Some days it feels like our clients and prospects are hiding from us.

The harder we look for them, the harder it is to find them.

A typical day for me is to log onto LinkedIn, check my Sales Navigator to see what my saved searches turn up, reach out to a handful of "ideal clients" and start a conversation.

In a nutshell, I'm going right to the source to find new clients. 

I have a friend who runs a successful cybersecurity firm in Raleigh. 

He's one of the best marketers I know (we met in Planet Perry, otherwise known as Perry Marshall's groupies).

When there is a major cybersecurity attack, he's often a guest expert on the local news. 

He's the real deal.

A few years ago, Craig hired me to look at his marketing campaigns, especially his LinkedIn marketing funnel.

I took a look at his extensive Infusionsolt campaigns and my jaw dropped. 

Craig has some of the most sophisticated marketing campaigns I've ever seen. 

I told Craig I couldn't add any value to his campaigns and returned his money. 

While Craig has a thriving business, he's always looking to grow his business.

You would think companies would be knocking down his door to protect their data given that hackers from around the world are constantly pounding on your firewall's looking for the slightest opening. 

Besides being a great marketer, Craig is also a great salesman, but companies weren't interested in being proactive. 

Instead of being proactive, these companies would come crawling to Craig after they were hacked and paid him a lot more money than they would've by proactively protecting their data. 

The company's reputation also suffered when they were featured on the news after being hacked. 

I spoke with Craig the other day and he said his business was booming. 

He had a major breakthrough in his business that skyrocketed his already successful business. 

Instead of marketing to his "ideal clients" Craig reached out to some key people on LinkedIn. 

Craig discovered that when companies are hacked, they often have business insurance that covers the damage. 

When companies are hacked, they have to hire attorneys to represent them if they are sued. 

Craig reached out to these insurance companies and attorneys to create a referral network.

Craig no longer does outbound marketing to his "ideal clients". 

He focuses on building relationships with the insurance companies and attorneys and no longer spends thousands of dollars on outbound marketing.

Instead of hunting down new clients, the insurance companies and attorneys send business directly to Craig. 

Sometimes we're so focused on the prize that we miss opportunities that are right under our nose. 

What opportunities are you missing?

Ted

P.S. I've been doing a lot of testing with LinkedIn content. Make sure you connect with me on LinkedIn so you can follow along. Enter your text here...

About the author 

Ted Prodromou

Would you like me to help you?

I'm the #1 best-selling author of Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn for Business and Ultimate Guide to Twitter for Business. People call me America's Leading LinkedIn Coach.

I'm the founder of Search Marketing Simplified, LLC, a full service online marketing agency. The SMS team designs and implements advanced LinkedIn and social media lead-generation strategies for small to medium-sized businesses. SMS will set up and manage your marketing funnels using organic, social and paid traffic.

Did you know I've been working with the internet since 1991, long before Al Gore invented it?

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