Episode 400: Your pipeline building toolbox, with Stephen Woessner.
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Stephen is the CEO of Predictive ROI and the host of the Onward Nation podcast. He is the author of two bestselling books, speaker, trainer, and his digital marketing insights have been featured in SUCCESS, Entrepreneur, The Washington Post, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and other media.
Good Morning Onward Nation \\u2014 I\\u2019m Stephen Woessner \\u2014 Happy New Year and welcome to this week\\u2019s solocast. And today\\u2019s episode also happens to be Episode 400 \\u2014 so before we dive into the sales pipeline building toolbox that I want to share with you \\u2014 first \\u2014 I need to offer up a very big thank you, Onward Nation.
If someone would have told me back on June 15, 2015 that we were about to launch a podcast that would soar to the top of iTunes New & Noteworthy, that our email list would grow to over 20,000 people, that we would receive feedback every day from business owners who we have impacted in a positive way, that our message would now reach 105 countries around the world\\u2026and that all of the knowledge we collected in the last 18-months would turn into a book that a major publisher would want to buy and then publish\\u2026there is no way I would have believed that person.
In fact, I might have run the other way.
And yet, what I just shared with you is exactly what happened. And it happened because of you, Onward Nation.
Because you downloaded episodes and then let us know how we could make them better.
You emailed me, you hit us up on Twitter, you shared your thoughts on Facebook \\u2014 and my team and I listened. We made adjustments and then you offered even more advice.
So we pivoted again. And again. And then again.
And we will continue to pivot and adjust because our goal is to deliver as much value to you, Onward Nation as we possibly can.
Please continue to let us know what you think of Onward Nation\\u2026thumbs up or thumbs down. We want to get better \\u2014 and our first 400 episodes \\u2014 are just the beginning.
So thank you for being here \\u2014 and please know \\u2014 how much you downloading, and listening to our episodes, and sharing your feedback means to me and my team.
Thank you, Onward Nation.
Now\\u2026
Let\\u2019s continue the momentum that we started during last week\\u2019s solocast\\u2026Episode 396 that I entitled, \\u201cGet Your Hands Dirty\\u201d and we focused on two main lessons:
1) why and how you should jump into the trenches with your team \\u2014 and the impact you getting your hands dirty \\u2014 will have on your team
And\\u2026
2) how to create your client avatar so you and your team focus your valuable time and attention toward the right customers.
And as I walked you through the practical and tactical steps last week \\u2014 the \\u201cin the trenches process\\u201d that you need in order to create your client avatar \\u2014 I also made you a promise.
I promised that last week\\u2019s solocast would be the first in a series of four tactical lessons you take and apply in order to fill your sales pipeline.
So today\\u2019s solocast is my next step in fulfilling my promise.
Today\\u2019s lesson is going to tactical and provide you with another opportunity to get your hands dirty working alongside your team.
However, I am also going to push you to think differently before you dig into the tools.
I am going to do that so you can be sure to get your mindset right \\u2014 to get your head right \\u2014 so you are ready to unleash your full potential. If you work through the client avatar exercise from last week without getting your mindset right \\u2014 you may focus on clients who don\\u2019t push you \\u2014 who will not challenge you to grow \\u2014 you may focus on the ones who you think are safe \\u2014 prospects who are lower hanging fruit \\u2014 decision makers who operate at lower levels in the organization instead of the C-suite.
Run from those thoughts, Onward Nation.
I believe it was Albert Einstein who said, \\u201cThe same thinking that got you and your business to your current level \\u2013 is not the same thinking that is going to get you to where you want to go.\\u201d
So you must push yourself to be open to the ideas I share with you \\u2013 even if I challenge you \\u2013 even if I make you feel uncomfortable from time-to-time \\u2013 please know \\u2013 that\\u2019s what a good mentor does \\u2013 they help you see the path you need to take.
For example\\u2026I can almost certainly guarantee that as you and I move our way through the lessons over the next several weeks\\u2026you may begin to think of challenges you expect to encounter if you were to implement what you learn.
