Episode 226: Jessie van Breugel – Navigating the Intersection of B2B Sales, Digital Content, and LinkedIn Strategy

Jessie van Breugel  00:00

Through my content, I always try to infuse his passive personality through it, like sharing more of my social sites to like, do not make it as transactional as perhaps like buying groceries in the supermarket but like, hey, people buy some of my products because they feel a connection with my story or there’s something specific that stood out to there. So I think that’s where, like for me, the social aspect in selling definitely comes into play.

Intro  00:24

Welcome to the Making Sales Social Podcast featuring the Top Voices in Sales, Marketing, and Business. Join Brynne Tillman 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! 

Bob Woods  00:49

My guest for this episode of Making Sales Social is Jessie van Breugel, a digital creator and lead generation specialist who started his creative entrepreneurial career at a time that ended up being a little rough for the world in early 2020. But a little thing like a pandemic didn’t stop Jessie though. Since then, he has grown a following of more than 40,000 people across various platforms, including LinkedIn, X (formerly known as Twitter) – and I don’t know if I will ever, ever be used to calling it as x – as well as YouTube and email and to prove his bona fides. 

He was recently named as a top 50 LinkedIn creator worldwide in sales and marketing. Jessie’s a person that I like, a content geek slash copywriter slash coach, he sees himself mainly as a digital creator who builds cool products. And who wouldn’t like that, as well as helping as many like minded experts generate high quality leads through LinkedIn, and productizing their service offers. So Jessie, Welcome to Making Sales Social from the Social Sales Link Studios.

Jessie van Breugel  01:57

Well, thanks so much for the wealth, the invitation and that like the nice welcoming word. So I’m excited to have a chat with you today.

Bob Woods  02:06

God. Sounds great. That sounds great. I appreciate hearing that. So our first traditional question and every making sales social episode is, What does making sales social mean to you?

Jessie van Breugel  02:19

Yeah, that’s a great question. I would like to say, split my answer into two parts. Because with my business I bought, well, I would say services and products. And I will say one of the rules that I would say, I took this over for my business mentor in terms of services is that he only likes, like, gets clients that he would like to have a beer with. And I kind of copy that rule in terms of like, “Okay, I want to work with people that I actually enjoy spending time with, because then I know that we can have a great collaboration.” So I think that’s where the social aspect for me comes into play. 

And not necessarily only focused on “Oh, I need to get the paycheck from this client.” But it’s like, is there a personal fit in terms of like doing business, and I think on like, the product side of things, I think through my content, I always try to infuse a specific personality through it, like sharing more of my social sites to like, do not make it as transactional, as perhaps like buying groceries in a supermarket, but like, “Hey, people buy some of our products because they feel a connection with my story, or there was something specific that stood out to there.” So I think that’s where, like, for me, the social, the social aspect in selling definitely comes into play.

Bob Woods  03:26

That’s really cool. Because most, most people when they answer that question, go along the lines of, you know, oh, it’s about connecting socially well, but I think and things like that. I’ve never really heard anyone go in the direction you did. But I think that the direction you went in is actually very important. And something that I think that all of us should keep in mind, no matter what we’re doing when it comes to sales in general. 

So I really liked that answer. That was great. So we’ve already gotten into just a little bit of the how, actually more like the when, behind your journey, a little bit of your origin story for superheroes, and they say like that, if you will. Let’s talk a little bit more about the why, though. What inspired you to delve into this niche of digital creation and lead generation?

Jessie van Breugel 04:17

Yeah, so it’s thought of as a wholesale escape. Like in the beginning, you said that I started my entrepreneurial journey in the midst of 2020. Before that, I was working in a corporate and like Customer Success departments. So it’s almost like in between, like department building or getting solutions ready. But besides that, I always had a passion for writing. So my entrepreneurial journey started by writing online. And through that, I carved out brands first on Twitter, now known as x and then on LinkedIn, and others through the process of writing. 

