Sounds like a creepy line from a horror movie, but LinkedIn has added some functionality that is helpful when using it as a prospecting and sales tool. LinkedIn now provides you with a way to follow the activity of people you are not connected with. If you and I are connected, I could view your activities on LinkedIn. This is the reason I suggested to attendees in my “Growing Sales with LinkedIn” workshops to immediately connect with prospects they had met or connected with on the phone. LinkedIn has quietly added a feature that will now allow you to follow someone without being connected to them. Let me show you how to do this:
- Go to the profile of the person you want to learn more about.[spacer height=”5px”]
You will see two buttons: “Connect” and “Send <Name> InMail”. Next to that, you will see a triangle signifying a dropdown menu. Click on it to open the menu, and click on the first selection (“View recent activity”). This will show you the prospect’s recent activity over the past two weeks. [spacer height=”5px”]- If you want to continue seeing activity for this person, you can always follow their activity without actually being connected to them. In the header area, you will see the prospect’s picture on the far right side, and a yellow “Follow” button.
[spacer height=”5px”] - If you click it, you will now be able to follow this person’s posts and activity on LinkedIn.[spacer height=”5px”]
You will see two buttons: “Connect” and “Send <Name> InMail”. Next to that, you will see a triangle signifying a dropdown menu. Click on it to open the menu, and click on the first selection (“View recent activity”). This will show you the prospect’s recent activity over the past two weeks. [spacer height=”5px”]
[spacer height=”5px”]So … now you can follow your prospects, your industry’s experts and even your competitors, without having to connect with them on LinkedIn. There are still some limitations on what you will see, because more private details like job changes, work anniversaries, and other profile updates will continue to be seen only by 1st level connections, unless they have made that information public in their settings.
LinkedIn Next Steps:
- Create a list of your prospects that you would like to work with and, if you are not connected, follow them on LinkedIn. This will give you inside information and, hopefully, you can see a way to make a connection with them.[spacer height=”5px”]
- Follow your competitors – yes, they can see if you are following them, but only if they know where to look. LinkedIn doesn’t tell you when some is following you.[spacer height=”5px”]
- Look for experts in your industry who post valuable content, and then begin to follow them.