{"id":2644,"date":"2026-09-28T00:00:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T00:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/addbusiness.be\/?p=2644"},"modified":"2026-09-22T09:58:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T09:58:53","slug":"beyond-the-algorithm-sit-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/addbusiness.be\/en\/2026\/09\/28\/beyond-the-algorithm-sit-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the algorithm sit people"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”4\/6″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”748886″]Last week I posted something honest: LinkedIn does not work, at least not for what I expect from it. More than 14,000 impressions. 9,000 members reached. More than 200 reactions. And not once did it lead to a conversation.<\/p>\n

Is it me? The algorithm? The dog in my photo? I admit, he is cute. Or is it the idea itself, that you can turn views into conversations?<\/p>\n

My best conversations last month did not come from the feed. They came from ten postcards with a handwritten letter. No algorithm needed. Reach \u2260 business. Closeness does. That is what this piece is about.<\/p>\n

The paradox: plenty of reach, little movement<\/h2>\n

You post. The numbers climb. Likes, great post, so recognizable. Then you open your calendar. Not one extra conversation.<\/p>\n

The more visible you become online, the more invisible you sometimes look to the people who really matter. Your ideal clients live around the corner, sit in your ecosystem, know your current clients. And at that exact moment they scroll past your post, among hundreds of others, while all they really want is to talk to someone.<\/p>\n

This is not about playing the algorithm better. It is about two other questions. Why should LinkedIn be the heart of your client development at all? And why does being visible in the feed feel safer than reaching out to someone directly?<\/p>\n

The fear underneath all that content<\/h2>\n

You do not post only because it is efficient. You also post because it feels safer than approaching someone directly.<\/p>\n

Direct contact is vulnerable. You can get a clear no. You show that you need new clients. You are afraid of being pushy. LinkedIn feels more comfortable: you throw something into the world, and if nobody responds, it is the algorithm. No no, no yes, no conversation. Just noise.<\/p>\n

I did it that way myself for years. Busy, little movement. Until I had to admit it honestly: my best clients never came through the feed. They came because someone dropped my name in a real conversation.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn is good for my ego. Postcards are better for my conversations.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The inversion: from feed to people<\/h2>\n

Most companies play the same game. Open LinkedIn, collect connections, publish posts, wait for someone to react, hope something comes out of it.<\/p>\n

I turn it around. As I wrote in Clients are not targets, everything starts with the question of who you really want to work with. Decide that first: fit, ecosystem, stage. Then find who you are already indirectly connected through. Reach out directly, outside the algorithm. And use LinkedIn only after that, as verification and follow-up.<\/p>\n

That matches what I set out in Closeness over LinkedIn. New opportunities rarely run through mass reach. They run through people one or two steps away, and through the trust that grows when you see and hear each other more often.<\/p>\n

The 1-2-3 method: from offline signal to real conversation<\/h2>\n

To make that structural I work with a simple rhythm. One: a postcard with a short, handwritten letter. Two: a few days later a personal connection request that refers to that card, no pitch, no pressure. Three: the conversation, by phone, over Teams or over coffee.<\/p>\n

That is all it is. But you do it consistently. Three to five cards a week, across some 25 to 30 active weeks, are 75 to 100 very deliberately chosen contact moments a year. Not to the market. To people you know in advance: if a few of these turn into conversations, my year changes.<\/p>\n

The card is your first tangible signal that you take the initiative, not the algorithm. A physical, personal message is almost always opened and stays with people longer than yet another email. LinkedIn becomes no lead engine, but a verification screen: whoever types your name sees that your card matches who you are online.<\/p>\n

In practice: <\/b>In practice: pick five people this week who truly matter to you. Send each one a handwritten card, no pitch. Connect on LinkedIn a few days later with a reference to that card. And call. Do not reach the market, bring one person closer. That is the difference between being visible and being spoken to.<\/p>\n

Series \u00b7 Beyond Visibility \u00b7 Add Business<\/i>[\/vc_column_text][uncode_block id=”887″ inside_column=”yes”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why 3 to 5 postcards a week do more for your commercial rhythm than 10,000 views.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[48],"class_list":["post-2644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-navigation-points","tag-beyond-visibility"],"yoast_head":"\nBeyond the algorithm sit people - Add Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"14,000 impressions, 9,000 members reached, 200+ reactions and not a single conversation. 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