Part II: Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales?
Part II: Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales?
Yet many sellers have learned how to leverage LinkedIn to drive more sales. They view it as an additional resource that supports their prospecting efforts. Here's how your peers are using LinkedIn to grow their business.
Launching Account Entry Campaigns
Kent Speakman of Suitcase Interactive says: We're very deliberate in pursuing certain targeted accounts. LinkedIn is a tool that allows our business development department to look for connections or contacts within their network they already know.
For example, when creating an account entry campaign for larger organizations, my team generates a list of people within the organization to be contacted to discuss our value proposition. By spending a short time span looking at the contacts they have, and who their contacts know, we can then ask for introductions to people at the target account. We usually have a much warmer response if we do it this way.
Connecting with CxOs
Stu Garrow, Managing Director of Software Traction Pty, Ltd adds: I've used Linked-In a few times to discover that the CxO who I was trying to meet with was a contact of one of my direct contacts. It certainly opened some doors when I needed it, but it isn't a replacement for proper research. Accessing second level contacts works, but 3rd, 4th and 5th level contacts would be a very long shot at success.
Inside Information
Nick Ehrman, Director of New Business Development, VOLTAGGIO JOHNSON says:
I always look everyone up. You can glean all sorts of info this way. You can learn where someone has worked, where they went to school, hobbies and more. You can also find out who they're linked to. Knowing "who knows who" is powerful. Plus, the idea is to become a subject matter expert, right? Well, LinkedIn is a cool tool to help that along.
Replacing Cold Calling
John-Erich Mantius, Director of Business Development at Arvato Digital Services offers this advice: While not everyone you'd like to know is in LinkedIn and the database is only as reliable as those users who keep their profiles updated, I find that it's an indispensable part of my sales tool kit.
I'm pretty methodical about using it regularly to determine if anyone in my network "knows somebody who knows somebody." I'd prefer not cold-calling. Even if my network comes up empty, I'm sure to find someone at the company I was going to cold call who can help me navigate into an organization.
An example: At a conference last month, I was looking for the head of supply chain at one of the leading headset manufacturers in the US. I got the name, but the person was not sure of the spelling. Back in the office, I tried a few different ways of spelling his name on LinkedIn and voila ... confirmed I had the right person.
Alas, his profile was out of date. A quick Google search eliminated any doubt who I needed to call as a press release confirmed he'd left and where he was working now.
Sure, a Google search could have eliminated LinkedIn altogether, but what it could not do is tell me who within my network could connect me to my targeted contact. Continuing my search within LinkedIn, I found additional relevant contacts at this manufacturer. Now that I had the e-mail protocol, I could add their names to my contact manager and begin strategizing my sales approach.
Assessing Interest
Dan Coates, Co-Founder of SurveyU - The Voice of the American Student writes: I recently started a company that provides marketing data on the college student population. We're a new entrant within a new space. It's tough identifying prospects as not all marketers have an interest in collegians.
Sending InMails via LinkedIn is a great way to qualify interest. Rather than cold calling into an organization and pestering people, we simply send InMails that ask if the target knows of anyone within their organization that would be interested in knowing more about college students. It's easy for someone to ignore an InMail if they aren't interested.
Three out of ten InMails result in a response. One out of three responses lead to an actual conversation with an interested party. Results like this simply can't be achieved via telephone.
Making a Connection
Michael Siersema, Managing Partner/CEO, Phoenix2000 Group LLC, says: We are a small consulting company and needed to reach the VP of Sales of a larger company. Repeated attempts to connect had failed.
I used LinkedIn to find the individual and found 5 different paths that connected with her. I sent different messages through 2nd, 3rd and 4th level connections to get to her. I sent out my requests to have people forward my request to talk with her on Thursday. Tuesday she called me and asked why four different people suggested she call me and ask me the question I had posed to all five connections.
Finding the Decision Maker
Anonymous adds: I use LinkedIn as a "people finder." For example, I wanted to get into technology company in my area. I typed their name into the company search field. Then I perused who came up. I found a guy who was Director of Financial Services.
I then "cold" emailed him using their corporate email pattern. He wrote back and told me he was leaving, but I should contact his replacement. He then gave me the replacement's email address, I wrote him an email and was successful in getting an appointment. This lead to an initial project of $35,000 with more to come.
I've done this before with similar results at other companies. I'm a HUGE fan of LinkedIn for this reason. It only really works well if you've got 50+ contacts though.
Research & Relationships
Rennie Filler, an account exec from Austin shares: I use LinkedIn to research the background and career experience of my customer. LinkedIn tells me where they went to college and their major. It details their past career experience and positions held, and it reveals their specific personal interests and unique expertise.
Through LinkedIn, I've discovered that my customers and I share the same interests or know the same people. I leverage those interests and connections in my rapport/trust building phase of the relationship.
