April 8, 2025 • 11 mins
Let's discuss the common misconception that being salesy on LinkedIn is detrimental to business growth. The real problem lies in bad selling practices and here's how to avoid them.
Key moments in this episode -
00:00 Being Salesy on LinkedIn
00:32 Global Page Advocacy Tour
01:35 The Real Problem: Bad Selling Practices
02:49 Three-Step Framework for Effective LinkedIn Selling
07:29 Soft vs. Hard Selling Techniques
09:56 Final Thoughts and Encouragement
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Everyone says don't be salesy on LinkedIn,but what if that's what's actually
(00:04):
holding your business growth back?
Selling isn't the problem my friend.
Bad selling is.
(00:28):
G'day everyone.
It is coach Michelle J Raymond,and I am super excited.
I am still traveling the worldon my Global Page Advocacy Tour,
and I'm going to have so muchthat I'm going to share with you.
So I recorded this episode in advanceand let's be clear as I've been preparing
for this and absorbing everything I canin these two conferences, Uplift Live
(00:51):
and Social Media Marketing World, I'vebeen surrounded by all things marketing.
And there's a little piece of me that20 years that I spent in B2B sales,
which I think I need to get out in thisepisode, because no matter how many
people I talk to, the number one problemthat always keeps coming up is people
(01:12):
want more sales for their business.
I know that there are people that areconsultants in small businesses that
are really doing things tough becausethey can't generate the right amount
of leads to keep their business going.
And realistically, it does notmatter the size of your business.
This is a problem across the board.
(01:32):
And I actually think that we're doingit to ourselves for the most part.
I think that there are too manypeople out there following the advice
of don't be salesy on LinkedIn.
And it is really hurting you.
And I think that I understand wherepeople are coming from because there's
so many annoyingly bad sales practiceson LinkedIn that we don't want to be that
(01:57):
so we can avoid that fear of rejection.
So I totally get it from that sideof things, but ultimately I'm here
to help you grow your business.
That is exactly why I do this podcast.
Like it's all about leveragingLinkedIn for business growth.
Think about this, logically, LinkedIn is aplatform where people come to do business.
So they are in that frame of mind.
(02:19):
To avoid doing the thing that we allcome onto this platform expecting
seems a bit ludicrous to me.
And so this is why I wantto talk about this more.
So sales isn't the problem,bad selling practices are.
So how do we simplify this and makesure that you can confidently sell
(02:39):
on LinkedIn without feeling icky,without resorting to tactics which
are more akin to spray and pray.
I'm not a big fan of that either.
And so I'm going to take you through mythree step framework to selling the right
way, and also how you can make offerswithout feeling like you're being pushy.
So if that sounds good to you, stickaround after this quick word from
(03:03):
our podcast sponsors Metricool,I'm going to share all the details.
(04:11):
I'm going to give you a really simple,easy framework to follow just three
steps so that you can make sure that youare selling the right way on LinkedIn.
Number one, lead with value first, shareall of the information that educates
your buyer on the other side that helpsthem to make their decisions confidently.
(04:31):
We live in a world where buyersdo so much research before they
reach out to salespeople that it'sreally important to make sure that
you are sharing the kind of contentthat helps them along that journey.
Ultimately, we're talking aboutthought leadership, education, content
that is in service of your audience.
You know, those things that I say prettymuch every single podcast episode.
(04:53):
So leading with value first, so we'renot asking them for anything as yet.
It's almost like the taste testerthat they get for free up front to
see, do you really know your stuff?
Are you my kind of person?
Are you the person thatI want to work with?
So this is the type ofcontent that we're doing.
Number two, you're going tofocus on building relationships
(05:15):
and engaging with other people.
It's really hard in an online worldwhere there's billions of scams
going on every day for people tojust immediately trust you just
because you did a post on LinkedIn.
Like there is so muchmore to it than that.
Can we just get that part really clear?
Posting content alone does notbuild the trust that you need for
(05:37):
people to buy in an online world.
So connecting strategically withthe right people, nurturing those
relationships by being responsive tocomments, direct messages, following
things up, sharing thoughtful tipsor articles that you've seen, things
that keep conversations going.
