Freight Broker Boot Camp

Social media is everywhere, if it’s not Facebook or Youtube it’s Twitter.  The world has gone crazy with social media.  It’s everywhere including the internet, television and even our cell phones.  Let me start by telling you the good news, I am not here to talk about what I had for dinner last night or to retweet messages from Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga. 🙂

Today I am here to talk about the worlds largest business/professional social network called Linkedin and how it can help you to grow your business regardless if you’re a freight broker, truck broker or freight agent.

What is Linkedin?

Linkedin is a rapidly growing network of over 200 million business professionals from around the world.  This network allows you to connect with past and current business contacts as well as allowing you to expand your professional network through the exchange of information and contacts.

So here’s how it works.  Have you ever heard of the the Six Degrees of Separation or the Kevin Bacon effect?  The idea is that every person is no more than 6 steps from from anyone else on the planet by way of introduction.  That means by way of a chain of no more than 6 introductions you could introduced to the most popular, wealthiest and influential people in the world!  Pretty cool right.  For example here are a few people you might recognize that are in my Linkedin network.

William Gates III (Bill Gates founder of Microsoft) – 2 degrees
Michael Dell (Founder of Dell Computers) – 3 degrees
Sarah Palin (Vice Presidential Candidate) – 3 degrees
Rudy Guilani (Former Mayor NYC and Presidential Candidate) – 3 degrees
Sean Parker (Napster Founder and Facebook) – 2 degrees
Anthony Robbins (Motivational Speaker/Author) – Directly Connected!!!!!

And the list goes on….the cool part is after the name I put how many degrees of separation they are from me. So as you can see, I am only two or three degrees from some of the most powerful and influential people in the world.  There’s an old saying in business, “It’s not always what you know it’s who you know” and as you can see Linkedin makes the business world smaller by interconnecting all of us with the hopes of opening new and profitable doors.

Ok so now let’s get back to the title and reason why you decided to read this story.
“How Linkedin helped me increase sales by over $1 million per year”

It all started sometime back in 2007 when I was first introduced to Linkedin by one of my business contacts who had sent me an email asking me to join his network.  By then they already had over 10 million users and I was curious what this was all about?

All I knew at the time is it was FREE and tons of business people were signing up for it everyday…so I figured I would give it a try.  The next thing I knew I had 10, 50, 100 + connections. Some of them were past connections I had not spoken to in years and others were current connections like customers, vendors and coworkers.  I knew almost immediately that this could be a powerful tool, so whenever I met someone new I inviting them to join my Linkedin network.  Then one day, not long after I signed up, it happened.

I got my first sale as a result of my growing Linkedin network!  No it wasn’t a million dollar client but it was a start.

From that point forward I started using Linkedin as a regular part of my sales and marketing efforts and sales have followed.  Now I use Linkedin daily to connect with shippers, freight agents, motor carriers, prospective employees and more.

So over the past 3 years I started tracking my Linkedin results and in 2010, 2011 and 2012 I was able to generate over $1 million in new business from my Linkedin network!

How you ask? Unfortunately a blog post just isn’t long enough to share the how to but the good news is I know someone that can help. On January 13, 2012  I purchased on online Linkedin training program called LinkedInfuence written by Lewis Howes.   Lewis has been featured in Forbes, Times and even Fortune magazine as a leading social media and Linkedin expert.

The online training shows you step by step how to use Linkedin to achieve your business goals. I really enjoyed the course and saw immediately results by putting a few of strategies and tips to work.  I highly recommend LinkedInfluence for anyone interested in starting their own business, is in sales/marketing or who might be looking for a job.

Linkedin has been good to me and with a little help from Lewis Howes and some honest effort on your part, I think it can help you too…so give it a try!

P.S. I hope you decide to try Linkedin to help expand your professional network and if you do please remember to invite me to connect with you.  Click here to see my profile.

P.S.S. As always, if you liked this post click the g+1 logo at the top or bottom and don’t be afraid to Share with others.

Regards,

Dennis Brown
Owner, www.FreightBrokerBootcamp.com

Become a Freight Broker, Truck Broker, Transportation Broker or Freight Agent in 30 days or less online…click here to learn how?