Carter F. S
Educator, Consultant, Coauthor The Emergence of The Relationship Economy
Have you taken a training course on using LinkedIn or another networking site?
Did you take a course on using the site? Why? How'd it go? Was it worthwhile? What was the venue? What format was used? Was it valuable relative to the cost and time spent?
I am interested in motivation for taking the course, thoughts during and afterwards, etc. I am in the process of examining a variety of providers for professional training distribution purposes, so please don't hold back.
Providers of these services are welcome to suggest their clients post responses, but I think it might be tough to avoid self-promotion, so please post those responses elsewhere.
Good Answers (6)
Chris K
I drive revenue growth while managing costs
Best Answers in: Job Search (1), Mentoring (1), Staffing and Recruiting (1), Career Management (1), Professional Networking (1), Using LinkedIn (1)
Mike O'Neil is your guy, bar none.
I took the LinkedIn 101 & 201 classes from Mike. Results?
JOBS: when I was looking for a job a few years ago, I got 23 unsolicited offers for employment within 45 days of applying what I learned in the 101 class. Through the interview process, I whittled those down to 4 comparable opportunities - all for 30% or more in base salary than what I was making at the time.
CUSTOMERS: Over the last 24 months, I've mostly used LinkedIn to find customers and partners; again, many of these were unsolicited by me or the company I was working for...
EMPLOYEES: Again, I used my LinkedIn network to find many, many job candidates that I would pass on to the recruiters working on filling positions for me. Being able to present a well thought out profile that passively "sells" ones capabilities is the biggest reason to get onto LinkedIn - regardless of your network size or professional status. Wasting that opportunity & learning it by "trial and error" is an option, but it didn't seem that smart to me. I can read and comprehend English, but I still have a lawyer review my contracts...
RECRUITING: One recruiter I know, who has been at it for almost 20 years, grew their network from 0 contacts to 700+ in 45 days after taking Mike's class. It cut her average placement time from 5 - 6 months per job placement to 60 days or less - and she changed NOTHING ELSE about her approach other than making LinkedIn her first stop.
If you are hoping for anything similar to these results, you can't go wrong taking a LinkedIn class from Mike O'Neil. If you're looking to put on a specific training for your business (i.e. - helping recruiters find higher numbers of better qualified candidates FASTER, helping your sales teams identify "hot" and "cold" leads in new and existing clients, helping your partnership development teams leverage the value of logarithmic growth that expanding networks offer, etc.) then reach out to Mike.
Mike O'Neil has a reputation for under-charging and over-delivering; I believe he wants people to be successful with the tool. LinkedIn should bring him on board full time...
Chip Lambert is working with Mike, as part of Integrated Alliances. Integrated Alliances has a number of courses either ready right now (both in-person & via highly effective webinars).
Take the 101 and the 201 classes, and you can't go wrong.
They are also developing classes for other social media applications, and you should follow up with them for more information around Facebook, MySpace, etc.
Yes, you can DIY and waste time. Or, you can pay a pittance and profit ten-fold in 1/5 the time (or less). Taking the classes seemed like a smarter way to go, to me...HTH
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Ooh, this is an interesting one. I myself have not taken any formal training courses; here's why:
At this point, social networking sites - including LinkedIn - are any man's game. By that I mean that any valuable knowledge out there about how to best use these sites is largely gained from experience. There's no set forumla; anyone can learn how to effectively use LinkedIn to achieve their goals, provided they have the ambition to spend some time figuring it out. First by exploring the functional capabilities of these kind of sites, and then developing specific strategies.
I think most business owners are accustomed to thinking in this manner, which both creative and pragmatic. To me, this, coupled with the ambition/desire to "learn to fish" as apposed to being given a fish, or being told how to fish, is the essence of entrepreneurial-ism.
I am not dissing courses, here, I just mean to say that the time it takes to drive, attend, and ask questions in a group could be more well spent with a hands on approach. My personal approach often involves reading/sharing knowledge with other thought-leaders in online marketing, via blogs and SM and PR communities like mashable.com, pointer.org, and mediapost.com.
Is there a specific course you were referring to in your question?
Clarification added February 24, 2008:
edit: which *is* both creative...
