Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales?

As a self-professed technophobe, using social media such as LinkedIn is not second nature to me. I force myself to experiment with these new mediums knowing that ultimately they'll have an impact on the selling profession - even though I'm still unsure what it might be.

About 2 years ago, I set up my profile on LinkedIn. It was sterile & boring, conveying only enough to enable me to say I had an online presence. Then last year I read entrepreneurial guru Guy Kawasaki's blog article on his LinkedIn Profile Extreme Makeover and felt compelled to redo mine based on what I learned.

Since then, I've accepted numerous invitations to connect, yet fretted if I should since many came from total strangers. I've written a few recommendations and received a few.

Mostly I was a passive observer - waiting for some sales miracles to happen. Of course, they never did and I began to doubt LinkedIn's ability to deliver real tangible results.

Not wanting to quit too soon, I began answering sales and business development questions on LinkedIn. Why would I help total strangers? I saw it as an opportunity to demonstrate my expertise, as well as to get exposure with potential prospects for my services.

Nothing much happened as a result, but still I suspected that I'd barely tapped into the power of LinkedIn. That's when I discovered I'm on LinkedIn - Now What? by Jason Alba, the CEO of JibberJobber. I was ready for his help.

Immediately I discovered that I was a "promiscuous linker", willing to hook up with anyone who approached me. (Please don't tell my mother.) But I also learned it was okay.

In his book, Alba shares a whole slew of uses I'd never even thought of before. If you're just starting out, it'll help you get going right away. One thing that intrigued me was when he talked about why & how to ask a question on LinkedIn. I decided to give it a try.

Since I was still trying to discover how to best leverage this social media, here's the question I posted:

Question: As a seller, how do you use LinkedIn to increase your sales?

Explanation: I'm writing an article for my Selling to Big Companies newsletter on this topic. I'd like to include specific examples to help my readers learn how they can leverage this tool. Since I'm a bit of a technophobe, my experience with Linked In is rather limited. If you can tell me how you've used LinkedIn to open doors, create opportunities and grow your business, I'd really appreciate it.

Social media guru Scott Allen, coauthor of The Virtual Handshake and managing director at Link to Your World, was the first to respond. Here are his invaluable suggestions:
_____

LinkedIn can be used to support the entire sales lifecycle: lead generation, sales acceleration and solution delivery. Let's look at each of these pieces:

Lead Generation
Find and be found. Search by title and industry for the ideal contacts at your ideal customers. Search by title and company name for specific target customers. Be sure your profile is complete and contains the appropriate keywords for your business so that people looking for your solution will find you. Endorsements/recommendations count for a lot – get them from people who have actually been your clients if at all possible.

Sales Acceleration
Search for people in your prospect's company who are not closely involved in your deal - preferably 2nd degree contacts, not 3rd degree. Ask for an informational interview. This is where strong, trusted relationships count for a lot - "light linking" breaks down here.

Ask your interview subject about the priorities that are going on at the company — what are the high-level factors that might be influencing the buying process. Be completely open/transparent. If you have a good solution and a really good referral to a true "friend of a friend", you will very likely find an internal champion in that person. This is the #1 technique that LinkedIn supports better than any other tool.

Solution Delivery
Quite often, especially for small businesses, you can't do it all yourself. LinkedIn is invaluable for finding partners with particular skill sets who can help you deliver the total solution. In addition to searching, you can post questions asking about the solution area you need expertise in and use that as a way to attract potential partners.

Excellent ideas. And that was just the start of my learning. Numerous LinkedIn users responded to my question. I'll be sharing their success stories in upcoming posts.

In the meantime, if you don't have a profile on LinkedIn, get going. If your profile is mundane or skeletal, flush it out and inject some personality in it. Social media can have a significant impact on sales. You don't want to let these opportunities slip through your fingers.

---

PLEASE share how you're using LinkedIn to increase your sales! I'll be writing more on this topic soon. Your insights are requested!

Comments

[Trish Bertuzzi]

Great post! I recently attended a breakfast seminar hosted by Basho Strategies. They are a training company and the theme of the seminar was around how to use LinkedIn more effectively.

In a nutshell, you have to set a goal for yourself. My goal is one referral a day. I go through my network and ask one of my contacts for a referral every single day.
It takes no more than 15 minutes and I have already reaped the rewards!

Thanks again for a great post.

[Michael Goodman]

Hello Jill,

Always a pleasure to read your blogs. I recently asked a similar question on Linkedin and was awarded with a tremendous amount of answers. You can read about it here.
http://tinyurl.com/39tmgs (cut and paste to browser if you don't see the link)

The essence was at what point does social media no longer assist sales and begin to waste time. Some of the answers were spectacular. One fellow pointed me to his free e-book called the "Passive Pipeline" I have no doubt you will enjoy it. If you google on Passive Pipeline you should find the free copy as well.

On a sales note using Linkedin, they do not like to be thought of as a sales tool as much as a networking tool. How people want to be contacted is typically listed at the bottom of their profile. However, I have used the tool effectively, honoring the wishes of the people I wanted to know using simple methods of getting to know them first and then asking their assistance.

Imagine going to a networking event where someone says, please only talk to me about new careers, someone else says I am interested in new vendor relationships. That is kind of what Linkedin does on the web.

Thank you for being you. I will send you a request to link and now because we have been properly introduced, I am sure your Mom will not frown at us for being promiscuous

Warmest regards,
Michael Goodman
Executive Director,
International Sales Pros Association,
www.gosalespros.com

[JibberJobber Guy]

great post, and great resources from Scott Allen. Thanks for linking to my book, too :)

If I could, I'd like to suggest something to Trish (or the other readers). This is even in line with Michael's comment about sales vs. network, or the idea of how you use LI and approach people.