I’ve always been able to learn more myself but also help others in the process. I get the reach, and like to build products along the way, all based on writing. And I have some joke about this, like most people, they first go into business and then they go start creating content. Well, for me, it was like I first started to trade, I first started trading content, and then I rolled into business, so everything that I learned from business is based on the writing aspect.

Bob Woods  05:20

Wow. Yeah, that’s, that’s really, really interesting. Because you’re right, a lot of people focus on the business idea, and then try to back content into it. So yeah, no, that’s a really great point. I like that a lot. Is that a mistake that you see a lot of people do in terms of not? Its content is almost like an afterthought, if they’re even thinking about it at all.

Jessie van Breugel  05:47

Yeah, I would argue that content is one of the highest leverage tasks you can do in a business. But of course, it’s like playing the long game. And like, every business like Banton can be your ultimate salesman or saleswoman like I see my content. Like an army of digital warriors. Like they paved the way they go the world, they traveled the world doing my work, like they’re my sales, sales, sales, puppets. 

So I think every business can afford to thrive by that. But then the question is more tactical, because not every business has their audience on LinkedIn, certain platforms might be better for certain industries, etc. But that’s, of course, a much more tactical question. But I do think that nearly every industry or type of business can benefit from having content as a big part of their marketing strategy.

Bob Woods  06:45

Yes. So that actually leads to an interesting question that just popped into my mind, because when it comes to the social channels, it seems to me that especially when it comes to b2b, that I’ve that LinkedIn, I think, for a vast majority of businesses is where it’s at. And that’s obviously what we do. So I’m probably a little biased on that. But there are those other platforms out there. And I’ve always kind of looked down at the former Twitter, because I think it’s kind of a cesspool, to be honest with you. 

But I do see people there trying to get business from there. Do you still think that? You know, I actually do think that Instagram is probably good, especially if you have a visual type of business? But do you think that Twitter now x is, is still going to be good going forward? And what do you think about threads if you’ve even been on threads? And we haven’t even mentioned that yet? 

Jessie van Breugel  07:45

Yeah. So to answer your first question first, I actually started monetization on Twitter. So like, for the first year and a half, I sold my products and my cohorts through Twitter. But I really had a hard time, I would say a harder time to get it off the ground. And that brought me back to LinkedIn, early 2022. And the rest is history. I would say to us, like use, like a cliche quote there. Because I would say, I’ve been selling on both platforms, like the biggest difference in favor of LinkedIn. 

I’ve seen is that only by LinkedIn reflects so much more trust faith in the platform, because people interact with people, there’s much more like, “Hey, I’m interacting with Bob Woods, like, Okay, I think this I’m almost sure this is the right person the best or almost no fake or impersonated accounts where as on Twitter, everyone can be Elon Musk, everyone can be dissolved.” So there is a lot like in personification, possible. 

And I think Twitter is much more like a consuming platform, people go there to waste time or to just learn stuff where LinkedIn is still the number one business platform in the world. So that’s why I found the most, the biggest difference in terms of like, it’s easier to sell through that because people there are more business oriented. But again, it comes down to which industry you are in. So for example, like e- commerce is, I think, better for Twitter, because that’s where most of the audience is, like, I don’t see many ecommerce brands nailed on LinkedIn, because the demographics are not there. 

Vice versa for like, gadgets, or like beauty products. You won’t see them on Twitter, you won’t see them on LinkedIn, but you will see them on Tiktok and Instagram, because that’s much more about the whole visual stuff around it. So again, it kind of ties into what you’re selling for Lou, and then which platform is the best for it. But bye bye. And to summarize, they’re like I’ve sold similar products on Twitter, and I’ve sold similar products on LinkedIn. And LinkedIn is much easier, I’ll say because, again, people trust you more, because they’re like, “Hey, I didn’t do that. She’s talking with Jessie, and not talking with a profile.”