Linda Claire P
Newsletter Expert | Article Writing Expert | Mktg Comm Trainer for Independent Prof'ls | lcp@clairecommunications.com
Yes, I have taken a course on using LinkedIn, and I'd love to know about one for Facebook. (Please send me suggestions, if you have them.) While I agree that it is possible to figure all this stuff out on your own, I don't choose to spend my time that way. I wanted accellerated, targeted learning on "best practices," lesser-known strategies, and things to avoid. I took two courses from Chip Lambert and found them to be exactly what I was looking for, very helpful and reasonably priced.
I think this kind of training is a great idea. There are many, many people for whom all this social networking/social media stuff is very new. With my clientele, mostly therapists and coaches, I'm seeing both eagerness and anxiety...and a ton of underutilizing the potential of LinkedIn. Training helps a lot around the anxiety, gives the eagerness some good direction and helps users participate more, which benefits all of us on LinkedIn. I believe in it so much, I'm going to be offering an opportunity to my folks to learn more about LinkedIn, specifically as it relates to private practices.
Best,
Linda
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I took the Integrated Alliance 101 course from Chip Lambert recently. I had heard him speak and knew there was much more to this beast than I was really using. I suspect, if you are like me, you heard about Linked in, signed up but really didn't expect much or understand it.
When Chip was talking about it, I began to see it in a different light. How many ways can I use this thing to meet the people I want to surround myself with? Early on I didn't really care about the number of my connections and didn't subscribe to what appeared to be an ego boosting drive to add more people to my name. Now I understand the dramatic value of having a number of contacts I am directly linked to.
I have used it to discover folks in a remote territory and create relationships that have improved my business. I am able to do that because I now reach over 4 million people through my network and understand how to both build my profile and search for the people I want to know.
I know how to find them and word a request to meet them so that it doesn't sound salesy. in short, how to maximize my effectiveness with this tool.
I have also learned a number of the mistakes I have made and why I have gotten "naughty boy" messages from the company. I know my limits and I may have learned a few ways to push the envelope, while maintaining dignity and integrity.
I haven't read Jason Alba's book but I have corresponded with him through Jill Konraths' blog on Selling to Big Companies. I believe both he and the Integrated Alliances foks have this thing dialed in pretty well.
I can gaurantee you that I am fortunate to be able to hear Chip Lambert speak from time to time and that when he answers questions, it has real value.
To answer directly the hundred or so questions in your first paragraph, the answers are;
I took the linked in 101 course through a teleseminar from my office desk. The information was very worthwhile and even with some experience and research on social media, I learned quite a bit specific to Linked in, the cost was $49, and a single commission from the remote territory, pays that for me in spades. The knowledge not only netted me my money back, it created powerful relationships with referral partners in that territory.
I will take the next 2 courses in the series and likely anything else these guys do and I have to tell you this. I am not only not a sales neophyte, I have over 35 years of sales experience, the last 7 of which were spent fixing broken sales forces under contract. I am comfortable I know what I am doing and I am very happy to have this new knowledge as well.
Hope this helps.
Michael Goodman
www.gosalespros.com
goodman@ussalesgroup.com (Send an invitation if you like)
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Martin C
Sr. Quality Manager at BASF Fuel Cell
Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (12), Business Development (3), Professional Networking (3), Biotech (3), Certification and Licenses (1), Occupational Training (1), Venture Capital and Private Equity (1), Corporate Law (1), Employment and Labor Law (1), Advertising (1), Lead Generation (1), Sales Techniques (1), Corporate Governance (1), Change Management (1), Non-profit Management (1), Project Management (1), Quality Management and Standards (1), Supply Chain Management (1), Individual Insurance (1), Product Design (1), Starting Up (1), Enterprise Software (1), Software Development (1), Wireless (1)
Hi Carter,
I recommend you connect with Jason, author of "I'm in LinkedIn, Now What?"
I just gave a talk on "How to grow your network using LinkedIn?" at one of my local networking groups in the NJ area. There are a lot of people who need help in taking full advantage of Linkedin's services.
