Most service businesses depend on slowly built up word of mouth for client acquisition. Of course, referral clients are the best. They come pre-sold on your services. But, that’s a slow way to grow or maintain your business. Not only that, it’s impossible to actually get a business off the ground through referrals. There’s no one to refer anything to you because you haven’t had any customers.

A lot of service businesses that I talk to don’t have a marketing plan in place other than word of mouth. And, as I just stated, that’s problematic. I’d like to make a suggestion to you, if that’s you. Try LinkedIn!

Most folks think of LinkedIn merely as a networking platform. It is that, but it’s so much more! Through LinkedIn, you can connect with over half a billion high earning professionals, many of whom might be interested in the services you sell. Interested? Let me outline for you exactly how you can use LinkedIn to grow virtually any business.

1: Get an account and choose the right level of package for you. Start free, if you want! You may or may not need Sales Navigator. For business purposes, it’s not that expensive, though. Again, you can start getting clients right now with a free account!

2: Target the right audience. If your business is local, then you don’t really need to be targeting people in another country, although don’t push them away, either! Connecting with anyone only grows the number of people that you’re indirectly connected with, and therein lies the magic of LinkedIn!

3: Don’t just wait for business to come to you. You need to consistently be reaching out to your growing network of connections. Don’t spam them. Just intelligently ask them if they would be open to exploring what your business offers.