LinkedIn is one of the most widely used social media websites for professionals today. With over 500 million users worldwide, utilizing the platform to enhance sales engagement can really make an impact on any sales process.
In this video, Austin Kerr, an enterprise sales team member at Salesloft, shares with us how to use LinkedIn to dominate the sales process. Austin explains the importance of LinkedIn for researching leads, connecting with peers, or having an up-to-date profile to make the best first impression.
Hey everyone, my name is Austin Kerr. I am a member of the enterprise sales team here at Salesloft, and today I want to talk to you about one of the sales person’s most popular tools: LinkedIn.
Today, 61 million LinkedIn users are in senior level influencing positions, and 40 million are in decision making positions. So, it’s no surprise that LinkedIn is so heavily used. In fact, it’s the second most used social media network behind Facebook. It’s comprised of over 500 million professionals, and it’s chock-full of technical information like job history, title, and company, as well as qualitative information like interests and recent posts.
Let’s take a look at three ways that you can use LinkedIn to successfully dominate any sale.
Odds are your LinkedIn profile is one of the first results when you Google your name. This means that it’s the first impression that people have of you. So make sure that it aligns with the way that you want them to view you. Make sure to have a professional profile picture and a concise, descriptive summary. The summary is your elevator pitch. Highlight your most relevant experience and what you can offer to your target audience.
Now, let’s talk connections.
Networking is probably the reason that you’re on LinkedIn in the first place. When you’re growing your network focus on those that hold real value. Otherwise, the things that matter will just get lost in the noise. Focus on professional relationships that you’re actually interested in developing. Look for those that you can share knowledge with, gain advice from, and also offer solutions to. When you find a connection with a prospect, whether it be a mutual friend, previous employer or alma mater, mention that in your initial email. A mutual friend or a common interest is a warm lead.
Now that you’ve established a strong foundation with LinkedIn, let’s take a look at how sales engagement software can help.
A whopping 52% of other steps within Salesloft are already LinkedIn actions. Now you can formalize this whether you’re already using LinkedIn to sell, or just getting started. Add various LinkedIn steps directly to your cadences to prompt specific, recorded actions. Whether you request to connect, request an introduction, or send an InMail, be sure that you use the same litmus test that you use for communicating via other channels. Am I adding value? If not, hold off until you can. You can simply add any of these steps to any of your cadences to vary your touchpoints. These activities live where you live, whether that be Salesloft, Salesforce, or your email inbox.
Thanks for watching. I hope you’ve learned how to get the most out of LinkedIn in every deal. Feel free to drop questions or comments below. Thanks for watching, and have a great day.
Have you heard? Salesloft now offers a brand new option to add to your cadences: LinkedIn Sales Navigator steps! Find out more here.