Episode 259: Linking In-Person: Leveraging Digital Connections for Real-World Encounters

Intro 00:00

Welcome to Making Sales Social Live, as we share LinkedIn and Social Selling Training Strategies and Tips that will have an immediate impact on your business. Join Brynne Tillman, and me, Bob Woods, every week, Making Sales Social Live! This is the recorded version of our weekly Making Sales Social Live Show.

Bob Woods  00:29

Greetings, welcome and sales and marketing pros to making sales social, Coming to you from the Social Sales Link Virtual Studios. I’m Bob Woods of the aforementioned Social Sales Link. And joining me is the co-host of making sales social live. She’s a fellow LinkedIn and social selling strategist, consultant, trainer and coach. She’s known as the LinkedIn whisperer as well. Brynne Tillman, how are you doing, Brynne? 

Brynne Tillman  00:57

Good, say that three times fast.

Bob Woods  01:00

Oh, my God, you can tell it’s the first one of the year, at least the first live one of the year. For us. If you’re, if you’re joining us on a podcast where I was, we’re a couple weeks in, but this is our first live one. So we gotta get the…

Brynne Tillman  01:15

Just this running.

Bob Woods  01:16

Yeah, and the facial muscles kind of like, all worked out and ready to go, essentially. So hopefully all that’s done. And we are going to soldier on. So with the New Year underway, you’ve probably made some resolutions that are business related or you know, made some business goals anyway, one of those might have been to get out of the office more often and attend networking events, I know that I would want to do so Brynne has already been doing so and knowing Brynne she will continue to do so, too. 

Brynne Tillman  01:53

I love it. 

Bob Woods  01:54

I know. So Brynne and I are going to bring you some ways to bring LinkedIn and social selling into your in person networking to kind of integrate things so that you’re taking all of the efforts that you’re already putting into your in person networking to that proverbial next level. Because as we all know, it’s much much more than just about going out and shaking hands right, Brynne?

Brynne Tillman  02:21

Shaking hands and kissing babies. Yeah, so absolutely is any here. Here’s the thing. Well, first of all, I am such a people person that a lot of people find networking to be exhausting. I, it energizes me, I leave a networking event and I am pumped up and excited. And I think that’s the difference between an introvert and an extrovert. I am an absolute extrovert. This has nothing to do with personality. It has nothing to do with liking people more or whatever. What it really has to do with networking brings you energy. 

So I’m hoping that for those of you that are extroverts that you absolutely optimize this, but even the introverts can leverage your in person meeting without exhausting yourself. So I’m just going to start a little bit about that. And then we’ll go into the LinkedIn tips. But here’s the thing, you want to make sure you are prepared for these in person meetings. There are a few things that I do, I always have a fine tip pen that feels like a marker ish pen, because I like to take notes on the back of business cards. 

Number one, so I always have those, you always have your business cards, obviously ready to go. But you also want to make sure and we’re gonna go through a lot of this that you are prepared with LinkedIn, you also going in, you want to have some goals. Now, your goals, you can say I want to meet five prospects. It’s not a great goal inside of a networking meeting. But what you might want to do is you might have a goal, like I’m gonna have three meaningful conversations with people that I want to continue to build a relationship with.

So it’s not that I’m gonna go out there and collect as many business cards as I possibly can. And it’s not like I’m going to work the room. I’m going to introduce myself to 57 people if you happen to introduce yourself to tons of people, great, you’ve met some people, but particularly for the introverts. What happens is this becomes so arduous and exhausting, that the follow up is just draining. So but you’re probably if you’re in sales a people person so you enjoy the conversations, just not the bulk conversations right like that. 

So go in with a really good goal that makes you happy. Not everyone has to have the exact same goal going into a meeting. And I’m gonna throw one more thing out, and then we’ll get into the LinkedIn side. Go in with a partner. So not a partner in your company, a completely separate partner that does something that you don’t do. But you really like and know each other’s business. And then you can go in at the goal of you’re going to make as many introductions for him as he’s going to make for you. So if I’m talking with someone, rather than me trying to figure out how I can work in what I do. 

