Richard van der Blom

Tired of LinkedIn™️ not delivering the leads you need? Struggling to stand out in all the noise? Too much advice, not enough results? Running out of time to land new clients? Wondering how to turn connections into paying customers? I’ve got exactly what you need!  ☎️ 𝘁𝗲𝗹. +𝟯𝟭 𝟲 𝟱𝟱𝟭𝟭 𝟳𝟮𝟴𝟮

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗔𝗺 𝗜?
I'm Richard van der Blom, born in the Netherlands 🇳🇱, currently living the Spanish 🇪🇸 life. My world revolves around my partner Evelina 🇦🇷, our delightful doodle Siena 🇩🇪, and an undying love for international cuisine 🍲 , travel, Pearl Jam 🎶 , and yes, a Gin-Tonic 🍸 . Once a technical wizard on the football ⚽️  field, now I get my kicks from steering businesses towards success on LinkedIn™️.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗲 𝗗𝗼
We specialize in leveraging comprehensive, evidence-based strategies to enhance LinkedIn™️ engagement and effectiveness for B2B clients. Our partnerships with a diverse clientele of over 900 companies and the mentorship of more than 300,000 professionals have enabled us to develop a robust repository of best practices and actionable insights. Our commitment to ongoing research in social selling, content optimization, and staying ahead of LinkedIn’s algorithmic updates ensures that our consultancy and training services are at the forefront of the industry, delivering customized solutions that drive tangible business outcomes.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁?

𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗨𝗕
An independent 100% dedicated LinkedIn™️ training and consultancy agency. Founded in 2009, we empower our clients with insights-based LinkedIn™️ training for sales, marketing and recruitment professionals as executives and consultants. In 7 native languages, online and on-site.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗘
Join my vibrant online community of 150+ members. We're all about leveraging social selling to amplify your online presence through continuous training, community events, and masterclasses. Learn from industry leaders and become part of a groundbreaking training community.

𝗞𝗲𝘆𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 
I bring the stage to life – either live or virtually – with insights that 99.9% of LinkedIn™️ experts can't match. Rated as the Best Keynote Speaker in over 80% of my engagements, I'm here to deliver strategies that truly make a difference and inspire business growth

𝗦𝗼...
Dive into the transformative world of insights-based LinkedIn™️ strategies and training – to see more results, with a more efficient and less time-consuming approach

📞 +31 6 5511 7282
✉ Or share your ambition with me via richardvanderblom@justconnecting.nl

Public Speaker / Keynote Speaker

Renowned international keynote speaker, deeply passionate and knowledgeable about a range of topics including LinkedIn, Social Selling, Content Strategy, and the evolving landscape of Sales. My expertise is in delivering insights-based, engaging, and impactful keynotes.

With a track record of delivering 60+ keynotes across cosmopolitan cities such as Buenos Aires, Marrakech, Austin, Paris, Copenhagen, Athens, Vienna, and Dubai, my global experience enables me to bring unique perspectives and insights to every event.

I'm proud to have been rated as the best speaker at 80% of all events I've attended, with an impressive average rating of 9.1 out of 10. As a speaker, I am dedicated to not just sharing knowledge, but also inspiring change and action. My talks are a blend of current trends, practical strategies, and forward-thinking ideas, designed to empower professionals to thrive in today's dynamic sales environment.

Dannos Tsakalos (CEO)
Richard was one of the 10+ international speakers who took the stage at our annual Social Media & Influencer Marketing Conference (Athens October 2023). He was the last who took the stage, yet he managed to captivate the audience and received an impressive rate of 9,5/10. Why? Because, in a nutshell, he is a gifted presenter, a true expert who delivers tons of actionable insights and useful tips around LinkedIn and how to stand out on it.

Michael Geary (CEO - SMPS)
I have had the pleasure of witnessing Richard in action at our annual marketing conference, Amplify A|E|C, and I am was impressed by his ability to captivate and engage audiences. He's a true master of a stage presentation and communication skills. Richard possesses the talent for making complex ideas accessible and compelling. He has the the ability to distill intricate concepts into clear, concise messages that resonate with our audience.

5 ways LinkedIn silently kills your post. 
No warning. No explanation. Just... gone.

Analyzed 600,000+ posts, found algorithm behaviors that LinkedIn will never publicly acknowledge. Some are brutal. Some are bizarre. All are real.

1.     The 60-Minute Cliff

Your post gets 50+ engagements in the first hour. Comments flowing. Likes stacking. You're thinking "this one's going viral."

Then... nothing. Complete flatline at minute 61.

We've tracked posts where 50%+ of ALL lifetime engagement came from that first hour — then the algorithm just... stopped distributing. No second wave. No extended reach. Dead.

Why? Our theory: LinkedIn's "quality gate" triggers at the 60-minute mark. If engagement velocity doesn't hit a specific threshold relative to your follower count, the algorithm assumes the content peaked. Distribution stops.


