HOW I GOT MY TOP 100 CLIENTS FROM LINKEDIN SOCIAL SELLING

As a founder of an Internet Marketing Company in a highly competitive environment, I quickly realized that we had to take our sales/branding efforts to the next level. One lesson I learned quite early on in my business was, I was representing my company/brand through my social profile, and by not paying attention to my profile I was underutilizing the power of Social Media.

Now after being actively engaged in LinkedIn Social Selling for the last 12 months, I believe one of the biggest advantages is that I never had to pick up my phone to make another cold call. Within the first few months of using LinkedIn Social Selling, I was able to get business from the most unexpected places/people.

While employment is a major portion of the LinkedIn, when it comes to being the network for building your own image, it is a perfect place to promote your content, generate leads and find partnership opportunities. If you are not using LinkedIn to grow your business you are “MISSING THE BOAT”.

Here’s what I’ve used to get myself started with Social Selling Service

NAILING THE PROFILE

The first thing I did before anything else was to assess my LinkedIn profile. I found it was optimized for recruiters instead of prospects/clients. Basically, I had a digital resume instead of a buyer focused LinkedIn profile. So I spent some time tweaking it for effective LinkedIn Social Selling. A complete profile is a must if you want to show your professionalism, highlight your credibility, and help attract inbound leads.

So pay particular attention to these areas when boosting your profile:

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Use a professional headshot –

Visuals matter and having a fine, professional photo makes a difference. But that doesn’t mean your profile picture should be stiff and very formal. It completely depends on your industry and preference but should avoid photos which are blurry and in which you are clearly at a social event.

Have an expressive headline on your LinkedIn profile –

Your headline doesn’t have to be your job title. For example “Help Businesses enhance their online marketing image through Social Media” is more compelling to the prospects than “Social Media Consultant”. Let people know the value you bring and why they should pay attention to you

Include a brief summary of your professional experience and work history –

It’s a perfect opportunity to tell your “professional story” about who you are and why you do it. But at the same time when opting for LinkedIn Social Selling it’s also important to keep your profile tone professional, yet conversational. People choose to work with and buy from people just like themselves.

BUILDING SOCIAL NETWORK DELIBERATELY

The Second thing I would say to any entrepreneur who is planning to get serious about LinkedIn Social Selling is to investigate your contacts. Contacts are the most important part of LinkedIn.

Your first level contacts open up a wide range of second and third level Connections. LinkedIn recently improved its People You May Know feature. Take advantage of this opportunity to reconsider whom you may know and send them a tailored invitation to connect right there from the “People You May Know” tab.

Also whenever you meet anyone (online or offline) follow up quickly with a LinkedIn connection request while you are still fresh in their mind.

ADVANCED SEARCH- SMARTER WAY TO MAP YOUR PROSPECTS

LinkedIn’s search facility is amazingly powerful to identify the ideal prospects in the relevant industry. With its “Advanced Search” you can find people by title, company, location or keyword. By sensibly mixing the different filters you can get really deep and identify right prospects quickly and easily.

I used this Advanced Search feature on LinkedIn to map out the decision makers within my target prospects for an effective LinkedIn Social Selling strategy. Since I have dealt with many companies (big and small), I know there are certain people who are involved in making and influencing a purchase in the company.

With a little search work, you can quickly gain a clearer picture of the people you will need to influence to make the sale.

Spend a few thoughtful moments writing LinkedIn connection requests, and you’ll start quickly building up your network! Here are few tips to help you with the connection requests:

Always send them a personalized request to connect. Connection requests are better received when it feels like a 1 to 1 relationship, rather than a blanket message.
Check out their work and mention your favorite piece.
Make it about helping them.
Be sure find common connections for warm introductions.
INTERACTING WITH THE COMMUNITY

Groups are one of the most active areas of the LinkedIn network and the participation stats are quite convincing. Like most people I utilized them to learn more about the industries, I focus on. But then they can also be a great source of new sales prospects.

B2B buyers are looking for quick access to trusted experts and relevant content that helps them with their business issues. Your niche LinkedIn community is the perfect way to give your prospects what they are looking for. You can be really sure that there is a group in your niche.

In my niche group, I gave my fellow group members what they wanted and I received RFPs, leading to additional revenue opportunities.

NURTURING THE PROSPECTS

Nurturing relationships over time will keep your services top of your client’s mind. The key is to share news, articles, and insights that are relevant to your prospects.

I tried to develop the relationship by reaching out periodically at right times and adding value by providing relevant information and solutions to my prospects or clients business problems.

Another important aspect of any social etiquette especially that of LinkedIn Social Selling is to pay attention and respond to what others are contributing and saying.

When starting a conversation or participating in a pre-existing one on a social network I made to sure to listen what others are saying. Every day I would be leaving comments or ‘Liking’ posts from others. It’s an easy way to show that you’re listening and to find what you have in common.

You can also repost something from someone else. Third party content that supports your point of view adds further credibility. When I share any content from another user, I will make sure to tag them or thank them for finding (or writing) that great article.

TRACKING THE VALUE OF YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

With LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index you can always track your performance of how well you are using the platform to do the social selling.

SSI sheds light on four vital dimensions of social selling (which I have already discussed above):

Creating a professional brand
Finding the right people
Insightful engagement
Building trusted relationships
While there are different opinions around the authority of LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index Score, I can definitively say my SSI does exactly reflect my development as a social seller.

I am now at the point where my network is growing rapidly; I’m connecting with the right people and creating new opportunities.

Making efforts to improve your SSI will always help you with more sales opportunities.

HERE’S WHAT I RECOMMEND:

It’s hard to deny the benefits of adding LinkedIn Social Selling to your existing sales strategy. But then, there should be a game plan. Knowing how much time you should invest in social selling to reach your can be the real challenge. If you are starting out with LinkedIn Social Selling, Set some practical goals to effectively promote yourself through LinkedIn

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Start with a 16-week campaign (30 Minutes/day)

Set specific Goals from your LinkedIn Social Selling Campaign (adding 25-30 New Connections/month relevant to your Industry/prospects.)

10 Minutes: Take out ten minutes every day to schedule LinkedIn posts about your area of expertise. These can be original ideas or third-party content that supports your point of view.
10 Minutes: Take 10 minutes for active Social Listening. This means paying attention and responding to what others are saying in LinkedIn group discussions. Make sure to also share posts from thought leaders or prospects during this time as well.
10 Minutes: Every day, check LinkedIn notifications, connection requests, and direct messages. When you start contributing more, you’ll notice inbound requests as well, which is exactly what you want.
In an array of alternatives, plain selling efforts shouldn’t be the last! As long as you take a focused and structured approach in experimenting your Social Selling strategies, you will collect significant insights over time that will work well for your business.

Good Luck and Happy Selling!