Using Linked In For BNI

www.kulkarnisoftware.com 1

Using LinkedIn for BNI

Ashish Kulkarni

Director, Kulkarni Software


Ashish Kulkarni

• Joined BNI in October 2009• Been using LinkedIn and other Social Media

sites for last 7 years• Love BNI training – attend every training I can• Applied BNI’s proven principles to LinkedIn• Been winning “Most Notable Networker” awards

for bringing in most number of visitors and referrals every month since October 2009


Why did we join BNI?

• To get more business

• To get more contacts

• To be a part of a community that passes business by referral

• To have fun


What this presentation covers

• How to use LinkedIn to invite Visitors

• How to use LinkedIn to generate referrals


How does BNI work?

• BNI has a simple philosophy – Givers Gain – If I give you business, you will want to give me business

• Visitors are the lifeblood of every BNI chapter – more visitors – larger the chapter – more referrals

• Referrals are what we all look for. A good referral is an OPPORTUNITY not a GUARANTEE of potential business or strategic relationship – what a person considers as referral may change from person to person.


Why traditional means are less productive

• To invite visitors by traditional means, you have to– Strike up a conversation with them– Tell them about your experience with BNI– Invite them to your chapter by writing out a postcard

• It takes time• It is labour intensive• It is expensive• Not really environmentally friendly


Why traditional means are less productive

• To generate referrals, you have to– Pay attention during other peoples’ 60 seconds– Have 1-2-1s to further enhance the 60 seconds– Constantly listen out for opportunities for other

members and hope they are doing the same for you

• It takes time• It is labour intensive

– Taking notes during meetings– Having 1-2-1s– Actively listening


What is the solution?

• Attend every possible networking event

• Speak to every person at every networking event you attend

• Have 1-2-1s with every person

• Over-networked – burnt out – not enough time – too expensive – labour intensive


Or

• Use LinkedIn

• Targeted searches – takes minutes – free for most things – effective – measurable


What is LinkedIn?

• LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 60 million members and growing rapidly – LinkedIn.com.

• LinkedIn connects you to your trusted contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals – LinkedIn.com.


What is LinkedIn?

• Some people are not on LinkedIn

• Some people are on LinkedIn

• Some people don’t use LinkedIn effectively

• Some people use LinkedIn effectively


Why bother?

• LinkedIn users represent a certain demographic– Web aware– Enthusiastic– Contactable– Open– Positive– Professional


How much does it cost?


How to join LinkedIn?


How to join LinkedIn?

• Or just accept an invitation from one of your contacts.


I am on LinkedIn. What next?

• Complete your profile – Who are you? What do you do?

• If you run a business, complete your business’ profile

• Ask for recommendations from people you have worked for

• Grow your network• Join groups• Participate in discussions or start discussions• Host events• And more…


Completing LinkedIn Profile


Details you should share

• Photograph

• Website address(es)

• Email address

• Kind of work you have done

• Kind of connections you are looking for

• Connections


Details you should not share

• Address

• Birth date

• Names that you have used as passwords

• Details that can lead to identity theft


Before anything else…

• To be effective on LinkedIn, you need to grow your network. You can do this by:– Connecting to people

• By sending invites• By requesting introductions

– Joining groups• Find geographically and strategically important

LinkedIn groups – with bigger number of active members

• Join them


LinkedIn Groups


Joining a LinkedIn Group


Joining a LinkedIn Group


Group Members


What do we need for BNI?

• Visitors – LinkedIn can help

• Referrals – LinkedIn can help

• 1-to-1s, etc. – LinkedIn cannot help


How to invite visitors?

• Ask your chapters’ leadership team about what slots are still open at your chapter.

• Search for people from that industry on LinkedIn – the ones that you can contact


Finding people on LinkedIn


Search Results


Viewing Profile


Contacting people


Referrals – A live example

• Last week, in her 60 seconds, Jennifer Teale, our chapter’s Hypnotherapist mentioned that she wanted to contact people from “Alternate Medicine” LinkedIn category from around Glasgow

• I did a search on LinkedIn and took a printout and then had a 1-2-1 with Jennifer

• In the 1-2-1, Jennifer highlighted 9 people and I filled in 9 referral slips

• Over the weekend, I contacted all the 9 people, most of whom were delighted for the introduction


Advanced Search


Positive introduction


View Profile – New Window


View Profile – New Window


Send message


Send message


Send message


Invite them to your network


Additional LinkedIn Features

• Group Discussions – A great way to increase your visibility

• Events – A fantastic way to manage the RSVPs of your networking events on LinkedIn

• Answers – Great way to find answers to complex questions, or to demonstrate your expertise by answering complex questions


Starting a Group Discussion


Events


Publishing an Event


Asking Questions


Asking Questions


Answers to your question


More…

• WordPress – LinkedIn allows you to publish latest entries from your WordPress blog on your profile

• Twitter – LinkedIn allows you to publish your status to Twitter and vice versa

• SlideShare – LinkedIn allows you to publish up to 3 presentations on your profile via SlideShare

• There are many more such applications


LinkedIn is ideal for

• Professional Networking• Headhunting• Looking up potential sales leads• Potential Business Partnerships• Raising Awareness about expertise• Raising Awareness about Products & Services• Conducting Business Events• Finding Answers to complex questions


LinkedIn can be accessed from

• www.linkedin.com

• iPhone LinkedIn App


Summary

• BNI is a great way to generate business by word-of-mouth referrals

• Inviting visitors to your BNI chapter is an excellent way to grow its size

• The larger your chapter, the more referrals you can get and more opportunities for you to generate referrals

• More visitors and referrals you bring to your chapter, the higher your credibility and hence, higher chances of you getting referrals


Next Level

• I also advise businesses on how to use Social Media websites such as LinkedIn for their business.

• I tailor these presentations to suit each clients’ needs.

• You can contact me directly if you know someone who may benefit from this.


Where can you find me

• Google– Ashish Kulkarni– Kulkarni Software

• Twitter– @ashishkulkarni– @kulkarnisoft

• LinkedIn– www.linkedin.com/in/ashishkulkarni

• Web– www.ashishkulkarni.com– www.kulkarnisoftware.com

• Email– [email protected]


Where can you find this presentation?

Documents

Using Linked In For BNI