Bob Woods  10:04

Yeah, I Yeah. I cannot argue with any of that, I think that that’s a great way to put it. So. So let’s kind of roll this into digital content a little bit more. In your experience, how has the role of digital content evolved in the b2b sales process? And, and if you can think of, and I’m sure you can, any ways of, individual salespeople, whether they’re working for companies, or they are their own company, just leveraging digital content to enhance their sales efforts?

Jessie van Breugel  10:37

Yeah, I think it’s still something that’s very, doesn’t get enough attention within businesses. And because it’s, of course, a long long term strategy. And it needs a lot of buy-in from the team. So what I’ve seen so far from the more employed work is that Sure, there are some people that try it on their own, but it’s often not really like it’s more done from themselves and from the company itself. 

And now you see the trend picking up that companies start to see the importance of it. So then more of the department is shifted into that. And I think LinkedIn is still one of the biggest platforms for that. But then you see, like, kinda like, like a spray and pray method, what you often see. So it’s like people are good at it, or like, enthusiastic for like, two, three months, then don’t see the results and stop doing it. And especially with like, the like, the branding and like the content game? It’s, of course, the consistency that pays off the most.

Bob Woods  11:44

Yeah, definitely. Yeah. I mean, you see, so many companies are expecting this huge initial bang, and sometimes it does happen. I mean, we can’t deny that. But more often than that, it is a long game. And just like building, building credibility, generally speaking, credibility building doesn’t happen immediately. And I think that there’s a lot of correlation between, you know, just the overall thought process behind building credibility, and then using digital content to build that credibility, because you’re still building credibility in the end. And that doesn’t happen in two or three months.

Jessie van Breugel  12:23

No, exactly. And even if it would happen, in that three months is often like a, like a short layer, shorter lift effect.

Bob Woods  12:32

That’s a very good point. That’s a very good point. I think it’s an important point. And I do think that that really speaks to, for people who do have this luxury, and it is a luxury because a lot of times, sales and marketing kind of butted up against each other, and they really should be working together. But you know, sales and marketing collaboration is important. 

So how do you see the relationship between sales and marketing teams evolving? Especially when it comes to lead generation? And do you have any thoughts about ensuring a seamless collaboration between these two departments that, like I said, seem to be at loggerheads at times, and they really shouldn’t be at loggerheads?

Jessie van Breugel  13:15

Yeah, that’s a really good question, because I definitely liked seeing this clash when I was still in my corporate corporate job. But now as a solopreneur, I’m both the sales guy and the market tariff. So I’m wearing two hats at the same time. And it’s like a benefit because I’m at every sales goal. And I know every piece of content that goes out. So I think the biggest win for these companies are like, I would say teams can make it’s like communication is first because as a marketeer, you want to know how the sales goal goes. 

And as a sales goal know, you want to know which kind of marketing goes out because I see marketing as like the biggest one because the better we can do at marketing, the easier to sales becomes because better marketing attracts better, better prospects who are more informed, are more ready to buy, which makes it closing a piece of cake. That’s why I focused most of my efforts on like, crafting extremely good content for my ideal clients. Because then I know that the people that I attract are a good fit. 

And that’s of course, always like an iterative process. But I think a quick win for like, like teams could be just starting with okay, what are the most the most common, I would say deal breakers from a sales perspective. And then we put on the hat, the marketing hat and like, okay, how can we create or manufacture assets that we proactively put in the hands of prospects to make sure that these deal breakers are not an issue anymore? And that’s where I always like to think about these things. 

Because when I was back in customer success, I was always thinking, Okay, we got a problem to write down like how can we build something or put something in place that this problem doesn’t exist? selling more. And that’s how I also like to build my solopreneur ship. But I think that’s the same mindset that sales marketing teams will, I would say, have to overcome, like put the ego aside like, “Okay, why are we not closing these deals?” “Okay, and how can we put in this case marketing assets in place to make the sale easier and most likely worth more money?”

