Wouldn’t we all like to uncover the secrets of how to create genuine B2B success on Facebook? In this blog post, I’m sharing a conversation with Richard Linden from i-systemise, who recently landed a £9k customer project with the help of one single Facebook post.
The business
To set the scene, let’s first take a look at Richard’s business. He is a project and business systems management expert based in Newbury, where he helps business owners and entrepreneurs to improve and scale their businesses. He works on-site with business teams to develop their operational processes; systemising and documenting all their procedures.
Let’s just say he’s the Ultimate Process Guy.
Social relationships
Now, when it comes to Facebook, Richard is a pretty active user. He’s got more than 1500 Facebook friends and 700 followers, and he regularly adds people who are current or potential new clients. So how does he use his Facebook feed to build business relationships?
‘I use Facebook to share business content as well as personal updates. I’m also a member of a number of different entrepreneur groups and get to know lots of people through them, who then go on to become Facebook friends,” Richard explains.
But little did he know at the time of posting one of his updates, that it was going to transform his entire view of social media for business.
The perfect Facebook post
It was just a normal Wednesday, and Richard was getting ready for a client meeting the following day. He decided to document his preparation with the following post to his timeline:
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“The reason for posting this message,” Richard says, “was to try to build up some anticipation with the client I was meeting. I had no other agenda, really.”
The impact, however, was pretty remarkable.
“I noticed a comment from a person whom I had recently got to know through a Facebook group. He was really interested in finding out more about my workshops and the work I do with clients – which was the beginning of a series of conversations which quickly turned into a business engagement worth £9,000. Now, that’s a pretty good rate of return on a single photo!”
Why did it work?
Of course, looking at it from a marketing perspective, I’m keen to understand what Richard thinks it was that attracted the client to the message in the first place. It’s just a photo of a bunch of stationery. What’s so engaging about it?
“I really think it was the simplicity of the picture and the message that made it successful,” Richard says. “The items in the picture are the actual tools I use in my sessions. They help to illustrate how I work in collaboration with the client to map out their entire process library and get full visibility of the business from the boardroom. I guess it gets people’s imagination going!”
Handling the response
So – getting a comment or a response on a Facebook post is all good and well, but how did this actually turn into a business engagement?
“I replied to his comment, inviting him to send me a private message,” Richard explains. “I wanted to make sure the conversation didn’t get lost in the Facebook thread. He then took the time to send me a private note explaining what he needed. It turned out that he had quickly grown his business to the point where the lack of systems and processes were really starting to hinder and overwhelm him and his staff. I instantly knew I could help, so I set up a Skype call to learn more about the business.”
Working with the client
Once he understood of the full scope of the situation, Richard was able to identify a few quick wins. From that point, he could now start defining and documenting the business from end to end; outlining and streamlining all their processes and systems.
Learning from success
I was curious to know how this lucky social media strike has impacted the way Richard views his social media engagements now. What’s his biggest learning from it?
“Well, in summary, I would say that you never know who is watching you,” he says. “I have of course spent a long time building up a good number of friends and followers who like what I do and are interested in me, but I’ve learnt that it’s important to share what you do – no matter how insignificant it may seem. What’s everyday business to you can be transformational to someone else.”
The constant learning journey
I’m fascinated by stories like these. It just goes to show that the uber-engineered social engagement campaigns by so-called experts sometimes fall flat compared to a simple, genuine, helpful post. Rather than try to anticipate what the next big trending topic might be, focus on what you do and how you help – that’s a good place to start!
If you want to learn more about Richard’s systemisation business, check out his website.
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