Sales and marketing doesn’t have to be complicated.
Sure – SEO, Facebook ads and content marketing are cool… But they take time, money and expertise to master.
Instead, I find the best opportunities are right under your nose – referrals from your existing contacts.
Here’s an example.
A few years ago, I was doing a project for a health brand.
The founder of the company is well connected in that space.
So, I went to his LinkedIn profile and viewed his connections.
I did this by clicking the ‘500+ connections’ link under his name.
On the next page, I clicked ‘All Filters’ at the top to narrow down his list of connections.
Under ‘Industry’ I selected ‘Health, Wellbeing and Fitness.’
Finally, I narrowed it down further to my geographic location.
I now had a list of his connections in the health industry from my area.
I started scrolling and one connection stood out.
He was the founder of a nutrition brand based nearby.
Their website was using stock photos and had no video content.
So, I emailed my client asking if he knew the founder personally, because I felt I could help them improve their web presence.
He sent an introductory email and I booked a meeting.
A few weeks later, they accepted my proposal and I had a simple £4k project in the bank.
Bottom line:
The easiest and cheapest way to get new business is through your existing network.
Referrals are always the best quality leads and have the highest conversion rate for me.
TL,DR
- Identify your best client
- Visit their profile and look at their connections
- Use LinkedIn’s filters to narrow down your search
- Email your client asking for a specific introduction
- Explain how you can bring value to their connection
- Bonus tip: Write the intro email for them to reduce friction
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