Episode 22

full
Published on:

27th Feb 2024

Leveraging LinkedIn for Prospecting, Relationship Building, and Business Growth with Adam Packard

Episode 22 with Frederick Dudek (Freddy D)

Leveraging LinkedIn for Prospecting, Relationship Building, and Business Growth with Adam Packard

In this episode of the Business Superfans Podcast Show, host Adam interviews a guest who specializes in leveraging LinkedIn for business growth. The guest discusses his journey from networking and sales to helping businesses generate leads, emphasizing the importance of prospecting, follow-up, and relationship building. He shares success stories of clients who have significantly increased their revenue through targeted LinkedIn campaigns. The guest also talks about the value of authenticity and consistency in posting content on social media platforms and the power of creating superfans who refer others to your business.

Discover more with our detailed show notes and exclusive content by visiting: https://bit.ly/49q5Xx4

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Mentioned in this episode:

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Transcript
Freddy D:

Adam Packard, founder of ninja marketing has 20 plus years

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of sales and networking experience.

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Raised in Maine with an

entrepreneurial background,

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initially pursued a career in golf.

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However, his journey led to

sales training under Tom Hopkins.

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And various ventures.

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Leveraging has networking cold

messaging and copywriting skills.

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Adam founded ninja prospecting.

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His formula for LinkedIn success

involved consistently genuine

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engagement and tailored approaches to

build relationships and a pipeline of

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opportunities and his free time he enjoys

golf and spending time with his wife,

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Sarah of 10 years and playing soccer

with his eight year old son, Hudson.

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Good morning, Adam.

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Welcome to the Business

Superfan Podcast show.

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How are you this morning?

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Adam Packard: I'm doing great.

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Thanks for having me.

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Freddy D: It's been a hot minute

since you and I had talked.

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We go back, geez, at least 15 years.

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Adam Packard: Yeah, I know.

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I'm glad we kept in touch and

cool to see what you're doing.

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So yeah, excited to be on and

hopefully share some nuggets here.

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Freddy D: Yeah.

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So tell me a little bit about, your

background, how you got started

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and what led you to being linked in

and being a master on leveraging.

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Adam Packard: Yeah, it's an interesting

career path that obviously you and

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I have a background and kind of work

together in the network marketing space.

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I've always been in networking and

sales and, got recruited to work

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on the corporate side of a network

marketing company about seven years ago.

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So I did that and got

laid off out of the blue.

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And yeah, I had to find something else.

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I had a friend that came to me

and said, Hey, I know you're

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good at networking and sales.

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Can you help me generate some leads

for this new startup that we have?

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It was all around trying to

find leads for advertising.

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I had no idea how to sell

advertising, so I literally

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Googled how to sell advertising.

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I realized the only place I could

find those people was on LinkedIn.

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I had a LinkedIn account, hadn't

logged in probably 10 years,

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so I dusted it off, logged in.

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Trial and error, just tried to figure

out how to start conversations,

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use my networking skills to pique

people's interest and get them

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interested and got pretty good at it.

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We landed some national

clients for him and my wife.

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Encourage me to do this for other people.

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She's like, you're good at this.

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You should help others.

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They don't know what they're doing.

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So come to find out there's thousands

in this space that do something similar.

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So we immediately had to figure

out how to differentiate.

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But yeah, it's been a fun and interesting

journey to help people have success

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on LinkedIn, but it's always changing.

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So you got to stay up with it.

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Freddy D: Right, right.

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Yeah, I've never really leveraged LinkedIn

myself yet from a business perspective.

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I have close to 2000 connections on

LinkedIn, but I've not had the time

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or really the understanding of how

to turn that into a revenue stream.

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Adam Packard: Yeah.

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It's a challenge for a lot.

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Cause most people rely on referrals, word

of mouth, warm market venturing into.

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Cold prospecting and cold messaging

just has to be done the right way.

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But you said the key word

there is build relationships.

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And I think at the end of the day,

that's what you're trying to do.

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It doesn't matter what you're selling.

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People are going to buy from people.

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They like know and trust, and you have

to start the relationship somehow,

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other than just connecting and trying

to pitch someone in a message, which

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unfortunately it was what most people do.

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Freddy D: Right.

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So let's talk about, prospecting.

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How important is really prospecting

in this because in my book, creating

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business superfans, that's really

my first chapter is prospecting.

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So I'd like to get your

narrative on that aspect.

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Adam Packard: Always

be prospecting, right?

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Yeah, it's just, it's the

lifeblood of the business.

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I think everybody comes from

a different place though.

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I mean, if you're, if your business

is at the point where, you rely on

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referrals and you don't want to scale,

then prospecting is not nearly as

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important, but most of the people I

talk to bring in maybe one, two clients

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a month and they need other avenues.

