Written by Amy Parvaneh and originally published on Linkedin
I have been a strong advocate for utilizing social media and LinkedIn for client acquisition. However, not everyone succeeds with it and there’s definitely a reason. The key punch line is: It is a SOCIAL form of media, meaning the more you can create a sense of a real, authentic community, the better the results.
I've been writing and speaking for a while now about my love for LinkedIn. If you review various big "influencers" on LinkedIn, you'll see styles vary, and everyone who is succeeding on this platform has a somewhat unique strategy. However, there are some major commonalities, and I'd like to help you define yours so you can have a CONSISTENT FLOW of opportunities and clients for your business. Following these can help you see what it takes to get clients on LinkedIn, and answer, once and for all, your question: "Why am I not getting any clients on LinkedIn!"
Mistake #1: You don't have enough connections
My rule of thumb is that the real "movement" and consistency of leads doesn't start to happen on LinkedIn until you're close to at least 5,000 connections. Again, I don't have LinkedIn's algorithm, but I can tell from my own experience, as well as seeing it with clients and peers that the back-of-the-envelope calculation is to expect a minimum of 0.02% of your connections will take a meeting with you (or reach out directly to you) per month (IF you're not making some of my other mistakes below). So if you just do a quick math, you'll see that that could equate to AT LEAST one meeting a month once you hit the 5,000 mark.
Now, can you get a lot leads and opportunities before reaching 5,000? ABSOLUTELY. But that will require a lot more of YOU digging through names, writing customized inmails to them and more (more PUSH marketing). But if you want the leads to come to YOU, then I would say it's all about eyeballs, and at 5,000, we're talking about a good "mass quantity" to have more of a PULL rather than push approach.
Want to find out how to increase your number of followers and connections? I made a video about it below!
Mistake #2: You don't have enough of the RIGHT connections
Which leads me to my second point. Just having connections isn't enough! You can have 5,000 connections, but if the majority of them were just added by default and not through a targeted connection process, that doesn't count. So my rule of 0.02% of connections ONLY applies to your TARGET connections. Have you sifted through your followers to see how many of them are actually possible prospects for you? If out of the 5,000, only 500 are valid, you're FAR away from getting a consistent flow of prospects on LinkedIn.
How do we recommend getting the RIGHT prospects? I've made a video here:
Mistake #3: You're not spending enough time on Linkedin YOURSELF!
Outsourcing the process of getting more followers on LinkedIn, posting and inmailing is a tremendous advantage and upper hand to those who can afford it; but our study shows that that's not enough on LinkedIn. LinkedIn can tell if you're engaged with your followers or if you're just outsourcing the process to someone else. Are you commenting, liking, reading feeds and replying back to those writing to you? If not, you're not "relevant" enough for LinkedIn to show much of your content. Much of your posts may go unviewed, which means your material may not get in front of your target audience.
What can you do everyday on LinkedIn? I've made a video here:
Mistake #4: You're not posting enough PERSONAL stuff
Yes, we know LinkedIn isn't Instagram or Facebook. Yet some of the HIGHEST post likes and views come from posting about yourself, your family, your upbringing.
Why? Are you selling a technology? A software? A code? If not, and you're selling YOU and YOUR TEAM, then you need to show the humanity behind it. Who you are, what your passions are, your hobbies, your community involvement and more. I know, it feels a bit uncomfortable. You don't need to over-do it. Just once a month should be sufficient.
Mistake #5: You gave up too quickly
Did you start a LinkedIn strategy, only to give up after 6 months? Prepare yourself for at least 2-3 years for real momentum to happen. Did you grow your business in 6 months? No! Your LinkedIn is like another business. It'll take time to come to fruition. If you give up too easily, you basically just wasted all your previous time and energy!
Follow me on LinkedIn for more ideas around LinkedIn, prospecting, marketing and more!
Most accounting firms struggle to grow because they rely on referrals and outdated methods. Select Advisors Institute, led by Amy Parvaneh, helps CPAs scale with marketing, sales training, leadership coaching, and executive retreats. We provide accounting professional development, branding strategies, and client relationship management training to position your firm as a high-value advisory practice. Our programs help firms implement business growth strategies, offsite retreats, and succession planning for long-term success. Don’t let outdated growth tactics hold your firm back. Learn how to attract high-net-worth clients, optimize your team, and build a scalable practice.