Leveraging Social Media for Sales

After decades of working with leaders at companies like Apple, Salesforce, and Cisco, we've identified 4 storytelling techniques that consistently work to deliver important messages in high-stakes settings: 1. Start with the unexpected Don’t begin your presentation with context. Instead, begin with the moment that makes people think, “Wait…what?” Instead of something like: “Here’s an update on our September campaign…” Try starting with the most interesting detail: “I broke our biggest marketing rule last month, and it worked.” Lead with the surprise. You can add context later. 2. Let people feel the tension After the surprise, don’t rewind to the beginning. Take your audience to the moment where things weren’t working. Flat numbers. Missed goals. Stalled progress. Instead of: “The campaign was underperforming, and our team went back to the drawing board.” Try:  "We were two weeks out from the end of the quarter. The campaign wasn’t producing results, and the team was out of ideas. That’s when I decided to take a risk...” You don’t need to explain the problem. You need to make people feel it. 3. Use real dialogue When your audience hears what was actually said, they stop listening to you and start visualizing the moment. This helps them connect emotionally with what you’re saying. Instead of: “The campaign manager said team morale was low and they were struggling to find a solution.” Try: “My campaign manager pulled me aside in the hallway and said, ‘We’ve tried everything. The team has been working overtime, and we don’t know what else to do.’” Dialogue brings listeners into the moment with you. It makes the story real. 4. Share the lesson Never assume people will infer the meaning you intended. End your story by answering: - What does this mean? - How should someone act differently now? Example: “Breaking our biggest marketing rule helped us turn this campaign around and hit our numbers. I strongly suggest we revisit our marketing guidelines. We could be leaving a ton of revenue on the table.” Without the lesson being clear, even a good story feels unfinished. These are the same techniques we teach to our clients at Duarte. Try them out during your next presentation and watch how people lean forward and tune in to your message. #ExecutivePresence #BusinessStorytelling #PresentationSkills

When someone says, “I’ve been posting but not getting leads.” They don’t have a LinkedIn strategy. They have a posting habit. There’s a difference. And it costs you deals. Here’s the system that turns content into pipeline 👇 1️⃣ Build Your Content Foundation Your strategy starts before you write a single post. ⤷ Define your offer with clarity, one problem, one audience ⤷ Create 3–4 content pillars that reinforce what you sell ⤷ Establish a voice that attracts your ICP, not everyone ⤷ Study 10–15 creators who share your audience, different solution, same buyer Direction beats volume every time. 2️⃣ Create Content That Converts Write for skimmers, not readers. ⤷ Use your ICP’s language, not yours ⤷ Add clean visuals, screenshots, carousels, simple graphics ⤷ Keep your format and cadence consistent ⤷ Optimize for mobile with short lines and clear breaks You’re not building a portfolio. You’re building a brand. 3️⃣ Engage Like You Mean It Posting without engaging is shouting into the void. ⤷ Comment where your ICP hangs out ⤷ Add real value, not “great post 🔥” ⤷ Show up consistently on peer content ⤷ Build recognition before you ever pitch Visibility comes from showing up, not showing off. 4️⃣ Track Who’s Paying Attention Content without data is just noise. ⤷ Monitor who engages repeatedly ⤷ Enrich profiles to confirm fit, role, company, pain ⤷ Separate real prospects from casual scrollers ⤷ Maintain a living list for warm outreach If you don’t track it, you can’t act on it. 5️⃣ Amplify Through Associations Your network is your distribution engine. ⤷ Connect with engaged ICPs so your content stays in their feed ⤷ Engage with complementary creators, same audience, different offer ⤷ When they interact with you, their network sees you too ⤷ That’s how reach compounds Social selling isn’t cold outreach with a DM. It’s becoming the obvious choice before the conversation starts. Follow this system for 90 days. LinkedIn stops being a time sink. It becomes your strongest sales channel.