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I mean, when I was in my network marketing

days, I used to write down 20 different

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ways that I could meet people because

I knew that building a pipeline of warm

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and interested people was the only way

that I could have more conversations than

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anybody else and generate more business.

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So, depending on where you are in your

business and what you're looking to do,

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80 percent of your time should be spent

having conversations and prospecting.

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If you're too much in the business

and not working on the business,

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then it's never going to grow.

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So, yeah, prospecting is the

lifeblood of business, but it

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has to be done the right way.

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There's so many cold messages and

spam and email that you get that

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you have to rise above the noise.

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And that's what we help people

do is cut through the noise

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and stand out and be different.

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And at the end of the day, build

relationships, build a pipeline

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and have endless conversations

with the right people.

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Freddy D: Right, and of course, follow up

is the next part of the equation is now

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that you've got made that connection and

had the conversation, you've got to engage

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and follow up is everything in my mind.

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And that's actually my second chapter in

a book is follow up because once you've

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got the prospect, you've got to follow up

and you got to keep reaching out to them.

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Adam Packard: It's one thing

that just gets overlooked, which

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is just so mind boggling to me.

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I mean, when I was in the network

marketing business, my only

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goal was to not have anybody

slip through the cracks, right?

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If I had a conversation with someone,

even if the timing wasn't right,

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they would hear from me consistently

until they either told me yes, or

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told me to go pound sand and not

reach out to them again, right?

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Tom Hopkins used to say,

follow up till they buy or die.

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A little extreme, but you'd be shocked.

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Maybe you wouldn't how many people,

I send leads to on a daily basis

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and they reach out to them once and

the person doesn't show up on a zoom

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credit card in hand ready to buy and

they're like, Oh, this doesn't work.

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The work begins when we hand

someone off that says, tell me

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more, Frederick, I'm interested.

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That's where the followup comes in

place and you have to have a system on

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the back end to be able to handle it.

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I mean, I use a simple CRM that

just gives me a list of people I

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need to follow up with every day.

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And I.

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And meticulous and I don't miss it.

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And I've had people that I've talked to

two, three years ago with it, because

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I was the only one that kept in touch

when the time is right, they come

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back to me because I was that guy.

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So I always tell people when you're

prospecting, it's always the right message

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to the right person at the right time.

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You can control the first two parts.

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You can't always control the timing.

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And so that's where the followup is key.

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Freddy D: Oh, absolutely.

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With the interpreting and translation

company, I close more sales because I'm

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the first one and the fastest one, and

that's the key right there, is being the

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fastest one to respond back to an inquiry.

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Because one, they're

overwhelmed that, wow.

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You actually responded and you responded

within 15 minutes of me submitting

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a message through your website.

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And then I, basically, I eliminated any

chance of competition because I engaged

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talking to them right off the bat.

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Adam Packard: Yeah.

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Freddy D: And yeah, we can take

care of this and next thing poof,

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I got a contract done and my sales

cycle was probably 30 minutes, max.

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And we're talking, some decent

money with language interpreting,

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Adam Packard: yeah.

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Freddy D: so.

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It's critical.

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So let's go back to LinkedIn a little

bit and let's talk about those people

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that send you a message out of the clear

blue, you have no idea who they are and

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you think that they're genuinely looking

to connect and you accept the connection.

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And next thing you know, as

you get the sales pitch, what's

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your thought about that crap?

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Adam Packard: There's a

time and a place for it.

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I think.

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Yeah, it's a little too much.

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I think it depends on the audience.

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So I think everybody that we work with

has a different audience that they

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serve and different offers, right?

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If you're targeting higher up people

in business owners, founders, C

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suite individuals, they get hit up

probably more so than anybody, right?

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So you cannot come out and connect

and immediately pitch them on your

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services, back in the day when

linkedin allowed you to have 100 150

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connection requests go out per day.

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You could throw enough

stuff against the wall.

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Some of it's bound to stick, right?

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So you didn't have to be very good.

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So you could do that and still get

results when they limited the number of

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connections you could make and limited

the number of messages you can send.

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You immediately have to change your

kind of focus and priority to be more

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efficient, more effective with those.

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And so the approach has to change.

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So when we work with clients.

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We try to come up with outside the

box ideas because if you look at the

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last 10 messages you got on LinkedIn,

9 out of 10 of them are probably

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connecting and pitching you on something.

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Freddy D: Oh, absolutely.

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Adam Packard: Most links have most link or

most messages have links in them, right?

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Say, hey, let's schedule a

discovery call or a strategy call.

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And if that's your only way that you

reach out to people, you've got to

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think of something else because you

cannot sell someone a multi thousand

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dollar package and in a message, right?

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So what we look to do is.

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Create conversation and engagement.

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That's the only goal on LinkedIn

is to get a conversation started.

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Everything we do is permission based, so

you will never find links in any messages.

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So if I sent you a message and said,

Hey, We'd love to have you on my podcast.