Bob Woods  15:23

You did hit on something that I think that really rolls into my next question really well, and that has to do with metrics and analytics, because this is something that most salespeople probably don’t think about. Because the only things that they’re worried about is like, opening ratios and closing ratios and things like that. Now you have all of these marketing types of assets that you have out there. And you really should be tracking which ones are doing well, which ones aren’t doing well. Which metrics do you believe are the most crucial for b2b salespeople? The monitor and why?

Jessie van Breugel  15:56

Yeah, that’s a broad question. But I can, I will say, give a multi-faceted answer to that. Like, the first, the first part of the answer would be, don’t overcomplicate it, there are many tools out there now for especially LinkedIn that make tracking super easy. I’m a big fan of shields, I used to use stuff myself. And shields are super easy. And it’s like, it’s either for individual teams, or for individual persons or for teams. 

But that aside, I would say it’s good to and this, this taps into a little bit of like content strategy, but I really believe and that’s also what I teach to my clients that every piece of content has like, can have a different like, goal, like with certain piece of content, its audience growth, it’s engagement is lead generation, it’s all these things. So based on the goal, we can decide which metrics of the posts are important, because I know that a very heavy lead generating post, I don’t rate the success of that on the number of likes, comments or impressions. 

Whereas if I would add a more educational piece, which I intend to put out to grow my audience, I rate the success of that on Okay, how much impressions did I get? How many new followers did I get? How many new comments, etc? How many shares did I have that made me make that the benchmark? So I think, for people that are starting in the journey is just just a simple simple question. Is that okay, why am I posting in this case on LinkedIn? Is it to grow an audience? Or is it to generate leads? One, of course, they go hand in hand, but based on that it becomes easier to say, “Okay, this post is another success.” And we can set some benchmarks on that.

Bob Woods  17:46

Yeah, that’s really interesting. And one of the things that we teach when it comes to content on LinkedIn, and I just want to kind of touch tosses by you really quick, is that, you know, metrics are important. And obviously, we do look at metrics. But we think that the interactions that come as a result of the posts are just as important, even if not important, because you can use those interactions. 

If you start a conversation with someone in comments, you could then potentially get a sales conversation or just a regular conversation started based on those comments. And so, you know, we view metrics as important, but the most important metric I think that we have is just how many conversations we can get based off of that content, which isn’t really, it’s not really content driven, as much as conversation driven, if that makes sense.

Jessie van Breugel  18:45

Yeah, I think that’s a perfect summary there. It’s all about having the conversation starters.

Bob Woods  18:51

Absolutely. And we think that especially that educational content really, really works. Because when you’re teaching, at least it has been my experience, when you’re teaching someone something, and they go, “Oh, I didn’t, I didn’t know that that’s really interesting.” It almost seems like that their minds start to open up to really start to want to learn more about that subject. And because they’re there, their minds are opening up more, they are more willing to accept new ideas and to even talk about them potentially to.

Jessie van Breugel  19:26

Yeah, definitely. And that ties into something that we discussed earlier. That’s where I see content is so valuable, because not everyone that sees our content, the first thing is ready to buy, like certain people are more aware of the problem they’re having, or they just need more information about the solution we have. So one of my favorite, soft selling tactics is like a process breakdown, which I like to call it where I just have a post that explains more about how I work with my clients or how work Come with me looks like etc, etc. 

Because as I’m a service provider, certain people are just like, “Okay, I have no clue what the 4g actually does.” And then we need to educate our audience, especially in the high ticket space, to educate them up till the moment that they like, “Hey, now I’m ready to buy.” So that might be for sort of prospects, that’s three days for certain prospects that by at least six months, and again, we want to nurture them to our content. So that’s, of course, where engaging in initiating this conversation becomes so important.

