April 2021

Business is about relationships.  Benjamin Harrison (product developer; creator, SmartPitch; author, Licensing Ideas Using LinkedIn) told us how to use LinkedIn to approach decision makers and persuade them to join our teams.

LinkedIn is playing a bigger role for inventors.  Many trade shows have been canceled or have become virtual.  Many people won’t answer a phone call from an unknown caller.  Thousands of companies are looking for inventions but must be approached professionally.

The goal of using LinkedIn is to send direct and courteous messages seeking common ground to specific people.  Then, if common ground exists, move the conversation off of LinkedIn.  There is no need to create content about your invention or to be an influencer in order to get at least a 25% response rate from decision makers.

Build a community of people with compatible interests because you never know who might help you.  Start by creating a professional profile on exactly one LinkedIn account (a free account will do).  A mini-narrative portraying you as human and memorable will interest others.  That profile sells you—a product developer—to decision makers.    

Identify decision makers you want to meet by searching LinkedIn or sites such as Recruitment Geek.  They might be other inventors and product developers or employees of companies you want on your team.  Employees in marketing might be most helpful, followed by those in sales, followed by those in product development.  Pick people who have a lot of first degree LinkedIn connections because they can help you grow your community.

Ask them to join your LinkedIn network.  Limit yourself to 100 new connections per week to avoid portraying yourself as a spammer.

Then use traditional text or the more personal audio message to find common ground.  For example, “Hey ___, I’m sure it’s not your department, but do you know who @ (company name) takes care of open innovation submissions?”  Make the question short, specific, and easy to answer.  Act like you belong on LinkedIn as a product developer: get permission to send marketing materials; don’t show off or try to prove something; don’t ask for a time-consuming favor; don’t be pushy, no hard-sell pitches; don’t send a request in the “custom note” space unless you already know the recipient.

For more of Mr. Harrison’s insights, take a look at his free online videos or subscribe to his SmartPitch program, which includes access to a database of over 1,000 open innovation companies.

Thank you, Mr. Harrison, for sharing your practical wisdom with us!