2.     The “See More” Shadow Ban

This one's eerie. Post something critical about LinkedIn, gender issues, religion, or politics. Get decent engagement. Someone clicks "see more" to expand your post and...

It vanishes. Not scrolls down. VANISHES. Gone from their feed entirely.

We've replicated this dozens of times. The post still exists on your profile. But it's been quietly removed from active distribution. No notification. No policy violation. Just algorithmic erasure.

3.     The Ambassador Penalty

This one breaks my heart. You have 15-20 loyal supporters. Real people. Genuine fans of your content. They comment on everything you post — manually, thoughtfully, because they actually care.

And LinkedIn punishes you for it.

When the same accounts engage with your content repeatedly, the algorithm flags it as "artificial engagement patterns." Your reach gets throttled. Sometimes immediately. Your biggest fans are accidentally killing your distribution.

4.     The Ghost Follower Drain

You have 10,000 followers. But only 2,000 are "active" (logged in within 30 days).
LinkedIn doesn't care about your total count. It calculates engagement rate against your 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 follower base — including the ghosts.

So your 200 likes on a post? 
LinkedIn sees that as 2% engagement on 10K followers. Mediocre. Distribution slows.

Meanwhile, someone with 2,000 active followers gets 200 likes and LinkedIn sees 10% engagement. Exceptional. 


5.     The Hashtag Trap

Using hashtags should expand your reach, right? Not anymore.
Posts with 3+ hashtags now consistently underperform posts with 0-2 hashtags. But here's the strange part: it's not gradual. At exactly 3 hashtags, we see a 15-20% reach drop. At 5+, it's 35%+.

LinkedIn's spam detection now treats hashtag stacking as a manipulation signal. The very feature designed to help discovery is now triggering suppression.

The algorithm isn't evil. It's just optimizing for metrics we can't see. Understanding these hidden rules won't guarantee virality. But ignoring them guarantees suppression.

Which of these surprises you the most? Drop a number (1-5) in the comments

Helping B2B Sales & Marketing Teams Turn LinkedIn into a Lead Generation & Business Growth Engine | Social Selling Expert | International Keynote Speaker| 4x Investor

Your 2024 LinkedIn tactics are killing your 2026 reach.
Lifespan of posts have changed, and this is how you can extend them

Please understand this. The algorithm didn't just update. 
It fundamentally shifted — from network-based to interest-based.

Here's what that means for your post lifespan:

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗻:
• 20% of total reach in first hour
• 65% in first 24 hours
• 85% in first 48 hours
• Post dies around 84 hours

How to extend it? Likes, comments, engagement from your connections and followers. Being relevant to your inner-circle.

Boost tactics? Pods. Replying to every comment.

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗻:
• 40% of total reach in first hour (2x faster!)
• 55% in first 24 hours
• 65% in first 48 hours
• Last 5% often comes after 6-8 days

How to extend it? Saves, reposts, comments from 2nd and 3rd degree connections. Being relevant to your Interest Cluster.

Boost tactics? Paid promotion. Getting into Suggested Posts.

See the shift?

In 2024, your network decided your reach.
In 2026, your topic relevance decides your reach.

Your connections don't matter as much anymore.
Your content's fit to interest clusters matters more.

Pods? Mostly useless now — the algorithm sees through same-network engagement patterns.

The new currency? 
Strangers saving and reposting your content.

𝟰 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲:

1. Write for saves, not just likes. Ask yourself: "Would someone bookmark this to reference later?"

2. Create repost-worthy content. Give people something they want to share with their audience — not just react to.

3. Target interest clusters, not your network. Your ICP might be a 3rd-degree connection who's never heard of you.

4. Front-load value in the first hour. 40% of your reach happens there — make those first 60 minutes count.

The algorithm isn't broken.
It just stopped caring about who you know.

Now it only cares about what you know — and who needs to hear it.

Still optimizing for 2024? 
You're already behind.

Which shift surprises you most — the speed (40% in first hour) or the extended tail (6-8 days)?

Jarrod Best-Mitchell

$100MUSD+ in Client Revenue Generated | Helping Individuals Stand Out on LinkedIn | Sales Trainer | Sales Coach | LinkedIn Trainer | LinkedIn Profile Optimization | Social Selling Trainer | Keynote Speaker

Whether you’re a business looking to empower your Sales team or an individual wanting to take your LinkedIn game to the next level, I've been able to make an impact across the Caribbean using my unique combination of Sales and LinkedIn experience. 

OH - I'm also known for my obsession with the colour yellow. You'll see it in ALLLLLLL of my content. 

To learn more about what I do Reach out via LinkedIn visit www.jarrodbestmitchell.com to schedule a consultation and learn how I can help you achieve your goals.


SALES |LINKEDIN | YELLOW

Ambassador

There are 100 Sales AI tools that focus on salespeople.

Humantic AI is the only one that focuses on buyers.

