Tips for prospecting on linkedin

[Kak]

There has to be something to this social media. It is all businesses professionals, many of whom own busimesses. You can get ahold of anyone pretty easily. I have multiple reccommendations on linkedin and have no way to use them, my page has only gotten 20 views in the last month.

Would just working 2nd tier connections off of my happy customers be a bad idea?

Example...

Hi Jarvis (owner of some business that just oozes electricity) I noticed you were connected with jeb, me and jeb have done some business together and he is very happy with what I was able to do for him. He even left me a reccommendation on my page. If there is any way I can help you, let me know. I would also be happy to buy you lunch sometime to discuss.

Kyle

What do yall think?

 

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[The-J]

I want to know how you are attacking the LinkedIn market. Are you using a company account or your personal one?

I'm doing some LI marketing, too, and I want to do it most effectively. It's definitely a great source and an easy way to build rapport (much moreso than Twitter or FB)

 

[Kak]

Just thinking about it really. I have a linkedin for basically no reason to this point. I have not gotten any customers or partnerships out of it, but i have reccommendations and connections with some of my customers. Just wanting to find an use for it and maybe make some money. Just wondering how many sales individuals approach linkedin.


I wouldnt call it attracting, but I did throw 500 bucks at linkedin advertising to target decision making excutives of small to medium sized companies in texas and nothing. It just seems like another pushy business that way. I was thinking about building references and using those refrences over and over on their connections that may be good potential customer.

I have primarily built my network full of friends and current customers. I have both a company and personal account but no one carea about the company one.

 

[Eos]

I have been thinking about this more and more recently so I'm interested to see which way this thread is headed.

Do you know if they have share any personal interests with you? Perhaps that could be a good potential ice breaker and get them to be a little more open before you talk deals, especially if they would be a highly valuable client?

Hi Jarvis, *what you said*.. I see you follow texas X hiking group, I sure love hiking too! etc etc..

Just a thought.. :smx8:

 

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[The-J]

My target market is, plain and simple, business owners. I think anyone who has a target market of business owners or business professionals, executives, etc. should use LI marketing but in a personalized way. I don't think the ads will help that much in the long run, though: people are more likely to connect with someone on a personal level than on a strictly business level and with LI you can do both at the same time.

I requested to join a few plastic surgery groups and I post discussions in them that are not ads, just to get people talking.

I only have one LI account but I think having a company one may be better. I still need a profile picture. Lol.

 

[Kak]

I honestly just think, that because they know one of my happy customers and they can see that the person they know gave me a reccommendation, that a very passive solicitation look a lot more legit.

It just seems like it would have massive B2B potential if leveraged correctly.

 

[Eos]

You're probably right, it does seem more legit. Maybe you could work the other angle if the more passive route isn't effective.
Let me know how it goes!

 

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[Kak]

I wasnt disagreeing with you swift. I was just saying that I think the biggest plus to this is the reccommendations. If you can use some of their profile to build a little rapport then i bet it would be even better.

I want to try to make it more like a friendly conmection than a sale, then they will start getting my status updates too.

Hard selling in energy makes you look like an mlm ambit dweeb that tells everyone they own their own busimess.

 

[Kak]

Wow nothing more on this... That surprises me. Some salespeople get ALL of their prospects from linkedin. There is definately a way to leverage I just have not read anything about best practices etc.

 

[The-J]

Wow nothing more on this... That surprises me. Some salespeople get ALL of their prospects from linkedin. There is definately a way to leverage I just have not read anything about best practices etc.

I don't get it either. I guess most of the people round here don't use it.

LinkedIn Marketing Tips - B2B Social Media Marketing

6 LinkedIn Marketing Strategies to Use Right Now

LinkedIn Marketing Strategies Or Bust | SISEL International | MLM Success Tools & Tips For Network Marketing Leaders Today

I figure the best way is to try.

 

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[Kak]

Yup, that is exactly what I am going to do. Its a shame that no one had some best practices to share, I guess I will share mine if it works out well.

 

[Hambone]

I'm a sales rep and I can share a few strategies that have been successful for me.

Quick background: I've been in b2b sales for almost 15 years, and currently I'm selling BPO services to the fortune 1000 space, and some of the larger mid market companies. While its good money (for an employee), I'm working on my transition to the fastlane.

My perspective on LI strategies is more in line with a strategic sales process with a scale equation that is high dollar and low volume. A successful year for me is landing 8-10 accounts. Typical deal size is $500k-$1mil+. Obviously, if you are looking for a mass marketing approach with larger volumes of sales, then some of my strategies are going to be too much of a time suck.

Ok, so here are some things I utilize, in no particular order:

- Sometimes just knowing who to talk to can be a major leg up in the sales process. One tool that LI has that works great, is the people search function. Lets say you are selling AP automation services, and you know your key decision makers are the CFO, Controller, and VP of finance. You can do a search by title and filter it by company(if you are targeting a specific organization), by zip code, by company size, and a few other criteria. This will typically generate a very nice list of prime contacts.