Best regards,
Martin
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Dhyan A
I offer business skills training & marketing/sales coaching to small business owners ● Dhyan@SatisfactionByDesign.com
Carter - I took two Linked In Classes from Mike O'Neil of Integrated Alliances last fall and they were fantastic! I can't speak highly enough about them. I had been curious about Linked In and receiving invitations but had no real idea what it was all about or the possibilities. In four hours, Mike's 101 class showed us everything we would need to know to get started including how to write an excellent profile, do more than use the standard scripts, and the in's and out's of usage. In the 201 class I learned how to build my connections quickly (I was up to 400 quality contacts within the next week) and answered questions about how to find good connections for my business based on introductions and finding people I would like to meet. I got more information in each 4 hour class than I would have thought humanly possible but the notes were also so good that when I got home I had everything I needed to get started at my fingertips. I have recommended both classes to numerous colleagues and friends and would certainly continue to do so. Mike is a fantastic teacher, the class is information-rich, and the way he has organized the classes is supurb!
Dhyan Atkinson - Business Consultant
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More Answers (23)
Sheilah E
Owner, ★SME Management:.......... Business Management and Accounting Consultant
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No, the site is simple to use I see no need in a course. If you are going to take a course I recommend Mike O'Niel's courses. I see many members here writing about linkedin and offerring courses and they still don't understand the site so how effective can their teaching be?
Sheilah
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Bryan C W
★ Technical Product Marketing Professional ★
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I have given a 2-hour presentation on "Using LinkedIn for Job Search Success" recently to four networking groups. The attendee response was very good as most were new to the concept of LinkedIn.
You can check out the recommendations on my profile from Jim Geraghty and Greg Brown.
George A
Principal Consultant at Anderson & Anderson Organizational Anger Management
Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (6), Professional Networking (4), Small Business (4), Organizational Development (3), Mentoring (2), Occupational Training (2), Career Management (2), Starting Up (2), Travel Tools (1), Education and Schools (1), Certification and Licenses (1), Staffing and Recruiting (1), Advertising (1), Business Development (1), Public Relations (1), Customer Relationship Management (1), Change Management (1), E-Commerce (1)
I am not sure if there is a need for this site.
George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CAMF
anders3101@aol.com
Links:
I haven't taken a course but I just finished reading Jason Alba's "I'm on Linked In Now What???" book and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about usining LinkedIn!
Justyna J
Self Proclaimed Genius
Best Answers in: Government Policy (1), Staffing and Recruiting (1), Property Law (1), Change Management (1), Organizational Development (1), Professional Networking (1), Starting Up (1), Web Development (1), Using LinkedIn (1)
Hi Carter,
I had people trying to teach me how to use various systems and I always ended up knowing more about them than they did. I think that if you have used enough systmes and services and sites everything than you never need anyone to tell youn how to use one - you just need few hours to fiddle with it.
Regards,
Justyna Jarosz
Ramon T
+2100 Consultant, Speaker, Researcher, Blogger, Lecturer, Technologist, Faciltator, Social Entrepreneur, Activist
Hi Carter, I have coached clients one-on-one on how to use LinkedIn. And I've also rewritten people's profiles to improve their findability. This has led to be designing a half-day workshop on business networking/social networking which I am launching this week in Johannesburg, South Africa. As I gain feedback from my delegates I will be able to provide you with more insights.
Links:
Dr. Shaun J
Law Professor, Coach, Speaker
Best Answers in: Education and Schools (3), Career Management (2), Using LinkedIn (2), Freelancing and Contracting (1), Mentoring (1), Staffing and Recruiting (1), Internationalization and Localization (1), Employment and Labor Law (1), Events Marketing (1), Public Relations (1), Organizational Development (1), Planning (1), Professional Books and Resources (1), Ethics (1), Professional Networking (1), Computers and Software (1)
Carter,
I have never taken a class on Linkedin or for any other networking site. My university set up a group and encouraged students/alumni to sign up. The rest is history.
Great question. I would be interested to hear what people have to say.
Shaun
I did take a class on Linked In for the sole purpose of finding out how to make my profile “pop” without spending a tremendous amount of time figuring out all the ins and outs of the site. In a beginners class there is a lot of basic information but there is also tips and tricks that most people would not know about or figure out. Many people on the Answers pages are people that have been on Linked In for a long time and have figured out that Linked In can help them and they have complete profiles. There are a few of us that need to be shown how to make our profile more effective and to come up on more searches.