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If you're interested, shoot me a message

back and we can talk through details,

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you would automatically respond to that.

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Now, if I pitched it this way and I

say, Hey, Frederick, we have a podcast.

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Here's a link to the show.

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Here's my calendar to book time to

learn more that comes across as spam.

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So when you're looking at LinkedIn,

use it as a tool to create

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engagement, curiosity, and interest.

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Look at it as a tool where you can

add value and build relationships.

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Yes, you can probably find some

opportunities quickly, but you also

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don't want to cut yourself off from

any future opportunity by burning

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through connections and just burning

through relationship capital.

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Because if you have a great

conversation with someone, they might

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not be a perfect client for you.

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But because of the way you

approach them the right way,

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now your foot's in the door.

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They might keep you in mind for the future

and now their network is open to you.

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So it's almost like when, we would go

to BNI meetings in the day, back in

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the day, it just felt like everybody

would go to the meeting and try to

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sell each other their services, right?

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It wasn't like we were getting into

each other's network and actually

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leveraging people's networks.

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So it's almost the same way now with

LinkedIn is nine out of 10 people.

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Go to LinkedIn to try to sell people.

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They don't know services

that they don't need.

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When in fact they should look at it as a

tool to whose network can you get into?

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How can you add value to a certain person?

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Yes, you might pique their interest

and they might have interest in

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what you do, but you also need

to approach it the right way.

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So you don't just.

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Burn through that connection

and lose any future opportunity.

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So our approach is a little bit

different in terms of it might be a

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longer term nurturing, sales cycle

where you build a bigger pipeline.

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Unfortunately we live in this instant

gratification society where people want

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sales and want prospects now, but when

you're looking at LinkedIn, you have to

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look at it as a networking tool first, and

then a way to add value and potentially

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share your services with the right people.

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Freddy D: You said a big thing right

there is building that relationships

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and nurturing it over a period of time,

because the other aspect of that is,

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as you also mentioned, Adam, was that,

they may not be ready for your service

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now, but they have a network of people.

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And if you built that relationship with

them and you're not pitching them, you're

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just having conversation, building a

relationship, they may not be ready, but

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they may turn around and says, Hey, you

know what, My friend Susie she'd be an

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ideal person for your podcast or your

product or your service or whatever it is.

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And they start becoming your superfan

in a sense, because they're out

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promoting you to their network.

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You can't buy that kind of PR.

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That's why, I wrote the book

Creating Business Superfans.

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It's people that believe in you

are trust you and want to promote

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you because they like you and

they want you to be successful.

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Adam Packard: A hundred percent.

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Yep.

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It's so true.

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I mean, it's I'm in a very

competitive space, right?

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And most people that are on LinkedIn

probably have lots of competition.

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So if you just look at what your

competition is doing and do the opposite

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we basically branded ourselves as the

opposite of every LinkedIn marketing

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company because we do things differently.

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We take a manual approach.

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We're not using software.

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We're not using bots.

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We're using real people.

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We take time to really put together a plan

that actually will help you strategically

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connect with the right people.

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But yeah, if you look at your inbox,

just look at the last 10 messages and

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say, okay, this didn't resonate with me.

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What type of message

would resonate with me?

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If I were to receive it called

from a prospect, it would

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probably be one that it's.

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Focuses on you and not the other

person selling their stuff.

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It'd probably be one that adds value to

you and maybe gives you some insights

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and tips that, you didn't have before.

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So yeah, value add, build relationships.

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That's the key.

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Freddy D: Absolutely.

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So, how do you leverage LinkedIn

for, to, make connections?

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How do you find the connections

and how do you leverage that?

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I mean, you don't have to give

away all your secrets, give some

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tips here on what people can do.

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Adam Packard: Yeah, there's

a lot that you can do.

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I think the first thing you have

to really do is get very clear

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on who your audience is, right?

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That's, if you tell me your audience is

the avatar, it goes back to the avatar.

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I mean, if you say your audience is

business owners and you do leadership

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development coaching, I'm probably

going to throw up a little bit in my

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mouth because it's just so general.

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It's just going to be white noise.

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There's nothing I can create.

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I can't market that.

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But if you say I work with tech startup

founders that have less than 500 employees

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that are based in Silicon Valley.

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That are series a, or, just

getting funding, that's a

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specific audience, right?

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Or I work with service

based industries, right?

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You just have to be super specific.

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Now that's the first part.

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The second part is identifying again

if your audience is that higher

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tier person, that's the CEO or the

founders or the business owners.

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Your approach is going to have to

be a little bit more indirect and

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a little bit more value added.

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Whereas if you're targeting maybe

entrepreneurs or middle managers,

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you can be a little bit more direct.

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So that's where the

strategy comes into play.

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But from a, what can you do?

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We leverage sales navigator for LinkedIn.