So I can pitch this person. I might want to think about where the opportunity is for me to introduce this person to my networking partner. When I do that, and I’m focused on helping someone else, it adds energy, it feels good, you’re bringing value, you don’t feel like you’re pitching, you’re not, you are helping someone else. And then they’re helping you get those conversations. And then when you start those conversations, you’re coming in at a higher level of credibility, because someone said, “Hey, you should meet my friend.” All right, but now I’m gonna throw it back to you to get into the LinkedIn stuff.

Bob Woods  06:35

Yeah, so essentially, using LinkedIn, it’s probably more there, there’s definitely more to do. And it’s more helpful to do during the event. And then especially with the follow up, but if you know the type of crowd that you’re going to get, or sometimes you may even know the exact people who are coming, sometimes if you’re going to an event that has sponsors and things like that, they may list the sponsors ahead of time. And sometimes you may actually want to speak with the sponsors as well. 

So you can use LinkedIn to research and reach out to the attendees who you know, are going to be there or are expected to be there at least you can reach out to them ahead of time and use LinkedIn so that you you actually kind of know some people going into it, which if you’re an introvert, that can actually help you out as well, because you’re going in, and you’re actually, when you go in, I should say and you actually know people, you may feel a little bit more comfortable because you’re not going into a blind sit situation or what feels like a blind situation. So I do think that that’s a really good thing to do. And then probably the other big thing.

Brynne Tillman  07:48

I love that. Right?

Bob Woods  07:51

Yeah. If there’s speakers. Yeah, yeah, yeah, their speakers and 100%.

Brynne Tillman  07:56

I love that, right, you reach out and you may not even have a conversation with them. But I’m really looking forward to hearing you speak at this event. Now you’re connected with them. Couple other things you could do during that event, is you can share images of them speaking and tagging them and tagging their company and using the right hashtags. And you really start to build credibility with the main credibility person. There. Okay, go ahead. Yeah.

Bob Woods  08:24

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And then with that event and tagging thing, you can also tag the event and tag people who you meet, and maybe even take pictures of them and follow up. And that’s a good way to follow up is by mentioning them to your socials, especially LinkedIn, because that gives them more exposure to your network. So I think that that’s a tremendous idea.

Brynne Tillman  08:48

Big win win. And by the way, when you upload pictures from your mobile, it actually will upload it as, like if you do a few at a time as a collage, if you do it from your desktop, does it like a slider? But from mobile, it’s up loading as a collage. So if you have six or seven pictures, that’s pretty cool. It’s one big picture that gets uploaded. Hi, Jeff.

Bob Woods  09:18

Jeff. Yeah. So Jeff commented really quickly that he loves introducing to people in other words, and he loves introducing to people so in other words, having a networking partner, he said it’s never something that he’s thought of specifically, but now he’s going to start doing it. So we definitely appreciate hearing that. And John just commented he likes the idea of taking pictures of attendees that you meet. I think that all that’s tremendous.

Brynne Tillman  09:43

Yep. Hail to the selfie. 

Bob Woods  09:46

Hail to the selfie. Exactly. So now that we’ve gotten some, well actually one more thing prepping for the event. So if you have personal LinkedIn messages that you want to send? You know, during the event, especially if you are connecting with people during the event, it might be a good idea to have those ready to go. 

So that when you’re there, and you’re there during the event, you can use LinkedIn QR code feature to scan someone else’s QR code or to teach them how to scan your code, connect with them immediately. And then also have that message immediately ready to go just so that the person who you’ve connected with or who connected with you whichever way it ends up going, you know, ahead of time who that person is, that’s just kind of like a brain teaser type of thing more than anything else.