Instead of asking for a referral every day... what if you GAVE a referral every day?

Think about it... instead of coming to me and saying "please do this for me," you would surprise me by sending me an e-mail that says "Trish has recommended you - check out all the great things that she has to say about you."

I would get that e-mail in my inbox and be totally flattered. And guess what, in the process to approve/show this recommendation on my profile, LinkedIn says "want to return the favor? Click here to recommend Trish."

A lot of people are in a terrific mood and will reciprocate.

And you've nurtured your relationship by first giving.

Cool, eh?

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber
Author - I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What???
Co-author - I'm on Facebook -- Now What???

[Trish Bertuzzi]

Jason, thanks for the feedback and without a doubt it is better to give than receive!

As far as LinkedIN, I only accept connections to people I know and respect and they join my network because they want access to it - which I give them gladly. But...they have to ask for introductions and referrals. I don't want to randomly connect people (way too promiscuous!) who will not provide value to each other so I make each introduction meaningful by truly knowing the needs of each contact. I never thought about it till you brought it up but I would have to assume I refer at least one person a day. I will start tracking it to make sure my karma does not get out of whack!

There is a great service out there that I consider to be another iteration of LinkedIN. You can find it at www.inquisix.com . This is a trusted referral network where people "trade" introductions. You have to give one to get one...interesting concept...

I look forward to reading your book and to a continued learning experience with Jill.

[Jill Konrath]

Michael, Jason, & Trish,

Thanks for your excellent ideas and resources.
- I love the idea of goal setting.
- I think giving before getting is well worth the effort.
- Great download & insights from others on the above LinkedIn post.

I encourage other visitors to share your LinkedIn strategies & successes too!

[tony]

good tips,thanks

[Jan]

I never found LinkedIn suitable as a sales tool. Social networking, sure - a tool to generate business? Not even close. We wrote a post about it today, explaining why we think LinkedIn won't help b2b salespeople sell.

[Renée Barrett]

The short answer to your opening question is a resounding YES! Online Social Networking is a new technology but it is not a new method for connecting or sharing information. If you haven't read Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point, I highly recommend it. His observations are at the heart of how to strategically utilize Online Social Networking successfully. Connectors, weak-ties, salesmen, and sticky messages are timeless tools for spreading ideas across great distances. The longer answer is contingent on your approach. To learn more, please check out my recent article PLACING BETS ON ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING: A Story of Social Capital Invested Wisely in LinkedIn. http://www.abanet.org/lpm/magazine/articles/v34/is1/pg43.shtml

Renée Barrett
www.linkedin.com/in/AAARenee

[Mou Mukherjee]

thanks for the post, Jill. I have used linkedin for the most part to connect with past colleagues, and to connect with current customers, and business partners. I have been very happy with just that so far. (I am in marketing, not sales). I don't know short-term, what other benefits are there, but I think people need to experiment and be creative, and think longer term about it. I have been looking for some ideas and guidelines about it, and I'm happy to find this post and the book!

[Geraldine Roy]

If you consider that LinkedIn can increase traffic to your Website, then I'd say "yes, it can increase your sales." For small businesses, Google Ad key words and SEO can be a bit of a long shot. Social media is an interesting approach for businesses that have limited resources. We track the origin of visitors to our website and found out that 15-20% come from LinkedIn. Again, that'a small business perspective but I'd say for B2B where most of the business comes from referrals, LinkedIn definitely has a play.

[Jason Gamby]

Hey haven't you heard of Virtudex.com? It's the best business social network. Invite only so here is the pass code - 1Z1code

[Karl Goldfield]

Jill,

I have used LinkedIn as an open networker for 2 years now. I have built a network of peers and contacts that effectively get me the following:

1. Reputation - I have built a small brand of my abilities and expertise through recommendations and best answers. I also have links to my blog, thus giving people access to my thoughts.

2. Hiring resource - I can find reps for myself and any recruiter I have a close relationship with. This pays dividends two ways (Referral fees $$$, I have made $2k twice) and lower cost to hire for myself. I also have built equity into several recruiters who know and trust me.

3. Job Search - I got my last two corporate gigs from LinkedIn. Also, I looked up my future employers and got to dig into their history.

4. While I have not officially closed anything, two months ago I started looking for consulting opportunities for me and a couple other possible partners. I have a potential gig in the summer, and have delivered a lead to a potential partner that could develop into a good amount of work for both of us. Mind you, I have spent very little effort here, as I have a full time gig. I do think that if I were to turn the throttle to 100%, LinkedIn will provide me with an inexhaustible amount of data on my prospective leads.

The review on your book is three away and will be up in mid-march. Keep adding value to the world and we will continue to appreciate it!

[Merra Lee Moffitt]

As a profitability coach, I'm interested in results. It's great to see the specific hints and tips being shared by people achieving successful sales and projects. I'll be sharing this with my clients.

[Jill]

I love LinkedIn. It started as a way to stay in touch with colleagues who had moved on. That alone was very valuable to me. It is nice to sustain those relationships.

Now, I use it to find and connect with prospective customers, meet new referral partners, share ideas and gain information.

As a small business, it is a way to build a reputation, also. This can work for or against you! LinkedIn's applications such as your reading list and a blog feed are ways to share your philosophies and expertise. I also am gathering recommendations and adding those to my profile.
On my e-mail signature, I have a link to my profile as a "bio".
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jillmyrick

I am still figuring out LinkedIn and it is quickly becoming my number one tool for growing my business effectively.

Also, my husband is a Recruiter and he and his partners use LinkedIn extensively. I'd say a good LI profile can aid in a job search from what I am seeing in their business.

Obviously, I'm a fan of LI - thanks for sharing tips and expertise on how to maximize this tool.

Jill
Meeting to Win, LLC