If you invest your time inbuilding relationships with people
(06:00):
and being curious about them.
What's going on for them in their world?
Do they have a need for a productor service that you offer?
When the answer is you'vediscovered, yes, they do.
You can confidently make that offer andI assure you, you will never feel icky.
You won't feel slimy.
You won't feel pushy.
(06:20):
You won't feel salesy as people alwayssay, because you'll know that what
you do will make a difference to them.
And you'll know that when youdeliver those products or services,
that their problem will go away.
So you never have to feel anything,but confident, positive, and you
(06:41):
know, excited about the possibilityof working with these clients
when you've done the work first.
If you try and skip these steps, that'swhen it turns to icky, my friends.
So three steps, really simple leadwith value first, engage and build
relationships second and then the thirdthing is confidently make your offer.
(07:08):
I wanted to talk about some waysthat I think will help people
make offers without feeling pushy.
So if you have already ticked the box thatsays the offer that I'm making is relevant
to the person that I'm making it to,and you can confidently do that because
you've invested in those conversations andbuilding those relationships with people.
(07:29):
The funny thing for me is I'm alwaysselling on LinkedIn, like pretty much
every single post, every interaction,some of them are more direct and
some of them are softer selling.
So what do I mean by that?
Sometimes my posts will literally be,I have two spots available for this.
If you would like to grab one ofthose spots, then jump in fast
(07:51):
before they disappear, right?
So that's a hard sell in your face.
Here's my product or service, I'veearned the right to share about it
because I've been building your trust.
I've been nurturing relationships,and that is something that is.
Hey, here it is.
I've got a solution to aproblem that you might have.
If I didn't want to do something thatwas such a hard sell and I wanted
(08:13):
to do much softer than that, youcan do things like when I'm sharing
content, I'll talk about a problem thatI've been working on with a client.
And at the end, I can say, if this issomething that you've been struggling
with as well, why not reach out?
Let's have a chat or drop yes inthe comments and I'll respond.
I'll send you something.
So think about subtleways that we can do it.
(08:34):
We're giving people choices.
It's up to them, whether they reach outor not, but always making sure that they
know that you're available to work withand it's a much easier way to do it.
And I encourage you, if you are doingthe work to make sure that you are
adding value and educating your audience,you've earned the right to do this.
(08:55):
It's only when you talk aboutyourself all day, every day.
Don't care about them and are practicallybroadcasting and talking at them that
people are like going, stay away.
The same thing goes when you just spam50 million of your closest LinkedIn
connections with an automated tool.
Hey, buy my stuff.
Yeah, that doesn't work either.
So we're not doing that.
(09:16):
So you have no fear when itcomes to these kinds of things.
The other way you can do it is justyou know, other CTAs, so the call to
actions at the bottom of your posts,they can just be really subtle.
Like if you'd like a free introcall with me go to my website.
These types of things give people choices.
They never feel like you're tryingto shove something down their throat.
(09:38):
Honestly, like as much as every singleday on LinkedIn with most of the
interactions that I'm having, I neverfeel like I'm doing a hard sell to people.
They never have that experience of me.
And that's because, you know,at the end of the day, sales
isn't about pushing people.
It's about helping peoplefind the right solution.
(10:00):
And so my context for selling, whichis why I love doing it so much is
problem solving and helping people.
So the more LinkedIn problems that I candiscover that people have out there, the
more ways that my training or my auditand strategy or my LinkedIn profile
services, the more that I can offer thosethat can take that pain away from people.
(10:22):
You know, for me, there's neverbeen a day where I've showed up on
LinkedIn, not in service of my audienceand so I have never had to feel
like I'm being salesy on LinkedIn.
That's why my business continues to grow.
So if yours isn't try whatyou've learned here today.
There's nothing weird.
There's nothing aggressive.
(10:42):
It is literally how I grow my business.
So listeners until next week,it's going to be a big one.
Cause that's when I get to recapeverything that I've covered while I've
been on the World Page Advocacy tour.
There's going to be so many thingsthat I've experienced that I've
seen and people that I've spoken toand learned from other presenters.
So I'm going to report that back.
