Linkedin Basics

Why do I keep throwing “get on Linkedin” in people’s faces when they are using Facebook as their preferred social media platform?  Because Facebook is trash when it comes to acquiring leads for B2B. 

Why is B2B my preferred client?  Because I prefer to make 50,000$ off one customer a year, than 50,000$ off 100 customers a year.  And you probably would too if you knew how.

Why are people on Facebook trying to make Facebook work, and continually fail?  Because it is one of the only things they know.

If you read this entire blog, I can promise it will change the way you process information.  And you will change for the better of yourself and your business.

Let’s get started!

Let me go over a little history.  In 2015 I was finishing up my first year in my business (pressure washing).  Each month I would gross 2 to 6 thousand dollars.  For my first year in business I thought that this was great!  Then November comes around and I gross 720$, what in the world am I going to do with that other than go into debt?  For more detailed information about how I started there is a link here https://washmart.com/blogs/news/how-the-journey-began

I was frustrated and appalled that my newspaper ads, Yelp ads, Facebook Ads, Nextdoor Ads, Angies List scams (because that is what they were, and what they are as the present day Angi Leads), Home Advisor scams (because that what Home Advisor is) and my door hangers.  I was stumped and felt that I was doing everything I could to generate leads because by gosh I was ready to wash some houses and driveways!

I was working full time at my police department, and back at that time I worked what were called extra jobs (in Houston we call them EJs).  I would sit in a bank, bored out of my mind with no one to talk to other than the tellers (who, no offense, ran out of interesting things to talk about within 10 minutes of a conversation).  My instinct was “let's get on YouTube and watch funny videos to kill the time”.  But my hunger to succeed at my business surpassed that urge of laziness.  So I got on a profile that I never used other than to have it on Linkedin.  

What I discovered blew my mind.  Nearly Everyone, I ever wanted to do business with had a Linkedin profile!  So what did I do?  Exactly what I teach my Linkedin students NOT TO DO!  Type a scripted message and send it to anyone and everyone who would accept my friends request.  You can imagine how it sounded.  It was something like “I own a pressure washing company in Seabrook Texas and we are family owned!  We have competitive pricing and great quality of service!  When you are seeking bids we would love the opportunity to be your next service provider!”.

Does this sound like something similar to what you planned on copying, and then pasting to everyone?  Well let me tell you, statistically only 1 in 5 will read it, and only 1 out of 30 of those (which is now 1 in 150) will actually respond.  To take it a step further, only 1 in the 5 that respond will be receptive (which means 1 in 750).  1 out of 750 people?  HELL NO I am not wasting my time doing that!  And this is what the majority of rookie Linkedin users do.  

Why is it 1 in 750 people?  Because they aren’t on Linkedin to get sold, they are on Linkedin for another purpose.  And no offense, it isn’t for you to sell them something that you are proud of.

Proud of?  That takes me to the next serious subject and may be the most important nugget you get from this blog or my online video.  Your HEADLINE!

If your headline says “Proud owner of Kyle’s Property Management Company”, you are doing it wrong!  Because once again, no offense, but no one cares who the hell you are.  They are more interested in what you DO.  Instead I would rename it to something like “Property Management and Facilities Maintenance”.  

In my case I see a lot of companies have their headline as “Owner of The Houston Pressure Washing Company” or “League City Pressure Washing Services”.  Get rid of that vague statement.  When I changed my headline to “Houston Fleet Washing Solutions Provider”, I began to have people SOLICIT ME to quote washing their trucks, and I didn’t even send them a message!  The best kind of lead is the one where you are appearing as a valued service that is sought after.  So be sought after!  

Do I have your attention?  If so, great.  If I don’t, go back to marketing on Facebook and enjoy complaining about how there isn’t enough work and about how no one wants to work for you because Gen Z is lazy (when likely it is because you just aren’t paying enough).

Let’s start with the basics.  If you have no connections (Linkedin’s version of friends), then you will not be able to send anyone a friend request.  You will have to add a few people that you ACTUALLY KNOW and acquire their email address to do this.  Once you have a few people on your friends list you will no longer see the vast majority of peoples names saying “Linkedin Member”.  You will eventually see their name.  You have to be connected, to a connection of theirs in order to even see their existence.  I have 9300 people on my connection list, and there are still times when I see “Linkedin Member”.  Because I am not connected to ANY of their connections.

Let’s say you are a company that pressure washes in Friendswood Texas.  Hopefully your headline isn’t “Friendswood Pressure Washing” and something more like “Parking lot cleaning specialist” or “Friendswood Parking Lot Striping”.  

You will want to look for connections that are based in the Houston region, and then in the search bar you will type something like “Friendswood Hotels” or “City of Friendswood” and then it will populate employees who work for the City of Friendswood!  

This next section is where your attention will be most warranted.

The data mining process.  What is data mining?  It is a process where you are using the internet to find out information about who you want to do business with.  

When you look up a company you want to do business with, do you look up their website?  If you aren’t, you should be.  Many times a website will have the information you need to find the decision maker you need to contact.  In the pressure washer industry we generally are looking for people with job titles like “facilities maintenance manager” or “Property Management”.  If you are in a versatile industry, you can never go wrong looking for people with the job title “Purchasing” or “Procurement”.  Many websites intentionally leave these positions off their website to prevent sales people from harassing their purchasing department.  This is where Linkedin comes in.  Linkedin has the information you cannot find on a website or Google.

Have you ever wondered how in the hell do people get to clean for a company like Exxon?  They don’t just let you walk in the door with a business card (they have so many buildings nationwide, you wouldn’t even know which one to go to, or even have access to gain entry with).  Linkedin is your gateway.  If you find someone who has the job title “Purchasing” on your connection list and they work for Exxon, you now have a foot in the door to find out where to go next.  If they aren’t the decision maker, they are CONNECTED to the decision maker, and they will be able to get you the information you need to contact the decision maker you are seeking (they generally will always give out emails).

In my case I am generally going after fleet washing in Houston.  So I will be seeking people who have a title like “fleet maintenance” in Houston and surrounding areas.

If you want to learn in depth about Linkedin including our experiences, we have a 3 hour long class that we sell, and is periodically updated.  We also have a short video that is free here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy5xhwY4lWc&t=2s