Using Linkedin To Find Customers In Your Social Network

One of the less talked about but most effective social networks is Linkedin. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, which allow for business to be done but are really not focused in any one specific area, Linkedin has one focus and that focus is to help you use your network to get business done and get access to business contacts in your network.

I find that with Linkedin I focus on only having connections that I actually know or have a pretty solid knowledge of them (fellow bloggers, well known domain investors, etc). With Twitter and Facebook the filter is not always as strong. Based on this trust factor on Linkedin though it can help get things done. Let me give you a quick case study:

In my previous career I was tasked with penetrating a new industry sector, the telecommunications sector I needed to target was a tough one to crack and the customers were known to have money but be very tied to a certain set of very niche vendors and not allow "new blood" in.

Based on this finding away in would be tough and once a contact was made having a level of trust up front would be key. When a customer typically does not like to deal with new vendors and you are telling them they need to spend several million dollars with you instead of with their typical relationships that can be  a tough sell. How do you get past that?

The first thing I did was used the Linkedin search tool and searched for a specific company I had seen do a press release lately about a network decision they had made. Based on this I knew they had capital to spend and a need for network equipment. Know your customer...

After I found some key contacts in the company on Linkedin I was able to verify which contacts of mine had a direct connection to one of the executives at the target company. I was fortunate and someone I had worked with before had left the company recently but had a direct connection to a very key person. I sent a request through this person to the targeted person. This is where trust comes in, since Linkedin is founded on the basis of trust my contact verified the message and passed along a note to the other person that I was someone they should talk too.

Now I had an in, I was able to setup a presentation with the customer which lead to a succession of meetings. Where did it lead?

Well, we found out they were actually talking to a competitor of ours and were in the process of getting ready to sign a deal. But due to the timing of the contact and the quality of our product we were able to secure the deal and after just 90 days from the first initial contact through Linkedin we had a 3 million dollar purchase order.

Now, this same type of scenario can be used to get access to new potential buyers for your domain names or websites as well. Use your network.