How to Use LinkedIn to Prep for an Important Meeting
So, you’ve landed that meeting with an important prospect.
Now what?
It’s time to prepare. You want to seem as informed and relatable as possible, just like you would for an interview.
But how would you do that?
Use LinkedIn to prepare. You have virtually everything that you need to know at your fingertips with LinkedIn, so might as well put it to good use.
FIRST, YOU WANT TO READ THEIR PROFILE THOROUGHLY
This doesn’t mean skimming all the way through to see what places or skills you may have, but reading everything in depth.
Think about the prospect – what is the purpose of the meeting? From this you can clearly define a set of business goals and use LinkedIn to fully understand what they’re after.
See if you have anything in common – maybe you share similar endorsements, worked in a similar field, took similar classes back in college; all of these small similarities can be leveraged within a meeting to make you relatable.
(And worth noting, some of the tools LinkedIn added in their recent refresh actually highlight key talking points and factors in common for you, making it even easier to identify these key commonalities.)
NEXT, SEE IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMON CONNECTIONS
Maybe you both know someone you did business with in the past, or were co-workers with similar people. This may help you to get to know their circle, or just be another conversation starter.
Take note of these common connections – you may even have someone in common who can tell you a bit about the prospect.
ALSO, READ THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS
As I’ve preached before, recommendations are the strongest form of social proof – you get to see what real people say about this person and their business dealings.
Use this knowledge in your proposal or meeting. You might be able to use something like “I’m sure your clients love it when you _____ and we can help you _____.”
LASTLY, VISIT THEIR COMPANY PAGE
LinkedIn provides all sorts of information about companies, including their recent activities.
You can get a glimpse into their new hires, recent blog posts, job postings, statistics of the company, etc. All of this will give you a feel of what you may be able to bring to the table for them.
These simple, but critical steps can make all the difference when it comes to making an impression and standing out from the pack.
The post How to Use LinkedIn to Prep for an Important Meeting appeared first on Karen Yankovich. Main image via LinkedIn.