Episode 337: How to Leverage Centers of Influence on LinkedIn

Intro

Welcome to the Making Sales Social podcast, featuring the top voices in sales, marketing, and business. Join Brynne Tillman, Stan Robinson, Junior, and me, Bob Woods, as we each bring you the best tips and strategies. Our guests are teaching their clients so you can leverage them for your own virtual and social selling. Enjoy the show. It’s time for Making Sales Social Live coming to you from the social sales link and virtual studios.

0:00:59: – (Bob Woods): I’m Bob Woods. Robinson is off today, but Brynne Tillman is here.

0:01:08 – (Brynne Tillman): I’m great, my friend. How are you?

0:01:12 – (Bob Woods): I am doing well. Doing well. Thank you very much. So, believe it or not, there’s a lot of actions we as salespeople can take on LinkedIn that aren’t directly related to sales, but those actions can lead to sales. One of those is finding your centers of influence, the people or companies that are your not, that are not rather your direct competitors, but who your clients are buying from. And then, obviously, you can cooperatively use those centers of influence so that everyone benefits.

0:01:48 – (Bob Woods): Brynne, this is where networking, in my mind, anyway, really hits the road. What do you think about that?

0:01:56 – (Brynne Tillman): Yeah, well, there’s so many ways that we’re going to talk about how to leverage these centers of influence. One of them, as you’re talking about in the networking world, is recognizing that a lot of these folks are selling to the same customer, but are not competitors. In fact, you may actually really benefit each other, or what you do may lead to them, or what they do may lead to you. And having those relationships can make all the difference in the world.

0:02:32 – (Brynne Tillman): There are a few things I’m going to say before we get into, like the tactical piece. Number one, pick them wisely. Just because they sell to the same client doesn’t mean that they’re going to be the ideal referral partner or center of influence for you. There are absolutely people that we work great with when it comes to the center of influence and when it comes to people that we can refer back and forth.

0:03:03 – (Brynne Tillman): But if we have someone reach out that owns a LinkedIn automation tool, and that is what they are selling, although you may think, okay, well, they’re selling to the same people we want. They have a different ethos, and a different perspective. And so I need to be as comfortable introducing that influencer or center of influence as I need or want them to be in introducing us. So you have to make sure that the partners you pick really have a very clear ethos, a clear philosophy on business, and that you’re not contradicting one another.

0:03:52 – (Brynne Tillman): You’re actually elevating the value that you bring. The high tide rises all.

0:03:59 – (Bob Woods): Yeah, absolutely. So, yeah, so you do kind of have to keep a, keep an eye on exactly who you want these relationships with, because there just might not be that mesh that someone from the outside might think, oh my God, this is perfect. Then you’re like, yeah, but it’s, but it’s not. And then you can also let them know why that it’s not fit, so that they not only know about that when it comes to thinking about people for you in the future, but you’re also educating them about what it is that you do. So that’s also a potential educational moment for them as well.

0:04:40 – (Brynne Tillman): Perfect.

0:04:41 – (Bob Woods): Yeah. Yeah. So before we get into the tactics, we do want to let you know that we have an ebook that is related to today’s topic. So if you go to social sales link.com dot, again, that’s socialsaleslink.com coi and that’s just like one word. There are no dashes or anything between that. Socialsalevelslink.com coi. You will have an ebook that has everything that we are talking about today so that you don’t have to take notes. You could just download that and have everything right in front of you.

0:05:21 – (Bob Woods): So there are two areas that you should really be concentrating on to find those centers of influence. Coi on LinkedIn. Number one is going to be your direct connections. The first way that you can do this is to, is to create and make an inventory of your connections. So who are you connected to that you’ve been unintentionally ignoring? And we all have those people out there like that. You look through a list and you’re like, oh my God, I haven’t reached out to this person for, you know, years or whatever. I should really get in touch with that person.

0:06:01 – (Bob Woods): That’s someone who you’ve been unintentionally ignoring. It’s time to fire up that relationship. So go to your list of connections that you can download directly from LinkedIn. LinkedIn makes it easy for you and then filter them specifically by profession or industry. And that’s just a great way to have everything in front of you in an excel spreadsheet, right in front of you. You don’t even need to be on LinkedIn once you download that.

0:06:31 – (Bob Woods): And you could just start going through that and really determining, you know, who have you been ignoring who might be that CoI type of partner for you.

0:06:41 – (Brynne Tillman): So clarification on this, which I love, because you said industry, and I love searching by industry, but that’s actually a search in LinkedIn. Yeah, we’re exporting your LinkedIn connections. You’re getting the first name, the last name. There is an email column, not a ton of emails because you have to opt in for that. You get the company name, its title, and the date you connect it. We often recommend that you create a column on the left-hand side and we categorize it. CPR, which is client prospect or referral partner. The center of influence would probably fall under that referral partner.

