[{"title":"The LinkedIn Playbook for Searchers and Operators","description":"The Charlotte ETA Group | Monthly Meetup\n[The Charlotte ETA Group](https://www.the-clt-eta-group.org/) is fired up to welcome **Darren McKee**, founder of Darren McKee Co. and 531 Social, for:\n\"**The LinkedIn Playbook for Searchers and Operators**\"\n\nMost searchers send hundreds of messages to business owners.\nCold emails. Mailers. Broker lists.\nThen silence.\n\nThe buyers who get replies look different online. Before an owner answers you, they look you up. What they find either builds trust or kills the conversation.\n\nDarren McKee knows both sides of this. He started out selling HR and payroll solutions to small business owners, knocking on doors and working networking events. When the pandemic shut that down, he turned to LinkedIn and started writing. He hasn't missed a day since: 2,373 straight days of posting, 150K+ followers, and over 100 million impressions. That presence changed his career, and in 2024 he pivoted to teaching it full time. He has now trained 2,500+ executives, founders, and sales teams on turning a LinkedIn presence into real opportunities.\n\nIn this session, Darren will share what actually works on LinkedIn right now. How to build a profile that makes owners, investors, and partners take you seriously. How to show up consistently without it eating your life. How trust built online turns into meetings, deal flow, and revenue.\n\nAnd this part will be fun: Darren will review audience members' LinkedIn profiles live on stage. Bring your profile and some thick skin.\n\nWhether you're a searcher trying to get owners to reply, an operator building your company's reputation, or an advisor growing your practice, you will leave with changes you can make the next morning.\n\n📆 The Charlotte ETA Meetup is held on the first Wednesday of every month. This is suited for those new to Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition or seasoned investors.\n\nWe discuss people's past experiences in acquisitions, startups, and the corporate world across various industries.\n\n💪 Collectively, the search community is a powerful one. Both the process of looking for a business and operating one post-acquisition can be an incredibly challenging road.\n\n🤝 Networking, then a discussion with Darren, followed by more networking.\n\nSmall Business. Acquisitions. And Entrepreneurship.","link":"https://www.meetup.com/charlotte-entrepreneurship-through-acquisition-eta-meetup/events/316371139/","startDate":"2026-10-07T22:00:00.000Z","endDate":"2026-10-08T01:00:00.000Z"}]