Bob Woods  20:29

Great. Yeah, no, I couldn’t. I could, I cannot agree with that more. So I think that dovetails really well into my next question, which is, as we’re, especially as we’re starting out, and doing these types of things, we’re going to be making mistakes. So what are some of the common mistakes that you see people on LinkedIn? do when they’re when they’re doing all this content stuff? And what are some of the biggest challenges that they have, and even getting stuff out in the first place?

Jessie van Breugel  21:04

Yeah, I think a lot of that comes down to like, the mental blockages, like, so that the E easiest way to cure that is by just getting started, like just get started with like, one or two posts a week, ramp it up, the more you feel comfortable, because the longer people procrastinate on starting to write them bigger over like a demon it becomes. So I think that’s one of the biggest things. And that’s really hard, because I don’t think there are any programs or services that help people overcome, like mental blockages so that people have to do themselves, but just getting started accepting that the first 10 posts will suck, and you won’t go viral and all these things. 

And I think that’s a big one. Let’s assume that people are already getting started. I think then, the common mistake I see people making is stopping before it starts working or expecting to have an unrealistic expectation, like what I added to the first question like after three, four weeks are, is it not working? Well, that’s based on I would say wrong expectations. Because the goal in the beginning is to keep writing, I think the goal in the beginning is not to gain 1000 followers overnight, or to generate most of your high ticket leads to clients in the first three, four weeks if it happens.

But I will say it’s good to temper those expectations. Another mistake, I would say that I see people making is going from let’s a little bit like, like, broader than LinkedIn on itself. But I see them hopping from platform to platform, like saying they first they first start on LinkedIn. And they have a few posts there. They’re like, “Oh, I need to be the symbol.” If they have I need to be an Instagram to Oh, I see other people kill out on Twitter. Now we track coming out, oh, it’s only that so. And then the thing they say to themselves, like hey, yeah, but I really wrote this post for LinkedIn, I can easily repurpose it there. 

But especially in the beginning phase, like most of the learning process is also about the dynamics of a platform. Like even if I would start on, let’s say, I’m gonna do lead generation on Instagram. Even though I have three and a half years of content creation, I still have a learning curve, because I don’t fully understand how the platform is used for the case. So I think that’s what people often underestimate. 

Like, yeah, I got the piece of content. But there’s a whole different game to learn in order to get the same results. Plus my counter argument to that is that it’s always like, “Hey, did you already complete LinkedIn?” Are you the number one in everything or whatever the platform is? So there’s always more room to grow there, especially early stages.

Bob Woods  23:51

That sounds like that’s great advice. That’s great advice. One thing that we hadn’t talked about before, in our conversation prior and prior to hitting the record button, but I just want to get your take on it is video. So I mean, everybody is like oh my god, I gotta put up content, then they start seeing people who are talking to other people through video and they’re like, “Oh my god, do I really have to do video?” Do you think that people really have to do video?.”

Jessie van Breugel  24:23

I don’t think people should do anything. Like it’s always like a personal personal choice, but especially like, let’s say, “Okay, again, two parts of the answer here. Early you’re running the content journey, you want to stick with a format that you feel the most comfortable with.” For me that was writing for other people that might be podcasting or video. So then learn your, like, learn the way of content through that medium and then branch out later down the road. 

Like I started with writing, I added video, I think, actively like three four months ago but I was already like, already created a few ports. Says I was familiar with doing live sessions in terms of the codes that I run. Because for me, as I sell high ticket services, I know that video is an extra layer of personal branding, because people hear how I speak, I teach how I look, all kinds of things. 

So that will either move them closer to work with me, or move them further away, we’ll just find because I’m not trying to be perfect for everyone. Plus what I’ve seen on LinkedIn, specifically, or solely on YouTube, specifically, there is a gap for the knowledge that I mostly write about, like most of the LinkedIn content on YouTube is more like the Sales Navigator, cold outreach kind of stuff, where I’m teaching my clients, inbound, inbound lead generation through content. 

