Jill Konrath | Selling to Big Companies

Part III: Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales?

What can I do to be more effective? It's a question that's always on my mind. That's why I began this exploration of LinkedIn. I wanted to find out if and how sellers were leveraging this technology to improve their sales results.

In the final article of this 3-part series, you'll discover even more ways you can use this tool to create more opportunities, connect with decision makers and win more business. Again, real sellers and real results.

Strategic Visibility & Connecting
Tim Hayden, President of Game Plan Marketing & Events shares what he's trained his team to do with LinkedIn:

1. Focus on connecting. Anytime you receive a business card from its owner, you then "know" this person. While not everyone is a valuable link, search for that person on LinkedIn right away. Because you have their email, you can send them an invitation to connect.

2. Increase your visibility. Don't simply add people to your network. Ask or answer questions on LinkedIn. Make sure your public profile is complete. But most of all, recommend people in your network and ask them to recommend YOU!

Anytime you do any of the above, LinkedIn posts updates online or in weekly updates to everyone in your network.

3. Make LinkedIn your homepage. Whenever I open my browser, I can immediately review my "LinkedIn Home Page" which shows what others in my network are doing and who they're connecting with. I also check every 2-3 days to see "Who's Viewed My Profile." Just as you can use web statistics to see what companies are looking at your website, you can also see with about 80% accuracy who's been checking out your profile.

In the past two months, I've used these strategies to identify more than 20 new business leads –and converted two to clients!

Part II: Can LinkedIn Increase Sales?

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. I'd love to fantasize that a few of these people would stumble onto my profile, be suitably impressed and initiate contact. But so far, it hasn't turned out that way.

Yet many sellers have learned how to leverage LinkedIn to drive more sales. They're not sitting around waiting for their phone to ring. Instead, they're using it as an additional resource that supports their prospecting efforts.

Here's how your peers are using LinkedIn to grow their business. True stories. Real results.

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.

Louis' Elevator Story - Peeling the Onion

I loved this article by Charles Legalos, President of Critical Contacts, so much that I immediately asked him if I could share it with you. It's one of the best examples I've seen of how to transform an unwieldy "elevator speech" into a powerful, customer-enticing value proposition.  Believe me, I've met way too many Louis in my life!

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What Louis said…

We help clients assess their infrastructure to help them deploy a more robust network environment so that they can be productive in their business. So what we do is assess how their email server is set up and also their database environment in regards of one server managing email, exchange server, managing their file sharing, managing their print sharing, managing their overall entire network. Unfortunately, their servers often do not have the right processor or memory allocated for the purpose of what the client requires. So what we do is design a fully-deployed domain control with active directory so that the client can handle the amount of traffic they need for their business. So what we do is prepare a new server with a lot more ram and a lot more processor speed so that the machine is well equipped to handle multi-task and also deliver the resource that the client needs.

What Louis could’ve/should’ve said…

We are computer techs. Recently, we reduced operating costs by $47,000 a year for one of our client’s by making some simple changes to their computer system.

This is how we helped him get from what he said to what he wanted to say…

Step 1: Removed all technical terms (Green type)

We help clients assess their infrastructure to help them deploy a more robust network environment so that they can be productive in their business. So what we do is assess how their email server is set up and also their database environment in regards of one server managing email, exchange server, managing their file sharing, managing their print sharing, managing their overall entire network. Unfortunately, their server often does not have the right processor or memory allocated for the purpose of what the client requires. So what we do is design a fully-deployed domain control with active directory so that the client can handle the amount of traffic they need for their business. So what we do is prepare a new server with a lot more RAM and a lot more processor speed so that the machine is well equipped to handle multi-tasks and also deliver the resource that the client needs.

Step 2: Removed big and/or abstract words (underlined green type)

Want Referrals? Check This Out.

Last week I was in California speaking to M-Squared and the Bay Area Consultants' Network. During my visit, I had a chance to get together with Joanne Black, author of No More Cold Calling.

On my flight home, I read her book from cover-to-cover. Initially I was skeptical since I'm not a big fan of networking. But Joanne assured me her approach was different.

She's right. Here's the review I posted today on Amazon:

If you're not asking for and leveraging referrals to increase your sales, you're making a big mistake. This is especially true in today's corporate environment where decision makers seldom answer the phone, roll all calls to voicemail and never call you back.

In No More Cold Calling, Joanne Black outlines a pathway to build your business via referrals. She very pointedly differentiates between hopeful networking versus strategic referral generation. She stresses the need to:

- Clearly define your ideal customer.
- Focus in on their critical business issues.
- Know your value proposition and ROI.
- Invite others to open the door for you.

For those of you who have read my book (Selling to Big Companies), you'll find this to be a perfect compliment since it tackles a subject I only briefly touch on. And, if you hate to ask for referrals, you need to read No More Cold Calling too.

Networking Questions for the Tongue-Tied Soul

Going to networking events is tough. It's really awkward to walk into an association meeting, trade show or after-hours event when you don't know a soul who is there. Everyone else seems to be engaged in discussions with long-lost buddies and there you stand, desperately looking around for even one friendly face.

While some of you may blossom in situations like this, for many of us it's a real effort to be there. Perhaps torture would be a better word. But if your prospective customers are in attendance, being a wallflower just isn't going to do it. You have to face into your fears and initiate a conversation.

My friend Bob Burg, author of the bestselling book Endless Referrals, recommends these questions to establish great rapport with someone you've just met:

• How did you get your start in the ___ business?
  People like to be the movie of the week in someone else's mind. Let them share their story with you while you actively listen.
  
  
• What do you enjoy most about your professions?
  This question elicits a positive response and good feelings.

• What separates you and your company from the competition?
  This question gives them permission to brag about their business.