Networking Tactics That Generate Client Interest

The biggest mistake I made in business development? (And the one I see others make every week…) Asking for the business before I gave any value. ❌ I’d pitch. ❌ I’d present. ❌ I’d try to impress. But it rarely worked, and never felt right. What I finally learned was this: You don’t earn trust by selling. You earn it by giving, long before you ever make an ask. So, if you want to become the kind of advisor clients  seek out… ✅ Start with value.  ✅ Lead with generosity.  ✅ Then let trust do the rest. Here are 8 of my favorite ways to offer value before  asking for business: 1. Make a Strategic Introduction → Connect them to someone helpful. Your network  becomes part of your value. 2. Ask for Their Perspective → Curious questions create more respect than pitch  decks ever will. 3. Send a Thoughtful Surprise → A book, a note, a resource. Relevance shows you’re  paying attention and that matters. 4. Share Tailored Insights → Generic = forgettable. A timely idea, just for them, can  open big doors. 5. Invite Them to Something Exclusive → Roundtables or niche events. Scarcity adds value.  Inclusion builds connection. 6. Host a Problem-Solving Session → Brainstorm a real issue together. Let them experience  your thinking in action. 7. Offer a Mini-Diagnostic → Spot something they didn’t know was broken. It  reframes you from seller to solver. 8. Provide a Sample of Your Service → No pressure. Just a preview. Let them feel the value  before the ask. Here’s the shift: Don’t try to close a deal. Try to open a relationship. Give first.  Then give a little more. And I promise the results will take care of themselves. 👉 Which one will you try this week? ♻️ Valuable? Repost to help someone in your network. 📌 Follow Mo Bunnell for client-growth strategies that don’t feel like selling. Want the full cheat sheet? Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/e3qRVJRf 

When we started HireSweet, I had zero LinkedIn presence. 8 years later and after a lot of testing and iterating, LinkedIn drives ~30-50% of our leads & revenue. Lately, I've been getting a ton of questions about our learnings. So, here it is - the founder-led LinkedIn playbook I've been giving to anyone who asks 👇 1. Start with the lowest hanging fruit: invitations to connect. They work (30-50% conversion rate) and they allow you to control the direction in which your network grows. Start with 2nd degree connections in your target audience, based in your area. Surprisingly no personalized notes will yield +80% more connections! Free users can send ~50 per week. Paid users ~150 per week. Hit that quota every single week, or lose it forever. 2. Optimize your profile. Clear headline, nice picture (I would avoid AI-generated), and a detailed company description. Use the "featured" section, include a nice call to action and illustrations. 3. Enjoy the process, listen to your audience, build relationships. Play the long game. Build a real sense of community. Don't be pushy, nurture people over time with posts, so they come to you when they're ready. 4. When reaching out to cold prospects, add value. Send a guide, white paper, or video that helps your prospects succeed in their job. Personalize. 5. Post 3-5 times per week, high-quality posts. Turn on Creator Mode, get a paid LinkedIn account, and add a "Visit my website" button to your profile. 6. Best times to post: mornings on Monday to Friday, as people are getting to work (8-9AM) or heading to lunch (12PM). 7. Create a process to help you generate posts. Examples: What have you learned recently? What unique industry beliefs do you hold? What do you often find yourself explaining to clients or new hires? 8. Don't come up with 5 new ideas per week. Find 1-2 good ideas and repurpose them as text, images, videos, and polls. 9. Posts perform better in that order: - Polls (+100% vs text) - do one per week - Text + relevant picture (ideally a selfie - I don't really do this myself but it works) (+50% vs text) - Text with no picture - Videos (about the same as text but more time-consuming) - External links --> Avoid them 10. For text posts, open with a strong hook, focus on readability, keep it simple (one key idea per post), and end with a question to make it simple to engage. 11. LinkedIn Live is the most underrated LinkedIn feature. Each attendee can invite up to 1,000 people per week (!!) - as long as they're 1st degree connections. Do more LinkedIn Lives! 12. It's rather easy to get a "Top Industry Voice" badge. Go to the Collaborative Article page, pick a relevant topic, and leave 3 valuable comments per day. This is how I got my badge within a week. Now it's your turn - do you agree/disagree with this recipe? What are your top LinkedIn tips for founders? 👇 (If you made it this far, feel free to bookmark this post to revisit it later!)