I warmed up a prospect for 3 months on LinkedIn before our first call. They signed a £75K deal in 3 days. Modern selling demands a new approach: cold outreach fails, warm relationships win. Think about it... That prospect had consumed 47 of my posts. Watched my videos. Read my articles. Engaged with my content. By the time we jumped on that first call? They already trusted me. They already knew my approach. They already understood the value. I didn't have to sell them. They'd already sold themselves. Here's my framework for turning content into closed deals: 👇 1. Build trust at scale BEFORE the pitch Stop spraying and praying with cold messages. Start building relationships through value. Each post builds trust. Your insights mark credibility. Stories create connection. Your content is doing the heavy lifting while you sleep. 2. Let buyers self-educate on THEIR timeline Modern buyers don't want to be sold to. They want to discover solutions themselves. ↳ 70% of the buying journey happens before they talk to sales ↳ They're researching you before you even know they exist ↳ Your content is either attracting or repelling them Give them what they need to make informed decisions. 3. Recognize the REAL buying signals Forget MQLs and SQLs. Think about PQLs (product qualified leads) Here's what actually matters: - Multiple engagements across different posts - Bringing colleagues into the conversation - Asking specific, detailed questions - Moving from public comments to private messages These aren't leads. These are pre-qualified buyers. 4. Keep momentum BETWEEN meetings Here's where most deals die: The 167 hours between your calls. While you're chasing other prospects, your buyer is: ↳ Getting cold feet ↳ Talking to competitors ↳ Forgetting why they were excited Smart sellers stay present even when they're not there. This is where tools like Consensus come in. They let buyers explore demos on their own time. Answer their questions at 10 PM. Share materials with their team. Stay engaged between touchpoints. It's how you keep social selling momentum right through the demo stage. https://lnkd.in/ePVWw-Bi 5. Close with confidence, not pressure When trust is already built? When value is already proven? When buyers are already educated? Closing feels natural, not like a battle. The best deals I've ever closed felt inevitable. Because the relationship started months before the opportunity. Here's what this approach delivers (in my experience): ✓ Significantly faster sales cycles ✓ Much higher close rates ✓ Bigger deal sizes (pre-sold = less negotiation) ✓ Happier customers (they chose you, not the other way around) Stop thinking of social selling as "nice to have." Start treating it as your primary sales strategy. Your next big deal isn't in your CRM. They're scrolling LinkedIn right now. What content are you creating to catch them? #ConsensusPartner

Last year, during the Miami Grand Prix, an exec saw my LinkedIn post about sponsoring an F1 driver, and a new business opportunity was born. This little moment proved one thing: a solid LinkedIn strategy can turn a one-off motorsport activation into something much bigger. Because, let’s be real, too many sponsorships burn bright for a weekend and then fizzle out like flat champagne. But with LinkedIn? You can keep the conversation and the ROI alive long after the checkered flag waves. Here's how to do it: 1/ Extend the lifespan of your activation. Most activations last about as long as a pit stop. (Quick, impressive, but gone in a flash.) Instead, keep the momentum going by posting behind-the-scenes stories, lessons learned, and even a few bloopers from race day. Let people feel like they're part of the action; who doesn’t love a good paddock anecdote? 2/ Reach the Right Audience LinkedIn isn’t just another social media platform. It’s like the VIP suite of the internet. Full of decision-makers, industry pros, and the people who actually hold the budgets. So, instead of just hyping your sponsorship to fans, target the folks who can turn your motorsport ROI from “meh” to “whoa.” Think of it as skipping the long line and heading straight for the F1 paddock lounge. 3/ Show Your Community Side Activations aren’t just about slapping your logo on a fast car. (I mean, it looks cool too, but still.) Use your LinkedIn posts to highlight the deeper work: how your sponsorship supports grassroots programs, championing diversity, or connects with fans meaningfully. And invite people to chime in. 4/ Flex Your Creativity F1 sponsorships aren’t just billboards with wheels anymore. Got a cool gamified campaign? A wild digital activation? Talk about it! Use LinkedIn to show off how your brand isn’t just riding along; it’s original. (Bonus points if you throw in a pun. People love a good pun.) 5/ Show the Receipts (a.k.a. Prove the ROI) You know what every exec loves? Data. So, share the wins! Post engagement stats, media hits, or even fan feedback. Make it crystal clear that your activation didn’t just look cool; it worked. Because at the end of the day, people want proof that your sponsorship is more than just a “fast and furious” fling. Motorsport activations shouldn’t disappear like tire smoke once the race is over. With a thoughtful LinkedIn strategy, you can keep the excitement alive, impress key decision-makers, and show the world that you’re not just a sponsor. You’re an active member. So, go ahead. Post that behind-the-scenes photo, share the lessons you learned, and flex a little. And who knows? Your next business deal might be just a scroll away.