You may think to yourself\\u2026
\\u201cThat would never work in my industry.\\u201d
\\u201cI can work on that when I have more time.\\u201d
\\u201cI would put that into practice if only my team were up to the challenge.\\u201d
\\u201cMy sales have slumped because I have a couple of really tough competitors \\u2013 or \\u2013 our pricing is too high.\\u201d
I am here to tell you \\u2013 as a good mentor would \\u2013 your key challenge \\u2013 your key obstacle to having a vibrant, full sales pipeline heading into 2017 \\u2013 with a steady stream of qualified prospects is not being blocked by any of these.
Okay, so then what is blocking you from having a full sales pipeline?
It\\u2019s you, Onward Nation! Yes, you.
But how could I say such a thing? Please\\u2026just hear me out.
We as business owners\\u2026we fall victim each day by asking ourselves really horrible questions like\\u2026
\\u201cAm I good enough?\\u201d
\\u201cAm I smart enough?\\u201d
\\u201cOh, that company over there would never want to do business with us because we are too small!\\u201d
We tend to set ourselves up for failure before we ever start.
We tell ourselves we can\\u2019t do something. The way we speak to ourselves \\u2014 in our own heads \\u2014 can be truly cruel at times.
Instead\\u2026as you are building your client avatar\\u2026you need to get your mindset right\\u2026to eliminate the word \\u201cCan\\u2019t\\u201d from your vocabulary.
Why do you need to eliminate this word \\u2013 and these thoughts?
Because this word is the root of the Imposter Syndrome \\u2013 and if you don\\u2019t take aggressive action \\u2013 the word will build a stronghold in your mind\\u2026and the Imposter Syndrome will keep you as its victim.
The Imposter Syndrome is your one and only barrier to success \\u2013 and it will keep your sales pipeline empty if you let it.
Onward Nation \\u2014 you are good enough \\u2013 you are worthy of more \\u2013 you have worked hard!
Don\\u2019t let the Syndrome become a roadblock to your next level.
In fact, next time you catch yourself asking yourself road-blocking questions\\u2026I want to you to apply a little success secret to push past the blockade.
Here it is\\u2026
\\u201cDecide to win \\u2013 before \\u2013 you ever start.\\u201d
And that\\u2019s a powerful lesson I learned from Joanna Riley during Episode 324.
She went from zero to being the largest shareholder in her company now worth over $800 million.
Jo has accomplished much \\u2013 but \\u2013 it is because she learned at the age of 14 what it took to believe in herself \\u2013 and that winning was as much about performance as it was deciding to win at the outset.
I believe in you, Onward Nation \\u2013 you are far more capable, amazing, awesome, wonderful, and beautiful than you give yourself credit for.
And now I want to repeat the two warnings from last week because they still apply for today\\u2019s lesson.
As we move through the steps\\u2026you may catch yourself saying\\u2026 \\u201cOh, I already know that\\u2026\\u201d
If you catch yourself saying that \\u2013 take a moment \\u2013 and instead ask yourself \\u2013 \\u201cBut have I mastered it?\\u201d
And then take it deeper by asking yourself, \\u201cCan I leverage it even greater that what I am currently doing?\\u201d
Deal?
Okay, so let\\u2019s jump in.
The primary tool we will focus on today is LinkedIn.
Why? Because LinkedIn is the platform where business-to-business deals get done \\u2013 and \\u2013 get done quickly.
Plus, there are over 433 million business people on the planet who use LinkedIn.
So it is highly likely that your top prospects are there \\u2013 using LinkedIn \\u2013 every day.
And you should be, too, Onward Nation.
LinkedIn members also may represent the right demographic \\u2013 the right economic earning potential \\u2013 that fits your ideal prospect or client avatar.
So let\\u2019s begin\\u2026and in total\\u2026I am going to share tactical steps \\u2014 or tools \\u2014 you can use to find your client avatar in LinkedIn, build your Dream 50 list, expand your number of connections, and then reach out to your Dream 50 to generate leads to fill your sales pipeline.
Step 1: Boost your LinkedIn profile.
You need to do this by giving it a serious, deeply critical look. Does it include a deep summary description?
Have you linked videos from your YouTube account?
Do you have your experience section properly built out? And if the answer is \\u201cno\\u201d to any of these \\u2014 you need to make immediate adjustments.
Why? Think of your profile as your landing page within LNKD. If it\\u2019s not up to par \\u2014 then prospects will bounce off your page and move on with their day.
Step 2: Participate in LinkedIn\\u2019s Pulse publishing platform by sharing your long-form content at least once per week.
