Latest / The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson / Turning LinkedIn Connections into Conversations with Brynne Tillman

Transcript

Turning LinkedIn Connections into Conversations with Brynne Tillman · The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson

• 0:00
  Social selling done the right way is about being a resource, bringing value to your
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  network.
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  Building rapport, sharing insights that help to create credibility and trust earning you the
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  right to get the sales conversation.
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  3, 2, 1, 0 ignition.
• 0:27
  Lift off.
• 0:29
  Ending small business failure.
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  Welcome to the small biz chat podcast with the number one small business expert, Melinda
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  Emerson.
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  Melinda's goal is to end small business failure.
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  And she'll give you the information you need to succeed and live the life you dream of.
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  Now here's your host, the small biz chat lady herself, Melinda Emerson.
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  Hi, everybody.
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  Welcome to another edition of the small fish chat podcast.
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  I'm Melinda Emerson, the small business lady.
• 1:00
  America's number one small business expert, and I am so excited to welcome you to another
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  episode of our great show.
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  If you wanna learn how to really leverage social media selling, you're in the right
• 1:14
  place.
• 1:15
  Now, really, it's about thinking about what you need in your business for your long term
• 1:21
  strategy.
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  If you sell B2B, Well, then you better know how to sell on LinkedIn.
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  And I've got the LinkedIn whisperer here who's gonna give you all of the tips And we're gonna
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  learn a little bit of LinkedIn etiquette too.
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  Now listen, the small business chat podcast is a peer to peer mentoring program.
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  We have designed this show to give you advice that you otherwise would have to pay lots of
• 1:46
  dollars for.
• 1:47
  I also wanted to give you information so that you could get it from different perspectives
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  because the mission of small business chat is to end small business failure.
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  We've been doing this for well over a decade.
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  And I am committed to helping you live your dream life as an entrepreneur So with that, let
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  me formally introduce my guest, Ms.
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  Brent Tillman.
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  Brent is known as the LinkedIn Whisper.
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  She is the CEO of social sales.
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  And for over a decade, she has been teaching sales teams, business leaders, and
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  entrepreneurs how to leverage linkedin for social selling as a former sales trainer and
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  salesperson herself Bren has adapted all of the traditional sales techniques to what we call
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  this new digital world.
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  She guides professionals to establish a subject matter expert brand, find and engage the right
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  targeted market and leverage clients and networking partners for warm introductions to
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  qualified buyer.
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  Brent is also the co host of making sales social podcasts and the author of the LinkedIn
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  sales playbook, a tactical guide to social selling.
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  For more information, all you have to do is go to social sales link dotcom.
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  Brent welcome.
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  Hey, Melinda.
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  Thank you so much for that, introduction.
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  And I appreciate being here with you today.
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  You know, I have to take a point of privilege here.
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  You know, I have known you, I think, almost since the very beginning when I first became
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  the small business lady.
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  Like, literally, we were, like, early OGs to to to social media and social selling.
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  And I think I met you in person for the first time.
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  I wanna say it was 13 years ago.
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  We were both at an event because you you were based in Philadelphia at the time, and we were
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  both speaking in an event for the Philadelphia business journal.
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  And you were doing the workshop on LinkedIn, and I was doing the workshop on Twitter.
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  Oh my gosh.
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  Right?
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  Yeah.
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  And, you know, it's funny because at the time, I thought, ah, Twitter.
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  And then I watched you, and I was like, Oh my gosh.
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  I had no idea that that much power.
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  And I think you felt the same way about LinkedIn, and we immediately were like
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  Oh, we I I did.
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  I did.
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  And I always laughed because I said, okay.
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  The number one Twitter expert and the number one LinkedIn were both living Philadelphia.
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  Like, I felt like, oh, they need to know about it.
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  Right?
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  So I'm so excited that both of us are still in the game.
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  I mean, teaching social media selling and so many other things.
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  And, you know, coming out of the pandemic, one of the biggest things that small business
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  owners were really struggling with was social selling.
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  People of so many small businesses went down because people didn't know how to sell online.
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  People didn't know how to buy ads.
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  People didn't have an email list.
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  Didn't know what a sales funnel was.