10 Proven Strategies I Use to Generate Leads on LinkedIn (For Myself & My Clients) 1. 60% of my inbound leads come from strategic commenting. 2. I connect with people who have already engaged with my content, increasing my acceptance rate to 85%+. 3. Partnering with industry leaders for posts, webinars, and podcasts doubles audience reach and shortens the trust-building cycle. 4. 70% of LinkedIn searches are intent-driven. I use the right keywords in the headline and summary to get found by decision-makers. 5. Posts that blend expertise with personal insights get 3x more engagement than generic content. More engagement = more inbound leads. 6. I turn connections into clients by sending weekly newsletters with zero-pitch, high-value insights for my clients. 7. Cold outreach. It helps generate 5-20 leads per month. 8. Featuring client wins and testimonials increases inbound DMs by 40%. People trust results more than promises. 9. I track who views my profile and engages with my posts, then send hyper-personalized messages. This approach gets a 50%+ response rate. 10. 30% of my clients come from referrals. I actively build partnerships with complementary professionals to exchange high-quality leads. Which of these strategies are you using? P.S. Need help generating business from your

You might think that if your content doesn’t get many likes, it doesn’t matter. But according to the newly released report from LinkedIn and Edelman, the people who aren’t engaging publicly with your posts might just be the ones with the most power to affect your business behind the scenes. They’re called “hidden buyers,” and they’re not your typical lead. These are internal influencers, think legal, compliance, finance, and operations execs, who may not hold the final pen, but often hold the unofficial veto. Here’s what stood out from the report: 💡 63% of hidden buyers spend over an hour a week consuming thought leadership. Just like target buyers, they’re doing their research. Quietly. 💡 95% of them say high-quality thought leadership makes them more receptive to outreach. 💡 71% trust thought leadership more than traditional marketing when evaluating capabilities. 💡 79% will advocate for you in the RFP process if you consistently produce great content. 💡 And 91% say quality thought leadership helps them uncover challenges they didn’t even know they had. So what does this mean for the HNW life insurance space, especially for those who serve a complex web of clients, attorneys, CPAs, RIAs, and family office teams? 👉 It means that just because you're not seeing visible engagement on LinkedIn, it doesn’t mean your content isn’t doing its job. Your audience might not clap, but they’re watching. 👉 It means that the advisor who’s never commented is the one telling the principal you’re the best-kept secret in the market. 👉 And it means that if you’re not investing in thought leadership (posts, videos, webinars, or even sharp one-pagers) you’re missing the opportunity to influence exactly the kinds of people who make (or break) deals. Bottom line: If you're in a trust-based, long-cycle business like HNW life insurance, you're not marketing for likes, you're marketing for influence. And sometimes the most important buyers are the ones you never see. #ThoughtLeadership #LifeInsuranceMarketing #HNWClients #LinkedInStrategy #InvisibleInfluence