Even better, I'm now aware of how they got to their current position, how long they've been in that position, and what their job responsibilities are at their current company. I leverage that knowledge to help me understand my customer's role in the organization and his/her role in the final decision making process.
Most importantly, after the deal is won, I invite my new customer to join my LinkedIn network. This helps me keep in touch with them for up-selling opportunities and to keep an eye on their network for referral selling.
An finally, if my customer leaves the company I am able to find out where they are going and I am provided the opportunity to continue to engage with them and sell to them throughout the rest of their career.
My success comes from building lasting friendships with my customers. LinkedIn provides an excellent platform that assists me in this success.
In Summary
Savvy sellers are using LinkedIn to research their prospects, find decision makers, assess interest and build relationships. They're leveraging this information and their connections to crack into corporate accounts and win big contracts.
LinkedIn is a tool that augments your business development efforts. It also can shorten the time it takes to get your foot in the door. Finally, it's a great way to keep in touch with your customers when they move on.
Hopefully you're starting to see the potential in this online network – because it's there, waiting for us to embrace it.
----
Don't forget to check out the other 3 articles in the Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales? series. You'll be glad you did!
Part II Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Jill Konrath's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
LinkedIn, the online business networking site, connects over 17 million experienced professionals from over 150 countries. Yikes! That's so many that it makes my head spin. While I'd love to think that potential customers would flock to me once they read my profile, the truth of it is – they haven't.
Yet many sellers have learned how to leverage LinkedIn to drive more sales. They view it as an additional resource that supports their prospecting efforts. Here's how your peers are using LinkedIn to grow their business.
Launching Account Entry Campaigns
Kent Speakman of Suitcase Interactive says: We're very deliberate in pursuing certain targeted accounts. LinkedIn is a tool that allows our business development department to look for connections or contacts within their network they already know.
For example, when creating an account entry campaign for larger organizations, my team generates a list of people within the organization to be contacted to discuss our value proposition. By spending a short time span looking at the contacts they have, and who their contacts know, we can then ask for introductions to people at the target account. We usually have a much warmer response if we do it this way.
Connecting with CxOs
Stu Garrow, Managing Director of Software Traction Pty, Ltd adds: I've used Linked-In a few times to discover that the CxO who I was trying to meet with was a contact of one of my direct contacts. It certainly opened some doors when I needed it, but it isn't a replacement for proper research. Accessing second level contacts works, but 3rd, 4th and 5th level contacts would be a very long shot at success.
Inside Information
Nick Ehrman, Director of New Business Development, VOLTAGGIO JOHNSON says:
I always look everyone up. You can glean all sorts of info this way. You can learn where someone has worked, where they went to school, hobbies and more. You can also find out who they're linked to. Knowing "who knows who" is powerful. Plus, the idea is to become a subject matter expert, right? Well, LinkedIn is a cool tool to help that along.
Replacing Cold Calling
John-Erich Mantius, Director of Business Development at Arvato Digital Services offers this advice: While not everyone you'd like to know is in LinkedIn and the database is only as reliable as those users who keep their profiles updated, I find that it's an indispensable part of my sales tool kit.
I'm pretty methodical about using it regularly to determine if anyone in my network "knows somebody who knows somebody." I'd prefer not cold-calling. Even if my network comes up empty, I'm sure to find someone at the company I was going to cold call who can help me navigate into an organization.
An example: At a conference last month, I was looking for the head of supply chain at one of the leading headset manufacturers in the US. I got the name, but the person was not sure of the spelling. Back in the office, I tried a few different ways of spelling his name on LinkedIn and voila ... confirmed I had the right person.
Alas, his profile was out of date. A quick Google search eliminated any doubt who I needed to call as a press release confirmed he'd left and where he was working now.
Sure, a Google search could have eliminated LinkedIn altogether, but what it could not do is tell me who within my network could connect me to my targeted contact. Continuing my search within LinkedIn, I found additional relevant contacts at this manufacturer. Now that I had the e-mail protocol, I could add their names to my contact manager and begin strategizing my sales approach.
Assessing Interest
Dan Coates, Co-Founder of SurveyU - The Voice of the American Student writes: I recently started a company that provides marketing data on the college student population. We're a new entrant within a new space. It's tough identifying prospects as not all marketers have an interest in collegians.
Sending InMails via LinkedIn is a great way to qualify interest. Rather than cold calling into an organization and pestering people, we simply send InMails that ask if the target knows of anyone within their organization that would be interested in knowing more about college students. It's easy for someone to ignore an InMail if they aren't interested.
Three out of ten InMails result in a response. One out of three responses lead to an actual conversation with an interested party. Results like this simply can't be achieved via telephone.
Making a Connection
Michael Siersema, Managing Partner/CEO, Phoenix2000 Group LLC, says: We are a small consulting company and needed to reach the VP of Sales of a larger company. Repeated attempts to connect had failed.
