Selling in a Time of Corona – S2E2 – COVID Content is King

Creative introduction - satirical skit  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C82sJXfAJeE&t=51s)

The Polk - Alison

Can you answer my request to join my network on LinkedIn? My invitation is awaiting your response.

The Polk - Peter

Ali... Alison, is it? Yeah, I'm not on LinkedIn. Are you okay?

The Polk - Alison

Not really. Peter. It's been 12 long hours now and it's almost like you didn't get my 7 emails.

The Polk - Peter

Alison, uhm....well, we were in a book group eight years ago. If I'm honest, I'd sort of forgotten you existed.

The Polk - Alison

Well, I'm forgetting Peter, because it's looking pretty good for me right now. I've got a new job and I’m a freelance/executive/dreamer ! We should do business work together to create leads.

The Polk - Peter

What do you mean... 'create leads'? I'm a nurse. I've got to go!

Elliot Epstein - intro: So someone ate a bat apparently and the world turned upside down. Hi, I'm Elliot Epstein. And I’ve spent the last 20 years of my life coaching, consulting, training, and speaking about all facets of sales development, pitching, presentations, negotiation, the C-suite sales calls and all of the various components in the sales cycle in between. And now we find ourselves in a world that's very foreign. Welcome to Selling in a Time of Corona.

Elliot Epstein:             The satirical team at The Polk, put that opening piece together, reflecting the love/hate relationship we sometimes have with LinkedIn. In my research with sales directors and salespeople. Here's some figures I made up. Actually, it's based on asking everyone I coach about the usage of LinkedIn. Amazingly 10% of salespeople are either not on LinkedIn or don't use it at all to reach out to existing or new clients. They also post no content on their company's services. About 70% of you use LinkedIn regularly, which is great, but only 5% reach out to new clients every single day, which is what it takes nowadays. Finally, just under 30% of sales people, post articles, videos, case studies and announcements, and only 2% post their own personal take on business and their individual insights building their profile. In this episode, we discuss how critical LinkedIn is in the COVID world with my special guest, a LinkedIn expert, Nathanial Bibby ranked, number one in the Asia Pacific region on the Social Media Institute's, Top LinkedIn Marketers list. And he won Best Use of LinkedIn at the Social Media Marketing Awards 2019. From his safe haven in Western Australia, far away from our Victorian germs, we discuss how crucial LinkedIn content is right now and how you can implement it or expand on what you're already doing now. This is COVID Content is King.

Elliot Epstein:             Nathanial, great to have you as part of Selling in a Time of Corona. I imagined you're rushed off your feet right now, given the interest and the demand in all thing’s social media and especially LinkedIn. How are things Everything's going fantastic. Thanks for having me Elliot.

Elliot Epstein:             Great. So my clients and listeners in the wonderful world of corporate sales, are pretty familiar with LinkedIn, you know, the basics of have been done to a large extent, some are better than others, but you have the profile set, the photos set, the recommendations are building, they're posting more regularly. And I guess the key questions that are coming up now is we're in the middle of a bit of zoom fatigue and potentially invite fatigue. So, what are you seeing right now in terms of practically using LinkedIn, that is the next level or the next generation of behaviour that's garnering results?

Nathanial Bibby:        Great question. Well, it's interesting that during COVID we've seen the amount of people spending time on LinkedIn has well went up 30% within the first couple of weeks of COVID happening. And it was already on a trend upwards. So, in the last year we've seen, session time triple. So, people are spending three times as much time on the platform. It was always, it was originally, I remember it, you know, there was only 200 content creators and it was just sort of used as a Rolodex to connect with people, send them messages, set appointments. And I think it's at that point now where it's evolving into a content platform. So, it's a great tactic to grow your network with a really targeted group of people, because, you know, as you connect with people and invite them to join your network, they do become part of your audience.