(11:04):
So if there's somebody else inyour network that you think will
get value from this podcast.
Please share it with them.
And to those of you who have recently doneLinkedIn posts, talking about different
episodes, I really appreciate all of you.
You are helping me spread theword and it means the world to
me to know that it's helping you.
So until next week, cheers.
Everyone says don't be salesy on LinkedIn,but what if that's what's actually
(00:04):
holding your business growth back?
Selling isn't the problem my friend.
Bad selling is.
(00:28):
G'day everyone.
It is coach Michelle J Raymond,and I am super excited.
I am still traveling the worldon my Global Page Advocacy Tour,
and I'm going to have so muchthat I'm going to share with you.
So I recorded this episode in advanceand let's be clear as I've been preparing
for this and absorbing everything I canin these two conferences, Uplift Live
(00:51):
and Social Media Marketing World, I'vebeen surrounded by all things marketing.
And there's a little piece of me that20 years that I spent in B2B sales,
which I think I need to get out in thisepisode, because no matter how many
people I talk to, the number one problemthat always keeps coming up is people
(01:12):
want more sales for their business.
I know that there are people that areconsultants in small businesses that
are really doing things tough becausethey can't generate the right amount
of leads to keep their business going.
And realistically, it does notmatter the size of your business.
This is a problem across the board.
(01:32):
And I actually think that we're doingit to ourselves for the most part.
I think that there are too manypeople out there following the advice
of don't be salesy on LinkedIn.
And it is really hurting you.
And I think that I understand wherepeople are coming from because there's
so many annoyingly bad sales practiceson LinkedIn that we don't want to be that
(01:57):
so we can avoid that fear of rejection.
So I totally get it from that sideof things, but ultimately I'm here
to help you grow your business.
That is exactly why I do this podcast.
Like it's all about leveragingLinkedIn for business growth.
Think about this, logically, LinkedIn is aplatform where people come to do business.
So they are in that frame of mind.
(02:19):
To avoid doing the thing that we allcome onto this platform expecting
seems a bit ludicrous to me.
And so this is why I wantto talk about this more.
So sales isn't the problem,bad selling practices are.
So how do we simplify this and makesure that you can confidently sell
(02:39):
on LinkedIn without feeling icky,without resorting to tactics which
are more akin to spray and pray.
I'm not a big fan of that either.
And so I'm going to take you through mythree step framework to selling the right
way, and also how you can make offerswithout feeling like you're being pushy.
So if that sounds good to you, stickaround after this quick word from
(03:03):
our podcast sponsors Metricool,I'm going to share all the details.
(04:11):
I'm going to give you a really simple,easy framework to follow just three
steps so that you can make sure that youare selling the right way on LinkedIn.
Number one, lead with value first, shareall of the information that educates
your buyer on the other side that helpsthem to make their decisions confidently.
(04:31):
We live in a world where buyersdo so much research before they
reach out to salespeople that it'sreally important to make sure that
you are sharing the kind of contentthat helps them along that journey.
Ultimately, we're talking aboutthought leadership, education, content
that is in service of your audience.
You know, those things that I say prettymuch every single podcast episode.
(04:53):
So leading with value first, so we'renot asking them for anything as yet.
It's almost like the taste testerthat they get for free up front to
see, do you really know your stuff?
Are you my kind of person?
Are you the person thatI want to work with?
So this is the type ofcontent that we're doing.
Number two, you're going tofocus on building relationships
(05:15):
and engaging with other people.
It's really hard in an online worldwhere there's billions of scams
going on every day for people tojust immediately trust you just
because you did a post on LinkedIn.
Like there is so muchmore to it than that.
Can we just get that part really clear?
Posting content alone does notbuild the trust that you need for
(05:37):
people to buy in an online world.
So connecting strategically withthe right people, nurturing those
relationships by being responsive tocomments, direct messages, following
things up, sharing thoughtful tipsor articles that you've seen, things
that keep conversations going.
If you invest your time inbuilding relationships with people
(06:00):
and being curious about them.
What's going on for them in their world?
Do they have a need for a productor service that you offer?
When the answer is you'vediscovered, yes, they do.
You can confidently make that offer andI assure you, you will never feel icky.