90% believe this one lie that burns their valuable time: Posting alone is enough to generate inbound leads. The truth? Posting daily is powerful—but it’s just one piece of the puzzle. To turn attention into actual leads, you need content and strategic engagement. Here’s how to supercharge your efforts: 1) Personalized connection requests Don’t just hit “connect.” Mention their business, a recent post, or shared interest. Example: "Hey [Name], I saw your post on [topic]. It resonated because [reason]. Curious—how did you get started with [topic]?" 2) Engage meaningfully Your posts get seen—but your comments build relationships. Go beyond “Great post!” Share insights or ask thoughtful questions. 3) Send LinkedIn voice notes Stand out with a 30-second voice DM. Make it personal and ask a simple question. 4) Use polls to warm up leads Polls = engagement + DM fuel. After it ends, message voters: "Hey [Name], saw you voted for [option]. What’s been your biggest challenge with that?" 5) Comment where your clients hang out Engage on influencer posts your audience follows. You’ll boost visibility and authority. 6) Message profile viewers If they checked you out, they’re curious. Send: "Hey [Name], saw you visited my profile—anything specific catch your eye?" 7) Host a short virtual event A 30-minute Q&A or workshop shows authority and creates follow-up chances. Invite 5–10 prospects. Keep it interactive. 8) Share helpful resources No sales pitch—just solve a problem. Send guides, tools, or tips that hit their pain points. 9) Use LinkedIn stories Great for quick wins and behind-the-scenes. End with: “DM me if this resonates.” 10) Follow up with the 3-5-7 Rule • 3 days → Check if they saw your message • 5 days → Send a light check-in • 7 days → Final, casual follow-up Daily posting builds visibility. Engagement turns it into conversations. Want a system that turns content into clients? DM me LEADS and let’s talk. Thanks for reading. If this helped, follow Connor Bell and share it with someone who needs to see it.

He wasn’t convinced that being active on LinkedIn would be helpful. 30 days later? Strategic LinkedIn networking brought in 2 new clients (estimated to be worth more than $100k in legal fees). The backstory: ⇒ Litigation partner in a mid-sized law firm. ⇒ Skeptical that LinkedIn could be used to network for business. ⇒ No time for writing or doing traditional “thought leadership”. Despite his doubts, he was willing to give LinkedIn a try. We put a simple strategic LI networking plan together that felt doable for him. Here it is: 1️⃣Identify (& then connect with/follow) 6-10 relevant people. These folks must: ✓ Be active on LinkedIn. ✓ Post about issues relevant to your ideal clients. And no, they don’t need to be competitors or attorneys (but they CAN be - don’t be afraid to follow and engage with those folks!). 2️⃣Set aside 15 minutes per day to review their posts and strategically comment (on any that are relevant to your audience). When commenting, don’t say “great post” or “thanks for sharing”. Instead, add value by: >>> Validating their point with specifics. >>> Adding a new perspective or insight. >>> Asking a question to deepen the discussion. 3️⃣Connect with people you engage with. LinkedIn is a networking tool. Use it that way! Any time someone you aren’t already connected to likes one of your comments or (even better) engages with it, reach out to them to connect. And then, DM them to say “hello” and take the discussion (already started in the comments) further. Yes, that's it. Here’s why this simple formula is so effective: ⏩ It's an easy way to showcase your point of view (and way of lawyering/thinking), which attracts better-fit people into your LI universe. ⏩ It shows your credibility and expertise (in a service-based, non-salesy way). By doing something that takes little time. ⏩ It builds authentic relationships. With people you probably wouldn’t meet in person. Stop thinking of LinkedIn purely as social media. Use it as the networking tool (it actually is). Now, the elephant in the room…Posting your own content. Yes, this will help. But it’s not necessary. If you don’t have the time right now (or are a bit shy about putting your own posts/articles out there), this is a great strategy to lead with. Ready to get started (now)? Do this: 1. Find 1 thought leader in your niche. 2. Make a thoughtful, strategic comment to one of their recent posts. 3. Connect with anyone who likes or engages with your comment. XO, Heather ~~~ P.S. Season 5 of Life & Law podcast is BACK. And this is exactly what we’re covering today. Dive deeper into how to use LinkedIn for networking by listening to Episode 204 (see my Featured Section at Heather Moulder to go directly to the podcast).

Here's a challenge for your next meeting. Ban yourself from asking: -How are you? -How is the weather? -How have you been? Renowned Questionologist, Warren Berger, calls these "rote" questions. They aren't bad. They just don't accomplish anything. They don't build trust or create conversational flow. Try this instead: Spend 5 minutes before your meeting finding something the prospect or client is passionate about. For prospects --> do some research online to learn something about them. Here's an example from a meeting I was in last week. I was with someone I had never met before. Prior to the conversation, I went to his professional bio. It said he moved from Israel to the US when he was an adult. So, instead of kicking things off by asking "Man can you believe this weather??" I asked: "I can't help but ask...what made you decide to leave Israel when you did??" For clients -->research your past conversations. Ask about the vacation they went on over the summer. Ask about how it was dropping off their kids at college. If all else fails, find something in their past that you want to know more about. My favorite default question was: "You've been running this business since before we met, but I've never thought to ask you...how did you even come up with the idea for this business in the first place??" Ask better questions. Get better answers. Create life-long clients. (And, yes, I intentionally use two question marks "??" after my questions to signal a genuine interest and curiosity! Try it in your text conversations...people love it.)