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It's a necessary tool to be

able to find the right people.

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If you do a basic search on LinkedIn,

you can find people, but you're also.

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Probably burning through connections.

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Cause you know, half the people

on LinkedIn are not active, right?

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So with sales navigator, you can identify

people who are active on the platform.

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You can find people who are premium

users, which means they're more

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likely to respond and engage.

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And you can just, do the right parameters

from industry to title, to years

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experience, to geography, to keywords.

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So you can make a much

more targeted search.

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And then from there, there's

lots of tools and systems and

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agencies that can help you.

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But, if you're just starting out.

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You can make 20, 25 connections

a day to your target audience,

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engage in conversations that way.

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That's what we do is we take that two

or three hours a day of prospecting off

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people's plates so they can just handle

the warm conversations that we hand over.

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And the new trend right now, I'm

not sure if you're seeing this

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right now is let us place an

appointment center in your business.

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And we'll take over all your DMS

and generate appointments for you.

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The challenge is you're probably going to

be spending a thousand, 2, 000 a month.

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You're probably going to have people on

your calendar that aren't a fit because

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their goal is just to book people,

whether or not they're qualified or not.

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Our approach is a little bit different.

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I've tested this multiple ways.

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What we do is we help you

get the conversation started.

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So I create the copy and the targeting to

help you, generate the interest, right?

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So someone who reaches back out and

says, Hey, Frederick, I'm interested.

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At that point, we hand it off

to you because you know your

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business a lot better than I do.

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You can customize a reply back and get

the conversation started from there.

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But yeah, LinkedIn, you can

send, 100 messages a day easy.

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I mean, build up your existing network.

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Obviously, you want to try to connect

with people first because then they

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see your posts and your feed and then

you can message them anytime, right?

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So I just created A campaign to

go back to some of my existing

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connections to reengage some of them.

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Whether you have a promo or a holiday

special you're doing building those

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connections is key, but you have to

find a way to consistently do it.

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That's the one thing I see a

lot of people miss is they'll

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send five, 10 messages a day.

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They don't get too many results.

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You've got to increase that.

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Do 60, messages a day.

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Find a way to do that.

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Whether you hire someone or

whether you do it yourself.

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You kind of have to do it,

look at LinkedIn as almost

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like a speed networking tool.

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The more connections you can make,

the more conversations you have, the

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bigger your pipeline is going to get.

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But there are tons of tools and resources

out there to help you leverage it.

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Freddy D: Do you have a resource for those

tools and stuff off of your business?

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Adam Packard: I just have calls.

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Honestly I'm the anti

hard sell kind of guy.

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My goal is to educate

and give people ideas.

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I had a call yesterday with a

someone that, was looking to

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come on our podcast as a guest.

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And I gave her some ideas on, Hey,

if you're going to leverage LinkedIn,

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here's an idea that I would use.

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And the idea was.

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take a chapter from one of her books

every month, do an event around

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that, that topic, invite her target

audience to come check it out.

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You add a ton of value.

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:

And then, at the end you can share, Hey,

if you're interested in having a separate

354

:

conversation, let's have a one on one.

355

:

So it's an easy way to promote

yourself, add value without pitching

356

:

and get more conversations started.

357

:

So yeah, I always encourage people to

just, check us out at Ninja prospecting.

358

:

com schedule a call.

359

:

Like I said, I'm the

opposite of the hard sell.

360

:

It's more of educating and adding

value and giving you some ideas.

361

:

And if you want to see how we

partner with you to, leverage

362

:

your time it works really well.

363

:

Freddy D: Right.

364

:

So what's the advantage

of LinkedIn premium.

365

:

Cause I'm not on it.

366

:

I know because I'm not on LinkedIn enough.

367

:

For what I'm doing at the moment.

368

:

Adam Packard: And you will

be we'll get you there.

369

:

Yeah., you definitely gotta leverage it.

370

:

Yeah.

371

:

So there's different versions

of premium for LinkedIn.

372

:

The only one I recommend, a sales

navigator, but unless you're gonna

373

:

be sending 50 to a hundred messages

a day, it's probably overkill.

374

:

Right?

375

:

Unless you're gonna actually

start leveraging it and

376

:

messaging a lot more people.

377

:

Most people don't take

advantage of Sales Navigator.

378

:

One of the advantages of having Sales

Navigator, number one, you get the little

379

:

gold logo next to your name so people can

recognize you as, you actually, think that

380

:

LinkedIn is valuable enough to pay for it.

381

:

But it's a, premium there are other

versions of premium that I think

382

:

allow you to just to see people

that are viewing your profile.

383

:

That to me didn't really

move the needle at all.

384

:

So sales navigator is the tool

that, that I would recommend, but

385

:

yeah, you can send with in mails to

people don't realize in mail is a

386

:

great way to reach out to people.

