Experts POol

HAVE YOU EVER CALLED ON THE LINKEDIN DYNAMIC DUO?

I just saw the movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It takes me back to my childhood when I was an avid Batman comic book reader/collector.

But you're probably wondering what in the world does Batman have to do with LinkedIn? Has Wayne finally lost his marbles? Actually, I'm just fine -at least I think so - but here's the connection.

I'm going to share with you what I fondly refer to as LinkedIn's dynamic duo of lead generation features. Just like the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin, they're great on their own, but together they're much more effective. So, come meet LinkedIn's lead generation dynamic duo: Advanced People Search and Saved Search.

Simply put, these two features together will automatically serve you up a list of targets who meet your defined criteria - and I use the word target very positively. This could be customers, vendors, donors, employees, strategic partners, future employers, and experts, to name only a few of the endless possibilities.

How to get the Dynamic Duo working for you

Follow these simple steps:

1.  Click the word Advanced to the right of the blue magnifying glass on the top LinkedIn toolbar.  

2.  In the search filter boxes (left-hand column and center column), enter the keywords, job titles, company names, geographic areas, etc. that your targets would use to describe themselves on their LinkedIn profile.  

3.  Review the list of people your search uncovers, making sure they actually look like people you'd like to meet, and see which of your connections already know these individuals.

4.  Click the words Save search on the top right of this list of search results.  

5.  Decide what you want to name this target list and how often you want LinkedIn to notify you of new results.

From this point forward, LinkedIn will deliver to you - at whatever interval you choose and without any further work on your part - an updated list of your best and most qualified leads. And, maybe more importantly, you'll see which of your connections might be able to make that all-important introduction to these potential customers.  

Oh, are you wondering what I thought about the movie? I gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars, and that rating is coming from a guy who grew up on Batman - so not exactly an impartial reviewer. Does anyone know how to get ahold of Adam West?

Wayne Breitbarth, Grad '86, is a speaker, author and consultant for Power Formula LLC in Milwaukee. Register for his weekly email with LinkedIn tips. He can be reached at wayne@powerformula.net.