Nathanial Bibby:        But I think now for time that you want to shift towards posting content on LinkedIn and building your brand on the platform. And what I love about LinkedIn at the moment as opposed to so many other platforms is you can still get a huge amount of organic reach from an individual's personal profile. So, you know, building relationships, you know, it does involve having a personal brand, whether it, you know, your personal brand leads the forefront of your organization's marketing or not. I think we all have a personal brand, anyone in sales,

Nathanial Bibby:        you know, does have a personal brand and you can build a relationship one to many. So yes, I think, building a network is, is a fantastic thing to do. And I do think that setting appointments with people that, you know, know the same people you do, and you've got a reason for reaching out to find out if they've got the problem that you solve is definitely worth doing. But I think, you know, even more so than ever content is becoming a huge play on LinkedIn as a way to build your value, build relationships, show people that, you know, understand what they're going through, understand their problem and know, and I've found that, you know, if you post the right kind of content, not only do you get engagement, but you get a lot of private messages from people who want to do business. So, I think that that's something that your audience might want to consider looking into.

Elliot Epstein:             So, let's explore that because it's a really interesting point about content. So traditionally content was created by people like you and I, so we're experts in our field and when we post our ideas and blog articles and videos and all of that. And one of the reasons that a number of people in sales have said that they haven't posted that. And there are a few of them, but one of the key ones is the corporate rules about who can post what, and what's approved by the powers of head office. So, in terms of case studies, marketing, even one-minute videos from sales directors or salespeople about the latest iteration of their services, successes and all of that, where do you see the rules applying now? And do you see any kind of easing of that so that there can be more content put out by sales?

Nathanial Bibby:        Yeah, that's a really good point. That's a lot of that, that I come across as well. I think it’s; you know, the forward-thinking organizations are really making it very clear what their social media policy is to their team members. Because at the end of the day, if they know where the boundaries are, it gives them a confidence to be able to post content. So, I think if the organization doesn't have a clearly mapped out social media policy it leaves a lot of subjectivity, a lot of people have opinions. And it's one of those things where, you know, it's very easy to criticize somebody for saying one thing, for a number of reasons, you know, maybe they're not confident that they could do the same thing. So, it's easy to put someone else down or, or they've got their own opinions about what's okay

Nathanial Bibby:        on social media and what's not. So I do think that it, you know, if you're in sales or you're in marketing, it really pays to try and do your best to influence the decision makers, to put something in places that not only says, you know, what you can do, but what you can't do as well, so that everybody knows where they stand and then you, and they give them the freedom and the encouragement to share content. So I think that's really important, obviously if you're in an organization which isn't forward thinking, then you have to look at where you can, what you can do within the boundaries of, without risking your role, I guess. I mean, this is something that a lot of people have trouble with, and you know, if you are, if you are already in the job market, or I think, you know, looking for an organization that has, it is forward thinking, it has a social media policy that is pushing content out, that they can empower their team members with. And, you know, that's a really empowering tool for an individual salesperson to have at their disposal. Obviously, you and I, you know, we've, we run small businesses at the end of the day, it's up to us, what we think is, okay. So, it does make it a lot easier for us to have that creative freedom. I mean, there's no easy answer, really. You've just got to do what you can to be able to work within the boundaries that you've got.

Elliot Epstein:             Yeah. I think that marketing plays a role. It's a double-edged sword. So, I think marketing is responsible in a lot of organizations for the development of content, whether that be video or articles or case studies. But I think they control it too much. So, people in marketing might not like this, I think it's far too controlled about what you can put out there. And one of the areas that I test the boundaries on with a lot of sales organizations is ... do you have the ability to put out something of your own with a client? So, you know, you and I both know that evidence is critical in LinkedIn, and yet I still don't see a lot of, here's a sales guy or a presales person, and he or she is sitting right next to a client over a zoom conference, which is easy to do nowadays. Or if you do catch up at a coffee shop amongst 10 other friendly people, then you could certainly do it just on an iPhone and take a video and post that, that client-oriented voice, still doesn't seem to be out there a lot. What are your thoughts about that?

Nathanial Bibby:        Yeah, I agree with you. You know, it is interesting because, you know, the challenge is also the opportunity, the fact that you don't see much of it means that, you know, the guys that do it will find that they, they do a lot better with their LinkedIn. I mean, we've had, there's a lot of big research, LinkedIn have done that, you know, explained that the star, the top performing salespeople, you know, are active on social media, they're out doing these things, but they are few and far between, part of it's to do with regulation. But a lot of it's just to do with mindset. And you know, a lot of people are worried not only what their boss might think, but also what their other clients might think. What their friends might think. And so it's easier just to not do it.

