There is no doubt that LinkedIn is the best social media platform for Business to Business (B2B) Salespeople. Every second, two new members join. What can LinkedIn do for you as a Professional Salesperson? What should you not expect from it? How do you best create a great profile that increases the opportunity for sales? Here are the straight facts from my own personal experience.
While the business world is realizing the incredible power of LinkedIn, there is a lot of information floating around the internet. Depending on what information you wish to trust and believe, you should understand some basic facts about LinkedIn.
I am a Professional Sales Trainer, Revenue Consultant and Author who bases his work in Western Canada. I concentrate on two primary ways of driving business to my B2B company.
1. Organic Search on Google – I concentrate on specific keywords with geographical targets. When business owners and decision makers seek to hire a sales training company in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver or Victoria they will find PROSALESGUY TRAINING prominent.
2. Organic Search, Personal Branding and Industry Positioning on LinkedIn – This B2B social media platform is starting to rival the results I receive with Google. It is not my style to beat my chest and attempt to impress you with my LinkedIn success. Feel free to put my name into the LinkedIn search engine and do your own research. I am always happy to connect with like-minded business people.
Here are some statistics from June 2013. Being Canadian, I have focused my research to my home country. Worldwide statistics are readily available through a Google Search.
While we all know the power of LinkedIn, you will read articles that will make some incredibly bold claims. Please take note of the source of the information and use your discretion toward any potential bias and agenda of the information. In other words, think for yourself before you take any specific proactive actions. In my opinion, LinkedIn is not…
Why abandon what works? Add LinkedIn to your existing, proven methods of B2B engagement for the best, combined results.
Proper Engagement!
While so many B2B professionals have a Profile, very few people have one that best positions them. Even fewer know how to use it properly. Here is the best article I've ever read on how to create and proactively leverage your LinkedIn Profile.
The author, Melonie Dodaro gives you her 21 Steps to the Perfect LinkedIn Profile. I am such an advocate of her work, I was pleased to publicize her LinkedIn expertise in my book SHUT UP! Stop Talking and Start Making Money. She was gracious enough to also endorse my book and its six chapters on how Professional Salespeople can use all forms of social media to increase sales.
If you really want to take your LinkedIn Profile to the next level, then click the link and get started.
I am always interested in your comments. Please free to give me your opinion. This Blog’s primary purpose is to provide education, insight and a forum for interaction.
Thanks for reading!
Dave,
Count me among the skeptics.
Having spent sufficient time on LinkedIN over the past few years (though undoubtedly not as much as you), I have serious doubts as to how much actual business the typical user can attribute to it. It's one of those things that sounds good in theory, but yields much less in fact.
I have many connections and endorsements there. But I can't recall a single case where these have translated into actual business, and I'm certainly in a position to measure it.
Now, if I were looking for a job, I can see where all these connections might be useful. But I'm not seeking employment, so the point is moot.
Can you quantify any speaking/consulting gigs you've won through LinkedIN? Just curious.
I followed the radio groups there for awhile, but eventually abandoned the visits and unsubscribed from the emails, which were full of spammers and self-promoters, producing lots of heat but very little light.
Anyhow, I enjoyed your post - as I usually do - but for me, anyway, LinkedIN fails to inspire.
(Unlike this community...a different story altogether!)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Rod. I always welcome open comment to anything I post on RSC. I will be the first to admit that the best attitude and expectation with any form of social media is a very long period of delayed gratification with little immediate agenda. It takes faith and years of dedication to see any concrete, justifable results.
To achieve eventual recognition that will contribute in some form to sales, you have to be consistent and persistent in your efforts. I have yet to experience a decision maker email or call me saying - "Wow, that article on LinkedIn was great, Dave! We need to talk with you about training our Salespeople." Most potential B2B decision makers viewing content on LinkedIn are as skeptical as the person who receives your unsolicited cold call.
Yet, I know that my target market is reading my content. This means they are initially engaging with me as a B2B Salesperson on the basis of value in expertise. Here's what has specifically occurred through the use of LinkedIn, YouTube, Blogging, Twitter and Radio Sales Cafe. I put them all in the category of goodwill and future relationships that might bring business.
