Grow Your LinkedIn Network the Mango Way
When I think of my LinkedIn network, I picture a basket of fresh mangoes. 🥭 (My absolutely FAVORITE fruit!)
Ever picked a perfectly ripened mango fresh off the tree?
They're delectable, so juicy, and just the right amount of sweet and sour. It's nothing like buying a box from Costco and waiting days for them to ripen.
If you've watched any of my videos, you'll notice that big mango tree in the background. Right now, that tree is "going off" as we call it here on the island.
I cannot catch all the mangoes fast enough.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
It's the perfect metaphor for a healthy LinkedIn network.
Though growing the tree takes time, and you never quite know when it will bear fruit... they're the best mangoes on the planet.
In this episode of Mondays with Mindi, we talk about how to grow your LinkedIn network "the mango way" -- I even do some show-and-tell!
Growing Your Network Crazy-Fast?! 🥭
We see the success stories of people building a six-figure online business within 365 days, and we believe that’s the norm. Just start posting social media content. Start growing your network. Create a good lead magnet. Learn a little about Facebook Ads.
And, the highly qualified leads will start pouring in to buy your product or service.
That’s all it takes!
Just a little bit of hustle, a dash of consistency, and a decent offer.
How many of you have seen how “easy it looks” from the outside and then started down that path for a few months only to realize that it might take you a little longer than 12 months?
*Raised hand here*
So… these people who make it happen in just 12 months, how do they do it? Does it even matter? How should YOU do it?
The one similarity that you might notice WHEN you look deeply enough is that these “overnight success stories” either had an existing (warm) network or built one at lightning speed.
And, how do you go about building a solid network -- it’s all about the mango way, baby!
Your Network Takes TIME to Mature *Before* the Sale 🥭
Growing your network or following FAST is great. But, most of us cannot expect these new followers or people inside our network to want to do business with us right away.
The problem I’m seeing with those pivoting to a new space or building a new arm of the business (myself included!) is that we tend to think “oh, great! I’ve got a few hundred or a few thousand new followers - let’s pitch them something!”
Thing is, you’ve got to spend some time growing your mango tree first before they’re ready to buy from you.
I know - sexy to say “just wait a bit longer” - it doesn’t sell! Imagine the headlines on those FB ads, “Waiting is the key to your six-figure business OR landing your next dream job!”
We get antsy. We see those email subscriber numbers go up. We feel the pressure to sell to them.
If we’re not selling, then what are we doing in business?
The thing is, you’ve got to do a bit of nurturing, a bit of watering, a bit of sunshine.
When it’s time, those mangoes are going to “go off” like you wouldn’t believe.
Just don’t shortcut the process if your business is not set up that way.
For example, in the B2C (business to consumer) space, customers are looking for a specific product to solve a specific problem they have RIGHT NOW. Good B2C businesses sell to them in that fashion.
Picture 50% off sales. Seasonal discounts. Coupon codes. Instagram ambassadors.
It’s all about getting them NOW - right away - speed to purchase!
For most of us who are working towards being seen as the experts in our space and niche, it’s not so fast.
People who want to buy from us are going to take a bit longer to watch what we’re doing, find out who we are in our personal lives, explore our content, meander around for a bit, tune in and tune out - come back to us when they’re ready, discover we solve their problem.
And, BOOM! Sale.
The path is different…
It’s not getting them through a Facebook ad and pitch them something, expecting them to purchase. Most great customers are NOT going to buy that way. The ones who do, often don’t turn out to be the best customers (I can tell you this from personal experience!)
Or, send them a LinkedIn connection invitation that has the “hint” of pitchy in it, and then follow up with a sales-y message and a Calendly link before they have even responded with interest!
This is the OLD way of doing things in the industry. Consumers are more savvy. YOU as a business person are savvier - think about the last purchase you made for an online program or service - it probably wasn’t from a pitchy connection invitation on LinkedIn or being a first-timer on someone’s webinar.
There’s a lesson for us all here.
In our eagerness to grow our businesses, we can too often sabotage “our mango tree” because we are trying to pick them too early.
But, by intentionally growing a great mango tree and waiting for just the right opportunity, you can have more mangoes than you ever thought possible.
Mindi's Backyard Mango Tree 🥭
Okay, so I have this mango tree in my backyard. You can see it in the camera (in the video above!)
If I had to guess based on what the prior owners said, it’s about 15-20 years old.
You may not be able to see it, but there are mangoes EVERYWHERE in the tree. You may even hear a THUD while I’m talking because they are starting to “go off” right now.
It’s not a new metaphor, but it’s been staring me in the face for all this time.
I used to hear the phrase growing up, “Money doesn’t grow on trees!”
Oh, but it does! You just have to plant one.
And, wait till the season.
The funny thing about mangoes is that you don’t always know when they’re going to produce fruit.
Sometimes, they skip a year.
Nobody can tell you with precision WHEN it’s going to happen, but just know, as long as the tree is healthy, you’re going to get a heap ton of mangoes!
How does this apply to our LinkedIn networks?
Your LinkedIn Network is Like a Mango Tree 🥭
When I think about my LinkedIn network, I actually do picture a mango tree. It’s taken me about a decade of work to grow it to where it is today.
Am I at the million dollars a year mark with my business, yet? Nope.
And that’s okay. I’m seeing the rewards of my labor up to THIS point, and I am patiently caring for my mango tree, appreciating the abundance I have now.
Too many of us get sucked into the future and want an abundant harvest by just hitting up the local Costco store and buying up boxes of mangoes. That’s one way to do it, but the gratification is just not there.
Here are some network lessons I’ve learned from our mango tree.
#1 - Mangoes “off the tree” are meant to be shared
When I first saw these mango trees when we moved in last December, I thought “woohoo! More mangoes for ME!” This selfish inclination that they were all for me, and I was going to preserve them all, freeze them, make smoothies for myself - I fantasized about all the mango goodies.
Funny thing is that when the mangoes started coming, my perspective shifted. I got excited when there was a passerby who asked if he could collect some of the mangoes that had fallen on the other side of our fence.
My husband asked him what he did with the mangoes, and he explained how his girlfriend uses them to make these special Hawaiian dishes. How cool?
When you have abundance, you feel like sharing and are apt to share.
Once you have a healthy professional network, you’ll become a connector and will know you can connect with whom. You’ll benefit and get to see others benefit professionally, too!
#2 - Mangoes must be picked at the right time
Greener mangoes - will never ripen, no matter what you do to them! You might be able to pickle them, but they still have to be at just the right level of ripeness.
Mangoes with a yellow hue - these are perfect! They have just the right amount of sweetness and ripeness to be sliced into and taste like a ray of sunshine.
Let the mangoes just “thud” onto the ground without catching them at the ripe time, and they go completely wasted. Only good enough for the wild chickens to eat them because they’re already bruised and are often past their prime.
Pick your mangoes at the right time. You do the picking.
It’s like your LinkedIn network - it may be abundant, but if you never use it, it goes to waste, and you’re stuck picking up spoiled mangoes and swatting away boatloads of flies!
#3 - The Mango Effect is more than just “making sales”
It’s how you do life, how you do business, how you do everything! Since moving to the island, my entire person has changed - how I see the world, how I craft my days, everything is shaped by what my husband and I have dubbed “the mango effect.”
It’s deeper than your LinkedIn network. More than just making sales. More than just living a good life. It’s a holistic approach to abundance and inspiring more “good people” to do “good business” with each other.
This is a concept you’re going to hear me dive a bit deeper into over the coming months, but I wanted to share it with you today because we’re just getting started.
If you’re looking for that extra edge to get started on the growing your network the mango way…
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