Publishing to LNKD gives you the opportunity to share your expertise and deliver value to your connections \\u2013 and \\u2013 to boost credibility on the platform.
Go to my LNKD profile for tangible examples that you can dissect and get some ideas.
Step 3: expand your LNKD connections
I encourage you to export your existing email list, import it into LinkedIn, and send connection requests. But why?
Because with each new LNKD connection, your network of 1st degree, 2nd degree, and 3rd degree connections expands. This will give your team a larger network to search within for high-value prospects \\u2014 your client avatar.
For example, I have over 4,000 1st degree connections on LinkedIn, which equates to a lead gen network of approximately 17 million people for business development team here at Predictive ROI, my content marketing and lead gen agency.
By expanding your connections, your will be able to \\u201csee\\u201d as many high-value prospects within LNKD as possible.
Step 4: expand your email list!
Now you should reverse the process from Step 3 and export your list of LNKD connections \\u2014 and then \\u2014 import the email addresses back into your email list.
LinkedIn is the only social media platform that allows you to export the email addresses of your connections.
This rinse and repeat cross-pollination will ensure yours prospects receive future content via multiple channels.
Step 5: build your Dream 50 list
Here is where you will take the details you identified regarding your client avatar using the recipe I shared with you in Episode 396 \\u2014 and then apply it \\u2014 to build your Dream 50 list using LinkedIn\\u2019s Advanced Lead Builder tool.
The Advanced Lead Builder gives you the opportunity to conduct custom searches based on keywords, titles, industry, years of experience, employee size, geographic proximity to a zip code, and a variety of other variables.
But\\u2026just a heads up\\u2026LNKD recently announced their decision eliminate a number of the searching options because not enough members were using them.
Ugh. So we will have to wait and see what the revised version of Advanced Lead Builder will look like \\u2014 I will keep you posted.
Once you have your Dream 50 list compiled \\u2014 you will be ready for Step 6, which is sending your InMail messages. InMail is kind of like LNKD\\u2019s version of email \\u2014 except it is only available to premium members \\u2014 you can only send 30 InMail messages per month without buying more credits \\u2014 credits cost $10 each \\u2014 and \\u2014 the process cannot be automated\\u2026each InMail is sent to each recipient manually\\u2026one at a time.
Yes, I know \\u2014 it is time consuming\\u2026but\\u2026that is also why we often see response rates of 10-20 percent\\u2026because there is very little spam via InMail.
You can go to Episode 298 of Onward Nation for our complete InMail template so you can swipe it and then customize the content for your business.
Now, that covers some of the core LinkedIn ingredients but there is another success secret I learned from Jeffrey Hayzlett in Episode 121 that I want to share with you right now.
And that is \\u2013 to Crawl \\u2013 Walk \\u2013 Then Run.
Yes, it is going to take you time to perfect this recipe.
My team and I have sent thousands and thousands and thousands of InMail messages within the last 24-months alone.
Did it take us time to develop the expertise that we now have?
Of course it did.
So do as Jeffrey says\\u2026Crawl\\u2026Walk\\u2026and then Run. And soon\\u2026you too will have mastered LinkedIn and your pipeline will be full.
So with that\\u2026I want to thank you again for taking the time to be here with me today. It is an honor to have you here \\u2014 thank you for tuning in \\u2014 I am delighted you chose this episode to be what you listen to, study, and take with you on your morning run, or maybe Onward Nation has become part of your daily commute, or in some other way has become part of your morning routine.
However our daily podcast fits into your daily routine \\u2014 I want you to know how much I appreciate you sharing some of your invaluable 86,400 seconds you have in your day with me and the strategies we learn and share each day from today\\u2019s top business owners.
And please continue to let me know what you think of Onward Nation\\u2026good or bad\\u2026I always want your feedback. My direct email address is stephen@onwardnation.com \\u2014 and yes \\u2014 that is my actual Inbox.
No fancy filters or filing system and I read and reply to every single email.
So please let me know how you think we are doing. I look forward to hearing from you.
We will be back tomorrow with an incredible interview with Kyle Reyes \\u2014 where we focus on the power of not losing your identity as a business owner \\u2014 and how your identity can, and should, become the foundation of your brand. Kyle is rock solid awesome.
You will not want to miss it, Onward Nation!
Until then, onward with gusto!
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