Guest blog written by Steffen Hedebrandt, who is passionate about entreneurship, networking, personal and professionel development, which he is trying to grasp through on Ambidextrous. He currently works as a COO at VintageandRare.com
I would like to tell a personal anecdote from a recent vacation in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Here I met a Danish entrepreneur with several successful exits on his resume.
I asked “how do you start-up these business?” What he explained me was not about KPI’s, strategy or finance. He networked his way to corporate development and customers. And his most important tool for this: LinkedIn. He explained that it’s completely okay to , firstly, add a person that you have just met and exchanged a few words with at a networking event on LinkedIn. Secondly, should that person know someone that you would like to meet and talk business with, it is custom to ask this person that you have just met to write an introductory email to someone he knows in 3rd person. In this way he was able to reach far out in his network and get in contact with the people necessary to make his companies grow and become successful.
Networking
The appraisals of having a network has in the recent years become ever more herald. Especially in these financial times where jobs are limited and often occupied even before those hiring realize that they are looking for candidates, it is very important to be well-connected. LinkedIn is your opportunity to create an overview and stay updated on people you meet.
But it goes beyond immediate job hunting. LinkedIn is for business people what business cards was in the 80’s or 90’s, with the benefit of being dynamic, so when one of your contacts is fired, promoted or starts his own business, you know it. It also replaces the enormous books you earlier kept your collected business card in, if you at best divided alphabetically. A custom that I personally will recommend you is that each time you meet a new person, you politely connect with him/her in the evening on LinkedIn. This person may not hold any significant value for you at moment, but perhaps he/she knows the customer you would like a year from, know or perhaps is perfectly suited for a job in the new department you are heading.
The perfect lead list
What do you think the biggest wish for the sales executives of the 1990´s were? A blank list – or a list of leads containing their education, their interests, their former jobs and who their friends are? LinkedIn can really be all this for you. And even if your network is currently limited, LinkedIn allows you to search for eg. the people in the positions that you will like to find. It could be CSR managers of a company, if you are offering consultancy on strategic CSR. Or if you are a HR employee looking to fill a specific position in your company, go to LinkedIn and you will instantly have a list of potential candidates. It‘s only your imagination that sets the limits, it’s basic “what you wish is what you get”.
Groups
If you are feeling trapped in solitude because you think you are the only person in the world interested in your micro niche and is considering dropping your interest because you cant find any playmates – create a group on LinkedIn and it will instantly appear in search results when people sitting in basement, at café’s, offices or whereever nurse their interest. Little by little, your group will grow and you get more and more playmates who you can challenge and inspire you to stay passionate about your niche. And who knows what might come out of this relationship?
My advice, start using LinkedIn rather sooner than later. It is an opportunity to follow your passion, build your own, or your company brand, getting new customers and hiring new people.
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