Nathanial Bibby:        I think another creative way that you can share client stories is to celebrate their wins. So, like I did some capital raising for a company that developed e-bikes and they were looking to raise a million dollars in five weeks, and they managed to achieve the goal. LinkedIn was a part of the fundraising, marketing campaign. It wasn't the only part of it, but when they reached the goal, you know, I posted a photograph of me with some of the directors and just, you know, say, congratulations, achieve your goal a million dollars in five weeks, what a privilege to be part of it. And, you know, quick, you know, send it, it basically just praising the client. And then I've got, you know, somewhere between 40 to 60 inbound messages off the back of that from start-ups. And we're looking to raise capital saying, 'Hey, could you do a campaign for us?' So, there was not really any selling in the post. All I was doing was praising the client, but, I think when you focus on the client, you can, you can sort of sell yourself without, the, I don't know, the ego attached to it, I guess, without looking like you're boasting too much. So, there are creative ways that you can do without necessarily having the client there to speak about their results themselves. You can, you can do it in creative other ways as well.

Elliot Epstein:             Yeah, that's a great story. So, the other question that begs is frequency. So, I think we're talking about, about reticence, hesitancy, squeamishness and the horse has bolted, right? So being on LinkedIn and using content, not just messaging is critical. And so the frequency issue comes in where people are, if they're not worried about their own boss or their client, putting a voice out there on their behalf, they're more worried about, well, am I posting too much because I do it daily, weekly fortnightly, how can I get more content? How can I produce my own? I'm just one account manager or sales director in an organization. So, would be interesting to know your thoughts, because as you can imagine, I've been encouraging them simply to get over it and get on it because other people in your market are doing it. So perhaps you can share your ideas about that mindset.

Nathanial Bibby:        Absolutely. So, frequency is something that it's, it's important, but consistency is, really the most important thing. And so, giving your audience an idea of, an idea of what to expect and then, and then being consistent with it. So, whether it's daily, whether it's weekly, you know, being consistent. And I think coming up with content ideas on, you know, every few days can be quite challenging for people, especially if they don't build a library of content in advance. So, what I generally suggest, and what I've done, is create these pillars of content, where you constantly, don't have to think up new ideas. So, for example, like I have a series called 'Ask Nat' where people share their questions and it doesn't really matter what channel that comes through as long as they use the hashtag. And then I can create videos answering those questions.

Nathanial Bibby:        Another series is 'LinkedIn Heroes', where I interviewed different entrepreneurs that are making an impact. And so, I've constantly got those coming through. I don't have to constantly come up with ideas and those 'LinkedIn Heroes' episodes were originally just a 10-minute interview, which I've posted once. And now I'm finding that, you know, if I, if I split it up into, you know, a minute or two-minute-long videos, that's enough content to post for several weeks. If you ask questions which, you know, create engaging content, then you can, you know, post what are too many videos. Because the stats are that in 10 seconds, if somebody bothers to press play, within 10 seconds, on average, 50% of people are not listening anymore. So, you've got to look at the first 10 seconds and say, well, am I losing people already? And then within a minute, 80% of listeners have gone.

Nathanial Bibby:        Um, so you really want to get straight to the point, keep it short. Each piece of content only really needs to cover one point. And then you can kind of fill in the gaps with things like quotes, even just for, you know, professional photographs of you, you know, out and about doing what you do. Anything that drives, connections through common human emotions. Cause at the end of the day, each post doesn't have to sell, all it has to do is build likeability and trust so that people will likely do business with you than the next person. If they like you and they trust you, then when they decide that they have a need or they, you know, they have a problem that needs to be solved, you're the choice that will spring to mind. And that's really what we're trying to achieve with social media.

