Converting LinkedIn Connections to Conversations – In Just 7 Minutes with Brynne Tillman

Resources/Links:

• Want to find out how you can maximize your LinkedIn to get more sales and traction? Click here: LinkedInlibrary.com

Summary

Do you want to find out the magic of LinkedIn and convert the connections into conversations and then expand into sales using the comfort of your existing networks?

LinkedIn has the power to get you more connections and sales, however, you need to know the secret tips and strategies to unlock its full potential and guarantee you never-ending deals.

Brynne Tillman is the CEO of Social Sales Link which is solely focused on helping salespeople sell on LinkedIn without being salesy. Brynne is also the co-host of the Making Sales Social Podcast.

Dive in as Brynne shares the world of LinkedIn and how to curate your content into extraordinarily audience-centric content that can guarantee you more sales and will keep your clients coming back for more!

Check out these episode highlights:

• 01:51 – Brynne’s ideal client: Professionals in business development, right? The sales reps, account executives, CEOs, coaches, and entrepreneurs, as well as, the board of directors and other trusted advisors are responsible for new client acquisition.
• 02:17 – The problem she helps solve: Well, generally, their problem is the top-of-the-pipeline challenges, but more specifically, the lack of warm referrals and inbound leads for the individual salespeople, and the ability to start conversations with those prospects from LinkedIn.
• 02:57 – The symptoms of the problem: The problem we hear from so many sales professionals, is their challenge with gaining access to prospects. It’s harder than it’s ever been before! Where we’ll hear, “I have 1000s of connections, but no conversations”.
• 04:00 – Clients’ common mistakes before consulting Brynne: Oh, there are so many! First, your profile is self-centered or resume, not value-centric or resource. Number two, your sales. So, you connect and pitch and that’s a bait-and-switch. And that will repel your prospects.
• 05:25 – Brynne’s Valuable Free Action (VFA): Connect with every single one of your clients, and every single one of the influencers inside of those client organizations. Then search their connections and identify 20 to 25 people that you want to meet that each of them knows.
• 06:13 – Brynne’s Valuable Free Resource (VFR): Want to find out how you can maximize your LinkedIn to get more sales and traction? Click here: LinkedInlibrary.com
• 06:43 – Q: Is automation for lead generation on LinkedIn a good idea? A: No. So many people come to me and say, “You know, they’ve promised me I could get 100 connections this week and 25 appointments-”

Tweetable Takeaways from this Episode:

“Connect with every single one of your clients, and every single one of the influencers inside of those client organizations.” -Brynne Tillman Share on X

Transcript
(Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Tom Poland 00:10
Greetings, everyone and a warm welcome to another edition of Marketing the Invisible. I’m Tom Poland beaming out to you from the Sunshine Coast in Australia, joined today by Brynne Tillman. Brynne, welcome back because this is not the first time. A very warm welcome from Down Under. Where are you hanging out?

Brynne Tillman 00:24
Yeah, I am thrilled to be here, Tom! I am hanging out in northern New Jersey, right outside of Manhattan. And if you drive to the top of the hill, you can see the skyline. It’s a fabulous place to be!

Tom Poland 00:37
A little birdie told me you got a new home there with a brand-new office for you and one for your hubby. So, you’re joining me between meetings. Fabulous!

Brynne Tillman 00:47
It’s a great place to be.

Tom Poland 00:48
Folks, Brynne is known for the bias-free, hype-free, lead generation strategies that actually work, which is a shock to a lot of people because most of us are used to paying good money to people for their marketing advice, implementing it, and finding that nothing changes. So, it’s refreshing to have you on the show, Brynne! Brynne is the CEO of Social Sales Link solely focused on helping salespeople sell on LinkedIn, but without that sort of cheesy, salesy, spammy approach that, unfortunately, many people who reach out to us on LinkedIn are using. She’s also the co-host of the Marketing Sales Social Podcast. The title today is, “How to Convert LinkedIn Connections to Conversations”. And this is going to be really interesting because we know we need to establish rapport with prospects before we propose perhaps meeting or talking about working together. And Brynne’s going to put the spotlight on exactly how we do that. Brynne, our seven minutes is going to start now. Question number one is who is your ideal client?

Brynne Tillman 01:51
Thanks, Tom! Professionals in business development, right? The sales reps, account executives, CEOs, coaches, and entrepreneurs, as well as, the board of directors and other trusted advisors are responsible for new client acquisition.

Tom Poland 02:06
That’s interesting! So, the board of directors and professionals. Common denominator– they have a problem. Question two, what’s the problem you solve for them?

