Best Practices

1. REAL-LIFE LINKEDIN SUCCESS STORIES
Chapter One: Contacts with Industry Experts
About two months ago, I had breakfast with a business colleague we will call “Ed”. Ed was
excitedly telling me about an opportunity to co-author a book with a very well known business
expert. Ed told me that he needed to gather some information crucial to the content of the book,
and talked about contacting people and asking about their experiences. It would take effort and
time to gather this information from reliable sources.
I casually mentioned he could use Linkedin’s Q&A feature called “Answers” where all you do is
pose a question, in this case the question he wanted data on, and that professionals from all over
the world post their responses, and “voila”, there is the needed data for your book.
Ed stared at me in amazement. He had joined my network on Linkedin about nine months before
when I sent him an invitation, but had not developed his profile on Linkedin, and had only 4 or 5
contacts. He had not used the power of the program.
Needless to say, Ed completed his profile on Linkedin that day after our breakfast to create the
credibility he deserved and then used the “Answers” feature on Linkedin to post the questions he
needed data on. Responses came flooding in from well-educated, experienced professionals
and executives all over the world.
Chapter Two: Employment Opportunities
Now, Ed is a curious guy, and is always looking for the next interesting opportunity, whether in
business or employment. Recently, he started researching some targeted consulting firms he had
an interest in. In doing so, he looked up the profiles of executives in consulting firms on
Linkedin. When you look up someone on Linkedin, there is a record left on the person’s profile.
One executive (we will call him Mr. CEO) saw that Ed had viewed his profile, and looked up
Ed’s profile. Mr. CEO saw some things in Ed’s profile that interested him vis-à-vis a new
project his company was launching, and he contacted Ed to set up a time to talk on the phone.
It is now three weeks later, and Ed is having his third interview with Mr. CEO’s consulting
firm this week.
©American Career Executives® 2007
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2. Chapter Three: Business Development
Another breakfast meeting with a business acquaintance let’s call David, a
leadership training and coaching expert, who is so busy working with clients like Mayo Clinic,
he has little time to network or do business development for his next job. One of the primary
challenges for consultants is how to line up the next consulting engagement when you are putting
100% into the current consulting project!
Right then and there at the Paradise Bakery we got on David’s laptop and I showed him Linkedin
and how he could add information to his profile, get linked with more people that he may wish to
do business with, and best of all, he could develop “expert” status by answering and asking
intelligent business questions on the “Answers” feature on Linkedin.
Now, whenever someone muses, “who is this guy,” and then they visit David’s Linkedin site,
they see from his profile, his astute questions and answers about leadership and training, and,
now, the many fine recommendations from former clients and colleagues, that he is a credible,
respected, proven expert! David can now do some of his “networking” and even business
development any time of the day or night while still working on his current consulting
engagement.
Chapter Four: YOU
Soooooooooo, what are you waiting for? Get on www.Linkedin.com today!
1. Create or update your profile.
2. Invite professional colleagues to join you on Linkedin.
3. Request recommendations supporting your skills, abilities and accomplishments, and get
them posted.
4. Click on the “Answers” tab and ask and respond to questions in your industry to begin
positioning yourself as an expert.
5. Search Linkedin for business and industry contacts for your job search or business.
About the Author:
Linda Baugh is Founder and President of the award winning, American Career Executives®, a firm
with a 91% placement ratio for executives and professionals seeking new career options, whether in
employment or business opportunities. The firm has received unprecedented honors in the career
industry for integrity, with three separate awards from Better Business Bureaus in Arizona, and
internationally. According to Baugh, “The success of our clients is due in large part to using our
unique system based on referrals, relationships and acquaintanceships developed though face to
face meetings as well as sophisticated online social networking.”
You may contact Linda Baugh through the company website, www.amcareer.com, or through her
profile on www.Linkedin.com.
©American Career Executives® 2007
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