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Is everyone you know on LinkedIn? Probably yes. Unlike Faceboook, it's not oversaturated. LinkedIn has the advantage that its purpose is meant to be professional. That's good because you are a benefits professional — you can help businesses and individuals. You have lots of connections.
Here are a few ways to see if you can bring some opportunities to the surface.
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Do people know what you do? It's hard to expect people to approach you for business if they don't know how you can help them. The easiest solution is to post relevant, educational, Compliance-approved content regularly. When people like or comment on your posts, engage with them.
Build your network. The mantra of LinkedIn is to "connect with people you know." You know lots of people. Think about the number of connections on your phone. Look through your class in the online version of your alumni directory. You can simply make a list of all the people you know. If you live in a small town, another approach is to enter the town name, search for people and see what familiar names turn up. Every person you identify has their own retirement need. Most likely work for an organization offering benefit plans to employees. You have a pathway in.
Professional groups on LinkedIn. Over time you learned membership to a professional association often doesn't require employment in that field. This holds for LinkedIn groups too. Some are restrictive, others are more welcoming.
If you have an industry specific niche, hunt out the relevant LinkedIn groups. You have the opportunity to post. This gets your content in front of others besides your own connections. You can view the list of group members. See who you know or might be friends of friends. You are a specialist in helping people within this field.
Age plays a role. You have ways of knowing or guessing the age of your connections. Graduation year for your fellow alumni is a good example. Although people should be saving for retirement from an early age, you know the time in life when people move it to the front burner. Do these connections know how you can help them?
Who gets bonuses? Your book of clients provides examples. You might know people in the financial services industries are paid bonuses in late January. You have a few in your client book. You might have ten times as many among your 1st level connections on LinkedIn. If these people are having an event yielding them cash, where is the money going? You know retirement savings should be up there.
Who is changing jobs? LinkedIn prompts you in several ways under Notifications. It tells you when people are celebrating birthdays. Work anniversaries. Job changes. The last category offers the potential for rolling over retirement assets. This brings back the first question, do they know how you can help?
Think of your network of 1st level connections on LinkedIn as a pool of potential prospects. Drip on them. Raise your visibility. Engage with them.
Bryce Sanders is president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc. He provides HNW client acquisition training for the financial services industry. His book, "Captivating the Wealthy Investor" can be found on Amazon.
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Bryce Sanders
Bryce Sanders, president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc., has provided training for the financial services industry on high-net-worth client acquisition since 2001. He trains financial professionals on how to identify prospects within the wealthiest 2%-5% of their market, where to meet and socialize with them, how to talk with wealthy people and develop personal relationships, and how to transform wealthy friends into clients. Bryce spent 14 years with a major financial services firm as a successful financial advisor, two years as a district sales manager and four years as a home office manager. He developed personal relationships within the HNW community through his past involvement as a Trustee of the James A. Michener Art Museum, Board of Associates for the Bucks County Chapter of the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Board of Trustees for Stevens Institute of Technology and as a church lector. Bryce has been published in American City Business Journals, Barrons, InsuranceNewsNet, BenefitsPro, The Register, MDRT Round the Table, MDRT Blog, accountingweb.com, Advisorpedia and Horsesmouth.com. In Canada, his articles have appeared in Wealth Professional. He is the author of the book “Captivating the Wealthy Investor.”