387

:

And they, they see this when they

sign up for sales navigator, you

388

:

get like 50 in mail credits, right?

389

:

Which basically allows me to message

you directly without being connected.

390

:

However, most people don't realize this.

391

:

If you look at a search on LinkedIn

and try to message someone, if you have

392

:

sales navigator, there's about 70 percent

of profiles that are marked as open.

393

:

Meaning I can send you an in mail

without using one of my 50 credits.

394

:

And they let me do that 40 times a day.

395

:

So I can send 40 in mails a day, open

profile to start conversations in addition

396

:

to the connecting that you can do.

397

:

That's the advantage of sales navigators.

398

:

It opens you up to being able

to do more messaging and just

399

:

find more of the right people.

400

:

Freddy D: Interesting.

401

:

I never knew that.

402

:

That's a great nugget for everybody.

403

:

How do you build superfans within

LinkedIn that, become your promoters

404

:

for the services that you guys provide?

405

:

Adam Packard: Yeah there's a couple ways.

406

:

So if you look at LinkedIn, as

you have passive strategies and

407

:

you have active strategies, right?

408

:

Your passive strategies are.

409

:

posting content that is not

necessarily going to generate leads.

410

:

It's really good for brand awareness,

thought leadership, credibility,

411

:

visibility, social proof.

412

:

But rarely do I post something and

somebody messages me saying, tell

413

:

me more about your services, right?

414

:

I'm really just doing it to show that

I'm active and to add some value.

415

:

It's almost like you, you're the guy

in the back of the room at the seminar.

416

:

That has the booth and

you're selling product.

417

:

You're hoping people come

up and see your stuff.

418

:

That's the passive strategy.

419

:

Still really important.

420

:

But it's not going to generate

immediate conversations.

421

:

The active strategies are basically

getting out there, shaking hands, meeting

422

:

people, starting conversations, almost

like going to a seminar instead of being

423

:

the guy in the back of the room, trying

to sell a product you're out there in the

424

:

crowd, shaking hands and meeting people.

425

:

And so that two prong approach of.

426

:

posting the content and

doing the reach outs.

427

:

The content is where you start

to develop that fan base, right?

428

:

But it takes consistency over time.

429

:

Sadly, most people, will automate

their content or they'll outsource it.

430

:

Or they'll just use AI

to generate content.

431

:

It doesn't, AI for me doesn't

really reflect personality.

432

:

It can create some great things,

but I, at the end of the day.

433

:

You've got to share your voice

and share your wisdom naturally.

434

:

So find a way to consistently do that

two, three times a week on LinkedIn

435

:

post content that way, but you have

to add in the other piece that drives

436

:

people to your content, that, that

builds more connections that build your

437

:

network and starts more conversations.

438

:

So you have to have

both working in tandem.

439

:

Freddy D: It makes sense.

440

:

It goes back to, sales, follow up.

441

:

And this usually happens not

at the 1st, 2nd or 3rd connect.

442

:

It usually is at the 8th,

9th, 12th, 14th conversation.

443

:

And all of a sudden, boom, it happens.

444

:

Adam Packard: Yeah.

445

:

Yeah.

446

:

So I had a conversation yesterday with a

guy that I talked to you back in March.

447

:

And then luckily, because I have

the CRM and everything set up

448

:

the right way, I could, I knew

exactly what we talked about.

449

:

I knew where his business

was, what he was looking for.

450

:

Even though it was eight months ago,

it was an easy kind of transition

451

:

into the conversation yesterday.

452

:

So yeah that's one of the Secrets.

453

:

I don't think it's a secret, but just

most people don't actually do it.

454

:

Freddy D: So can you share a story

of how you helped somebody that was

455

:

struggling and how you turned around

their business, leveraging LinkedIn

456

:

and the services that you provide?

457

:

Adam Packard: Yeah, we've got

a lot of great success stories.

458

:

I've had a, our goal is to

not be a service provider.

459

:

Our goal is to come in

more as a growth partner.

460

:

We want to partner with you, right?

461

:

So we're a little bit

different in that regards.

462

:

And our model is a little bit different.

463

:

A couple of our long term clients,

I remember she came to me, she's

464

:

a coach for product managers.

465

:

We actually did a case study

and it's on our website.

466

:

But.

467

:

We basically created a a copy and a

campaign to drive people to a little mini

468

:

funnel that she had a little training.

469

:

So she would invite people and

add value with this kind of

470

:

free training that she did.

471

:

And I've the very first day we generated

17 leads for her, which was just insane.

472

:

I think over the course of the last

three or four years, we've averaged

473

:

a couple of thousand leads per year

for her that funnels directly into

474

:

her calendar turns into clients.

475

:

She generates four to seven clients a

month which is higher than our average.

476

:

But yeah, she leverages LinkedIn.

477

:

She's, found her voice.

