Wouldn’t it be great if you could connect with your ideal clients before they needed your product or service? And wouldn’t it be even more amazing if you knew immediately when something occurred that triggered their need for your service? Imagine running an appliance repair service and receiving an email any time someone in your service area has a broken appliance – before they start the process of finding someone to fix it. Or running a Chinese restaurant and knowing any time one of your regular customers gets a craving for Chinese food.
Science fiction? Well, yes. But the reality of what’s currently possible may be closer to that than you think.
Most marketing is focused on creating a message that matches the prospect’s need and attracts them…after they’ve started the buying decision process. But there’s a window of opportunity before that, between the time that something occurs that causes the need – the "trigger event" – and the time they start the buying process. If you can connect with people during that window, you can establish yourself as a trusted advisor and perhaps even block out the competition entirely.
This is known as "trigger-event selling", and Craig Elias, coauthor of SHiFT! – Harness the Trigger Events That Turn Prospects into Customers, is the world’s leading expert on the topic. He’s also, like me, a very early adopter of LinkedIn and uses it as one of his core business tools. With in-depth profiles of more than 80 million professionals, LinkedIn is one of the best tools for directly identifying and connecting with people who match your ideal client profile. It’s also a great place for identifying trigger events – new hires, promotions, new projects, and other company news that may not make it to the usual public channels.
Craig and I will be conducting a free webinar next Tuesday, November 30, at 2pm EST on using LinkedIn to connect with your ideal clients, monitor for trigger events and establish yourself as a trusted advisor to them before they even start the buying process. This webinar will be jam-packed with practical how-to information that you can put into action immediately. Register now to reserve your spot.
P.S. – This is seriously advanced stuff. I’ve used it with a handful of my high-end clients, but this is the first time I’ve taught it to a group. If you’re serious about using LinkedIn to improve your sales process, you don’t want to miss this.
Top image: Anders Ljungberg