If I were a B2B SaaS founder with ZERO marketing budget, here’s exactly how I’d build my pipeline from scratch 👇🏻 1. Turn your whole team into content creators. Everyone posts 3–4x per week. Not just company wins, but real stuff: behind-the-scenes, lessons learned, failures, funny stories from customer calls, product updates. -> Why it works: People trust people more than brands. And LinkedIn still gives massive organic reach, for free. 2. Everyone becomes a pipeline contributor. Forget the idea that only sales reps close deals. Set up a clear incentive: Track inbound leads from team content (with a form, UTM, or internal CRM tag) Give anyone who brings a qualified lead a % of the deal Celebrate it publicly inside the team -> Why it works: Suddenly, the whole company has skin in the game. 3. Outreach still works. But only if it’s uncomfortably personal. No automation tools. No templates. You mention something specific they’ve posted, built, or care about. Send a 30-second voice note. A casual video intro. Make it weirdly relevant. That’s the only way to cut through. -> Why it works: People don’t hate outreach. They hate lazy, generic outreach. 4. Channel partners: your best-kept growth hack. Identify 5–10 companies selling to your exact ICP but not competing with you. Reach out to founders or growth leads. Start by giving, introduce them to leads, invite them to events, plug their tool. Co-market: do a joint webinar, newsletter swap, or roundtable. -> Why it works: Trust transfer is faster than cold traffic. 5. Replace your ad budget with a coffee budget. Give every employee a budget to spend on coffees with people in your target space. Track the convos. Reflect on learnings. Some of them will turn into opportunities. -> Why it works: Conversations > impressions. At early stage, every relationship compounds. 6. Create a founder-led newsletter. You don’t need fancy design. Plenty of platforms out there to help. Share: What you’re building Early lessons Industry rants Customer stories -> Why it works: Keeps your warmest leads, investors, and champions looped in. Low-cost, high-leverage. 7. Track conversation volume, not just demos. Your early funnel isn’t about conversion. It’s about conversations. Set a weekly goal for convos started (inbound or outbound) Track who in the team contributes Reflect weekly on what worked -> Why it works: Pipeline is built one conversation at a time. 8. Turn customer feedback into marketing content. Every time a customer: Praises a feature Shares a result Asks a smart question You turn it into a post, a video, a testimonial, a case study, or an email. -> Why it works: It’s proof. And it’s free. Bottom line? You don’t need a growth budget. You need a growth culture. The most valuable asset you have is your team’s time, voice, and network. Before spending £10k/month on ads or tools… Use what you’ve already got 👌🏼 PS: What's your sales strategy?

Struggling with what to post on LinkedIn? 🔹 "I'm not a thought leader." 🔹 "Who would be interested in what I have to say?" 🔹 "I don’t have time to build my brand." 🔹 "What if no one engages with my posts?" Sound familiar? You're not alone. I often hear these concerns during my "social selling/brand building" sessions. I understand where they're coming from—these are totally valid concerns. But let’s shift perspectives. Instead of seeing this as a barrier, consider it a growth opportunity. Embrace a "growth mindset" as Guy Kawasaki would say and play the "infinite game" as Simon Sinek talks about. Building a personal brand doesn't yield immediate results. A week or even a year of posting won’t instantly gain you thousands of followers or drive immediate business. The key is to view content sharing differently. Focus on learning first, then share your insights. This approach ensures your primary goal is met, regardless of likes or comments. Here’s a tactical approach to enhance your business acumen and build your authentic brand: 1️⃣ Identify Key Personas - Focus on the main personas in your industry (e.g., CFOs in Financial Services). 2️⃣ Set up a Feedly account - Feedly is an RSS aggregator to streamline content discovery. (Note: I'm not sponsored by Feedly.) - Create folders for each persona. 3️⃣ Follow Industry Leaders - Use Feedly to find and follow blogs related to each persona. - Search for thought leaders via Google or ChatGPT - Find thought leaders on Linkedin and follow them by clicking on the bell in the upper right side of their profile 4️⃣ Curate Content - Review and select content from thought leaders that resonate with you and add these to your Feedly folders. 5️⃣ Daily Routine - Dedicate 30 minutes each morning to review this content. - Share articles on LinkedIn with your takeaways and perspectives. BONUS TIP: Reach out to prospects in your target persona group and ask for their insights on the articles you share. Remember, you don't need to be the content creator—be the content curator. Your followers will appreciate the value you provide, and you get the credit. Focus on learning first. The rest will follow. Start building your authentic brand today! #PersonalBranding #SocialSelling #ContentCurator #BusinessAcumen #LinkedInTips