Brynne Tillman 02:17
Well, generally, their problem is the top-of-the-pipeline challenges, but more specifically, the lack of warm referrals and inbound leads for the individual salespeople, and the ability to start conversations with those prospects from LinkedIn.

Tom Poland 02:36
So that’s the problem you solve. It’s the fresh high rapport, high-level inquiry, or lead generation. Question three is about the symptoms. You get your client on board, what’s been happening in the businesses that have motivated them to reach out to you? So, what are the symptoms of someone pre-working with Brynne?

Brynne Tillman 02:57
That’s a great question. And in the problem we hear from so many sales professionals, is their challenge with gaining access to prospects. It’s harder than it’s ever been before! Where we’ll hear, “I have 1000s of connections, but no conversations”. Another one, “When I ask for a conversation, I totally get ghosted!” I share content yet no one engages and some people even think I’m spamming. And the biggest one that really kind of encompasses all of it is everyone says, “I need to use LinkedIn, but I can’t figure out how to do it successfully.”

Tom Poland 03:32
Yeah, I’ve posted articles I’ve reached out to people, and people might accept my connection. That seems to be the easy part. But after that, it’s just crickets! That’s all I’m hearing. So, we’re talking about people, they’re growth orientated. They’re proactive. They’re doing things to solve this problem. And clearly, they’re not getting traction. So, question four, and just over four and a half minutes left, what would you say are the common mistakes that your clients made prior to working with you?

Brynne Tillman 04:00
Oh, there are so many! First, your profile is self-centered or resume, not value-centric or resource. Number two, your sales. So, you connect and pitch and that’s a bait-and-switch. And that will repel your prospects. The most common one, even I do this too much– to connect and forget. We have 1000s of connections yet we’re not going back. We’re not new all the time. We’re not going back and taking inventory and engaging with the people who were already connected to. Random acts of social– “I have no templates. I don’t have a plan. I just kind of show up and do stuff.” Sharing topics. Your content is around topics you care about, not topics that your prospects want to consume. And the number one that I see and this is the easiest way to use LinkedIn to start conversations is that they’re not leveraging their existing network, their clients, their referral partners, or their networking partners to get introductions or permission to name-drop.

Tom Poland 05:08
Right. So that is a good list there indeed. And so, I think now we’ve got people’s attention, so let’s flip it. Question four is about a valuable free action. It’s kind of like a top tip. It’s not going to solve the whole problem, but it might get them one step in the right direction. Three minutes left.

Brynne Tillman 05:25
Okay, connect with every single one of your clients, and every single one of the influencers inside of those client organizations. Then search their connections and identify 20 to 25 people that you want to meet that each of them knows. Get on a call. Get some insights. Run the names by them, and either get introductions, if it’s appropriate, or just ask that you can reach out to them. Drop the client’s name. Let them know that you’ve been working with them and that they thought it made sense for you to reach out, and you will have a full pipeline consistently.

Tom Poland 06:00
Terrific top tip! Thank you for that. Two and a quarter minutes to go. Question six, do you have a valuable free resource that we can direct people to that they’re going to find out more about how to solve this problem?

Brynne Tillman 06:13
Absolutely! We have a free public library, LinkedInlibrary.com, where you can go, and we’ve got dozens of downloads and podcasts, and videos. And I mean, just so many resources that are completely free! So LinkedInlibrary.com.

Tom Poland 06:31
LinkedInlibrary.com. Thank you for that, Brynne! Great resource. Go get it, folks. We’ve got 90 seconds left. Are thereabouts? No, it’s 75. What’s the one question I should have asked you but didn’t?

Brynne Tillman 06:43
Is automation for lead generation on LinkedIn a good idea?

Tom Poland 06:47
And the answer?

Brynne Tillman 06:49
No. So many people come to me and say, “You know, they’ve promised me I could get 100 connections this week and 25 appointments-” You started with this, right? Like, how much money have you spent on this bro-marketing, right, where, like, it’s just all fluff! The bottom line is this is a relationship development tool. You would not send a robot to a chamber of commerce networking meeting. Don’t send one here. It also breaks the LinkedIn agreement, so your profile could get shut down.

Tom Poland 07:29
Right. Alright, so it’s just a bad idea. Don’t do that. Brynne Tillman, there’s a treasure trove of insights and ideas there, folk. But make sure you do get to LinkedInlibrary.com because if you thought this was good, that’s going to blow your mind. Brynne Tillman, thank you so much!

Brynne Tillman 07:44
Thank you, Tom.

Tom Poland 07:46
Thanks for checking out our Marketing The Invisible podcast. If you like what we’re doing here please head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate us, and leave us a review. It’s very much appreciated. And if you want to generate five fresh leads in just five hours then check out www.fivehourchallenge.com.