So there is a big gap there. So that’s why I’m like, tapping into that opportunity. And I think for me, it’s an interesting game to learn. But again, I have to understand the dynamics of YouTube in order to grow there. And this ties into the question of my answer to the previous question. So I think video is definitely here to stay. Last bit on that, I also see that there are more evergreen assets. So I always like to count every piece of content that I create. I see it as an asset, but the lifespan of it on LinkedIn is like one to three days, perhaps a week, if it goes viral on YouTube. 

It’s just evergreen, like my best performing video on YouTube on YouTube, as was my first video, no editing, no rerun, no, nothing is my best performing video. They’re up for like four months. And if every day it gets seen, I didn’t do anything with hashtags and stuff. But I just spoke up about the topic in a good way. So that’s that for me, like an interesting insight is that it doesn’t have to be as polished as people think. Sure, there is this whole section of like all the brushed up YouTube stuff. But I go more for lower production. Eyes failure.

Bob Woods  26:58

Yeah, that’s really interesting, because that gets into the whole topic of content consuming platforms. And we’ve touched on this a little bit, Instagram, Facebook, tick tock is especially content consuming, and you think that LinkedIn has a little bit more of an edge, too. And I’m wondering if you can get into that just a little bit.

Jessie van Breugel  27:21

In terms of content, consumed consumption? Yeah, it’s an interesting question to think about, because what I’ve observed is that the intention of people that go to LinkedIn is different. They go to the Network to learn to, to be exposed, perhaps, to new ideas. Whereas the other platform that you mentioned, people just go more to like, waste time on us to literally scroll. So I think that ties in with what I said earlier, in terms of like, it’s perhaps harder to do business under consumption platforms. 

But if you do, right, there are more eyeballs, because overall, more people there. And, yeah, it also really comes down to what are you serving? Because you can still be like liquid spoke about earlier as ecommerce doesn’t really thrive on LinkedIn, because there’s no audience for that. So again, it’s kind of like there are many answers possible to this question.

Bob Woods  28:34

Yes. So for me, I think, I think that part of it has to do with, when people are on LinkedIn, you’ve touched on this already. They do have more of a purpose to be there. They’re not necessarily there to doom scroll, or whatever. Although I’m sure that some people do that on LinkedIn, as well. But but when it comes to LinkedIn, because there’s an expectation there, that it’s more professional, that people are a little more willing to start professional conversations they’re in, in comments and in direct messaging, and things like that, as opposed to, Instagram or x or whatever were God knows what happens there. 

But I also think that because with LinkedIn, it’s easier to find content from the same creator by going to the profile and just looking at other things that they’ve shared, as well as just having the profile there, which the LinkedIn profile is just massive in in terms of what you can do in terms of educating people and proving to people that you’re a thought leader and everything as as opposed to you know, Twitter and Instagram where you’ve got that one little lock up top, and that’s it. 

You can’t really do anything with it. I think that that’s a little bit more of where the edge comes into littlebit. So, I don’t know if you would agree with that. But it does seem to me that maybe that’s where the edge of LinkedIn comes a little bit more as opposed to the more content that I guess it’s almost a case of content consuming versus content slash interacting, I think might be a good way to put that.

Jessie van Breugel  30:23

Yeah, yeah, that’s a good question. And I didn’t think directly like the LinkedIn profile, because I do see the LinkedIn profile as our own landing page. Because as you perfectly laid out, you can add, like the future section, you can add the hyperlink, you can have a tick, you can almost style it as like a one page. And especially for us in the service space, it becomes the perfect way to sell myself, my business, my service, etc. Whereas on your Instagram or Twitter, you almost have to be creative like a link tree. 

But people are really wary of clicking that because then there’s like, like, too much. And LinkedIn is much more like a natural flow of things. So that’s a good thing. And I would argue, though, that LinkedIn is very much a consumer platform as well, because I joke about it sometimes. Because it doesn’t matter like which role in a company someone has. And it’s always allowed to have LinkedIn open on their computer as I could tap, even though they’re not even like HR or mark or sales or whatever people are allowed to scroll LinkedIn. 