1. I have had specific inquiries from Salespeople who have read my content. A few have attempted to convince their Sales Managers to hire me. In the meantime, they have purchased my book. I'm appreciative of their support.
2. I have had Sales Managers email me thanking me for giving them great information for their Sales Meetings free of charge. Frankly, they are somewhat shocked that I openly tell them to take my posts and use them for their internal training. Like it, use it! I'm happy to help.
3. I did receive a booking for a Sales Workshop from someone who said that they enjoyed reading all of my content and was impressed by my LinkedIn Profile. I had never met the person previously.
4. Everyone of my current clients has viewed my profile many times over. I find this great for retention of business. One client has now had me set up all of their Salespeople with proper profiles. They claim they secured a piece of business in the first month when a purchasing agent noticed the profile of a former school buddy, now company Salesperson. The buyer asked for a proposal and based on timing and previous relationship, they confirmed the business.
To give any of RSC member an idea of how I use LinkedIn to build a community, please visit THE SALES FLOOR. 455 Professional Salespeople across the world belong to a group where I provide no charge sales insight, guidance and interaction. Because of my commitment to providing Salespeople with the opportunity to learn new techniques without expecting a form of payment, they support me, tell people about me and attempt to recommend me when they can. That creates inbound marketing, where the right decision makers reach out to me - the clients that fit my ideal customer profile.
Here's my biggest caution to all RSC members. DO NOT think that LinkedIn is a replacement for cold calling and other proven forms of prospecting. Do them all! If you feel that branding yourself as an expert in marketing will help you get noticed, then do it properly and then warm call the people who are reading your content.
I apologize for the length of this response, Rod, and hope you take it with the sincerity intended. We are both very passionate about what we believe in. I would like to help any RSC member increase their sales in 2015, and know you feel exactly the same way. Thanks for the opportunity to interact with you!
Outstanding response, Dave, and of course warmly received. Keep up the good work!
Dave,
I was on LinkedIN early on and continued with it for several years. It might be a good tool for someone in a large urban area, but for small markets, your time is better spent in attending as many events/mixers/groups as possible. While I didn't write articles as you do, I did actively participate in various forums and sought out others in my region. All that did for me is get me on the receiving end of some active spammers and a lot of junk e-mail. Even though I closed out my LinkedIN account two years ago, I still get requests from random people (who I have never met) to connect with me on LinkedIN. Since these are usually from men, I wonder how many see LinkedIN as a way to cruise for dates? I'm glad it has been a good use of your time, but for a busy Local Direct Sales Professional, I didn't find that it was a good use of my time. For people in midsized to small markets, getting involved with professional/business groups exposes you to more decision makers.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Lisa. What you are saying makes perfect sense. Anyone who is thinking about becoming active with LinkedIn might consider this. Put the geographical area of your target market into the LinkedIn search engine and see what pops up. How many people have profiles? Check to see if there are specific groups that have been created.
As always, nothing takes the precedent of a Face to Face interaction. If your engagement efforts are better suited in your area to community/professional/business participation, then think about the best way to be proactive. Don't just attend the meetings, take a leadership role within them. Here's perhaps some ideas that might make sense.
1. Start your own website, stressing the importance of marketing and branding in the community. Check out Marty Stevens, a Senior Account Executive from 790 CFCW - a very successful AM Country station. His clients love the idea that he goes above and beyond the efforts of most media Salespeople. If this is too daunting a task, start a newsletter where you send your clients great marketing information with no agenda to sell them package-of-the-week. Ask them to reply back if they would like to know how to apply the concepts locally with your expertise. Don't know where to get the information? Check out this free online app called ZITE.
2. Create a local relationship with a website developer. Bring that company into a Marketing Workshop, where you educate local business owners on the importance of using radio to drive traffic to a client website with an offer. Your credibility always improves when you suggest creative ideas.
You need to make the best decisions for client engagement based on your market. Once you determine that, then position yourself as the thought leader in the mind of the business owner. That eventually leads to market leader and creates inbound marketing as people reach out to you for assistance. Thanks for your comment Lisa. I appreciate it!