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  Right?
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  You know, so there are all these things that you and I have been, you know, talking about
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  for over a decade and then all of a sudden, the world shuts down and the only way people can
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  buy is online.
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  And so I I really wanted to start it there to really talk about, like, you know, how I want
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  to talk to you about your origin story, how you got started, and then how you realized very
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  early on that that LinkedIn was important.
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  And so I I really wanna kinda understand because I know for me, I read a trade journal
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  in 2007, That said social media was gonna be the next big thing in marketing and change
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  traditional marketing.
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  And it was at that time that I said, okay.
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  We stopped doing videos.
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  We stopped doing websites.
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  We started doing social media.
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  And how we learned social media was by building my small business lady brand.
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  That's how we learn.
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  And that's next thing you know, corporations are calling us hey, can you come in and consult
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  with our social media team leads?
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  People have no idea what they're doing.
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  You know, so, literally, that is how I I built my company, but I really wanted to I wanted to
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  know how you figured out that LinkedIn was the magic bullet.
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  Great question.
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  Well, I've always been in sales and sales training, and I love business development you
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  know, I was the traditional.
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  I started grew up in cold calling and then knocking on doors and, you know, in in the very
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  traditional cold calling.
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  In fact, Philadelphia Business Journal was the event where we met I used to prospect through
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  the Philadelphia business journal.
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  I would cut out articles of CEOs and stick posting notes and my business card on them and
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  mail it to them.
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  Right?
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  Like, the all that tradition And I love sales, not because of all that work.
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  I love sales because it was helping people.
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  And communicating and engaging with people.
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  What I didn't like was the cold calling, but it was part of the game.
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  Right?
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  Like, there was no other way to set appointments, right, networking, which I did,
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  and cold calling.
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  So I liked everything except the cold calling piece.
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  And I recall really early on sitting across from a client, staring at his overflowing
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  rolodex.
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  Listeners, if you are under 15, you don't know what a rolodex is ask your parents.
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  But staring at this rolodex thinking if I could get my hands on that for 20 minutes, I could
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  identify who he knew that I wanted to meet I could ask for introductions and I wouldn't have
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  to cold call anymore.
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  When I saw LinkedIn, By the way, I called it Lincoln in for at least 3 months.
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  I don't feel bad.
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  I called Twitter Twitter.
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  Like, when somebody first trying to tell me about Twitter.
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  I was like, what is Twitter?
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  You know what you're
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  talking about?
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  And I mean, you know, to then become such Twitter Diva was, like, hilarious, but trust
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  me.
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  I know exactly what you mean.
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  Oh, yeah.
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  So this LinkedIn thing solved a big problem.
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  It allowed me to search and filter my connections connections.
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  I had access to my client's rolodexes.
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  I had access to my network networking partner's role at X's.
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  And I'm like, this is amazing.
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  I have been asking for this forever.
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  I am the so grateful to Reed Hoffman for building it for me.
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  Right?
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  Like, I was like, you solved my problem.
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  I love sales.
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  And now I can live a 100% of sales because I don't have to cold call anymore.
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  And so I really started then you know, teaching it for free for a long time.
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  And then, you know, after maybe 2 years of free, I'm like, wicked.
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  Why am I do like, I'm doing this because it was like a lost leader to bring business into my
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  sales training business.
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  And I'm like, This is more valuable than the overcoming objections that I'm teaching people.
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  Right?
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  So I ended up launching.
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  I I I had a wonderful friendship with my, a partner at the time, and he said, I don't want
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  to do this traditional stuff anymore.
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  I really just want to do this LinkedIn.
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  And so I launched now about 9 years ago where I'm solely focused on LinkedIn for business
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  development, and I never looked back.
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  It's the greatest thing I've ever on.
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  I'm professionally.
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  I also have children because that's also a thing of every time.
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  But, no, we gotta clarify.
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  No.
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  We love children, but then I
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  had a grandbaby and one on the way.
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  Oh my gosh.
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  I am not at that level yet, but I I'm trying to get one out of my house into college.
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  But so so let's talk about LinkedIn, though.
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  Why do you think It has become, like, the number one sales tool for B2B sellers,
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  especially.
