“OK, now I’m registered on LinkedIn. Now what?
“OK, I’ve signed up for LinkedIn. That’s that! One more item off my To-Do list!”
These are common and understandable reactions by many claim professionals. These comments reveal, though, a naiveté about the social networking tool LinkedIn and how adjusters and claim professionals can deploy it in powerful ways to . . .
- Strengthen relationships with existing clients
- Expand and build your business by creating relationships with new clients and prospects
- Project their professional “brand” in the competitive claims marketplace
LinkedIn membership is free. Here are three ways adjusters and claim professionals can extract more value from this social networking tool:
Tip #1. Learn background on clients for deepening relationships. Zoom in on potential clients and people you want to know or contacts with whom you are already familiar. LinkedIn will show you where they went to school and where they worked before. You may be able to see the groups they belong to, which can be a tip-off as to hobbies and interests. Knowing this helps arm you with additional “ice breakers” that you can use to draw other people out in conversation. It may reveal areas of common interest or background.
“Hey, I see we went to the same school, though at different times. Did you have Professor So and So?” The more touch points you have with your network of existing contacts, the more likely it is that you can move your status from being a vendor or service provider to the status of a trusted advisor! That’s what you want to aim for.
Moral: closely study the LinkedIn profiles of your existing and prospective clients. This is valuable “intel” that you can use to deepen relationships.
Tip #2. Join professional claim groups. LinkedIn has thousands of special interest professional groups. Attorneys ought to have no trouble finding a dozen or more that tie into their areas of interest or expertise. Check them out and sign up! LinkedIn lets you sign up for as many as fifty. For example, in my area alone, insurance claims and risk management, I belong to the following LinkedIn groups:
- Council on Litigation Management
- Claims Management
- Medical Malpractice Professionals
- P&C Claim Professionals
- Risk Analysis and Claims Handling
Many claim professionals belong to these groups.
Tip #3. Pose and respond to questions in the DISCUSSIONS area, especially in groups where you have subject matter expertise. Your participation, input and visibility in these discussion forums helps project your brand as a subject matter expert in a particular niche of the law. When others see that you can answer questions authoritatively, point them in fruitful directions or lead them to resources, they are more inclined to buy your credibility.
Later they may “buy” your services and seek you out when they have a legal matter in your bailiwick. Get involved in the discussions. Get engaged. Check the discussion areas regularly. Participate!
(Caveat: Check with and abide by your corporate policy here. Some companies frown on employees making public utterances on claims, comments which could conceivably come back to haunt those companies.)
LinkedIn is just one more way that adjusters and other claim professionals can project their brand, solidify themselves as thought leaders in an area of insurance, market their services and make business connections that can culminate in new referrals and assignments. Just like a web site, a glossy brochure, or an advertisement in a magazine, the LinkedIn profile page is one part of a professional’s integrated marketing strategy.
Those claim operations that ignore it may lose out on business. Those adjusters and companies who harness and leverage the power of LinkedIn as a business networking site may reap many financial rewards!