Elliot Epstein:             I think right now we're in the middle of COVID-19, there's, there's a lot of articles about things like zoom fatigue, or mindset, working from home. There's all of that. What I don't see enough of is how your particular or the clients of this case, my clients and your particular services are helping people in COVID-19. It's still a bit generic. And then it's tacked on at the end as if it's like, here's our normal product, here's our normal service, and by the way, this is kind of helping people cause we're still delivering it, amid COVID-19. I think there's a huge opportunity for people to say, well, we know what you're going through. We know how difficult it is, you've got onsite issues. You've got staff not being there. Here, here is how we are demonstrably improving businesses, right in the middle of COVID-19 and here's how are we going to help you as you come out of COVID-19 so that you can get a better result.

Nathanial Bibby:        Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's a very different landscape now to what it was, or at least, you know, in Western Australia where, you know, we've had a lot of restrictions, lifted. People are, you know, going out to dinner again. It's a completely different feel around town. So the mindset of business owners is like, okay, we're on the way out of it now, how do we, how do we plan, so that our brand is strong on the other side, rather than, you know, being in reactive mode where they're dealing with prices, is it losing clients? You know, and they're not quite sure what the impact is going to be. So, I mean, I'm in a, you know, I've always believed that social media and digital marketing and even, sales through the likes of zoom has been something that we've been focusing on anyway.

Nathanial Bibby:        So, it's just really driven forward the future, which we were sort of moving towards this model anyway, but now people are starting to realize how important it is and jump on. And I think that, you know, businesses in other sectors, whether it be management consulting, or what have you, they really need to think about what are the challenges that people are facing at the moment. Like for example, managing a remote workforce for example, is something that a lot of organizations aren't used to and now it's when, when they need services like that. So, I think content that leads with the immediate problem that the target audiences are dealing with is immediately going to capture people's attention. So, I think it's really important that, you know, you incorporate what your audience is going through, the challenges that they're having at the moment, because there's a lot of them are, you know, they're losing, they've lost a lot of clients.

Nathanial Bibby:        They're, you know, they're really concerned about how they're going to continue with that business model. And unfortunately, like a lot of businesspeople have a bias to what has worked in the past, you know? So, the truth is like for a long time, the old way of doing things has not been effective. It's been on its way out. And now it's truly like, you know, you can't do things the same way as you did before. So business is being forced to adapt, and I think they need all the help they can get. It's interesting, like a lot the clients we have, you know, some of them lost literally every single client they had. And I say to them, well, is it, you know, is it a good time to be continuing with the lead generation on LinkedIn? And they go, well, absolutely, it's more important than ever, you know, so this is the one area where they're not cancelling their expenses and trimming down on it. It's an area which they've decided to keep going. And I commend them for that because that brand will be so much stronger out on the other side. You know, anyone that's in your audience, if they see that during COVID, everything just stopped, it doesn't do much to build trust with that audience. Whereas if you've been consistent and kept adding value, regardless of the fact that you might be struggling, I think that really does wonders for your brand.

Elliot Epstein:             Absolutely. So 'Content is King' has been around for a while and now I think it's 'Content is Critical' because it's actually lifeblood to people's success and survival in many cases. Nathanial, that's been terrific. Thank you so much for joining me on Selling in Time of Corona. I think especially those ideas about how we could navigate getting content up and getting it done consistently are going to be really important messages for a lot of people, because unlike you in Western Australia, swanning around on the river, eating dinner with friends, those of us on the East coast, especially, you know, with Victorian germs lie down here in the South. We're not looking forward to anything particularly attractive for a while, but you're absolutely right. We need to be planning right now as if we were out of it or else, we'll be behind the eight ball when that does happen. So, thank you again for joining me. I really appreciate it, on behalf of everyone. And we'll look forward to speaking with you again.

Nathanial Bibby:        Anytime. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

Elliot Epstein:             Bye Nathanial.

So, what are you doing listening to me? Get off this podcast, zoom over to marketing and say, 'G'day...I'm not content with our content', or better still get your phone off Words with Friends and in front of a client who's got friends. It's time for you to be the star of the show.

Stay safe, stay positive.

Remember your ears are safe.

I accepted Nathanial's recommendation to be three and a half thousand kilometres apart during this entire podcast, take care of yourselves until next time.