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  But I personally think it can help anyone, but in particular, folks trying to find decision
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  makers.
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  I don't know a better place to go than LinkedIn.
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  The LinkedIn did a brilliant job in building a database, right, building a database that is
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  self updating.
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  Individuals continue to update their profile.
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  So it is, whether it was on purpose or not, the most real time data you'll ever find.
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  There is no other company that could keep up as quickly with the population and the turnover
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  and where people as LinkedIn does.
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  So that's number 1.
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  Database is as clean as any database will ever be.
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  Number 2, your email that you own.
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  You don't own LinkedIn.
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  You own your email list.
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  There is 20% turnover year over year.
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  We know that because of LinkedIn.
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  That means 1 out of 5 of your emails are gonna bounce next year.
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  And wanna 5 the next year.
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  LinkedIn allows us to find out where they are.
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  What's the new email?
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  So so the real time data is critical.
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  Number 2, what did they do right?
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  Because they They were this networking tool for careers and jobs.
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  It opened up an opportunity for sales.
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  They go back to the Roblodex that no other platform has.
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  You can go into Facebook and look up your Facebook friends and your Instagram followers
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  and but you can't filter it by job title.
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  You can't filter it by company size.
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  Right?
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  There are so many, offer opportunities inside of LinkedIn to build an ideal list that is as
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  updated as any list could ever be.
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  And you can see your social proximity to who in your network can help you gain access to those
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  those targeted folks.
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  So why is LinkedIn it?
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  Because that's where your your prospects are hanging out if you're selling B2B and even B2C.
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  Right?
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  And executives are there.
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  CEOs are there.
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  I mean, Obama is there.
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  Right?
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  Like, I am one degree from.
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  Right?
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  So so the the concept that people are attainable through social proximity is also
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  incredibly powerful.
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  So let's talk about traditional selling.
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  Is it dead, or is
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  it like is it more?
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  Yeah.
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  How is it more?
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  So traditional so it's still about relationships.
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  Where the new way is broken.
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  And I'm really hoping that there's this pendulum that we get back into the middle is,
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  you know, AI and bots and this this fake profile outreach garbage.
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  Right?
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  So Oh, yeah.
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  Gone from deep relationships to telemarketing, which I think is the box of, you know, of
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  phones, right, telemarketers or to real spam, but social selling done the right way is about
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  being a resource, bringing value to your network, building rapport, sharing insights
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  that help to create credibility and trust, earning you the right to get the sales
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  conversation.
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  Right?
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  And Yeah.
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  Well, let's talk about that because I feel like the biggest knock on LinkedIn And I I gotta
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  tell you, I I it it's the constant.
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  It's it's the spam.
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  It's the 2 seconds after I meet you 2 seconds after I accept your connection.
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  And I'm with someone that accepts connections for people that I don't know.
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  But when I do, I'm always like, Really, they're gonna send me their full pitch, not even 2
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  minutes later.
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  And what's really funny to me is I can always tell when they're using a bot on me because the
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  last book that I published with Simon and Shuster, when I put it on my profile, it puts
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  Simon Shuster on my thing.
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  Like, it looks like I work for Simon Shuster.
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  So you wouldn't believe how many emails I get Oh, I'd love to bring my services to Simon and
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  Shuster.
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  And I'm like, so what I, like, they're just a publisher.
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  You know?
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  But but again, I'm almost glad mine is like that.
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  So I can tell when somebody's trying to use a bot, to communicate with me.
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  So what, I mean, what are some of the cons on on LinkedIn?
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  I mean, when when are they gonna figure that out and ban it altogether?
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  So, yeah, the connect and pitch is a bait and switch, and it's really a problem on LinkedIn.
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  LinkedIn try you can report them.
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  And as they're reported three times, they will get shut down for 24 hours.
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  And if they're reported again, they will get shut down permanently, but they will pop it to
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  their head somewhere else and some other, right, and some other It it it's a it's a tough
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  thing, but he here's the challenge.
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  Number 1, I, at one time, I did accept everyone.
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  I don't anymore.
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  I reply to everyone.
