Excerpt: By developing a strong LinkedIn sales strategy, you can better attract potential clients and create a thriving network.
Everyone knows that sales is built on personal connection. Generating leads, creating a network, and establishing yourself within an industry niche are crucial as an aspiring sales leader. However, in an increasingly digital world, where more meetings are taken via Zoom than conference rooms, how can you generate more leads and maximize your commissions? For many, LinkedIn is the answer.
LinkedIn has become an essential tool for professionals and organizations of all sizes. With over 930 million members in more than 200 countries and territories, LinkedIn has established itself as the leading professional social networking platform. According to a survey conducted by LinkedIn, 97% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute content, and 46% of all social traffic to B2B websites and blogs comes from LinkedIn. By developing a strong LinkedIn sales strategy, you can better attract potential clients.
On LinkedIn, your Social Selling Index score measures the effectiveness of your sales efforts. This score ranges from one to 100 and is determined by four factors: establishing your professional branding, building relationships, engaging with insights, and finding the right people. Why should you bother measuring your Social Selling Index? According to LinkedIn, social selling leaders create 45% more opportunities than people with low scores. It is important to check your SSI quarterly to ensure that you provide valuable information to your audience and to identify which of the four categories you can improve upon.
If you’re using LinkedIn for sales prospecting, you’ll want to create a reliable and reputable personal brand that highlights why prospects should trust you. Here are three foolproof strategies for maximizing your presence on LinkedIn.
- OPTIMIZE YOUR PROFILE
Add the “featured” section to your profile and pin website links, awards, or published work you’d like to share with followers. LinkedIn also allows users to create a headline and craft a personal biography. Using keywords relevant to your industry in the profile summary, headline, and experience sections helps your profile appear in search results. Ultimately, this can position you as an industry leader. In creator mode, users can also add hashtags to their profile, indicating the topics and issues followers can expect to see. Improve your searchability and make a solid first impression on potential clients with a memorable profile.
Keeping your profile up-to-date and professional is essential to utilizing LinkedIn effectively. Investing in quality visuals is one of the first steps to creating an optimized profile. After all, profile pictures net users 21 times more views.
Not sure where to start? Use our comprehensive guide to fully optimize your profile.
- PUBLISH COMPELLING CONTENT
Another effective strategy for creating an excellent LinkedIn profile is regularly publishing engaging content. Did you and your team win an award? Share the award ceremony video on your profile. Did you read a controversial think piece on the latest artificial intelligence resource? Post it with your opinion and get a conversation started. A great LinkedIn lead generation strategy could be posting about your excitement over a new product or service launch. However, following the 4-1-1 rule when posting content is essential. For every six posts, four should entertain or educate, one should be a soft sell, and one should be a hard sell.
Craft a narrative by sharing photos, personal stories, videos, polls, blogs, infographics, e-books, case studies, and more. The more personable, authentic, and brand-specific this content is, the better. Remember, people buy from people. Forming a personal connection with users is as important as delivering value. By creating quality content that showcases your expertise and benefits your target audience, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. Valuable content can prompt 64% of management-level professionals to trust your capabilities.
- ENGAGE WITH YOUR NETWORK
LinkedIn only delivers if it’s utilized regularly. Like any other social media network, posting frequently, commenting on posts, and engaging with your network keep your posts at the top of the feed. Users can build relationships and expand their reach on LinkedIn by adding meaningful comments to other professionals’ posts, reposting exciting articles, and sending helpful direct messages. It’s important to be authentic and genuine when engaging with others on LinkedIn and to avoid coming across as too sales-y. This is especially important given industry trends toward people-centric cultures.
When prospecting on LinkedIn, adhering to the platform’s guidelines is essential. LinkedIn recommends a suggested weekly maximum of 100 connection requests; going over this amount might trigger a freeze on your account. Vary the number of invitations you send daily and personalize your notes to recipients rather than sending copy-paste messages. Not sure who to reach out to? LinkedIn has a Sales Navigator database that can help you find active targets. If you’re wondering how to use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to generate leads, check out official tips from the LinkedIn sales blog.
Staying current on LinkedIn is critical for using the platform effectively. Remember: Networking is a long game. You can’t expect to send one message and gain a client. Being active, authentic, and helpful will eventually resonate with your network. Patience is key to building meaningful connections and generating more leads on LinkedIn. Looking to further elevate your company’s growth and attract high-quality clients? A great place to start is by taking our FREE Sales Agility Assessment to better understand the effectiveness and performance of your organization. To learn more, reach out to an Advisor today, or contact us at 844.874.7253.