0:07:21 – (Brynne Tillman): You can also search in the free LinkedIn. When you go up to the search bar, hit enter and all filters and you’re looking at people now you can break it down by industry and location. So absolutely great insights there.

0:07:37 – (Bob Woods): Yeah, and that takes care of the second part, which was actually checking those first-degree connections by using LinkedIn search to do that. And there, you know, besides just industry, there are so many different ways, even in the free LinkedIn that you can use to help you really zero in on who you’re looking for. It’s just amazing then if you have a sales navigator that just where it gets to be mind-blowing in terms of the people, who you can filter. But even in the free LinkedIn, that’s not even LinkedIn premium, just free LinkedIn.

0:08:11 – (Bob Woods): There are some powerful tools and filters there that you can use to help you out to find those good people in your centers of, of influence that you can then work with.

0:08:23 – (Brynne Tillman): Love it, love it.

0:08:25 – (Bob Woods): And then the other main area is going to be just simply asking your current clients. So to really fill those centers of influence, CoI engages with your present or past clients who have obviously had good experience with your service and ask them about the other vendors who provide a specific service to them. Once you get introduced, a potential networking partner won’t ignore you because you share the same client.

0:08:52 – (Bob Woods): So that’s already a point, a common point of interest, rather, that can, that can really help you get into the door a little bit more. And because that’s a trusted conversation, a trusted connection, and that’s a trusted connection of theirs as well. There should be a really good point of interest there that you can both build on. Also, you can feel good referring them because they come from a high level of credibility from your clients if you refer them to someone else and then they will also be much more comfortable referring you for that exact same reason.

0:09:28 – (Brynne Tillman): So I absolutely love this and here’s how it might sound. Bob, I’m so glad we’ve been able to help you do X, Y and Z. You know, I’m really looking to do some networking and I’m curious. So, yeah, who did you use for sales training? You go, Colleen Stanley. She was amazing.

0:09:47 – (Bob Woods): Yeah.

0:09:47 – (Brynne Tillman): You know, I would absolutely love to meet with her. And, you know, as I network, there might be people I could refer into her and there might be people that I, that she might be able to refer back and forth. So if you are comfortable, I’d love to get an introduction. Now I’m going to say, who are my clients connected to that I want to meet? So the first one for me is sales trainers. The next one is who’s your marketing company, the company that you’re using for your website, for your branding?

0:10:22 – (Brynne Tillman): Someone else that I might want to meet might be the CRM sales rep. Right. So there are people who are clearly selling into the people I want to have conversations with that might be able to refer me, but I can refer back. So the conversation goes back to, I’m going to start. So, Bob, what CRM are you using?

0:10:45 – (Bob Woods): Just say HubSpot.

0:10:48 – (Brynne Tillman): Okay, so HubSpot, you know, I’m curious, who is your salesperson? And you tell me and I go, do you enjoy working with her? Oh, absolutely. Oh, that’s great because I’m really looking to network with these folks. And also if my other clients should ask, I’d love to be able to introduce them to my other clients. That’s number one. So that’s fabulous. Now, what if he says, you know what, I really am not a big fan of my CRM.

0:11:21 – (Brynne Tillman): It’s just clunky and it’s not working and I’m interested. I’ll say, oh, one of my other clients is using HubSpot and they really love their sales rep. I’m curious if you’d like an introduction because they’re really finding great success with that and they’re like, oh, great. So now I’m either going to meet someone new that they love to work with that can become a new referral partner for me, or if they’re unhappy, I can make an introduction from someone else that’s a COI, center of influence in my world.

0:11:56 – (Bob Woods): Yep, that’s all. That’s very, very powerful. So that finishes that first bucket about your own direct connections. The other thing that you can do is build relationships with thought leaders on LinkedIn because as we all know, not all influencers in your industry are attracting the clients you want to reach. So you can, you can, you can search influencers. You can actually look at some of the people who you’re connected to who are in the area that you’re interested in as well, and find out who they are following in terms of influencers because that’s indicated right on their profile.

0:12:36 – (Bob Woods): You can also use a website called Listen notes.com. so this is like a podcast search engine, among many other things. It’s a great tool, but you can use listen notes to find that specific podcast topic your ideal clients would be listening to. And by the way, also ask your clients what podcasts are they listening to. And that can help you out as well. Once you know who influences your ideal clients, you can then find them on LinkedIn and engage with them appropriately. So here’s where the magic comes in, though.