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  You know, I I'll reply and say, hey, Melinda, thank you so much for your connection request.
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  Typically, I only with people.
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  I know, may I ask how you found me?
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  And if they don't respond or responds with a bot, it's done.
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  Okay.
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  If they respond, oh, I saw your content.
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  Great.
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  You're in because you're a human being and you're talking to me.
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  Right.
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  So that's that's been my response to the overflow of spam.
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  The other thing is I never connect with anyone holds.
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  I'll engage with their content.
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  I'll I'll do a social listening, find out what's meaningful to them.
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  I'll look at our social proximity, however we connected, and I'll say, hey, Melinda.
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  I see you know, Michelle, snow.
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  I'm looking to get in front of her.
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  How how well do you know her?
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  And do you have any insights you might be able to share?
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  And when you have a conversation, she's awesome.
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  You know, we're really good friends.
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  And I'll say, you know, would it be okay if I mentioned we chatted today?
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  Sure.
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  I reached out Michelle.
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  Melinda Emerson and I were chatting the other day.
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  Your name came up in our conversation.
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  She says hello.
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  Right?
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  Like, Let's connect.
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  She's gonna accept my connection request.
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  And even though I've done nothing but drop your name with permission with permission, Right?
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  I'm already at a very high level of credibility.
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  And so if we can slow down our outreach, just a little bit, we will speed up for our outcome.
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  I like that.
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  I like it.
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  That that I think that's tweetable.
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  You said if you slow down your outreach, you will speed up the outcome.
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  Yes.
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  I love that.
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  I'm I'm gonna give you credit the first time I say that, Brent.
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  And then I'm gonna steal it.
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  I just want you to tell you to your face I'm gonna do.
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  It's published trademark, but you can use it all you want.
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  Now listen.
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  Well, let's talk about some basic LinkedIn stuff, though.
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  When it comes to setting up a great LinkedIn profile, What what do we, like, what do we need
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  to know?
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  Cause I see some bad practice out here too.
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  Yeah.
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  Well, so it shouldn't if you're in a business development role, you're a small business
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  looking to grow, it should not be your resume.
• 18:21
  Your buyers don't care about all the jobs you had before the job you're in now that is
• 18:27
  positioned to serve them.
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  So we need to really make the shift from a resume to a resource.
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  This is a landing page.
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  This is an upper tunity for them to test drive you, to experience you.
• 18:44
  I want the goal of your profile for your buyers that visit this profile for them to say, boy, I
• 18:52
  learned so much here.
• 18:53
  I can't imagine how great a phone call would be.
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  So how do you do that?
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  Right?
• 18:58
  The first thing is your headline should not just be your title and company name.
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  It should resonate with your buyer and let them know immediately how you can help them or the
• 19:12
  solution that you bring.
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  So that they know, hey, this is for me, and I wanna keep reading.
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  So it's who you help, how you help them and your solution in your headline, 220 characters.
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  Next is your about section.
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  This is not your mission, your passion, your vision, your years in business.
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  This is literally the challenge your buyers are facing vendor agnostic insights.
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  Things that get them thinking differently about their current situation, where they go, oh,
• 19:44
  that's interesting.
• 19:46
  And then we need to get some create a compelling moment.
• 19:50
  Right?
• 19:50
  So I resonate we're resonating with the buyer, we're teaching them something new, and then
• 19:57
  we're saying, hey, look, if you're feeling this, Let's chat.
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  Whether or not we decide to work together, I could provide insights that can help you do X.
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  And all of a sudden, they're like, oh, we took the pressure off.
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  Even if we don't work together, I'm gonna help you.
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  And that's the world that we're in today.
• 20:16
  We have to really detach from what the prospect is worth to us and attach to what we are worth
• 20:24
  to the that.
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  How much value can I bring them?
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  If we bring tons of value before the sale, they know that they're gonna get value after the
• 20:36
  sale.
• 20:37
  So with that, our our profile has to be positioned to do that.
• 20:42
  I I like that.
• 20:44
  But now what about I've seen people take this tactic on LinkedIn.
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  Where they reach out and they say, hey.
• 20:53
  I'm trying to do a better job of connecting with the people in my network.