- Ok, so you now know who to talk to...now what? Well, start looking at their profiles. Who do you already know that is connected to them? What is your relationship like with the people you know who are connected to then? Could you ask for a warm introduction? What groups is your target involved in(typically they will list all the groups they are a part of at the bottom of their profile)? Can you join the same groups? If you can join the same groups, do it, and then start adding value. Every post you make in their forum will show up in your prospects news feed as they login. Look for topics your prospect is already engaged in, and see if you can add value to the conversation. I have made a ton of contacts from posting on forums. Basically, you become someone your prospect wants to know, based on your posts. Your goal here, is to break down barriers and increase the similarities between you and your prospect. If you are able to do this well, then you can eventually send a message to them that sounds something like:

"Hey John, I just realized you work for company x...I've been wanting to talk to someone over there for awhile now about our AP automation services. Can you help point me in the right direction?"

Or

"Hey John, I was just talking to a colleague of mine yesterday and he thought your company would be a good candidate for our new xyz product. I'm not certain it would be as good a fit as he thinks, but I thought I'd drop you a line. Would you be open to a 15min phone call to see if what we are doing would be a potential fit?". If you have rapport, this request will always get a positive response. Make sure the request is small (15min call, lunch, or something similar), and don't ask for anything significant at this point. Your goal is to get an open ear and an open mind...from there you can build interest and progress the sale.

- Invitations: If inviting from a forum group, compliments go a long way. Don't send the canned invite. Send something like "I really liked your recent post on xyz, and I thought I would invite you to connect with my network. Look forward to reading more of your posts."

Always invite your current prospects that you are working with to connect. Always invite your clients to connect. Send recommendations to your prospects and clients that you have worked with...this goes a long way if the recommendation is unsolicited.

- Another thing that works, is making the LI invitation just one part of a targeted approach. A lot of times if I am targeting a particular individual, I will hit them on multiple fronts all at once. I will leave them a voicemail at their office, send them an email, send them an outlook invite for a 15min phone discussion, and send them an LI invite. This approach definitely gets their attention. I have had people accept my LI invite before they even responded to my email or voicemail. (side note: make sure your LI profile is clean and attractive. They will almost always check out your profile before calling you back or accepting your connection. Make sure you look like a value add to their network, otherwise your LI invite will work against you.)

- A great time to send a LI invite is immediately after a good first conversation with your prospect. Again, no canned invites. This is the time to send a compliment. Something like "Hey Jill, I really enjoyed our conversation today. You brought up a lot of interesting points that have kept my mind going all day. I look forward to working with you, and I'd love to add you to my network.

- Another thing about the forums within LI. You have the ability to follow people within a forum. Just find one of their posts, and click the follow button. Now every time they post something it will show up in your news feed. This will allow you to jump in on topics as your prospect is engaged in them.

- On working your second level: Directly contacting your second level and referencing the connection you know them through is risky. Nobody wants to feel like their network is being mass marketed to in their name. Do this wrong, and it's a good way to burn bridges and have connections sever their ties with you. A better approach is to work your first level connections to more intel or a warm introduction with the person in their network they have the connection with. Remember, a lot of connections people have are merely acquaintances and they may not have the reference power you are looking for. The best approach is to flush out the people in your first level who have close connections with your target prospects. An email to your first level connection that goes like this: "Hey Bob, I noticed you are connected to Joe Smith. I've been trying to get a meeting with him for a long time to discuss X...any advice on how to best approach him?"

If it's a good relationship, he will just set up the introduction for you. If it is an acquaintance, he may give you some valuable insight (like: he responds best to email, or he's a huge Knicks fan).

The main thing is to respect your network. Spam, blanket emails, and leveraging weak connections is a good way to cheapen your presence and damage your network. Add value, and treat your connections like family.

These are some of my strategies from the windshield of a sales rep. I hope there are some nuggets in here for everyone that will be useful as you travel the fastlane.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[The-J]

So essentially saying that LI is about making personal and business connections at the same time.

Since you are doing it under the guise of a well-respected company, it's probably easier to build a sort of credibility under your name. What is the best way for someone in the start-up phase, simply trying to get prospective clients, to build credibility when working with and trying to sell to business professionals?

What I'm doing is joining many groups that these kinds of professionals are in and then offering topics of discussion, to get people talking. Of course, they don't spend nearly as much time on LI and people my age do on FB, but I think that at least some of my stuff will get seen and answered. Hopefully then they will know me by both my name and my company name.

Problem is, I haven't unveiled any products yet. I'm still building my first one. Would it be recommended to try and get them to test it when it's ready?