0:13:09 – (Bob Woods): Don’t stop with directly engaging with the influencers. You can also respond to and engage with the people commenting on their posts to not only build relationships with those people, but also get the influencer’s attention as well.

0:13:27 – (Brynne Tillman): So I’m going to. Yes, and that. So now that we’ve got those commenters and we’ve gotten to listen to notes and we’ve pulled out a podcast or two from that influencer, this is a great way to start a conversation with those commenters. So what does that look like? Bob? You know, I noticed that you’re engaging on Colleen Stanley’s post. I think she’s great. Recently came across a podcast where she talked about EQ and sales.

0:13:56 – (Brynne Tillman): You know, I’m curious if you’re interested. Let’s connect, and I’d be happy to send you a link. And so now we are talking about that influencer. We are having a conversation about something that has nothing to do with what I’m selling. I’m starting a trust-based conversation around what matters to them, which in this case would be an influencer. I look at that influencer like the keynote, and all the commenters are participants who have come to watch or listen to this keynote.

0:14:30 – (Brynne Tillman): And so, of course, we’re going to talk about that keynote and the conversations around that. It will eventually lead to very good conversations and potentially to your content or to your solution or to building a different kind of referral partner. But what we’re doing is we are starting that first conversation, and that’s what we look at this. This is a networking opportunity we don’t want you to jump in and say, hey, I see you follow Colleen Stanley and I’m going to try to sell you something.

0:15:06 – (Brynne Tillman): It doesn’t work that way. Right. We want to go in, we want to give more information from Colleen Stanley. And then I might say, hey, I don’t know if you follow or if you’re interested in the sales process, but Liz Hyman has some great content. Who else do you follow? Eventually, I might say, I’m not sure if you’re exploring LinkedIn and social selling content, but we have a new ebook on X, Y, and Z. Let me know if you’re interested. I’m happy to send that over.

0:15:34 – (Brynne Tillman): So eventually, if you’re having the right rapport-building conversations, they will be interested in your topic. But this is what we call lead to your solution, not with your solution. When we start with our stuff, they see it as a pitch. Even if we truly believe it’s insights and value, if we’re sending a link to our stuff, they’re seeing it as a pitch. But if we are sending them content from an influencer that they follow and that we have in common, all of a sudden we’re building a strong rapport-building conversation that will lead to our stuff if the time is right.

0:16:16 – (Bob Woods): When the time is lead to your solution, not with your solution. Seems like I’ve heard that before once or twice.

0:16:26 – (Brynne Tillman): I think we talk about that a little bit.

0:16:28 – (Bob Woods): Yeah, just a little bit. Just a little bit. So before we wrap things up, there’s one other really short thing that can be very powerful, and I have actually done this before and it works. So you find a group of business allies that you can join or be a member of that you can potentially refer business back and forth with. So this actually goes beyond a b and I type of group, although obviously b and I can work well as well.

0:16:55 – (Bob Woods): If you’re all focusing on, let’s say, restaurants, for example, and restaurant business owners, now that’s going to be more specific than a b and I group, but yet you have all types of people who potentially will reach to that type of audience, and that’s everyone from like people who sell supplies, people who sell furniture, people who provide it services, but they’re all focusing on one really specific niche.

0:17:22 – (Bob Woods): I’ve seen these types of groups work very well and you just have to kind of determine what is a really good niche for you and also who you know or who they may know who can help you with that. So you know, that type of really specific networking group can help you out just tremendously.

0:17:43 – (Brynne Tillman): I love that tip. That’s great.

0:17:45 – (Bob Woods): Yeah.

0:17:46 – (Brynne Tillman): Let’s bring this baby in for a landing.

0:17:48 – (Bob Woods): Let’s bring it in for a landing. Control tower, Clarissa Runway. And thank you for joining us for this episode of making sales social live. If you’re with us live on LinkedIn, YouTube, or other social networks right now, we do this every week, so keep an eye out for our live sessions. If you’re listening to us on our podcast, therefore, it’s recorded and you haven’t subscribed already, go ahead and hit that subscribe or follow button to access all of our previous shows and be alerted when new ones drop. And if it’s got like that star type of thing, you definitely want to click on that as well, so you’re notified immediately.

0:18:22 – (Bob Woods): If you’d like more information about our podcast, go to socialsaleslink.com podcast. We do two of these shows weekly. We do this one and then our making sales social interview series where we talk with leaders and experts in sales, marketing, business, and lots of other areas that we sincerely hope you are interested in. So when you are out about this week and every week, be sure that you’re making your sales social.

0:18:51 – (Brynne Tillman): Hey, I did it. All right, see you soon, guys. Thank you.

Outro:

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