• 20:57
  Can we schedule a 15 minute Zoom call or or in person coffee date or whatever?
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  What is your thought about that strategy?
• 21:06
  Because I usually say no to that too because usually all the financial planner people are
• 21:10
  trying to talk to me.
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  But I I I usually, like, I don't have any reason to wanna talk to you.
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  So no.
• 21:18
  But but I just wonder what you thought about that strategy.
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  So you have to earn the right to ask for the call.
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  Right?
• 21:25
  You have to earn the right.
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  My time is valuable.
• 21:28
  You have to master the Escoff ratio.
• 21:32
  The ask offer ratio is I am asking for time, even if it's time to read my article or watch
• 21:38
  my video.
• 21:40
  But I'm asking you to invest your time at the end of that investment or in, you know, of
• 21:49
  each, there's 1 of 3 reactions, one that was a bait and switch.
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  So if you connect with me and then ask me.
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  I just wanna get to know my network.
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  And I look and I go, you're in sales.
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  That was a bait and so I know it's a bait and switch.
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  Right.
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  Right.
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  I know your goal is not to really get to know me.
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  It's to sell me.
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  Right.
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  Number 2 is neutral.
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  We connected you ignored me.
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  I ignored you or just It doesn't hurt, but it doesn't help grow your business.
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  Right.
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  Number 3 is compelling.
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  We've gotta get to a compelling when we master the escrow for ratio, the time you invested and
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  whatever I asked you to invest in, what you got more value than you value your time.
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  So you got an ROI, a return on investment of your time, If you get $500 an hour for coaching
• 22:47
  and you just spend 10 minutes, it better be worth more than 60 bucks in my head, right,
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  whatever it is.
• 22:54
  Like, I I'm not good at math.
• 22:56
  But but there's an ROI in that.
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  It there's a mental ROI.
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  So if you're asking for 15 minutes of my time, you need to have already earned that right.
• 23:08
  With mastering the ask offer ratio prior to the ask of a call.
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  So how do you do that?
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  Well, there's a few things Number 1, we can ask for their opinion on things.
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  Now that may seem backwards.
• 23:25
  But if we value their insights, they believe investing their time in voting on a poll
• 23:34
  sharing in a comment their thoughts.
• 23:38
  Believe it or not, that's worth a lot to them.
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  Emotionally, we made them matter.
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  We cared about their opinion number 1.
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  Number 2, provide insights And I that's the order I do it.
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  I really slow it down.
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  I connect.
• 23:53
  I ask for their subject matter expertise in usually a one click vote on a poll that I have
• 24:00
  running.
• 24:01
  Or, you know, I I I posted this question as a CEO I'd love your your thoughts and comments.
• 24:08
  I appreciate the company you've built and the things that you've done and your thoughts can
• 24:14
  really help my my network.
• 24:17
  They are honored.
• 24:20
  Then I'll say, hey.
• 24:20
  I'm not sure if you're bloring x, y, and z.
• 24:23
  But if you are, I've got this ebook.
• 24:25
  I'd be very happy to share with you.
• 24:27
  Let me know if you're interested.
• 24:29
  I'll send you a link.
• 24:31
  Now notice what I did.
• 24:33
  I never send a link without permission.
• 24:36
  It number 1, it creates FOMO.
• 24:38
  Fear of missing out.
• 24:40
  If I don't have the link, I'm never gonna have the link.
• 24:43
  If you just send me the link, I could go back to link anytime.
• 24:46
  So I don't have the link.
• 24:48
  Number 2, you respected my inbox.
• 24:51
  You could send me this link, and I don't feel spammed anymore.
• 24:55
  Right?
• 24:55
  So and now when they say yes and if my content is of great value, which it needs to be or it
• 25:04
  won't work, I have now mastered the ask offer ratio again.
• 25:10
  And now I may have earned the right if if this resonated with you, if you have any questions
• 25:15
  around this topic, I'm happy to jump on a 15 minute call.
• 25:19
  Let me know if that would be valuable to you.
• 25:23
  Right.
• 25:23
  Not to me.
• 25:25
  Right.
• 25:26
  Would it be valuable to you?
• 25:28
  That's the difference.