You won't feel slimy.
You won't feel pushy.
(06:20):
You won't feel salesy as people alwayssay, because you'll know that what
you do will make a difference to them.
And you'll know that when youdeliver those products or services,
that their problem will go away.
So you never have to feel anything,but confident, positive, and you
(06:41):
know, excited about the possibilityof working with these clients
when you've done the work first.
If you try and skip these steps, that'swhen it turns to icky, my friends.
So three steps, really simple leadwith value first, engage and build
relationships second and then the thirdthing is confidently make your offer.
(07:08):
I wanted to talk about some waysthat I think will help people
make offers without feeling pushy.
So if you have already ticked the box thatsays the offer that I'm making is relevant
to the person that I'm making it to,and you can confidently do that because
you've invested in those conversations andbuilding those relationships with people.
(07:29):
The funny thing for me is I'm alwaysselling on LinkedIn, like pretty much
every single post, every interaction,some of them are more direct and
some of them are softer selling.
So what do I mean by that?
Sometimes my posts will literally be,I have two spots available for this.
If you would like to grab one ofthose spots, then jump in fast
(07:51):
before they disappear, right?
So that's a hard sell in your face.
Here's my product or service, I'veearned the right to share about it
because I've been building your trust.
I've been nurturing relationships,and that is something that is.
Hey, here it is.
I've got a solution to aproblem that you might have.
If I didn't want to do something thatwas such a hard sell and I wanted
(08:13):
to do much softer than that, youcan do things like when I'm sharing
content, I'll talk about a problem thatI've been working on with a client.
And at the end, I can say, if this issomething that you've been struggling
with as well, why not reach out?
Let's have a chat or drop yes inthe comments and I'll respond.
I'll send you something.
So think about subtleways that we can do it.
(08:34):
We're giving people choices.
It's up to them, whether they reach outor not, but always making sure that they
know that you're available to work withand it's a much easier way to do it.
And I encourage you, if you are doingthe work to make sure that you are
adding value and educating your audience,you've earned the right to do this.
(08:55):
It's only when you talk aboutyourself all day, every day.
Don't care about them and are practicallybroadcasting and talking at them that
people are like going, stay away.
The same thing goes when you just spam50 million of your closest LinkedIn
connections with an automated tool.
Hey, buy my stuff.
Yeah, that doesn't work either.
So we're not doing that.
(09:16):
So you have no fear when itcomes to these kinds of things.
The other way you can do it is justyou know, other CTAs, so the call to
actions at the bottom of your posts,they can just be really subtle.
Like if you'd like a free introcall with me go to my website.
These types of things give people choices.
They never feel like you're tryingto shove something down their throat.
(09:38):
Honestly, like as much as every singleday on LinkedIn with most of the
interactions that I'm having, I neverfeel like I'm doing a hard sell to people.
They never have that experience of me.
And that's because, you know,at the end of the day, sales
isn't about pushing people.
It's about helping peoplefind the right solution.
(10:00):
And so my context for selling, whichis why I love doing it so much is
problem solving and helping people.
So the more LinkedIn problems that I candiscover that people have out there, the
more ways that my training or my auditand strategy or my LinkedIn profile
services, the more that I can offer thosethat can take that pain away from people.
(10:22):
You know, for me, there's neverbeen a day where I've showed up on
LinkedIn, not in service of my audienceand so I have never had to feel
like I'm being salesy on LinkedIn.
That's why my business continues to grow.
So if yours isn't try whatyou've learned here today.
There's nothing weird.
There's nothing aggressive.
(10:42):
It is literally how I grow my business.
So listeners until next week,it's going to be a big one.
Cause that's when I get to recapeverything that I've covered while I've
been on the World Page Advocacy tour.
There's going to be so many thingsthat I've experienced that I've
seen and people that I've spoken toand learned from other presenters.
So I'm going to report that back.
(11:04):
So if there's somebody else inyour network that you think will
get value from this podcast.
Please share it with them.
And to those of you who have recently doneLinkedIn posts, talking about different
episodes, I really appreciate all of you.
You are helping me spread theword and it means the world to
me to know that it's helping you.
So until next week, cheers.
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