LinkedIn for Sales Professionals

Social media is here to stay. LinkedIn for sales is becoming an increasingly vital tool that companies all over the world are utilising to generate and sustain significant customer relationships and ultimately drive revenue to their businesses. Indeed, social media is helping to drive a needed trend toward sales and marketing alignment.

Helps both functions by:

• Increasing awareness for your products and services
• Allowing faster and better communication with audiences
• Establishing search engine prominence
• Increasing web and blog traffic
• Establishing a voice in the community, disseminating a point of view, and even creating content
• Making it easy for people to connect to both you and your company

Individual salespeople are discovering tremendous benefit from maintaining a complete and up-to-date profile on LinkedIn particularly. LinkedIn is where customers often now go to get the scoop on sales people who approach them with new products and services. A good profile lends excellent credibility, and gives customers a sense of assurance that you are a real professional. LinkedIn can supply your bona fides.

LinkedIn for Sales Professionals, also helps to broaden and fill in gaps in your professional network. When you approach a prospect, you may find through LinkedIn that you actually have relationships in common. It serves as a convenient way to get personally introduced to these prospects. You will also quite regularly be surprised to find that you are only one or two connections away from a customer or prospect. It bypasses the old-fashioned and sometimes cumbersome (though always appropriate) letter of introduction. It provides a kind of transparency that naturally builds trust.

Use LinkedIn strategically. Be wise in who you recommend, and who you ask to recommend you. Recommendations do add interest to your profile, but be careful not to oversell yourself. Be honest and concise, interesting and informative in your profile and in your recommendations. Be specific when creating your profile. This helps you veer away from the pack, giving you a unique and compelling profile. Don’t just list your qualifications but be exact about your areas of expertise e.g., Medical Device Sales Expert. Use LinkedIn to build your personal brand, and to market yourself.

Join LinkedIn groups that are of professional interest. Participate in answering questions and developing dialogues. Showcase your expertise. People will want to add you to their networks if you have interesting and thoughtful things to add to the conversation. Do not be shy. Get your name and accomplishments out into the public realm. It will serve you well.