CONVERSATION
STARTERS
Ideas for finding and converting strangers to extraordinary clients and partners
Conversations Starters is written and edited for B2B consultants and coaches who want to build more and better business relationships, achieve visible thought leadership roles and serve more of the clients you deserve.
There are no hacks or gaming of the system here.. If you want sound ideas and advice about how to look good, sound good and fill your sales pipeline, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome!
Why LinkedIn Should Not Be Part of Your Social Media Program
B2B social media programs are dangerous in the wrong hands. And most of them are in the wrong hands.
Why Do You Want to Use Social Media?
When business execs and subject matter experts ask me for help with a social media program, my first question to them is: Why? What is it you want to use social media to do?
How To Get Better Results from your LinkedIn Groups
Jeff Simmons joins us to discuss the do’s and don’ts for salespeople and marketers who want to use LinkedIn Groups effectively. He’s a master when it comes to building sales funnels, and his B2B Sales Funnel Library is a valuable resource for any B2B marketer intent on generating leads.
B2B Sales and Marketing Highlights from the 2016 LinkedIn User Survey
Wayne was a skeptic before he became an outspoken proponent of LinkedIn and is passionate about helping business professionals use LinkedIn more effectively to build their businesses and personal brands.
Why You Should Spend More LinkedIn Time Researching Potential Clients and Customers
Jim Duffy, founder of Social Selling Inc. and maker of over 400,000 cold calls in his career, uses LinkedIn extensively before reaching out to a prospect to schedule a meeting.
Why some people should not be part of your LinkedIn program
Individuals in the first group – those who are uncomfortable because it’s new – can often become LinkedIn power users with a little time and experience.
How to Use Social Media to Charge More for Your Services
I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that most professional services execs have noticed it’s easier to get premium rates for your services from some clients than others.
Why Your LinkedIn Network Requires a Strategy
Have you ever really stopped to think about who you are – or should be – connected to on LinkedIn and why?
How and Why to Pilot a LinkedIn Social Selling Program
Is “social selling” just one more way to distract your sales team, taking you even further away from reaching quota while consultants make a big dent in your sales budget? Or could it actually make your sales people more effective, better at reaching hard-to-get-to prospects, able to find more sales opportunities, ultimately making their numbers?
LinkedIn Social Selling Index – What It Is and How Sales Management Can Use It
There are not-so-subtle signs that social selling in general and LinkedIn specifically need to be incorporated into your sales team’s sales process.
LinkedIn Squashes Group Postings from 3rd Party Apps – and What to Do About It
I won’t say I told you so, but apparently I’m not the only one annoyed by marketers misusing LinkedIn groups as a newsfeed for their blog articles and self-serving announcements.
Social Selling: 6 Data-Backed Reasons for B2B Sales Leaders to Love It
“Social selling” may be the latest buzzword worthy of a place on the BS bingo game board, but it’s a serious concept that affects every B2B sales rep, sales manager and sales executive on the planet.
The True Value of LinkedIn Company Pages
For our first three years of running lead generation programs for B2B companies on LinkedIn (we started in 2011), I advised clients - and anyone else who asked - to think of company pages as a defensive play.
Why Invest in Sales Navigator
Sales managers often ask us if they need to spring for a paid account to effectively use LinkedIn. Until last July, my answer was “maybe” – it really depended on how active you would be as a user.
Why B2B Companies Must Pay More Attention to LinkedIn
B2B sales and marketing is going social. No shock there. But there is an interesting conflict. Multiple studies (Forrester, ComScore, etc) have shown us IT buyers prefer LinkedIn 2X more than any other major social network when it comes to reading content
CMOs: Why You Should Be Leading the Charge on LinkedIn and How to Do It
With all manner of statistics and survey results pointing directly to LinkedIn as the hottest B2B marketing channel since the last one, you’d think CMOs would be taking advantage of it. At least I did. But a surprising number seem to be missing the boat.
LinkedIn is Not a Brand Engagement Tool
Social media is often evaluated in terms of brand engagement, which – according to Wikipedia – is “the process of forming an emotional or rational attachment between a person and a brand”.
Your LinkedIn Dream Team - Roles that Maximize Success
From the outside, implementing a LinkedIn program may seem fairly easy. And, indeed, if all you want are vanity metrics (followers, shares, likes), then you can probably get away with one individual doing the work.
Costly LinkedIn Mistake #12: Operating Without a Plan
This is #12 in a series of mistakes we address in our report on the “12 Costly Mistakes Tech Marketers Are Making on LinkedIn and What You Can Do About It.”
Why Most B2B LinkedIn Programs Fail to Generate Leads
If I were to visit your website and click on the LinkedIn icon would it take me to your company page where you post summaries and links to your blog articles and press releases?