478

:

She's got the authority.

479

:

And it works.

480

:

She adds value first, right?

481

:

She leads with that.

482

:

She builds a huge pipeline.

483

:

That was one of our great success stories.

484

:

And I have another one that

started a coaching business and.

485

:

When she started with us, she was probably

making between five and 10, 000 a month.

486

:

And her note to me was if I'm going to

have someone working my LinkedIn account,

487

:

I want to make sure that it represents

my brand, my voice, and is a reflection

488

:

of our brand and adds value to our brand.

489

:

Detracting from our brand

and giving it a bad name.

490

:

So we put together a plan for her

something similar to what we did

491

:

for the project manager coach.

492

:

And immediately she started seeing results

and she has been with us for years.

493

:

She's grown her coaching practice

now to over 200, 000 a month.

494

:

has multiple coaches and it's

just scaling to the moon.

495

:

So, and again, not everybody's looking

to go from five grand to 200 grand.

496

:

Maybe you aren't, but if you're not

leveraging cold outreach as part

497

:

of your plan to grow your business.

498

:

You're leaving money on the table.

499

:

You're not having any predictability

unless you've been in business 20 years

500

:

and your business is 95 percent referral.

501

:

It's just the lifeblood of any business.

502

:

And it's fun.

503

:

You get to meet people from all over

the world and have great conversations.

504

:

But yeah, those are probably

two of our best success stories.

505

:

They had success right out of the gate.

506

:

Freddy D: Yeah, that's amazing going

from 5 to 10 grand to 200 grand a month.

507

:

Adam Packard: Yeah.

508

:

Freddy D: That doesn't suck.

509

:

Adam Packard: Yeah.

510

:

Now we're not the entire, reason for the

success, but we're a piece of it for sure.

511

:

Freddy D: Right.

512

:

Adam Packard: She knew

that it was reliable.

513

:

She knew that every month she was

going to have a predictable number

514

:

of people looking at her stuff.

515

:

And that's what we do.

516

:

Freddy D: Excellent.

517

:

So, aside from that, how do

you make connections outside

518

:

of LinkedIn for your business?

519

:

Adam Packard: That's a good question.

520

:

Most of my business is

done through LinkedIn.

521

:

I do a little bit on Facebook.

522

:

We do a little bit with

cold email as well.

523

:

But at the end of the

day the goal is the same.

524

:

It's to create engagement,

create conversation.

525

:

I do a little bit of

networking face to face.

526

:

It's, it's one of those things

where I could talk to five people

527

:

in an hour, via zoom, or I could

meet one person for lunch, right?

528

:

So I have to balance that.

529

:

And the same thing when I was building

my network marketing business was, I

530

:

want to get as, squeeze as much into

the time that I have as possible.

531

:

So I'm trying to leverage my time.

532

:

So most of what we do is done through

LinkedIn, but again, the goal is

533

:

to humanize it as much as possible.

534

:

And almost, even though

it's not face to face.

535

:

It's a great way to just have way more

conversations than you could have been if

536

:

you were to go to a networking event, but

I still I'm almost of the camp that you

537

:

have to sprinkle in some of the old school

things that worked 20 years ago because

538

:

they're probably more effective now.

539

:

So finding the right group to belong to.

540

:

Locally, a networking group, getting

out and meeting people make friends.

541

:

I mean, at the end of the day, you're

just trying to make friends with people.

542

:

So when I'm playing pickleball

with my buddies, right, I'll,

543

:

they asked me what I do.

544

:

We have conversations.

545

:

They're all business owners, right?

546

:

So.

547

:

Yeah, there's, you have to have

multiple ways that you prospect and

548

:

LinkedIn is one of them, but you

should have five or 10 different

549

:

sources that you pull people from.

550

:

Freddy D: And, going back to LinkedIn

and Facebook and, Instagram and all those

551

:

platforms, how often should somebody

be posting so they're not obnoxious

552

:

and at the same time it's meaningful.

553

:

Adam Packard: Yeah, it depends.

554

:

Most people will look and do a

lot of promotional posts, right?

555

:

It's like, oh, I can do this and

everything is about business.

556

:

What I found works best, and I would

say pick one platform, get really

557

:

good at one platform to start.

558

:

Don't try to do Twitter, Facebook,

Instagram, LinkedIn, because you're

559

:

going to spread yourself too thin.

560

:

You're going to run out of time.

561

:

So I would pick one or maybe

two platforms to start with and

562

:

get some really good traction.

563

:

So where's your audience

hanging out the most, right?

564

:

So for us, most of our

audience hangs out on LinkedIn.

565

:

So that's where we post

and share our content.

566

:

I would say three times a week

would be the average to do.

567

:

Consistency obviously is key, but

what I found on LinkedIn, it's funny.