I did a webinar last week and I am in the process of designing my profile completely for the first time. Chip Lambert conducted the webinar that I attended and I am participating in the next level class in a couple weeks to learn even more about how to connect/reconnect with people.
I find it interesting that the one person who is the most negative about “learning to use a website” has the least complete site of the previous 9 answers. I guess we can’t all be Captain Kirks.
Scott
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I did take a course on using LinkedIn and found it to be extremely helpful. Chip Lambert, who taught the webinar, was absolutely fabulous. Not only did he alert me to what was missing from my profile (search engine optimization-wise) and how to connect properly with other people, he made sure I understood the do's and don'ts- things that LinkedIn does not convey on their site.
Yes the LinkedIn site is easy to use, but at the end of the day, if you don't know what to include in your profile or ways to maximize the benefit of this website, you should definitely look into taking Chip's training. I highly recommend it.
http://www.network2networth.com/linkedintraining.htm
Tom C
Search and Placement Consultant in the Engineering & Construction Industry│tom@coluci.bz
Carter,
I have taken training on how to use LinkedIn. It was invaluable to me. I took it because within 2 days I received 3 separate invitations to connect. I knew something was up with LinkedIn, but had no idea of what it was or how to use it. So, I decided to get training.
The training I took through my friend Chip Lambert was very effective. He offers 3 courses LinkedIn 101, 201, and 301. I have taken 101 and 201 and will take 301 when it is ready.
Then venue was a 2.5 hour webinar that cost $99. It was one of the best $99 I've ever spent.
My motivation for taking the course was that I needed to get into the 21st century in terms of using technology in my business (executive search), and getting trained in the simplest most direct way to do so. During the courses, my mind opened, and I saw the great possibility in building a network where I can invite clients to join my network, and ideally get introduced to their associates who are very likely my ideal clients. Also, I saw the opportunity to invite the candidates I work with to join my network and to get introductions to other excellent candidates who are similar. I realized that I could also invite other recruiters to join my network and accomplish two things: 1.) split business with them, and 2.) be able to refer them as appropriate to my client and industry contact when I am not the right person to fill a position. I am also building a network of other expert that I can refer to my clients and colleagues to support them in accomplishing their business and personal goals. Without this training, I would never have seen the possibility nor understood how to make that possibility a reality.
I have also taken Chip Lambert's Business Development Intensive which lays the foundation for putting to the greatest use the training in the LinkedIn 101 and 201 classes. I cannot say enough for the quality of Chip's courses. I have known Chip for 5 years. He is a friend, business associate, and indispensible business resource for me. He is an absolute expert in consciously creating strategic networks to accomplish your business objectives, and a tremendous resource in the social media arena.
Tom Colucci
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The only class I've taken on a networking site...was the LinkedIn seminar that Chip Lambert offers. I signed up for this course because I use LinkedIn to find business professionals. I thought it was very beneficial and it’s definitely been useful for me. I would recommend it to anyone that's not familiar with LinkedIn and wants to use this tool to increase their productivity.
I took an online course from Chip Lambert (a results focused trainer) because I had a lot of contacts but did not feel as though I was actually getting anything out of it (or putting anything of value in it). Anyone can use the website, but bottom line is "is it working for you?" I bet if you did a survey you would find many people feel about it the same way they feel about the effectiveness of their local Chamber of Commerce meetings.
It was done online with an instructor using GoToMeeting and a dial in number.
It was LinkedIn 101 by Network2Networth and only cost $49.
I liked it because it covered the basics of setting everything up to begin with, only lasted about 2 1/2 hours, had a limited number or enrolees so you could ask questions and provided hand outs.
I am enrolling in LinkedIn 201 to learn more how to leverage what I have set up.
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Ed C
Helping entrepreneurial business owners and leaders get what they want from their businesses
Best Answers in: Job Search (1), Customer Relationship Management (1), Professional Networking (1)
Carter:
I will share this question with many of the people who have attended both my pro bono and fee based training courses. I'll be interested in seeing your results.
