) Prove you are the expert by writing and distributing articles and press releases

I am a strong proponent of using special reports, articles, videos, blog posts, press releases and social media conversations and discussions that offer real value as a way to make your professional service firm stand out.  In fact, if you check out the GetLinkedInHelp.com website you will notice that I blog my articles several times per week. I have a video blog which I add at least 1 new video per week. I send out a newsletter, blog post wrap up plus several value-added emails that contain tips, tools, techniques and insights on a weekly basis to stay on top of my prospects’ minds.

If you Google my name, Kristina Jaramillo you will find over 30 pages of articles and press releases that I have submitted to a variety of magazines and publications. For example, you will find my articles published in Website Magazine, Home Business Magazine and Electronic Retailer Magazine. You will notice my press releases featured on websites like Reuters, CNBC, Bloomberg and on dozens of business journals and news service websites.

I create discussions based on the special reports, articles, videos, blog posts and press release placements inside my LinkedIn group – and the other LinkedIn groups that I belong to. Each conversation then links to my blog post, special report squeeze or the website that features my article or press release.

Now, I am a member of 50 different groups. If each group has 1000 members (many of the groups I belong to has 10K+ members) – then I can potentially reach 50,000 prospects, potential referral sources and the media who may be interested in my professional service LinkedIn marketing firm. This gives me exposure, credibility and instant awareness. And, because I provide information and strategies that others either do not know – or are keeping hidden, I am differentiating myself from my competition.

A quick word of caution: Everything you publish or distribute must differentiate you otherwise you will contribute to the wall of noise many of us experience in publications, on websites, and in social media networks.

The Results Professional Service Firms Are Achieving By Following My LinkedIn Marketing and Content Marketing Advice…

* Help My Website Sell reduced their sales conversion time from 9 months to 39 days. In just two months, they received 2 media interviews, 4 new coaching clients and more than six thousand dollars in immediate profits.

* Sales training and consulting firm Karr Associates, Inc is connecting and engaging with Presidents, Vice Presidents and Directors of Sales as well as CEOs. He’s proving his value and building relationships that are leading to sales training contracts. 

* Darnell Davis is taking his local small business magazine and boot camps and going national. He has been invited to host a boot camp in Dallas, Texas as well as Chicago. Plus, he’s in talks to join forces with a national association.

Your Next Steps…

1)  Create social media profiles that not only captures your prospects’ immediate – but keeps their attention and has them wanting to connect with you. To help you, grab my Instant LinkedIn Marketing Templates

2) Create your own communities within your social media circles.

3) Prove you are the expert by writing and distributing articles and press releases.  When you grab our Instant Article Writing Templates Value-Added Package, you get our 40+ Instant Press Releases along with our 40+ Instant Article Writing Templates. Get both  the article templates and press release templates now at: http://www.InstantArticleWritingTemplates.com

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Accountants & CPA’s: Overcome Price Objections with LinkedIn

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As a sales professional, entrepreneur or small business owner – how many times as this happened to you:

You are speaking with a prospective client and you think that everything is going well.  It seems like they are willing to work with you and hire you. But, when they ask about price – you inform them of the needed investment and they go silent.  They immediately start back peddling and state that your price is too high and you are out of their budget.

The Shocking Truth – 80% of the Time, The Problem Is Not The Price or the Budget!

The problem is you haven’t proven your value.

You haven’t shown that you are worth the investment.  You haven’t given your prospects a reason to adjust their budget and make you a priority.  You have to blow your prospects away with the value you can offer and the quality of business you can deliver. And, you do this by building a relationship with your prospects which will automatically help you overcome price shock.

LinkedIn is a relationship marketing tool that can help you get prospects to the point where they are no longer worried about price – they want your products and services no matter what.

How to Use LinkedIn to Overcome Your Prospects’ Price Objections

1. Keep your profile in front of your prospects’ faces

Once, you create a strong LinkedIn profile foundation using my Instant LinkedIn Marketing Templates at http://www.InstantLinkedInMarketingTemplates.com, you need to keep yourself on top of your prospects’ minds.  The best way to do this is to add applications to your profiles that showcase your talents and results.  Use SlideShare, Box.net and Google Presentations to add videos, PowerPoint Presentations, articles and case studies that prove your expertise.   This will give prospects opportunities to see what you offer and why you are the thought leader in your field as you build the relationship. This will help you prove your “worth” and “value” – on a regular basis. As you add new content to your website, your LinkedIn connections are instantly notified through LinkedIn status messages. Plus, you can invite your connections to view your profile and see the new content.

2. Build your own community

By creating your own LinkedIn group, you can regularly share your knowledge and keep your prospects who are not ready at this time to hire you engaged.  This way you continue to educate prospects and show them the value that you have to offer until they break down and say, “I’m ready to move forward.”