It is a Buyer Intelligence platform for revenue teams.

Top revenue teams use Humantic's Personality AI to identify early adopters, help their BDRs personalize outreach and enable their AEs with vital customer insights for every deal.

Happy International Men's Day. 
To my Dad - The greatest man I know
My brother - Jason Best-Mitchell who is the prime example of a great dad!
My Uncle Andrew Viarruel the 1st sales person I knew.

And many others. 
Lyndon Brathwaite my brother in sales.
Keron Rose - my entrepreneurial inspiration 
Randy Teeluck and many other GREAT MEN. 

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL MEN'S DAY

Many thanks to Stacy Quan and Richard Quan for the invite to speak to their audience of estheticians, spa owners and skin care professionals today. 

My message was simple.
🟨 Grow revenues from your existing clients. 
🟨 Use them to create your ideal client profile and buyer personas and attract new clients. 
🟨 Create a ton of content about their business. 

I got the audience to engage and even got a few questions which made the talk wven better!

Even though the industry was different the challenges are the same. 

Ever business wants to do these three things as well. 

And to not do it and rely only on word of mouth not a good strategy. 

I think  I convinced some of them to change that going forward. 

I'm grateful for it. 

P.S. no one even noticed my giant pores.

I keep telling persons ICATT's conference isnt just for accountants and financial professionals. 

If your business uses money then you should attend this. 

Not just for the speakers but for the persons in the room and getting a chance to speak to them on their perspectives.

The topics are super relevant to everyone. 

Right now I'm listening to Chay Gomez crush his presentation on Risk Redefined. 

Earlier Anthony Norman Sabga III touched in turning disruption in opportunities. 

The perspectives are wide and deep. 

Also, I'm like a fish out of water. I know so little but I'm willing to ask questions to learn to understand their perspectives. 

This is my third year attending and I'm getting massive value...again. 

At the end of the day these are the persons that approve our budgets for training. 

No matter how you view 2026's outlook these are the persons you should be having discussions with. 

Speaking of 2026. I can't wait to see what Marsha Caballero and the ICATT - The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago bring next year. 

P.S. It's a two day conference. So that means tomorrow 21st Nov is the last day and the lineup is amazing. 

Yellow Out 💛

Want to sell without being salesy? 

Here are the ten principles that I focus on and go deep on in the article. 

1. Understand Why People Really Buy
2. Increase Revenues From Existing Clients
3. Build a Recommendation Matrix
4. Know Your Numbers
5. Train Your Customers To Refer You Properly
6. Get Video Testimonials, Not Pretty Graphics
7. Create Ideal Client Profiles That Are Extremely Specific
8. Treat Your Phone Like a Personal Billboard
9. Start One New Conversation Every Day
10. Build a Personal Brand That Brings the Right People and Filters Out the Wrong Ones

If you're a service provider in the Caribbean you will find this useful. 

Yellow Out 💛

If you want to increase sales without feeling salesy, these are the ten things I want you to understand and if you do them consistently you will see a

Open article: 10 Things Service Providers In the Caribbean Can Do To Increase Sales by Jarrod Best-Mitchell • 8 min read

10 Things Service Providers In the Caribbean Can Do To Increase Sales

Coaching increases any training's ROI. 

It keeps the momentum. 

It allows for a deeper dive on what was taught. 

It gives everyone the opportunity to see how it is used in the field. 

It makes what was taught stick...

And for every manager saying it costs too much think about this. 

Right after training performance spikes...then it dips. Sometimes back to the previous performance levels or even lower. 

That happens about 50% of the time. 

Coaching keeps that performance going. 

It avoids your team from going back to their od ways. 

Give them tailored strategies to achieve their quotas consistently. 

Boosts their confidence and your revenues for the long term.

This isn't a too good to be true. 

It's a payoff too easy not to take....

Don't just train your team....coach your team..

Yellow Out 💛

If 10% of your followers on social media brought from youn would that be enough to sustain your business. 

Yes? Then here's what you can do to make that hapoen. 

If someone follows you on your social media account a great way to start the conversation is with a message....a video message. 

Think about that. 

A personal outreach to start the conversation.

They followed you for a reason. 

Why not ask? 

And I gave this example at my last sales talk. 

This was for spa owners. 

Message each follower. Say thanks for following. Invite them to check out your services. 

But use their engagement (the follow) to start the conversation. 

Let me know if this helps. 

P.S. Don't forget my LinkedIn Optimization Workkshop is on December 2nd. Register here - https://lnkd.in/exPziGv6

taplio

The Battle

Richard van der Blom

Jarrod Best-Mitchell

Followers

Posts

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Performance ScoreRichard van der Blom's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJarrod Best-Mitchell's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Richard van der Blom

Jarrod Best-Mitchell

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Richard van der Blom's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJarrod Best-Mitchell's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreRichard van der Blom's LinkedIn Performance