It's Sunday—no better day to break down how I keep my funnel running and share this with you in simple steps. And the best part? You don’t need to comment “Richard, you’re the best” to unlock the method! 😉  The Method: The 5-Step Social Selling System   ↳ The Rule of 30: I always maintain 30 "active" leads in my funnel.   ↳ Active means leads that haven't converted yet and haven’t told me to "get lost."  Here’s how I manage this process step by step:  Step 1: Identifying Leads   I use Boolean search on LinkedIn or Sales Navigator, but there are plenty of tools that can help you discover leads across various platforms. The key is to find prospects who match your ICP.  Step 2: Engaging with Content   When your prospects post, this is your opportunity to make an impression:   ↳ Engage 2–3 times with meaningful comments.   ↳ Add value, share additional insights, or ask thoughtful follow-up questions.  Example:   "I really loved your insights on SaaS sales solutions—what do you think is the most important development we should watch for this year?"  Step 3: Outreach   No InMails here (response rates are terrible lately). Instead, I send personalized connection requests using one of these hooks:   1. Reference a recent post of theirs I engaged with.   2. Mention their reply to my comment (from Step 2).   3. Highlight something from their Featured Section.   4. Leverage a meaningful mutual connection or shared interest.   5. Reference something I found about them in the news.  Step 4: Building Trust   When a prospect accepts your connection request, resist the urge to immediately pitch! Instead, focus on nurturing trust over 3–4 days by offering valuable content.  Here’s how I do it:   Create a layered content sequence with 3–4 high-value items.   1. Start with something light and easy to consume, like an infographic (e.g., "10 Social Selling Trends for 2025").   2. Follow up with a more detailed report or guide. 3. End with a personalized invite to a webinar or event.  Key Tip: Always ask for consent before sending content. Step 5: The Ask   My golden rule? Wait for three positive interactions before asking for a meeting. Here’s what that might look like:   1. Your connection request is accepted.   2. They respond positively to your offer to share content (e.g., “Yes, I’d love to see it!”).   3. You send the content, and they provide feedback (e.g., “Thanks—this was really helpful!”).  This approach works because it follows Cialdini’s principle of commitment. My Funnel Rules:   ✔️ When a lead converts? Add a new one to the top of the funnel.   ✔️ When a lead says “not interested”? Add a new one to replace them.  It’s all about consistency. Keep 30 leads active at all times. Use whatever system works for you—CRM, spreadsheet, or even pen and paper. The tool doesn’t matter. What matters is staying disciplined and following the steps.  That's it Happy Sunday and Happy Selling,   PS: What Step do you need to work on?

"I've posted on LinkedIn for 6 months. I have 10K followers. My brand is built. Now I can sell anything and people will buy." Wrong. So, so wrong. And I see this mindset A LOT. People think personal branding is like building a house. You do the work once, and it's done. Now you can just sit back and sell. But that's not how it works. Not on LinkedIn. Not anywhere. The reality is... Attention spans are SHORT. People forget you in days, not months. You could post something brilliant today, and by next week? Your audience has moved on. They're consuming 100 other posts. Following 50 other people. Dealing with their own lives. You're not top of mind unless you STAY top of mind. So no, you can't just "build your brand" for 6 months, disappear, and expect people to buy your book or course. They've already forgotten what you stand for. Personal branding isn't a one-time project. It's ongoing. It's about: → Showing up consistently (not just when you have something to sell) → Staying relevant to your audience's current needs (not what mattered 6 months ago) → Building trust through value, not just visibility → Reminding people WHY they follow you in the first place You can't "set it and forget it" with your personal brand. So if you're building a personal brand on LinkedIn: Don't think of it as a finish line. Think of it as a relationship. You don't build a relationship once and assume it'll last forever without effort. You nurture it. You show up. You stay present. Right? And if you want to sell? You need trust. And trust requires consistency. Not just in the past. Right now. #personalbranding #marketing #sales #linkedin #socialmediamarketing