We all know it, times are tough right now. There is a global pandemic, a nationwide recession kicking in and 22+ million people currently unemployed in the US.But this post isn’t about focusing on the negative. This isn’t a post to write about how shitty things are or how Trump is an idiot.It’s about you taking control right now. The stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius once said that “You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” In other words, even though there may be chaos going on around us, we have to focus on what we can control.Before you do anything else, you have to do great work at your current job. All of the networking in the world doesn’t matter if you can’t do the job. Go above and beyond. Follow my guidelines for a good salesperson and become addicted to the process. You want to add value where you currently are.If you’re crushing it at your current role, you want to work on your network. You have to balance being the best while also preparing for the worst. It’s a lot less scary to lose your job when everyone knows who you are and you’ve helped so many people that they are willing to return the favor.I don’t care who you are, you should absolutely be using this time to double down on your LinkedIn presence. Here are a few reasons:

1. To quote the Wu-Tang Clan, you need to protect your neck. No company is immune to what is happening right now. If something happens to you and your company, you need to have a strong network and brand to be able to make a quick pivot.
2. There is a ton of opportunity. All in-person networking has gone virtual. I’ve been trying out new ways of adding value to the community like doing virtual happy hours and running a ton of live webinars to engage with salespeople right now.
3. If you work hard on it, LinkedIn can be a community where you create friends, supporters, and followers that have your back if you ever need it.
4. You no longer have the “I don’t have time” excuse. You don’t have any plans this weekend. None of us do.

So we agree that we need to get after it on LinkedIn, right? Here is how I’d go about attacking this situation if you have yet to do so, and need to take another look with renewed vigor.First, update your profile. Make sure your picture, headline, job descriptions and everything is in line. Give recommendations to people that you’ve worked with and great clients you’ve had and ask if they’d feel comfortable returning the favor. This is the new resume, treat it with respect.Second, start connecting directly with people every day. If you find someone you think is like-minded or interesting, send them a connection request with a personalized message. Tell them you enjoy the content they produce and hope to be able to reciprocate with value someday. Remember, you’re not selling anything: you’re playing the long game and building relationships.Third, start contributing. It’s called SOCIAL media, not “scroll mindlessly for 30 minutes and don’t engage” media, for a reason. Make it a goal to comment on 5 posts each day. Make the comment thoughtful, and share your opinion. Saying “great post!” doesn’t exactly add much to the conversation. Hop into the conversation even if it means disagreeing with the original post.Fourth, share your own content pieces and begin adding value to the community. This is an intimidating step but I promise that everyone reading this has something to share. What do you know about? Don’t overthink it. Just start doing it.Maybe you’ve been a sales leader for 10 years and have grown teams successfully. Maybe you’ve been working from home before the pandemic and can shed some light on tips and tricks. Even if you’re just getting started in sales, you can share how your cold calls are going, what’s working and what isn’t. At first, it’s more important to build the habit of sharing than about what the content is. Lose the fear and make a commitment to being active.Finally, make this a part of your daily routine. Carve out time every single day to add value to the sales community. Start with 30 minutes and block it off on your calendar. If you don’t see a huge jump in engagement at first, don’t get discouraged. If you continuously add value over time, you’ll see the results and opportunities will jump out at you that you never would have had access to otherwise. Besides, if not too many people are in your network, it’s a good and safe time for you to be exploring what type of posts work best for you.The key to networking on LinkedIn is to offer value before you ask for value. Sounds a lot like sales, right? Give someone a recommendation, comment on their post, join their virtual happy hour, tag someone in their post to further amplify it.I go on LinkedIn every day with the goal of helping as many people as I can. By doing this for years, not only have I helped a ton of people but I’ve been given amazing opportunities. The ROI on being a giver is absolutely massive.These are crazy times and we all need to prepare accordingly. The best thing we can do is make sure that we have a strong brand and network to support us.Dale Carnegie once wrote that "If you want to conquer fear, don't sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy." I’ll echo that here. Go out and get busy on LinkedIn. Spend time in it each day and plant seeds to add value. You’ll thank me later.Here are some upcoming events I’m participating in. I’d love to see you there:4/20 Pre-Earth Day Sale-ebration w/ John Barrows & Richard Harris4/23 Sales Engagement Masters w/ Jake Dunlap, Justin Welsh, Kevin Dorsey & more4/28 What Exceptional Sales Playbooks Look Like