3. Regularly provide prospects articles and case studies that solve their specific problems

By regularly giving valuable information within your LinkedIn group that your prospects can learn from you will be able to prove you are worth your cost. However, you must be willing to set yourself apart with your articles, videos and discussions by offering information that no one else is giving. You need to show case studies that not only showcases the results you are getting for clients right now – but also why your clients need you and how you are different from your competitors who may be offering the same services at a lower cost. You need to show your uniqueness and how that uniqueness will help me, the prospect. And, lastly, you have to show that you can solve my specific problems and challenges.

Prove to your prospects that you understand their solutions – and that you are the “only” expert who can help them and they’ll invest in your products and services no matter the cost.

To help you with your article content, I recommend Eric Gruber’s 40 Instant Article Writing Templates Collection at: http://www.InstantArticleWritingTemplates.com

4.  Stay engaged, answer questions and position yourself as the “go-to” expert

Getting back to your LinkedIn group and community this is the best place to showcase your talent and provide your audience with answers to their questions.  Your group will give members another way to access your knowledge and expertise.  They will feel connected to you on a more personal relationship.  This will help them understand the prices you have because they will see the value in your work.

5. Create a Prospect Relationship Management System

Start off by segmenting your LinkedIn connections so you can provide them with customized information that is pertinent to their specific businesses. By providing “tailor-made” content to your followers on LinkedIn, you will enhance your relationship and prove that you are the expert for them.

You should also be mixing LinkedIn with CRM software like HighRiseHQ.com (the program we use with our clients) so you can keep track exactly when you have contacted your prospects last – and when you should contact them next. Remember, people buy from people they trust and have a relationship with – especially when there is a big investment.

By becoming proactive  with your LinkedIn marketing efforts where you are now building and nourishing relationships, you will overcome price and budget objections in the long-run. Failing to engage with prospects and clients to prove your “value” and worth is just one of the mistakes, I reveal in my Free Top 14 LinkedIn Marketing Mistakes Special Report.

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Are You Failing to Master Your Niche on LinkedIn

Are you failing to give yourself a specific label on LinkedIn? And, notice the word “specific.”

You want to focus your LinkedIn marketing efforts on one and only one topic and you want to show prospects, clients, possible referral sources and the media that you are the master in your topic.

By giving yourself a label on LinkedIn, you’ll get better connections.

Think of it this way…If you were having heart problems and needed heart surgery, would you go to a heart specialist or a general surgeon? Same thing on LinkedIn – business professionals want to do more business with specialists than a generalist.

That’s why I label myself as a LinkedIn marketing expert and not a social media expert.

When people need help with their LinkedIn marketing, I want them to think of me. When they need help turning their LinkedIn profile into a marketing tool – I want them to come to me. When the media needs to quote a LinkedIn marketing expert, I want them to come to me. And, guess what – because I position myself as a specialist, I have higher perceived value than a regular social media expert who dibbles and dabbles on every social network.

You see, you want to niche yourself on several levels:

  • By topic
  • By audience
  • By industry
  • By level
  • By method
  • By media

Watch this video to see how a psychotherapist and a consultant fails to label themselves – plus view an example to model:

http://bit.ly/uJOrC2

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“Kristina Jaramillo’s Get LinkedIn Help Newsletter”, a free ezine featuring tips, tricks, tools, news, developments and trends that will help you build unlimited, profitable relationships on LinkedIn.

Now, you can get her free special report that reveals the Top 14 LinkedIn Mistakes That Most Businesses and Internet Marketers Make – And the Opportunities They Are Missing. To get this free report, go to: http://www.GetLinkedInHelp.com

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LinkedIn Marketing Quiz: Is Your Profile Missing These 7 Credibility Elements? Part II

If you’ve missed Part I of the LinkedIn Marketing Quiz by our IAWAB Expert, Kristina Jaramillo: read it here.

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LinkedIn Quiz Question #4: Do You Have a Speaking Profile – Meaning Are You Adding Videos

A video puts a face to the name and connects you further with your potential clients.  A friendly face and confident voice can go far in proving that you are an expert in your field.  The video will show people exactly how you do what you do. And, if you are an a speaker looking to connect with meeting planners and book more speaking engagements you should be placing sneak preview videos of you engaging with audiences on your profile. Make meeting planners and prospects want to connect with you.

To add video, you should be using both the Slideshare Application and Google Presentations Application. This way, you show even more videos on your profile. For example, look at this client’s profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karelmurray

If you want to turn your profile into a marketing tool, just like we did with Karel go to: http://www.articlemarketingexperts.com/newyears2011
Read the rest of this entry »

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LinkedIn Marketing Quiz: Is Your Profile Missing These 7 Credibility Elements? Part I

So, you have read articles on how to setup your LinkedIn
profile. You may have opted-in to grab a few special
reports, such as my own that you should read right now at:
http://www.getlinkedinhelp.com/

You may have even bought a couple of ebooks or books that
detail how to create your profile.

But, in most people’s articles, special reports and products
they talk about using LinkedIn as an online resume or as a
networking tool – and not as a marketing tool. But, if you
are looking to build connections, create relationships,
generate leads, build your list and increase your sales then
you need to think as a marketer. And, one thing a good
marketer focuses on is adding credibility because people
buy from people they trust.