 

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[Hambone]

So essentially saying that LI is about making personal and business connections at the same time.

It's the approach I use, however, I'm sure there are a lot of other methods out there for various purposes. My perspective comes from that of a sales rep who lands 8-10 big fish per year. If you need more clients faster, a lot of what I do wont be the best fit.

What is the best way for someone in the start-up phase, simply trying to get prospective clients, to build credibility when working with and trying to sell to business professionals?

Start off by identifying business professionals who are the real movers and shakers in their respective industries. If you are targeting sales people, find the LI profiles of sales reps who work for solid companies, or have lots of accolades in their resume. Things like 'winners circle' or 'presidents club' are easy identifiers of top producers within organizations. Whatever professionals you are targeting, focus on the movers and shakers first. Get one mover and shaker to use and endorse your product/service, and you will soon have a ton of people requesting your product.

People are always looking for a silver bullet or magic pill. When they find out a top performer is using your product, average performers will be lining up in hopes your product will elevate their game to star performer status.

To get a business performer to try your product, a little ego stroking goes a long way.
Something like:
"I was hoping you could help me out. I have developed a new product that helps business professionals ___(insert benefit statement here. Reduces, improves, eliminates, enhances, etc), and I'm looking to have a few top performers give me their honest opinion and feedback. From the looks of your profile, you seem to be someone who has achieved a lot of success in your field, and I would love to get your feedback on what I've created. Would you be willing to be a part of my beta testing group?"

Obviously, this is a generic example and it can use a lot of refining, but you get the point. Make them feel special, tell them how great they are, and use it as the reason you want their opinion on your product.

If your product is great, they will be anxious to buy it from you when it is available. They will also be more than willing to promote it to others in their organization.

This happened with me with the outlook program Xobni. I stumbled across the program, loved it, told a bunch of people about it, and now there are literally 100's of people in our organization that have downloaded it and use it because of the fact that I endorsed it on a few conference calls and team meetings. If a rep from Xobni would have introduced it to me, the result would have been the same...maybe better.

 

[Kak]

Bump. I am trying today. We will see what happens. No one will blow off or be a dick to someone that their friend has done good business with.

Most of my reccommendations are closer customers than the norm.

I need more medium sized fish before I go completly after the big fish. They are hard work and when they dont work out it is a big letdown. I need to be more comfortable with my income before I spend weeks at a time on one customer.

I very much enjoied your approach. I will speed you on my computer ASAP.

 

[Hambone]

I will speed you on my computer ASAP.

What does that mean?

 

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[Kak]

What does that mean?

Oh it is reputation points for a good post. It doesnt work on mobile devices. :thumbup:

 

[Hambone]

Oh it is reputation points for a good post. It doesnt work on mobile devices. :thumbup:

Ahh...right on, thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Eos]

Wow Hambone great post. Speed from me as well!

 

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[Eos]

Also not strictly about prospecting customers on LinkedIn but this landed in my inbox earlier and some of the advice here from top guys in tech could certainly be used regards networking...

Startups: What are some tips on connecting with high-profile people that can help your startup? - Quora

 

[Andy Black]

Bumping a great little thread.

Anyone else have tips on prospecting on LinkedIn?

I ask because I've just realised most of my revenue from the last two years has come via introductions on LinkedIn, so I am going to work on my profile and pay more attention to what can be done on LinkedIn. I'll update this thread with learnings.

 

[marklov]

I use linkedin now to get clients and what has worked for me
is to remain pleasant and remember that I am having a conversation not
a sales pitch.

Following that I get a 80% connection rate.
I used to dial more than 80 numbers a day to get in solid contact with 4 or so owners...

Until I figured why not go where the owners are and its been
a steady flow of clients ever since.

Since the default message can give off alert *spammer*
especially when you are a marketer.

So I approach with a soft tone, easy and pleasant.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi (persons name),

I Just joined linkedin and would like to connect with
you as another like minded professional here on
linkedin.

Best Regards,
Marklov
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>Then when I had enough connections
>and people connected to me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi (persons name),

I would like to connect with you as
another professional here on linkedin.

Best Regards,
Marklov
-------------------------------------------------------------------

As for follow up messages I usually keep it short
and straight forward as some owners don't go
to their inbox but look at the drop down preview to
get a gist of anything important.

*What I offer
*check for interest (or if they know others that might be)
*ask them for a number to talk or meet

Linkedin is great because the persons
are there to network and develop relationships to
improve their business, so you dont have to warm them up too
much because that's why they are there.

I wouldn't try email marketing techniques unless I was really good
they will smell it from a mile away,
they get hounded daily by guys selling websites, seo , first
ranks, lead gen etc.... so their meter is finely tuned.

Another key thing about linkedin is that you can start your
own group and become the authority in your area.
Then leverage that group into buyers for your products
but of course you must deliver mega value first.

 

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