568

:

If you look at some of my posts, the

ones where I talk about, business or

569

:

tips or, things that you can do with

LinkedIn, don't get nearly as much

570

:

traction as the ones where I post

maybe a personal story or something

571

:

that's family related, where I can tie

in my business and my life, because.

572

:

People want to get to know the

person behind, the company.

573

:

They want to get to know you personally.

574

:

So anything you can share, if you're

going on a trip, tell us about the trip.

575

:

Tell us about, a lesson you

learned while you're on the trip.

576

:

Share a story.

577

:

Those posts actually tend to do better.

578

:

On LinkedIn.

579

:

But again, the key is the consistency

of it and not looking at it and

580

:

saying, Oh, I need to get so

many likes or so many comments.

581

:

Throw that out the window for six

months and just focus on adding

582

:

value, sharing stuff that, you

have a thought of inspiration.

583

:

You want to share it just right.

584

:

And share it without any attachment

to, I hope people like this.

585

:

So when I post stuff, yeah,

I want people to like it.

586

:

But the day, I'm not shooting for likes.

587

:

I'm shooting for being real

and authentic with my audience.

588

:

And hopefully that comes across.

589

:

Freddy D: And that's an important

tip right there is being real and

590

:

genuine and sharing something.

591

:

Because it's, you're right, I post

some personal stuff and all of

592

:

a sudden, out of nowhere, I get,

two, hundred likes on something.

593

:

And then if I post something

that's pure business.

594

:

It falls flat on its face.

595

:

Adam Packard: Yeah, exactly.

596

:

Freddy D: It's a non starter.

597

:

Adam Packard: That's the

old post and pray, right?

598

:

What most people do is they'll,

they're, Oh, I'm going to post on

599

:

all these platforms and people are

going to, come to me and I'm like,

600

:

it doesn't quite work that way.

601

:

You've got to be a little

bit more proactive.

602

:

Freddy D: You've got to engage

and build those relationships.

603

:

Yeah.

604

:

And cause back to those two

clients, you really help out, I'm

605

:

sure that they're your superfans.

606

:

They love the services that

you've done and they've shared

607

:

your services to other people.

608

:

And that's really, how you build

that fan base that in turn starts

609

:

a snowball, and I'm sure they're

your marketing piece today.

610

:

Adam Packard: And you have to, yeah,

they, yeah, they refer us business

611

:

all the time, which is great.

612

:

It's easy conversations.

613

:

Cause they, they realize

what we did to help them.

614

:

So it makes the conversation easier.

615

:

But yeah, you've got you've got to

create fans in your business and

616

:

you've got to do more than what

you, they're paying you for, right.

617

:

Care more communicate more.

618

:

Try to do as much as

you can to over deliver.

619

:

There's way too much over promising and

under delivering in the market right now.

620

:

And so we try to be the opposite and, we

will, we'll guarantee a certain number

621

:

of leads, but at the end of the day.

622

:

I know that's a low bar.

623

:

I'm shooting for a lot higher

because if I can over promise and

624

:

be the guy that over, if I can over

deliver, we immediately stand out.

625

:

But yeah, creating those superfans

helps you build that fan base, helps you

626

:

develop more of a referral based business.

627

:

But to get there, you've got to

have those cold conversations.

628

:

Yeah.

629

:

That's where I talk about, in

Creating Business Superfans book,

630

:

I call it the unexpected extra.

631

:

And so it's like you just said,

it's going above and beyond and

632

:

that's unexpected in today's world.

633

:

And that's a differentiator and that's

an attraction because now they go, wow.

634

:

Look, that's just

unbelievable what he just did.

635

:

That's helped tremendously and

it didn't charge us for it.

636

:

And they start telling other

people about, and you start

637

:

getting at that superfan base.

638

:

Yeah.

639

:

You have to come with the

right intention, right?

640

:

If you're actually trying to help people,

then you will over deliver it and find

641

:

those little moments where you can.

642

:

Well, whether it's reaching out and just

asking if you can help or whether it's

643

:

sending them a small gift, a thank you

gift there's a lot of little things that

644

:

you can do that add up and just help

you build that relationship even more.

645

:

Freddy D: Yep.

646

:

Absolutely.

647

:

So Adam how can people find you?

648

:

Adam Packard: Yeah.

649

:

Easiest way is just go

to ninja prospecting.

650

:

com.

651

:

All of our info is on there.

652

:

We've got a podcast that's launching soon.

653

:

So check out our podcast.

654

:

It's called I need a coach where we

interview coaches and showcase them

655

:

and get them to share their story.

656

:

So.

657

:

ninjaprospecting.

658

:

com.

659

:

You can learn a little bit more about

our services, about what we do some

660

:

videos on there, some testimonials and

case studies and if you'd be open to

661

:

having a chat and getting some ideas on

what you could do to leverage LinkedIn

662

:

better, I'm always open to meeting

people and seeing how we can help.