• 25:29
  Yes.
• 25:31
  So one of the other things that I noticed about LinkedIn lately is probably once or twice a
• 25:39
  week.
• 25:39
  I'm contact to buy some LinkedIn automation firm that would love to help me get 10 to 30
• 25:46
  leads a week from their activities through my account.
• 25:52
  And I know the answer to this, but for the sake of my audience, will you talk about, you know,
• 26:00
  automation, good thing, bad thing, you know, Tell me about it.
• 26:05
  So first, it breaks LinkedIn's user agreement 8.2.2.
• 26:11
  You can get shut down.
• 26:13
  You are scraping personal data.
• 26:17
  You are not allowed to do that according to LinkedIn.
• 26:20
  Now these these firms will tell you.
• 26:24
  Oh, we sued LinkedIn and we won.
• 26:27
  And you know what?
• 26:28
  They're right.
• 26:29
  Their company is legal as a user, you've agreed not to use them.
• 26:35
  Oh, Okay.
• 26:37
  So it's a very interesting dynamic.
• 26:41
  And believe me, LinkedIn is shutting people down.
• 26:44
  For using it.
• 26:44
  So that's number 1.
• 26:46
  Number 2, would you send a robot to a chamber of commerce networking event to build
• 26:53
  relationships?
• 26:54
  I would No.
• 26:56
  No.
• 26:56
  I would never do that.
• 26:58
  So why are we doing this online?
• 27:01
  The there is a human being on the other side, not a lead.
• 27:06
  Oh, you know, when we start thinking of list of people as, you know, we put dollar amounts on
• 27:13
  them.
• 27:14
  It's so broken.
• 27:15
  When we put our commission over the needs of our buyers, it's broken.
• 27:23
  And when we think There is an easy button for me to make money.
• 27:30
  It's broken.
• 27:31
  I am gonna tell you I know almost no one that has gotten success.
• 27:37
  What are they calling a lead as a connection a lead?
• 27:41
  I mean, a lead to me is someone that I've talked to.
• 27:47
  I've uncovered a challenge that they're facing and that I have a solution that may be able to
• 27:55
  solve that problem.
• 27:57
  Until that, there's no weed attached to them.
• 28:01
  And so all of that is broken, all in my opinion, even in the sales world that's broken,
• 28:09
  you know, even in my CRM, when it says add a lead, it makes me cringe in sales navigator.
• 28:16
  When it says lead list, it may me cringe.
• 28:20
  It's really a list of my ideal persona that I'd like to start a conversation with that if, in
• 28:29
  fact, there's a need, maybe come a lead.
• 28:32
  I love it.
• 28:33
  I love it.
• 28:34
  Alright, Brent.
• 28:35
  I get this question a lot.
• 28:37
  Is it worth paying for LinkedIn?
• 28:39
  And if you do pay for LinkedIn, Should you just pay for Navigator?
• 28:44
  Is it worth having a premium account?
• 28:46
  Give us the deal.
• 28:48
  So if you are in a business development role, or you have someone on your team in a business
• 28:55
  development role.
• 28:56
  I believe it is the most effective sales tool available to us today.
• 29:02
  However, it's like a gym membership.
• 29:05
  What do I mean sign up.
• 29:07
  We show up for 3 or 4 weeks, and then we stop going, but we keep paying.
• 29:13
  So we have to make sure that if we are going to get a sales navigator, that we're gonna have a
• 29:19
  plan, that it's part of our sales and marketing strategy.
• 29:23
  It's not just a a plugged in tool, but there is a real strong strategy around it, an approach
• 29:33
  that's trackable that, allows us to see successes, so that we can we can AB test things
• 29:42
  and make sure that our outreach is is successful.
• 29:47
  There are so many tools out there for sales, whether you're talking about a CRM, which
• 29:54
  obviously is an important tool, or you're talking about like a sales loft or, you know,
• 30:00
  where you have, cadences every single day to do, but sales navigator has a few things that
• 30:08
  no other tool in the entire world has.
• 30:11
  Number 1, it's got LinkedIn's database.
• 30:14
  Right.