So that brings me to the saying that with 900 million doesn’t, of course, I’d say there’s, like 900 million people are on LinkedIn, like that. So many, like active users less than 1%, post weekly, or a few times a week. So there are so many eyeballs on the platform, because everyone is probably and only like a select few of the people are actively creating content. So that will, I would definitely say that it’s a consumption platform, but the quality of the eyeballs might be higher than on other platforms.

Bob Woods  32:09

That’s a very, that’s a very interesting point that I’ve never really thought about like that. But I like it. I like that a lot. Definitely. Just talk just what. Let’s just touch a little bit about content creation. And I’m specifically thinking about Chat GPT here and other generative AI programs, other generative AI types of services out there that can help because it’s definitely a huge interest of mine right now. 

And we’re starting to incorporate that into what we teach here at social sales link. And so it’s a very favorite subject of mine. I’m just wondering how not not only how you use it in general, but do you have any advice for people who are using generative AI to help them with contact because it can be a huge help, especially for salespeople who are looking to get time back into their day? To not do content as much and you know, go out there and do sales?

Jessie van Breugel  33:05

Yeah, for me, I saw myself late to the game, because I think they only started using it like in April ish. But I would say in the biggest scheme of things that’s still like an early adopter. Yeah. But for me, it has been a massive unlock, because my output has increased massively. But besides that, also, my thinking has become sharper. Because how I treat Chat GPT in this case, I treated it like that. I see it as like the most eager and ambitious intern I’ve got, is willing to do anything for me. But I have to be extremely concise and clear and specific about what I need and what I don’t need. 

So an example like, before this call, I was mapping out some of my like processes and stuff. And at some point, I was stuck in my thinking. So I have Chat GPT open. I even use an extra browser. It’s extended so I can talk to it. Just spit out my talks. And then it talks back to me. So it’s just like an ID ideation partner. So I just outsource my thinking. But it also forces me to ask better questions, because it knows everything. So ask questions, get better answers. So it also forces me to just get better thinking which I can then use in the rest of my life outside of my laptop. So for me, that’s been a game changer. Like simple examples. 

I’ve built prompts for content creation and content strategy creation, which I teach to my clients. And I think like, two weeks ago, I even taught my girlfriend how to use it. And in the beginning, she was like, “Oh, it only gets like poems and stuff.” And now she’s using it in such a way of like, “Oh, I got this. I got this challenge. Let me write it in there, though.” It’s fun to see how it looks, it’s like a mindset shift in terms of like, “Oh, it doesn’t do what I want.” No. How can I ask a better question to get the results I need or the outcome I want?

Bob Woods  34:57

As exactly as that actually right? Yeah, I love that thing. And you’re right. It’s amazing how, when you start using it a lot, it really shapes how you communicate with people outside the platform too. Because you can, you can really think of ways to get exactly what you and it’s usually information and things like that out of people only because you’re asking questions in the right way and you’re being very specific about it. 

So yeah, I mean, it’s, it’s all good. And I definitely like Chat GPT. A lot when it comes to content creation and things like that. So we all love those one thing you can do right now takeaways when it comes to conversations like this. So what is one thing we can all do today? To bring in better clients with better offers and better content through content? What’s something someone can go out and do basically, right now?

Jessie van Breugel  35:55

Yeah, that’s a good question. I’m gonna give a very unsexy answer, I think. And that’s right, the first post I know that’s like a, like a big task. But my humble advice would be get off the zero streak, though, it’s better to just have something going. And just get started. Don’t worry about like strategy, or positioning or personal branding and all these like, like big amorphous things, I think if people are on the, on the on the edge, or on the fence of like, “Okay, yeah, I think the content gave me something that I want to get into, is start writing.” And then some of the advice, some more, some more tactical, is one of the questions that I kept repeating to myself in the beginning.