Brynne Tillman  10:43

I want to, yes. And to that, because that’s brilliant. And I think that’s so smart. So two things. The first one is, you write that message, you can put it in a notepad and copy and paste it. But if it’s a message you’re going to use often, every smart code has every smart code, every smartphone has short code. So if you’ve ever accidentally typed something and accidentally says, “I’m in a meeting, I’ll call you later,” that’s shortcode that’s living inside of your phone, it’s in the settings. 

In an iPhone, it’s under Settings and text replacement. But every Android is a little bit different. But you can actually do a shortcode like I might do equals ch means chamber message, right. And I can then type out my message or email myself and copy and paste to the message that says it’s great meeting you at the West Orange Chamber of Commerce breakfast. I’m looking forward to continuing our conversation. Let’s connect on LinkedIn. 

So now I meet them great to meet you, Bob, we take out our phones, we click on the Search bar, we click on the little QR code, one of us scans the other. I think in this case, I’ll probably take control but they might say I scan Bob’s QR code, I go there. And then I’m going to connect, I want to click on the More option to personalize the message. Now I can either paste the message or I can type in my equal CH and the entire message will appear. This is going to do a couple things. 

One, it’s nice, it personalizes the message number two, it pushes your new connection into the inbox so that you’re both prompted to continue the conversation. Number three, it reminds you a year from now, where you’ve connected. So that is so important that you said that Bob and I just wanted to kind of dive deeper and why your tip to personalize that message is absolutely critical. So thank you for that.

Bob Woods  12:55

Yeah, and then the other thing to do is kind of diving in deeper so you’re not going there just to meet just people and you’re definitely not there to pitch your products or services directly. Obviously never, never, never, never, never do that. What you should be doing is kind of thinking of people in a couple of different general categories, you know, not truly categorizing. But you know, as you’re meeting people, you may want to sort them in. 

And this is where having having that pen that Brynne talked about is important because you could just put this directly on their business cards, categorizing people into you know, potential prospects, or if they’re allied, you know, if they could become a partner of yours, or sometimes they’re just general good contacts, just people who are just good to know about in general, because maybe they can help you out. Maybe you can help them out, you know, just you know, make sure that you kind of know where these people are going in, in your mind, essentially. 

Brynne Tillman  13:58

So, I’m going to Yes, and that if you have Sales Navigator download the app, and you can actually get it, you can save them as a lead under a topic. So you can say, as a prospect, or as a referral partner. So big win. Awesome. I think we could say “Yes” to each other all day long.

Bob Woods  14:19

Weekend. Yeah, yeah, there’s so much stuff to Yes. And here. So now that we’ve got now let’s say, you know, we’re done with the event, we kick back and relax, either it’s that night or the next day, I have some follow up strategies for you. And these are pretty much like the follow up strategies that you would do with any connection. 

So kind of keep that in mind. First of all, if you haven’t connected with everyone who you met, it’s a perfect opportunity to do that with that introductory message that you’ve met them at a certain event because I guarantee it’ll be fresh in their minds. So definitely do that. Next thing is, you know, start engaging with them, start commenting, start liking, start sharing their own content. 

Make sure that they know that you exist and keep pinging on their radar. It’s one of my favorite terms, pinging on their radar, by commenting by liking, liking and commenting, preferably. And when you comment, don’t say great posts actually add to the post with your own observations, or your thought leadership, that type of thing. And then from there..

Brynne Tillman  15:37

Yes, and in that also tag someone. So I read this, and I’m like, great post. If I and maybe I have my my, well, I have my two cents that I put in there. And then I’ll do it at Bob Woods, check this out. All of a sudden, now I’m bringing Bob into this conversation. And they’re like, “Oh, not only did she like it,” but she’s helping me get in front of other people to keep going. 

Bob Woods  16:06

Yep. Next thing is follow up messages you personalize, personalize those. So remember, when you are categorizing people, this is where the magic starts to happen. So if there are prospects, you know, send them the opportunity to download something, obviously, don’t actually put the download in there, ask if they’re interested in something that you think would help them that preferably comes from your company, if they say yes, then send them the link.

