the salesperson’s ultimate guide to
LINKEDIN BY ELLEY NOTT www.linkedin.com/in/elleynott
Contents The LinkedIn Landscape
3
Understanding the Mindset
5
Using LinkedIn for Leverage
7
Searching for Prospects
11
Building a Professional Identity
13
LinkedIn Language
15
Growing your Network
17
Contact
19
the linkedin landscape LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with 300 million members in over 200 countries and territories around the globe. Their mission is simple: to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.
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40 per cent of LinkedIn users login daily.
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56 percent of LinkedIn users are male, 44 per cent are female.
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Mobile now counts for over 50% of LinkedIn’s global traffic.
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1 in 3 of Australia’s total workforce is on LinkedIn.
understanding the mindset LinkedIn is a professional social network and delivers professional and business-focused content in both news feeds and on member profiles. LinkedIn and TNS surveyed over 6,000 users from 12 countries about their usage of 9 social networks and found the following:
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“When using professional social networks, users expect content which provides career information, provides updates on brands, discusses current affairs and helps them to solve business issues”.
“Emotions of users when using professional social networks are associated with achievement, success and aspiration”.
“When using professional social networks, users are in a ‘purposeful mindset’ and are investing their time in improving themselves and their future, maintaining and building a professional identity, making useful contacts, searching for opportunities and staying in touch”.
using linkedin for leverage In March 2009, Pamela Rutledge Ph.D., Director of the Media Psychology Research Centre at UCLA wrote an article in ‘Psychology Today’ about why LinkedIn works. She noted that the increased adoption of social media and accesibility of information in our age of digital revolution has contributed to a mindset shift: people have moved from hunting for jobs and cold-call opportunities to seeking a connection with people in online communnities. Here’s what else she found:
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Trust is strengthened by association. A friend of a friend is far more approachable than a stranger. The reciprocity of online networks builds a sense of camaraderie and provides an element of emotional support. Linkedin users are encouraged to use their own name, photo and build an online identity; building instant familarity and making other users feel more comfortable to engage with them.
in short...
makes
easy
introductions
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searching for prospects In LinkedIn’s header, just millimetres away from the standard search field, lies a little button called ‘Advanced’. One click into here arms users with the ability to search other LinkedIn users by location, company, industry and keywords and refine results by seniority, company size, years of experience and LinkedIn groups they may be members of. Users can also sort results by 1st degree, 2nd degree or 3rd degree + connections - i.e. people they know, people that know people they know, or people that know people that know people they know!
From there, salespeople can research and develop lists of contacts, explore opportunities for collaboration and approach prospects directly through LinkedIn, leveraging their relationships with mutual connections to help establish trust. LinkedIn also allows you to save search criteria and will email you a weekly report that includes any new prospects that have popped up within the last week that match the prospects you’re looking for. So, if I’m interested in targeting Partners of Accounting firms and someone new gets promoted and updates their LinkedIn profile, I’ll receive an email to tell me that this has happened. Change creates opportunity and this can be a fantastic opening to start a conversation and develop a connection with someone new you can collaborate with.
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building a professional identity Just as personal presentation is important in business, your LinkedIn profile forms part of your online identity and can either bring you, or strip you of opportunities.
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Choose a profile photo that is professional, friendly and approachable.
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Write in a tone that is personable and relatable. People do business with people they like.
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Where possible, include links and examples of your work to showcase how it has helped others.
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Prioritise information that sells your professional strengths. Anyone who views your profile should leave knowing exactly what you do and how you could potentially work together.
linkedin language LinkedIn is a professional social network and its best operators use it for just that - perfectly balancing professionalism with a relaxed, conversational tone. Just as you would in person, remember business etiquette and nurture real connections. A conversation had too soon or delivered too aggressively can result in an opportunity lost.
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Consider your prospects’ motivations before your own. Users on LinkedIn are in a ‘purposeful mindset’ and their focus is on in improving themselves and their future, not your back pocket.
A ‘soft sell’ is often more effective than a ‘hard sell’. Separate your introduction and your sales pitch so they don’t fall within the one prospect touchpoint.
Create opportunities to bring the conversation offline. A live demonstration of your product or a face-to-face meeting over coffee will bring you much closer to being able to put a deal together.
Make deposits, not just withdrawals. An opportunity to help someone in your network will most frequently result in feelings of gratitude, trust and amity. And this is the perfect climate in which to develop a business relationship.
growing your network A wide spread social network means access to broad and diverse opportunities. It also means a greater reach to a wider audience as you update your profile with new information or expose your contacts to exciting and enticing business offers.
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Make your connection requests personal. This lets contacts know who you are and creates an opportunity for a conversation from the outset.
Add your personal LinkedIn URL to business cards, email signatures and professional summaries.
Actively invite people you meet offline to connect with you online. This is a great way to stay in touch and for each of you to remain top of mind if and when opportunities arise for you to collaborate.
elley
contact
For advice or assistance with marketing strategy, analysis or design or simply to say hello, contact Elley at:
au.linkedin.com/in/elleynott/
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