663

:

Freddy D: Okay, so you're

offering a free consultation

664

:

Adam Packard: Yeah, every

conversation is different, right?

665

:

So I need to know, tell me who your

audience is, what are you trying to do?

666

:

What's your offer look like?

667

:

What's your price point?

668

:

What are you currently doing?

669

:

How are you generating conversations?

670

:

And then from there, I usually

give people a few ideas.

671

:

Have you tried this?

672

:

Have you done events?

673

:

Have you done podcasting?

674

:

Have you done, interviewing people?

675

:

There's a lot of different outside the

box approaches that we, give you ideas for

676

:

other than the standard connect and pitch.

677

:

And here's my discovery call link,

which is not going to work anymore.

678

:

So if you're looking for some

creative outside the box ideas,

679

:

you're looking to build a pipeline.

680

:

That's what we do on that call is just

give you some ideas, whether or not

681

:

you want to leverage us and use us.

682

:

There's, like I said, there's no

obligation whatsoever, but it gives you

683

:

a chance to really explore what you could

do on LinkedIn because there's a ton of

684

:

opportunity when it's done the right way.

685

:

Freddy D: Appreciate it, Adam.

686

:

Thank you very much for being on

the Business Superfan podcast.

687

:

Great nuggets that you shared, and we'll

look to have you on the show another day.

688

:

Adam Packard: I appreciate it.

689

:

Thanks, Frederick.

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About the Podcast

Business Superfans Podcast
We're on a mission to turn employees, customers, and business partners into superfans! Imagine everyone rallying behind your brand, turbocharging sales, and driving our success into the future!
Welcome to the Business Superfans Podcast, where your path to building a dedicated community of superfans begins. Hosted by Frederick Dudek, also known as Freddy D, an international sales and marketing leader with over 30 years of experience selling to major organizations like Bosch, Ingersoll Rand, Banner Health, the State of Arizona, and many others. This podcast is your go-to resource for transforming your business into a powerhouse of loyalty, and advocacy, collectively accelerating profitable and sustainable success.

What sets the Business Superfans Podcast apart? We don’t just discuss enhancing customer (CX) and employee experiences (EX); we delve into the often-overlooked realm of business allies—complementary businesses, suppliers, and distributors. We refer to this experience as the Stakeholder Experience (SX). This podcast encompasses the entire business ecosystem, offering a comprehensive synergistic approach to creating superfans across all your stakeholder groups.

Each episode unveils insider strategies, cutting-edge tools, and real-world examples from various interviewees sharing their stories. These insights aim to boost your brand's visibility and cultivate a dedicated community of superfans ready to advocate for your mission.

We’ll explore the psychology of brand loyalty, uncovering the factors that drive individuals to become superfans and how you can harness this influence to build a powerful advocacy force. Whether you’re a startup aiming to establish your presence or an established business looking to revitalize your brand, the Business Superfans Podcast delivers actionable insights and inspiration to help you achieve consistent results cost-effectively.

So, why wait? Tune in to the Business Superfans Podcast and become the brand that everyone is talking about—among competitors, customers, and business allies alike. Become part of the movement and discover the key to creating superfans who will elevate your business to unprecedented levels.
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About your host

Profile picture for Frederick Dudek

Frederick Dudek

Frederick Dudek, author of the book "Creating Business Superfans," and host of the Business Superfans Podcast. He is an accomplished sales and marketing executive with over 30 years of experience in achieving remarkable sales performance results in global business markets. With a successful track record in the software-as-a-service industry and others. Frederick brings expertise and insight to help businesses thrive., he shares invaluable knowledge and strategies to create brand advocates, which he calls business superfans, who propel organizations toward long-term success.


Born in rural France, Frederick spent summers on his grandfather’s vineyard in France, where he developed a love for French wine. As a youth, he showed a strong aptitude for engineering and competed in drafting and design competitions. After winning numerous engineering awards, he became a draftsman working on numerous automotive projects. He was selected to design the spot weld guns for the 1982 Ford Escort car. That led to Frederick joining the emerging computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) industry, in which he quickly climbed the ranks.

While working for a CAD/CAM company as an application engineer, an opportunity presented itself that enabled Frederick to transition into sales. It was the right decision, and he never looked back. In the thirty-plus years Frederick has been selling, he has earned a reputation as the go-to guy for small companies that want to expand their business domestically or internationally. This role has allowed him to travel to over thirty countries and counting. When abroad, Frederick’s favorite pastime is to go exploring for hours, not to mention enjoying some of the local cuisine and fine wines.

Frederick is a former runner and athlete. Today, you can find him hiking various trails with his significant other, Kiley Kaplan. When not writing, selling, speaking, or exploring, he is cooking or building things. The next thing on Frederick’s bucket list is learning to sail and to continue the exploration of countries and their unique cultures.