When I was like, stuck on an ID process, or sorry, an ID to write about is like, one of the simple question, what is the advice I wish I heard six months ago, was, especially in b2b, b2b salespeople, they are in constant like, good confrontation with their prospect with their clients and fans, and like having come from good conversation, closing deals, missing deals, losing data, etc. And I’m pretty sure they have lessons, insights, challenges, whatever reflections that six months ago, they wish they had them, because back then it was a problem. So I think that, whatever industry you are in, whichever role the rents, if your best professional, like writing for your best self, I think is always a great exercise.

Bob Woods  37:30

That’s amazing. That’s amazing advice. I like that a lot. And I think if there’s, and I’ll kind of throw something in that’s like really adjacent, but I think works really well, too, is if, if for some reason, you’re still just like, I’m not positive, then I want to like even write that first piece of content. And this is LinkedIn specific, by the way, start going through your timeline, start finding content that other people are putting out, and maybe make a comment or two on their content. 

And I’m not talking about doing the typical great post, “Oh, I love this post type of thing.” In other words, you know, add your thoughts to it, add your reasoning to it. I don’t know if I necessarily disagree, unless you think that someone is just so off base on their posts, then at that point, you might want to I would, I would generally apply a yes and type of philosophy to it. But even if you start getting comfortable with commenting, that can kind of get the ball rolling a little bit there for you. 

Plus, if you’re commenting on someone’s content, and you’re thinking, “Oh, that might actually be a good post that might be the springboard to that first post that Jessie was talking about.” So commenting, and obviously commenting is something that we teach and it’s very viable in terms of starting sales conversations, but even just getting you more used to the LinkedIn platform commenting is another great way to get started too. So wow.

Jessie van Breugel  39:03

That’s a very good point. Like I’ve had so many posts that originated from a comment especially because my feet now are of course curated with peers and business professionals and prospects and clients so it’s like I don’t have farmers on my link or my feed. So everything that I interact with is semi or fully aligned with my stuff. 

So then if you indeed have a comment and all you need is like the spark “Oh, this is a great idea and then you write a comment, put it in a notion or put it in a document whatever you use and then expand on the post.” So that’s a really good way of getting over the fear of public exposure because commenting is already like a witch Solomon spotlight and then you can use that to create a post out of it.

Bob Woods  39:49

Right. So obviously if you want to follow Jessie on LinkedIn or any of his other channels, go ahead and do that. But if he wants to learn more about your offerings? Where can they go? Jessie?

Jessie van Breugel  40:05

Yeah, that is a good question. So people can go to premiumelitesystem.com/podcast-optin, I think, Bob, you can do that the link in the show notes, because this will get people like, like a quick three step strategy like, like an ebook, like a guide to get started on LinkedIn. So the three topics that we cover is proof optimization, creating content and generating leads and a diverse little part like strategic engagement in terms of networking. So F car was everything that we spoke about today. So that’s like my gift to the audience if they want to get started that way.

Bob Woods  40:44

Yeah, that sounds good. So again, that’s premiumleadsystem.com/podcast-optin exactly. So great. No, that sounds good. Jessie van Breugel, content geek, copywriter, coach en digital creator extraordinaire. Thanks so much for joining us. Really appreciate your time today, Sir.

Jessie van Breugel  41:09

Yes, thanks for having me, Bob.

Bob Woods  41:11

Absolutely. And thank you for streaming this episode of Making Sales Social. So remember, when you’re out and about this week, be sure to make your sales social. 

Outro  41:11

Don’t miss an episode, visit socialsaleslink.com/podcast. Leave a review down below. Tell us what you think, what you learned, and what you want to hear from us next, register for free resources at LinkedInlibrary.com You can also listen to us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Visit our website socialsaleslink.com for more information.