• 30:14
  Number 2, it has some of the most powerful filters to allow us to truly identify exactly
• 30:22
  who in our network it it that, you know, that who they are, where they are, what industry
• 30:29
  they're in, if they've been active on LinkedIn in the last 30 days, if they've shared content
• 30:36
  in the last 30 days, if, they've changed jobs in the last 90 days.
• 30:41
  Like, we can go so granular into the data, like, that LinkedIn has through Sales
• 30:49
  Navigator, it can really help us zone in and exactly the types of people that we wanna have
• 30:57
  conversations with.
• 30:58
  And that's part of it.
• 31:01
  So so what is the best way to learn how to use navigator, Brent?
• 31:06
  Cause navigator's tough.
• 31:09
  I feel like that's a muscle softball or maybe I'm not sure.
• 31:14
  The best one is to hire us now, but I mean, like, sales navigator, they have training.
• 31:21
  They like, when you go on, they have many videos.
• 31:24
  They take you through some training.
• 31:26
  And they teach you the features and the benefits, but they don't teach you the
• 31:31
  strategy.
• 31:33
  And so you may identify, very specific, you you said, oh, I love this list.
• 31:41
  But how do I approach it?
• 31:42
  How do I engage them?
• 31:44
  One of the things we can do in sales navigators take inventory of our existing connections.
• 31:50
  So now I make the list in sales navigator of all the perfect people I'm already connected to
• 31:55
  that I've been ignoring.
• 31:57
  And now what?
• 31:59
  Right?
• 31:59
  What do we do with it?
• 32:01
  So that's where, you know, so how do you learn that?
• 32:04
  Where do you learn that?
• 32:05
  Well, You can go go listen to my podcast making sales social.
• 32:09
  That'll help.
• 32:10
  But I'm just gonna give you how do you what do you do with them?
• 32:14
  Put out a poll and ask them to vote.
• 32:16
  Put out a piece of content and ask them for their their comment.
• 32:21
  People are absolutely honored when you put out in the if I reached out and they said, Hey,
• 32:29
  Michelle, as a biz as one of the best business coaches in all the land.
• 32:33
  I would love your one click vote.
• 32:37
  On a poll on what do executives really need to learn?
• 32:42
  Right?
• 32:43
  And and and she'd be like, wow.
• 32:45
  That, you know, she thought of me.
• 32:47
  And, yes, because she is, but now I'm gonna actually reach out in that case maybe to all of
• 32:52
  the business coaches that I'm connected to.
• 32:55
  Michelle is still the best, but all of the business coaches I'm I'm connected to and ask
• 33:00
  them a similar question as a top business coach in my network is probably how I'd say that.
• 33:07
  I'd love your one click vote.
• 33:09
  Now it's almost a discovery ish question.
• 33:14
  Mhmm.
• 33:14
  But I could get 100 of votes on a poll that can help me start a conversation with my ideal
• 33:23
  persona, and it can help me identify who's worth talking to now.
• 33:29
  And, you know, move on with that.
• 33:31
  Like, hey, thanks for voting on the poll.
• 33:33
  I was so surprised to see what your your colleagues are voting on, I'd love to share
• 33:39
  those results with you and tell you a little bit about where you benchmark among your peers.
• 33:45
  If you're open and you think that would be helpful to you, let's set up a call.
• 33:50
  And so you know, but it's about them.
• 33:53
  It's not about me and my solution.
• 33:56
  Sure.
• 33:57
  But let's talk about your your you have this group, right, social sales link.
• 34:02
  And people can pay, and you do these, like, live hot seat linked it.
• 34:08
  Like, you get into navigator show them how to do stuff.
• 34:11
  Yeah.
• 34:12
  Please talk about that because I just think that it's so cool.
• 34:16
  I've sent you so many people, clients of mine, don't try to teach people LinkedIn.
• 34:21
  I send it to people who know LinkedIn.
• 34:22
  So I I think that it's important to talk about because I think it's a very affordable
• 34:27
  resource.
• 34:28
  Well, thank you.
• 34:29
  Yep.
• 34:29
  It's it's a dollar for the 1st month and then $97 a month.
• 34:34
  And it's great.
