This document provides 10 tips for salespeople using LinkedIn as part of their prospecting strategy. It begins by explaining how LinkedIn has changed B2B sales prospecting and that salespeople need to think through how they will utilize LinkedIn, not just set up a profile. The first 5 tips include: completing your profile with all relevant details; using LinkedIn to reconnect with past contacts; connecting with existing customers; following sales targets' company pages; and joining relevant groups to contribute expertise and get noticed. The document continues with the remaining 5 tips in the next week's installment.

1. Inside Sales Series
10 Tips for Sales People using LinkedIn
From Evolve Consultants on November 22, 2012. By David Malone
LinkedIn is changing the way we gather prospecting intelligence in the B2B sales
arena. Yet, many Inside Sales professionals set up their LinkedIn profile without
fully thinking through how they intend utilising the application as part of their
prospecting strategy. "Build it and they will come" may have worked for Kevin
Costner in the movie "Field of Dreams", but it's a recipe for failure in LinkedIn. In
this blog, I will put forward 10 tips that will assist you get noticed by and connected
to the people who really want to meet on LinkedIn ...... sales prospects and former
customers whom you lost touch with.
* Part 1 - (Tips 1 to 5)
1. Complete and optimise your profile - it's your LinkedIn DNA
Complete your profile out 100%. Attach a resume or company bio to your profile.
Include all your job roles in your profile. Make sure you include a decent business
photograph of yourself.
Include your entire employment history. Many people only include changes of
employer on their profile. This is a mistake. You need to include all internal job
postings within a single employer. Remember, some of the people you are trying to
connect with may only remember you for a specific role you held for a short period
of time with one employer.
© This article is copyright of Evolve Consultants 2012

2. Inside Sales Series
Make sure you include all educational programmes you may have successfully
completed (and the location of same).
Tip 1: Make sure you optimise your profile by describing your professional expertise
using the key words potential sales targets will search under.
Example: If you are accountant specialising in working with high net worth clients you
might need to ensure phrases such as: - Specialise / Family Trusts / Tax Advisor /
Investment Expert / Blue Chip ... etc, appear in your description of your
expertise.
2. Purge your old rollerdex and reach out via LinkedIn.
Many inside sales professionals have rollerdex full of business cards from previous
business lives. I recommend you try and track down some of your old and lapsed
contacts by using the advanced search facility on LinkedIn. Here's how you do it.
(1) Open the advanced search facility and type in the person's name
(b) Type in the company name as it appears on the business card
(c) Under the company name button you have the option to click either past
(employer) or current (employer).
* You should be able to identify the individual by matching the job title on the
business card with the past / current employment experience section on
their profile.
Tip: If you have their existing email address but haven't been in touch in some time,
then you might email them in advance of sending the LinkedIn invitation reminding
them of how you are connected and telling them of the pending invite.
© This article is copyright of Evolve Consultants 2012

3. Inside Sales Series
3. Make connecting with existing customers part of your account
management process.
Reach out and connect with all existing customer contacts. Make it part of your
account management protocol. Once you are connected you can track their
activity and profile updates. By doing this you can do things that add value such as
Comment on articles / blogs they post on LinkedIn.
Answer some of the questions they post to LinkedIn (assuming that you have
the expertise)
Congratulate customers on promotions and movement to new places of
employment.
Introduce them to some of your connections (as you deem appropriate)
Tip: Follow your customer's company page - not just the individual contacts you
have in that organisation.
© This article is copyright of Evolve Consultants 2012

4. Inside Sales Series
4. Follow sales targets as well
All Inside Sales professionals have a list (sometime referred to as the 'dream' list) of
target companies that they want to talk with. Many of these target companies
have LinkedIn pages. Follow these company pages. It might just be the difference
between finding that conversation angle or not.
Once you get past that 1st conversation with them, invite them to get
LinkedIn with you. This offers you several advantages. Once you are connected
they will most probably check out both your profile and your contact base for
commonality and mutually trusted business contacts.
5. Join groups and make a contribution
Joining appropriate groups and making a contribution to the 'conversation' within
that forum can be a great way to get noticed for your expertise. It's also a useful
way to build credibility with potential sales targets.
Remember, once you join a group, then members of that forum become accessible
to you as if they were 1st degree contacts of yours. However, before you rush off to
join a multitude of groups here are some considerations to mull over.
Select your groups carefully. There is no point joining a very large number of
groups unless you will have the time to look at the activity within the group on a
regular basis. Pick groups that
(a) Are relevant to your targets and customers
(b) Allow you show your expertise
© This article is copyright of Evolve Consultants 2012

5. Inside Sales Series
(c) Is an openly managed group where possible (which means your contributions
get posted automatically)
Ends:
Next week * Part 2 - (Tips 6 to 10)
davemaloneinsidesalescoach + 353 1 853 20 75
www.evolve.ie info@evolve.ie
Ireland’s leading sales performance authority
© This article is copyright of Evolve Consultants 2012