6. Tip 5: Effective InMails
•The first message should be a conversation starter – why am I contacting
you, and why am I contacting you today
•Adopt a conversational, enthusiastic tone to your message
•Be brief and to the point
•Focus on finding out their availability/interest in an introductory
discussion
•DO NOT cut and paste your prospecting email into the InMail
•Always ask for advice/opinions/referrals – if it’s not the right person, ask to
be directed to the right person
7. Tip 6: Use LinkedIn Groups
Groups
Join many
Participate in a few
800,000 +
Design
Run one
Biotech & .NET Pros
Pharma Developers
Sales Solutions
8. Tip 7: Benefit from 3rd Party Apps and Productivity
Tools
Sales Solutions
My name is Bob Moody and I work with the Sales Organisations to make them more productive and successful.
The personal profile is one’s opportunity to highlight your personal brand as a sales leader. There’s a lot of things that an individual can do to illustrate that he/she is an industry thought leader while boosting the reputation of their organisation. There’s a few basic things that we’ll walk though what each of you and your individual sales professionals can do to brand yourselves as thought leaders and experts. If your online professional profile becomes your ‘brand’, think about what it is that you want potential employers, employees, prospects, clients to know Here’s a screenshot of my profile, Account Executive at LinkedIn. A couple things to note: First, a picture! Make sure you have a picture. It makes a big difference in making your profile more human, and you more accessible. Second, have a good headline: Be creative with your headline. It doesn’t have to be “Account Executive at Company XYZ.” Also, your headline shows up with your name in search results, so it’s an opportunity to make someone want to click on your profile. Third, make sure you’re current and past jobs are up to date, speaking in 1 st person. Doesn’t have to be as formal as on your CV, but you do want to included lot’ s of action words Make sure you include websites so that your profile is linked your profile to websites, and company pages Your summary is your elevator pitch - it should give the reader enough information about you to want to scroll down. Include skills, and showcase what it is about you that makes you great at what you do And LinkedIn has some great modules to ensure that this process is easy.
As a sales person using LinkedIn to find the most direct route to decision makers, it’s important to connect. The more you connect, the more access you will have into the network. The more 1 st degree connections, the more 2 nd and 3 rd degree connections you will have, thus, delivering you more insight into your clients and prospects. So build your professional network fast. LinkedIn has a few tools to help you build your network quickly From the ‘add connections’ section located in the top right of your home screen, you will find ways to upload your contacts from your personal email accounts, find colleagues to connect with, and LinkedIn will try and suggest people you may know The LinkedIn for outlook tool will allow you to connect with people you have in you outlook in a very efficient way
Today, the warm introduction is far more effective than the cold call. It will also increase the likelihood that you will win a bigger deal in less time, as trust and credibility are the two pillars that make relationship selling more effective. Understanding how you are connected to an organisation can help you find a warm entry point - in this example, Jeremy Langley is my target and I work with two people here that used to work at Lumesse with Jeremy, or Thibaut who I have done business with before. Any of these people would be able to refer me to Jeremy. But the very fact that I am well connected in this organisation gives me the ability to access this knowledge And when I go to Jeremy’s profile, I have options to in how I can approach him.
This is your chance to voice what you are working on, thinking, or reading. Share information that adds value to your network, and people will listen. Your status updates are a fantastic opportunity to share information virally. You can: *Advertise what you’re working on *Share thoughtful insights *Post exciting updates about your company and highlight what’s happening *Use your LinkedIn status update as you would a targeted, business edition of Twitter. You can even selectively synchronize the two from LinkedIn.com or from Twitter.com.
Found the ideal prospect? An InMail is a direct route to that person. You have very few InMails so use them sparingly. They have a higher open rate than the average email because it comes from a trusted place.
When it comes to Groups… Join many . There are more than 800,000 groups on LinkedIn, and you can set up daily or weekly Group digests. Join recruiting groups to stay up to speed on your job, or join groups that are relevant to your key talent pools—whether they’re focused on industry, role or function. They’ll help you keep your finger on the pulse of the market. Participate in a few . Get involved in a few select groups to brand yourself as an expert. Again, it’s all about building your personal brand as a recruiter. Don’t just post an open job or plug for your company here or there—when you participate, make sure it counts. Post thoughtful questions, articles the group might like, and unbiased responses to their conversations. Run one . We’ve seen our customers create groups about their companies, their industries, functional areas or niches in which they’re particularly strong—and they use these groups for employment branding, pipeline building, and even sourcing. Figure out what’s best for your company and you recruiting strategy, and go for it . And don’t forget to promote and drive traffic to your group once you’ve created it—link to it from your career page and your profile, and encourage your recruiters to do the same. As a Sales Professional... It’s important to remember that the best thing you can do inside is to CONTRIBUTE. The more you do so, the more you will be perceived as a thought leader and subject expert. DO NOT PITCH in a group – you will turn people off. Instead, offer your unbiased expertise.
We have partner with some really great companies that add value to the LinkedIn platform. WordPress integrates your personal and corporate blog Our twitter integration allows you to update your status via twitter SlideShare allows you to showcase some of your work Google docs and Box.net allows you to collaborate
Use LinkedIn Mobile for when you away from your desk and you want to research a client/prospect before a meeting, and for connecting afterwards. Learn about the people you’re meeting and see who you know in common.
How much of what is being shared is relevant to you in your day to day work? LinkedIn Signal pulls shared news articles and status updates from LinkedIn and Twitter, and allows you to search and filter them by keyword, industry, company, region, and more. At first glance, this is noise from everyone on LinkedIn. But the search and filter down the left helps you separate the signal from the noise, providing you with timely insights that will trigger you to reach out to a client/prospect, arm you with information to improve the quality of your first touch, or arm you with information to improve the quality of your conversations. Essentially, it allows you to find that signal in the stream—to find the information that is most relevant to you as a Sales Professional, without having to wade through the never-ending stream of content out there.