• 34:34
  And we have some people that are on every single call, and that's their hour that they're
• 34:39
  doing emails in the background listening and pop in and ask their questions.
• 34:43
  We have some people that I have someone who pays every month in about every 3 or 4 months.
• 34:49
  She jumps on.
• 34:50
  She asks a question about a specific prospect.
• 34:54
  We write her template.
• 34:55
  She goes out.
• 34:56
  She closes business and doesn't come back for 3 or 4 But she is like a $40,000 sale that we
• 35:02
  helped her get through.
• 35:03
  So it it's really about you know, what makes the most sense for each person, but we are
• 35:11
  there supporting now hundreds of of, members, and it's really fun.
• 35:18
  And there's no commitment.
• 35:19
  They could pay, you know, they can leave.
• 35:21
  They can come back.
• 35:22
  Whatever they want to do.
• 35:24
  Love it.
• 35:24
  Love it.
• 35:24
  Alright.
• 35:25
  Now, Brent, what is the best business advice you've ever received
• 35:29
  from you?
• 35:32
  Write a book.
• 35:35
  We were I don't know if you're we were sitting in King of Prussia in, Oh gosh.
• 35:42
  It was a a I can't it there's 2 restaurants next to each other.
• 35:48
  Mash Gianas, but it was the bakery next to it.
• 35:52
  And we were sitting in a booth, and I said to you Melinda, how do what do I do now?
• 35:57
  And you're like, write a book?
• 35:58
  And I said, how do I do it?
• 36:00
  And you get spent about 15 minutes.
• 36:03
  And 6 months later, I published my book, and it was the best thing I ever did.
• 36:07
  Alright.
• 36:08
  Well, I love hearing that.
• 36:09
  I I don't even remember telling you that.
• 36:11
  So wonderful.
• 36:12
  I'm glad that I gave somebody some business advice that they
• 36:14
  Actually even introduced me to the person that put I put my first book together.
• 36:19
  Oh my gosh.
• 36:20
  I I don't even remember.
• 36:21
  It's the one in the south, Carolina, maybe.
• 36:24
  We're North Carolina.
• 36:25
  I have to remember.
• 36:26
  It, you know, it's
• 36:27
  Yeah.
• 36:27
  Yeah.
• 36:28
  You set me up with her.
• 36:29
  She was amazing.
• 36:30
  She laid out my first book.
• 36:31
  Yeah.
• 36:32
  So there you go.
• 36:34
  Awesome.
• 36:34
  Awesome.
• 36:35
  Awesome.
• 36:35
  I love it.
• 36:35
  I love it.
• 36:36
  Well, listen.
• 36:37
  Thank you so much, Brent.
• 36:38
  Your advice has been invaluable.
• 36:40
  Anybody who didn't get something about LinkedIn that they could use now that they didn't know
• 36:45
  before they listened to this podcast shame on you because Brent is the truth.
• 36:49
  I appreciate you so much.
• 36:51
  This has been such an amazing conversation we have had today.
• 36:56
  Thank you to my guest, Brent Tillman, the LinkedIn Whisper.
• 37:00
  Check out her group at socialsaleslink.com.
• 37:04
  Thank you all for joining me for another episode of the Small Bishop podcast.
• 37:08
  If you're still working on your digital pivot, don't forget to head over to our online school.
• 37:13
  Small biz lady university.
• 37:15
  We've got lots of courses there to help you finally start generating the money you deserve.
• 37:20
  And with that, I just wanna leave you with, I really love serving you guys with the small biz
• 37:26
  chat podcast.
• 37:28
  My mission is to end small business failure, and I wanna leave you with this.
• 37:32
  You've never lose in business.
• 37:34
  Either you win or you learn.
• 37:36
  God bless everybody.
• 37:37
  Tonight.
• 37:41
  Thanks for listening to the Small Biz chat podcast with Melinda Emerson.
• 37:45
  So scribe to this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and join us next Wednesday for more
• 37:51
  fantastic information and interviews.
• 37:53
  You can find more sources and small business success strategies by visiting Melinda's
• 37:58
  website succeed as your own boss.com.
• 38:01
  Thanks again for listening, and we'll see you next week.