That’s why I invite you to take the quiz below to find out
what credibility elements you are missing – plus find out
why you must include each element.

IAWAB Faculty Expert-Kristina Jaramillo tells us what we need to include

on our LinkedIn Profile to increase our credibility.

——————————————-

 
Read the rest of this entry »

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LinkedIn Marketing Debate – Should You Think of Your LinkedIn Profile as a Resume

Recently I read a LinkedIn article for small business owners that stated, “You should think of your profile as an online resume.”  I could not disagree more. And, when you are done reading this article, let me know what you think!

Now, while you think whether or not your LinkedIn profile should be regarded as a resume, let me ask you: When was the last time you read an interesting and intriguing
resume?

Most resumes tend to be boring and bland.  Now, how is this going to help you attract viewers and prospects?  Simple, it can’t.

As a small business owner or a business development executive, you have to start thinking of your profile as a marketing tool and not a resume.  Since you have to change
your mindset about this, I have developed 5 distinct reasons why your profile should not look like a resume.
Read the rest of this entry »

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LinkedIn Secrets – 3 Reasons Why Most Small Business Owners Fail To Attract Clients Using LinkedIn

 

There are over 80 million influential professionals from over 200 countries on LinkedIn that can become your potentials customers.

In fact, LinkedIn’s membership is what Neilson Online is calling “The world’s largest audience of affluent, influential professionals” as you will find executives from all Fortune 500 companies there.

Plus, you will find experienced professionals from large and small companies and every type of business and industry imaginable.

So, why aren’t you able to attract more clients? Why is no one connecting with you?

Out of the 80 million professionals, there are only a few internet marketers and companies that are successfully getting more clients each and every single day from LinkedIn. Below, you will find out their secrets to attracting clients that are ready, willing and able to invest in their products or services.

3 Reasons Why You Are Not Attracting More Clients and Making More Money with LinkedIn

 

Reason #1 – You are waiting for prospects to come to you

Clients who are willing to pay for your products and services will not just fall into your lap.  As an entrepreneur you have to make it part of your job to go out and find them. 

Think of it this way, who is the interested party in this situation:

You or the person who doesn’t even know they know they need your services or products. 

You have to be the one the take charge and find your prospects. Here are a few ways to easily engage with others on LinkedIn…

¨      Update your status message daily.

¨      Start a vigorous discussion in various groups that you belong to. This will enable you to prove your expertise in your given area.

¨      Answer questions on the Q & A Boards. This will show your experience and help you become a thought leader

Reason #2 –You fail to take advantage of LinkedIn groups

 

LinkedIn allows you to join up to 50 groups – where you can network, join conversations and show prospects that you have the answers to their problems. Yet, most small business owners and internet marketers do not actively seek groups that they should belong to.

If they do join groups they make these two mistakes:

  1. They become a member of a group – but they sit there like a lump on the log. How can you expect prospects to come to you if you do not take the time to make yourself heard?
  2. They join groups where there are like members.  Let me put it to you this way, do you want to be a member of a group that is full of your competition or do you want to belong to a group that is full of people who could turn out to be your prospects.  It sounds pretty obvious to me that you would want to be where your prospects are. But many entrepreneurs fail to think outside the box and strictly join groups based on their field of expertise. 

 

Another way, to take advantage of LinkedIn groups is to create your own group.

This is the absolute best way to create your own community of followers.

You are the one who is in charge of the type of content that is posted.

You can make sure what you have to say is heard and you have the power to control your own group.  From my experience, many group members religiously check out what is being discussed in the groups they find the most useful. 

Why can’t your group be one of them?

Reason #3 – Failure to Create Content and Distribute it to the Different Groups

Eric Gruber (My Partner at GetLinkedInHelp.com and Founder of Article Marketing Experts) belongs to 50 different groups. Now, if each of the 50 groups has at least 1,000 members, then each time he submits content, he is getting his content in front of 50,000 potential clients – just with a couple clicks of the mouse.

So, you need to create content that…

¨      Proves your expertise

¨      Sparks controversy and debate

¨      Gets people talking

¨      Entices prospects to visit your blog and website

¨      Motivates prospects to take action (using your products or services of course)

Just by avoiding these common LinkedIn mistakes, you will begin to build your list of connections and prospects. Continue the conversation – and you will turn these prospects into paying customers and clients.

Now the three mistakes I outlined in this article is part of a larger special report where I detail 14 LinkedIn mistakes and the opportunities you are missing. You can get it for free at: http://www.GetLinkedInHelp.com

 

About the Author:

LinkedIn Expert Kristina Jaramillo creates online marketplace opportunities for small business owners who want more website traffic, prospects and profits.

Now, with her free special report, you can uncover how you can become “the trusted source for your industry on LinkedIn” and along with easy ways to gain more connections fast by avoiding the top 14 mistakes.

Get this information for free at: http://www.GetLinkedInHelp.com

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