Take The Blue Gurus LinkedIn Challenge

May 18, 2011 / in LinkedIn, Social Media / by Mic Johnson

Jason and I do LinkedIn training for companies of all sizes around Kansas City. The training is straightforward and involves 1×1 time spent with individuals helping them understand what makes a great LinkedIn profile. We then follow up and do a group prospecting session where we teach the team how to use LinkedIn, how to search for prospects and customers, how to do status updates, how to add connections, and much more.

It’s literally set up in a way that, if you listen and do what we say, you will end up with a quality profile and will become a proficient user of the tool relatively quickly. We’ve grown Blue Gurus using the same techniques we teach and have discussed in our blog over the last several months. All we ask is that you do the same for your business. That is, of course, unless you believe the “10 Reasons Why Your Business Should NOT Be On LinkedIn.” 

There have been countless business owners and teams that have come to us with good intentions, have paid for the training, have gotten pumped up and excited about using LinkedIn, and then who inevitably regress to the same behaviors that had them wanting LinkedIn training in the first place. That lack of accountability and follow through results in a lack of ROI.

The litany of excuses (and make no mistake…they are excuses) is never-ending:

“We don’t have time to use LinkedIn.”
“When I look people up, they aren’t on LinkedIn.”
“We’ve just gotten real busy lately and it hasn’t been a priority.”
“I don’t know that many people and the ones I do know aren’t on LinkedIn.”
“Yeah, I need to make those updates to my profile. It’s on my list.”

These remind me of the same types of excuses that people make about not exercising on a regular basis. The bottom line is it takes time, commitment, accountability, and an acceptance of the fact that you won’t see instant results overnight. Just as importantly, you have to understand that the long term payoff is undeniable.

Ok, so now I’m going to challenge YOU. Yes, YOU. The person reading this blog post.

Your challenge is simple: Stop Making Excuses And Start Using LinkedIn. All you have to do is commit to doing the few things that are clearly laid out in our earlier post “Your LinkedIn Profile Is Done. Now What?” and I guarantee you that if you do it consistently, good things will start to happen.

You will connect with someone you haven’t seen or talked to in awhile.

You will get a lead that turns into business.

Someone will reach out to you for help…and you will help them.

You will reach out to someone for help…and they will help you.

You will learn something new about a person in your network.

Someone in your network will learn something new about you.

You will learn something new about a business or product or service.

You will reconnect with someone that you used to work with, that you went to school with, or that you haven’t heard from in years.

All of those things help you expand your network of trusted relationships. They help you connect with people. They give you access to a wealth of information. They become part of your real-time business journal. And that’s not only good for you….it’s good for business.

So if you’re still reading this post, then first of all, let me say THANK YOU. Secondly, I know you are one of the smart ones. And since you’re so smart, I am asking you to leave a comment in the box below and tell me what you are going to commit to in terms of your weekly (or dare I hope, DAILY) LinkedIn effort. And then keep me posted on your progress. I mean it. I want to know. And I just may include your success story in a future blog post! Drop me a note anytime at mic@bluegurus.com.

LinkedIn Works….If You Work LinkedIn.