Social selling and referrals: LinkedIn, content and word of mouth

Bring buyers to you with a profile written for them, regular useful posts and a referral habit you can measure.

Cold outreach gets harder every year, and most salespeople respond by sending more of it. Sellers who do well over many years usually have two other things helping them: buyers who know their name before the first call, and clients who pass their details on to friends. This course shows you how to build both deliberately. You rewrite your profile for buyers, plan content you can keep up, comment in ways that lead to real conversations, and move those conversations into meetings. You then set up a referral habit, run client events and measure what each activity brings in, so you can see which parts are worth keeping.

What you'll be able to do

• Rewrite your LinkedIn profile so a buyer can see within seconds what problem you help with
• Plan content you can keep publishing while working a full sales job
• Write comments that add something useful and open conversations with the right people
• Move a public conversation to a direct message, then to a meeting, without being pushy
• Ask for referrals at the points when clients are most willing, with their consent built in
• Run a small client event that builds relationships and leads to introductions
• Track social selling and referral activity against the meetings and deals it produces

Syllabus

Module 1: Write a profile buyers want to contact

Buyers look at your profile before they reply to you. You will rewrite each part of your LinkedIn profile for the people you want to sell to, where most profiles are written for recruiters.

• 1.1 Buyers look you up before they reply
• 1.2 Headline and about section for one buyer
• 1.3 Proof: recommendations, featured posts and examples
• 1.4 Rewrite your profile from top to bottom

Module 2: Plan content you can keep up

How to decide what to post, how often and in which formats, so your content earns buyers' trust without turning into a second job.

• 2.1 Content that sells starts with buyer questions
• 2.2 Four post types a salesperson can rotate
• 2.3 A rhythm you will still keep in three months
• 2.4 Build a 90-day content plan

Module 3: Comment and engage without spamming

How to comment on and react to other people's posts so buyers, and the people they listen to, start to notice you, without looking like a salesperson hunting for leads.

• 3.1 Comments often reach more buyers than posts
• 3.2 What makes a comment worth reading
• 3.3 A 15-minute daily engagement routine

Module 4: Turn comments into conversations and meetings

You will learn how to move someone from a public exchange to a direct message, and from a direct message to a meeting, giving them a reason at each step that helps them.

• 4.1 When to move from comment to direct message
• 4.2 The first direct message is about them
• 4.3 Suggesting the meeting without the hard sell
• 4.4 Run your comment-to-meeting pipeline

Module 5: Ask for referrals at the right moment

You will learn when clients are most willing to refer you, how to ask so that saying yes is easy for them, and how to handle personal data properly.

• 5.1 Referrals come from moments, not from asking more often
• 5.2 Ask for a specific kind of person
• 5.3 Consent comes first
• 5.4 Make five referral asks

Module 6: Handle introductions and say thank you properly

How to make introductions easy for your clients, follow up with the people they refer without pushing, and thank the referrer so they are happy to do it again.

• 6.1 The double opt-in introduction
• 6.2 Following up a referred contact
• 6.3 The thank-you that brings the next referral
• 6.4 Build your referral system

Module 7: Bring clients together with events and community

Small client events and a community around your work help you get to know clients better, give them an easy way to bring friends, and keep you in their minds between sales.

• 7.1 Why small events work better than big ones
• 7.2 Plan and run a client event
• 7.3 Community between events
• 7.4 Run a small client event

Module 8: Measure what social selling brings in

Track your social selling and referral activity against the meetings and deals it produces, so you can see which activities are worth your time and what to change.

• 8.1 Measures that matter and vanity numbers
• 8.2 Tag every lead with its source
• 8.3 Your monthly review and 90-day plan

Frequently asked questions

How long does the course take?

About eight hours of lessons and exercises, spread over eight modules. The final project then runs for 60 days alongside your usual work and takes around 15 minutes a day.

Do I need a big following?

No. You start with your profile and with commenting on other people's posts, and neither needs an audience of your own.

How is this different from Social media and short-form video?

That course covers content production: filming, editing and growing an audience. This one uses a small amount of content as part of selling and spends most of its time on turning attention into conversations, meetings and referrals.

I am a financial adviser. Can I use this?

Yes, but check your firm's rules first. Financial advisers in Singapore face extra rules on posts, testimonials and referral gifts, and these are covered in Selling financial advice in Singapore: needs-based and compliant.

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