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This might be 1 of the more unusual headlines but I believe it's relevant as it relates to business, social media posting and a sage piece of advice from Mike Tyson.
Now, I post mainly - as in 80% mainly - on LinkedIn and have spent nearly 20 years on this platform.
I had a call with a former client last week who was having difficulty getting traction with his LinkedIn posts.
Despite having more than 10,000 connections, he was getting only 1 or 2 likes and very few comments. And so he asked me to take a look and see if I could come up with any ideas.
I pored over his last 90 days of LinkedIn posts and noticed that he was constantly in sales mode.
So many people make this error.
An Inconvenient Truth: People Hate Being Sold To
It's true I'm afraid; people just don't like being sold to.
Most people emotionally run for the hills when you sell to them
Why? Probably because they had a poor experience with a salesperson in the past - I know I have! 🤦♂️
The salesperson didn't care about them, they were just after their money and, therefore, all salespeople must be like this, right?
Not so fast.
The main reason people reject sales approaches is lack of Trust.
Trust is the bedrock of any relationship - business or personal - and, without trust, nothing good can ever happen.
Question: Would you buy anything from someone you didn't trust?
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How do you Create an Atmosphere of Trust in Sales?
Well, to do so, you must be worthy of trust; literally, you must be trustworthy
You have to create the conditions that mean people believe you're not there just for their money - you're there to give value to them in some way - e.g. to solve a business problem they have.
You have to create the conditions whereby they will open up and tell you more than your competitors about that business problem.
So, back to my LinkedIn client - remember, the one who was in permanent "sales" mode?
I explained 1 of Mike Tyson's strategies:
Tyson's Secret Formula
"Iron Mike" had a secret formula - Jab, Jab, Punch.
2 parts jab, 1 part punch.
Applying Tyson's formula to posting on LinkedIn, I believe if you give 2 parts of value, you'll build Trust with your target audience. Then, they will be more open to your sales message because you've taken the time to build a relationship with them.
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So, how can we translate that theory into your LinkedIn posting activity?
Here's how the Jab, Jab, Punch theory works:
Jab #1
A valuable insight or Point of View post central to your company's mission (no selling and no sales links) - e.g. this blog on building trust with your audience is, hopefully, an example of building trust.
Jab #2
A 2nd, value-offering post central to your mission (again, no selling and again, no sales links) - another blog or perhaps a relevant testimonial or case study.
Now you’ve built a relationship with your audience, you've given them 2 points of value, they will be more open to a more salesy post from you.
Punch
You've jabbed twice now with value-offering posts, now you can punch.
Punch in this case means you can have a more salesy post, perhaps a special offer to a Masterclass if you're coaching.
This is something I coach all my clients on.
All of that said, if LinkedIn is already delivering you the results you need, ignore the above - "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it" as the old saying goes.
But if it isn’t delivering, I highly recommend the Jab, Jab, Punch 🥊 approach.
Result?
Using this new strategy, my client is now getting 50% (and rising) more impressions on his posts - proof that he's starting to build trust with his audience - I couldn't be happier for him!
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My Experience
I've been metaphorically punched in the face a number of times over the years and it still hurts just as much as it did the first time it happened.
It's called market feedback 🥊
Ring any Bells 🔔?
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We promise to come up with at least 1 idea for you!