Ed
Larry S
Steinberg Financial Advisers, Registered Investment Advisor & Insurance Agency, Scottsdale & Pasadena
I have taken several LI specific courses from Chip Lambert and I recommend him.
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I took Chip Lambert's LinkedIn 101 and it was very worthwhile, I plan to take his 201 and 301 courses as well. The reason is that he saved me a lot of time and energy compared to me having to dig this stuff out all by myself.
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Vanessa P. S
Owner/Operator at VPS Designs
Best Answers in: Graphic Design (1), Small Business (1), Using LinkedIn (1)
Carter,
You have received many responses, so I will keep this brief. I have not personally received any training in using LinkedIn. As with any piece of software, any advanced game, and most things in life, you get better with practice. Courses will only help as long as you are motivated to take them and feel the outcome will benefit you -- which it sounds like it will. That being said, training will allow you to become an expert at using this networking tool, and if that is your goal, I suggest going for it.
Good luck!
I took a course "LinkedIn 101" with Integrated Alliances by Mike O'Neil in Colorado. This course was fantastic. I went from some very basic knowledge to the ability to gain introductions to key people to consult with on business ventures in our local area as well as in other states. I would not have understood how to set up my profile, make key connections and utilized LinkedIn to its best use for my business without this course. I will be back for "LinkedIn 201" soon.
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I did take 2 Webinars with Raymond "Chip" Lambert that I found extremely helpful and worthwhile. Chip really goes a lot of detail on how to make the website work for you, and his course is full of valuable information. I highly recommend it.
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John ジョン S. R
APAC Business Development / Marketing Professional | Guest Lecturer | Photographer | Global Citizen
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Good day Carter,
No, I don't feel that it is necessary.
Regards,
John S. Rajeski
Links:
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No - does a course exist?
I've attended seminars on networking both while working with L'Oréal and through one of my network groups.
I can recommend Charlotte Junge, a Danish networking expert.
Links:
What is apparent is that anyone who is already responding a lot in the ANSWERS section does not require a LinkedIn basic course. However,what I have found is that most people over the age of 30 don't "just get" computer applications and for LinkedIn a very reasonable course is worth every dollar.
I have given a 1 1/2-hour presentation on "Using LinkedIn for Job Search Success" recently to executives. The attendee response was very good as most were already using linked in but not anywhere to its full potential (and these were executives)
You can check out the recommendations on my profile.
However you can see from the responses above that courses like the one mentioned given by Chris Lambert, people have found very useful.
I took the one by Mike O'Neil in Denver, and it goes a long way to getting your network started.
I believe if you aren't using Linked in you should be and recommend the IA course. It will give you the basics and take any fear away from using LinkedIn. I personally have a number of success stories using LinkedIn and it is a valuable tool.
Links:
Mitch K
at Krayton Seminars
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A well designed web site should be intuitive. If it gets to the point that people need to invest money in time into using it, there is a design flaw.
As features get added, the original simplicity is lost.
Look at MS Word and Excel. Do you think many people use all the 'features' in those products? Most still write letters and do simple budgets. The same abilities they had with Word 1.0. For those who want to know everything there is to know or have a need for that special feature, by all means read the manual and take a course. But that is not for the mainstream.
The majority of users should be able to just go to work and get what they need done, done.
I feel that LinkedIn is dynamic. After you begin to contribute (rather than take) you find a world of contacts reaching out to you and that is all the more valuable because I discovered this for myself and invested the efforts I did.
That said, like all tools, some people have figured out ways to enhance the use of the site. All good things have their advocates and I see nothing wrong with people wanting to teach others what they know. For me, I will keep discovering on my own.
Raymond 'Chip' Lambert offers the most extraordinary information and effective toolkit for mastering social marketing on LinkedIn. As a trainer, he is immensely gifted. His courses teach how to go behind the curtain, explaining in understandable and immediately useful language how to execute strategies that logarithmically expand your reach and expert standing, and implement immediate growth opportunities for your business. Before Chip's courses, I had no idea how to navigate, use or truly benefit from LinkedIn. After a few hours of training, the results have been amazing. I enthusiastically recommend Chip's courses.
