How To Reach LinkedIn Market Leader Status

Lots of us want to become thought leaders in our industry and space, but it's not possible for everybody to become a leader.

You've gotta have a deep-seated passion for your work and industry to make it work, I found that out when I listened to the Salesman Podcast, with special guest Jack Kosakowski who I follow very closely (seriously, look at my Twitter and there's a lot of love for him there).

You've really got to put in what others might call the "hard yards", and that doesn't mean you've got to work really hard all day and night. "Work smart if you don't want to work hard, right" (another Jack Kosakowski quote). That means working the extra hour, not "going out drinking on the weekends" (another) and creating some value-ridden content, networking and making a difference to people.

A lot of people get that content is great and you need to share it, that's great. But how much is that making a difference to your prospects and the people you want to do business with?

The very starting point of the whole journey is making sure your profile is singing and dancing about the industry you're in, the work you love doing and the people you do it for. EVEN IF your LinkedIn profile is all set up and good, you may well have missed at least 1 or 2 of the points in Hubspot's post below...

Even once you've optimised your profile and started to connect with people, share and write content there will not be a moment where 100 leads come flooding towards you. It's not an overnight switch, think of LinkedIn as your way to build a fire that doesn't go out, you just need to keep putting in the logs and coal to make sure it doesn't go out.

And that reminds me of a famous Jay Baer quote...

The next way step is to think about what you're sharing, and how much. This ALL stems from your buyer, and what their problems are. This approach makes your life much easier and theirs too, take the value add approach.

"Earn the right to sell" (sorry, another Jack quote). Provide something, and lots of it, that is of interest and value to your audience. This drives conversation and allows you to show that after all, you're an actual human who lives on Earth.

Engagement is one of the biggest keys to any sort of social success, and you have to go after it proactively. It doesn't always come to you first, but when it does make sure that person feels extra special. This is something I've noticed Sam Hurley and Jack Kosakowski do, they bring out the emojis and GIFs and show real appreciation. They're great guys too, but they know how to say thanks (if you think about it, they're value-adding by making you feel appreciated for sharing their content).

Next, you've gotta know how to make conversation and creatively use your network to build rapport with prospects. That's more about social selling, but only connecting with people you have met is something that brings little return in social selling terms.

So, to summarise:

• Optimise your profile (again, or fully)
• Think value, value, value
• Put in the extra time
• Create, share, engage
• And once you've done that, repeat

Thanks to everyone who made it this far down the page, and don't forget to comment, like or share. Any comments are greatly appreciated, likes and shares even more so!