I started using Linkedin as a prospecting tool around the start of 2004. I got a request from one of my clients to join and for some reason jumped right in. When I first joined there were around 1 million users I believe, now there are over 100 million worldwide.
Wow, 100 million people that you can take a cold call and turn it into a warm call. If you aren't using this tool to make sales calls you need to wake up and count the money.
I have an example of how Linkedin helped a sales representative I was working with in taking a dead end call from frozen to warm. While I was sitting with the representative to provide feedback on prospecting calls I pointed the representative to Linkedin after they were getting no where with the account. The CRM only had one contact and numerous turn over in sales representatives calling on the account in the last two years.
We reviewed the company profile and found that the contact being called on wasn't in IT any longer and that there were three additional contacts in IT.
We clicked on one of the profiles, I asked a simple question to the representative. What do you see from this profile? They were quick to point out that the person was the IT Director and has been at the company for 5 years. I asked if that was all they saw, the answer was yes.
There was so much more, here is an overview of some of the additional information:
1) The picture wasn't the normal head shot, the picture was of the him on a boat fishing, looked like a lake.
2) Showed the university, it was located the next town over from where the representative grew up.
3) The profile had a link to his family blog, JACK POT! It showed pictures of his wife, his two girls, a recent trip and on and on. Does this seem like a door opener?
4) Groups, this is a great way to connect. Join a group and provide feedback on discussions and it is likely your prospect will see you. If your adding value to them you will get in the door.
There was probably even more but with the information above we had enough information to build a relationship.
Look deep and open doors.
Hi Michael,
ReplyDeleteI am fairly new to LI. I have been off work for nearly a year due to family illness etc. I decided to be some what productive and learn more about SMM.I am growing my contacts everyday. I am enjoying reading the posts in the discussion etc. I have a question if you don't mind.
First you said the gentlemen connected his personal Blog to his profile, you could see his family,photos etc. Is this safe or a wise thing to do? (I guess I still have privacy issues)
Next, How do you determine who's the head of what department etc? I saved your post in a doc so I can refer back to it when I start prospecting again. If you look at my profile I am still painting my art.
thank you,
Maria,
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good question. I would have to say it all depends on your personal filter. LinkedIn is a professional site, I had my family blog on my profile but have removed it since I feel that there should be some line between the two.
Of course as a sales representative, the information was very valuable to me. It allows me to open the conversation and build on the relationship quickly.
Regarding how to know who is the head of the department, this is often hard without the org chart since some will be VP, Director, Manager titles. Use LinkedIn and Jigsaw to narrow down the search and many times in the profile it will read like a resume and tell you if they manage a team or are the head of the department.
Let me know if this helps.
Best of luck, thank you for reading.
Thank you, that helps.
ReplyDeleteMichael, Do you just randomly pick clients off LI and cold call on them?
I want to sell more art,I see that as more of a challenge to know who likes art and buys art. I am joining groups that are not just for artists but those that like, purchase or work in the curator field etc. I am currently putting together a slide show/webcast talking about the paintings etc. For promoting I want to place it on some of the groups. Do think I have to be careful and may need to put only in promotions or is there other places this would fit as well? I'm not sure on that either what are your feelings on this and do you have any other ideas for me?
thanks again,
Maria Talacona
Maria,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the additional questions, regarding the random dart throwing of prospects I have to say no. This question made me think and I will likely do a blog post on it this week that will hopefully help.
Regarding the show/webcast, I would recommend that you have two types. One that is promotional and talks primarily about your business and the benefits of working with you. The other should be an informative webcast/show that provides information to educate the buyer and help them to get the best bang for their buck no matter where they buy. You may ask why on the second one, however it is well known that if you can build trust with your prospects they will buy from you (just ask Zig). By educating the buyer, you build trust and your sales will benefit.
Please free free to reach out to me at mrt@mrtsales.com if you would like to speak and discuss further.
Thanks again for commenting.