A Thursday Rant…
With AI making software development cheaper and easier, there’s new sourcing and sales prospecting tools popping up left and right. (Read: faster and easier ways for everyone to get your contact details. Yay.)
I’ve looked at a lot. We’ve trialed a bunch. And in every case so far, they don’t replace LinkedIn. They just augment it. (Read: additional spend. Best case you shed a few licenses.)
Right about now is when some sales guy pitches his “AI enabled” sourcing tool in my comments or floods my DMs. But I’ll soldier on…
These tools all work the same: they buy a crap load of public data and/or scrape web sites themselves. Build a slick new interface. Make it easy to integrate with everyone’s favorite spam software. Rinse and repeat.
The problem is: no one seems to understand what LinkedIn really is. It’s not a software tool to help you recruit or sell.
It’s a marketplace. And you – the person reading this – are the product.
Sit in awe for a second: 830 million people actually came here and gave away their personal contact details and work history. They update it all by themselves, unprompted. Because it’d be weird if they didn’t.
Because of this, there’s 3 things that no other sales or recruiting tool can copy:
1. The most powerful features are only on LinkedIn. The data is native to the platform and cannot legally be scraped, downloaded, or repurposed for another commercial tool.
Scrapers can only grab what’s public. But it’s the stuff behind the login wall that adds the most value.
e.g. “Open To Work” filters (within LinkedIn Recruiter.) Or when someone last posted content (in Sales Navigator.)
There’s an endless amount of granular filters that separate the pros from the amateurs. And those features are only available within the native platform.
2. The DM inbox adds a second level method of contact. Alt-tools give you email only.
We can go back and forth over which method is better, LinkedIn DMs or direct emails. But it comes down to user preference. Two is better than one. And one of those is only available on LinkedIn.
3. LinkedIn updates in near-real time. (Read: as soon as the user updates.) Everything else waits for the latest scheduled data pull.
People move jobs a lot these days. Whether you’re selling or recruiting, you need to know when that happens. Not 1-3 months later.
Now, I know the counterpoint here: market places get disrupted all the time.
eBay got disrupted by Amazon. Grubhub got disrupted by DoorDash. Expedia got disrupted by AirBnB.
The problem? Those are all low-effort behavioral changes. Installing a couple more food delivery apps takes a minute.
Does anyone actually want another LinkedIn? Who wants to build out another profile? And will a few hundred million people ever want to as well?
We became ‘the product’ in case it helps us get a new job someday. It’s not like anyone likes reading Office Dork™️ hot take for fun…
Partner at Hirewell. #3 Ranked Sarcastic Commenter on LinkedIn.