Then send them the link or the partner, you know, potential partners, same type of thing in general, because hopefully, you can help out partners as well as your prospects. And that’s what you’re looking for. And again, ask for permission to do so. And then you can also suggest meeting for coffee or lunch with those allied partners to explore referral opportunities as well.

Brynne Tillman  16:58

I love that. To continue the conversation, which is fantastic. You have a calendar link that you use, create one specifically for networking. So instead of having just a generic 15 minute link, go over, consider having a follow up on our networking conversation, it’s, you know, it could still be 15 minutes or 20 minutes or 30 minutes, but it feels more personal. And so it’s just, you know, it’s minimal to pay for Calendly, or any of them have tons of them out there. Now we like Calendly. We do not make commissions on that. Although we’ve tried.

Bob Woods  17:46

We’re trying. They don’t have anything set up yet. But we’re trying.

Brynne Tillman  17:49

Calendly think about it. But anyway, we still highly recommend them. And by personalizing that calendar link around networking conversation, it just will build more trust and credibility. And that personalization is huge, right? So you know, Jane, great meeting you at the Chamber of Commerce I’m looking for, as mentioned, I’m looking forward to following up or continuing our conversation, please let me know your preferred way of scheduling. 

If it happens to be via calendar link, here’s mine. That’s a great, like soft way to get in your respect for their calendar. If they hate calendar links, they can come back and let you know how they like to schedule. But it’s very simple, and it’s very effective. And to Bob’s point, this is methodical, the next day, you go through all of these people, you have this follow up, they turn into conversations, and some of them are based on those conversations. 

We might take it to lunch, coffee, whatever that is, right. So yay. Oh, one other thing in that conversation, ask them, “Where else do you network?”, “What other programs do you go to?” Because that will expand your opportunities as well. Okay, but yes, well, we have just a few minutes here.

Bob Woods  19:15

We have just a few minutes left. So this is something that we we obviously we talk about all the time, if you’ve heard other podcasts of ours and things like that, and just follow us in general, but your LinkedIn profile has to be updated has to align with the public persona that you are presenting at these events and the discussions that you’re having at these events.

Because there is nothing worse than connecting with someone at an event and have them look you up on LinkedIn. And your LinkedIn profile is totally different, somewhat different from the things that you’ve been talking about, because they’re just going to wonder about you at that point, right. they’d be interested in you.

Brynne Tillman  20:02

Yeah, I love that. And if you’re looking, I’m just gonna throw in. If you’re looking for it, I don’t have a link to put this up. But if you’re looking for help on your profile, come to one of our guest coaches go to socialsaleslink.com/events, E-V-E-N-T-S, and go down to our coaching, you can come once a month for free, bring your profile and let Bob take a look at it.

Bob Woods  20:30

What I do, it’s one of the many things that I do with the good old profiles, they are so easy to overlook. And yet they are so incredibly important. And this what we just talked about here is just one of the reasons why they’re so important.

Brynne Tillman  20:44

Yay. Well, this was fun. I think we complement a lot in a short period of time.  

Bob Woods  20:52

A ton of stuff, a ton of stuff, so and so with that. Thank you, the listener, the viewer, however, you are consuming us today for joining us on making sales social live. And if you are with us live on LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or X slash Twitter 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 not live, but you haven’t subscribed already, go ahead and hit that subscribe or follow button so that you can access all of our previous shows and be alerted when new ones drop, especially if you click the bell. I don’t know if there’s a bell and every single one. 

It’s tough to keep track of all these podcast platforms that we’re on. So if you do want more info on our podcast is that socialsaleslink.com/podcast. We do this show weekly. And we also do the interview series where we talk with leaders and experts in sales, marketing, business and many more areas. So when you are out and about be sure to make your sales.

Brynne Tillman  21:51

Social. And if you’re in the West Orange New Jersey area come to a West Orange Chamber of Commerce meeting and we’ll meet in person.

Bob Woods  21:58

There you go. Thanks everybody. Have a great Day. Bye Bye, guys.

Outro  22:06

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.