5 quick tips on using LinkedIn to start up

Today I was reminded that many entrepreneurs don’t fully appreciate how LinkedIn can shrink the business cycle in their favor, so here I’ll recount a hallway conversation in the hope that it will help you, too. Although the context is “starting up” an entrepreneurial venture, the same principles apply to job search — and for the same reasons. Entrepreneurs and job seekers all have burn rates and the need to find people with specific problems who are ready to act on the solution that the entrepreneur or job seeker proposes.

Finding your niche

Focus and execution are important. If you’re starting up, your goal is finding your first client who can validate your technology or offering so that other clients or investors’ mouths will water. Or, you are looking for an investor to help get you to the point of presenting to customers. Realize that your success here will be based on:

• A strategy and focus that are effective given the reality of the market (out of scope here)
• Finding people that can help you get in touch with relevant customer or investor prospects
• Developing an on-point value prop so that when you get in front of said investor or customer, you will have the impact to drive the conversation

Think of these as transactions. You are getting appointments with profs, ex-colleagues, and relevant friends to listen to your pitch and advise you on adjusting it and other people you need to approach. That’s old school. Getting on someone’s calendar is high-cost in terms of time, your mortal enemy when you have a burn rate. If you are a job seeker, it’s the same thing except you’re looking for an organizational context in which you can apply your expertise to deliver the most value.

Using LinkedIn to shorten your time to money

LinkedIn was developed by entrepreneurs to shrink this cycle. What you do is convert as many of the above offline transactions to LinkedIn as possible to take advantage of lower transaction costs. For example:

• Find Angels/VCs whose portfolio strategies fit your venture—ask entrepreneurs their experiences with certain angels or VCs, and don’t overlook sites like The Funded. Use LinkedIn Group discussions and Answers to ask entrepreneurs, attorneys, marketers and bankers who specialize in helping entrepreneurs for suggestions. This is much faster than meetings and phone calls. True, you will have calls and meetings, but when you do it right, you will spend that time with better qualified people.
• Put your general 10-slide deck on LI and refer people to it, using the Slideshare App.
• Use Group discussions and Answers to engage people with the business, culture and technology issues your venture solves. At heart, no one cares about your solution, they only care about how it reduces their threats or increases their opportunities. Focus on that threat and opportunity by asking questions and starting discussions.
• Ask yourself, “Who has the access or the expertise that I need to succeed?” People can give you access to other people. People can give you expertise you need to achieve milestones. What do these people look like, and what are their interests, and how can you help them? Connect with those people on LinkedIn, and make sure you know how you can help them. You don’t have to give them as much as you’re asking for right away, but you need to be aware of their interests and how you can help them.
• If you are looking for a job, think in terms of scenarios in which you add the most value. Scenarios involve a combination of strategic and tactical situations in which you have the most impact. Maybe you’re great at post-merger, competing in a down market, turning around losing operations, building sales teams, expanding into foreign markets… ask questions and connect with people in those scenarios.

Parting Shots

• Linkedin is a digital representation of the real world, but in being digital, it can significantly cut the time needed to get you to the situation you need. You need to find people in certain situations and to develop trust with them.
• Any founder of a startup or job seeker will go through these steps, but offline and more expensively. Use LI to speed transactions (less time) and burn less cash.
• Your competitors look at LinkedIn and Facebook as experimental websites, and this can be your advantage if you see it for what it is, and you approach more seriously. Focus and execute.
• Founders, I highly recommend Josh Karp’s post-mortem on The Printed Blog.
• BTW, if you’re interested in more focused guidance of using LinkedIn to start up or land a job, I offer occasional public seminars and (all the time ,^) management consulting.

Christopher S. Rollyson is a partner in Socialmedia.biz and managing director of CSRA, a management consultancy that advises enterprises and startups on social business strategy and execution. Contact Christopher by email, follow him on Twitter and Google Plus or leave a comment below.