I used LinkedIn to find the individual and found 5 different paths that connected with her. I sent different messages through 2nd, 3rd and 4th level connections to get to her. I sent out my requests to have people forward my request to talk with her on Thursday. Tuesday she called me and asked why four different people suggested she call me and ask me the question I had posed to all five connections.
Finding the Decision Maker
Anonymous adds: I use LinkedIn as a "people finder." For example, I wanted to get into technology company in my area. I typed their name into the company search field. Then I perused who came up. I found a guy who was Director of Financial Services.
I then "cold" emailed him using their corporate email pattern. He wrote back and told me he was leaving, but I should contact his replacement. He then gave me the replacement's email address, I wrote him an email and was successful in getting an appointment. This lead to an initial project of $35,000 with more to come.
I've done this before with similar results at other companies. I'm a HUGE fan of LinkedIn for this reason. It only really works well if you've got 50+ contacts though.
Research & Relationships
Rennie Filler, an account exec from Austin shares: I use LinkedIn to research the background and career experience of my customer. LinkedIn tells me where they went to college and their major. It details their past career experience and positions held, and it reveals their specific personal interests and unique expertise.
Through LinkedIn, I've discovered that my customers and I share the same interests or know the same people. I leverage those interests and connections in my rapport/trust building phase of the relationship.
Even better, I'm now aware of how they got to their current position, how long they've been in that position, and what their job responsibilities are at their current company. I leverage that knowledge to help me understand my customer's role in the organization and his/her role in the final decision making process.
Most importantly, after the deal is won, I invite my new customer to join my LinkedIn network. This helps me keep in touch with them for up-selling opportunities and to keep an eye on their network for referral selling.
An finally, if my customer leaves the company I am able to find out where they are going and I am provided the opportunity to continue to engage with them and sell to them throughout the rest of their career.
My success comes from building lasting friendships with my customers. LinkedIn provides an excellent platform that assists me in this success.
In Summary
Savvy sellers are using LinkedIn to research their prospects, find decision makers, assess interest and build relationships. They're leveraging this information and their connections to crack into corporate accounts and win big contracts.
LinkedIn is a tool that augments your business development efforts. It also can shorten the time it takes to get your foot in the door. Finally, it's a great way to keep in touch with your customers when they move on.
Hopefully you're starting to see the potential in this online network – because it's there, waiting for us to embrace it.
----
Don't forget to check out the other 3 articles in the Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales? series. You'll be glad you did!
Part II Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Jill Konrath's Website.
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Dr. John OdaJohn Oda Ph.D NLP is a business peak performance expert, an author, and speaker frequently called upon to provide corporate training, workshops and seminars for many companies in the United States. He is an expert in coaching sales and business professionals in overcoming the behaviors and obstacles that may impede their sales results and affect their bottom line. Since 1995, John has created a speaking bureau such topics, which include: time management, sales training, human diversity, leadership programs and etc. He provides companies with a strategic plan to increase their bottom line by over 25 percent yearly. - Visit Dr. John Oda's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Joe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: http://www.business901.com Web/Blog: http://www.FundingYourNonprofit.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/business901 – Linked In http://www.twitter.com/business901 – Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Michel NerayMichel Neray has over 25 years of experience as an award-winning copywriter, an Internet pioneer, a tradeshow pitchman and a senior sales and marketing executive. An online pioneer, he was one of the first marketing professionals to embrace the Internet by building websites as early as 1993. In 1994, Michel co-authored a book entitled "The Great Crossover: Personal Confidence in the Age of the Microchip", which made it to Jack Canfield's Achiever's Recommended Reading List. Michel founded Portfolios.com in 1995, the world's first online source directory for creative professionals and one of the first websites based on community generated content. Since creating The Essential Message in 2003, Michel has helped thousands of independent professionals and entrepreneurs as well as growing corporations find a better way to differentiate, position and brand themselves. In 2005, his chapter "Everything Starts With A Conversation" was selected as the lead for the book, "Sales Gurus Speak Out" and re-published in 2008 for 'Awakening The Workplace Volume 3'. He is also a co-author of "In the Company of Leaders" (2008) with 40 top North American leadership experts. - Visit Michel Neray's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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 Jill Konrath (Visit Jill's Website) Jill Konrath, author of "Selling to Big Companies" helps salespeople crack into corporate accounts and win big contracts. She is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and industry events. Her own client list is proof positive that Jill knows exactly what she's talking about. She's worked with such well-known corporate giants as 3M, General Mills, Carlson Companies, Medtronic, UnitedHealthcare, Hilton and many others. Jill also writes a leading on-line newsletter that’s being read today by over 20,000 sellers from around the world. Most recently she’s been featured in Selling Power, Entrepreneur, The New York Times, Sales & Marketing Excellence – and the list goes on! For more information: - Visit her website at: http;//www. sellingtobigcompanies.com - Check out her blog at: sellingtobigcompanies.blogs.com - eMail her at jill@sellingtobigcompanies.com
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