LinkedIn rocks as an effective sales tool – where else can you research target companies, check the backgrounds of key employees, and find information to help make a sale?
And to stave off the revolt from my “I don’t want to get sold” portion of readers, it’s all good – and I’ll tell you why.
Prospecting
It’s a fact of life – individuals and companies need to sell things to stay in business.
We like it when companies stay in business by remaining competitive and useful.
So – activity that helps match the right people and organizations with the right products is good.
And that’s where prospecting on LinkedIn comes in…
Finding the right company and contact
The searching facility on LinkedIn helps to find a company or individual that meets a specific pattern.
In addition to identifying the right prospect, LinkedIn helps bridge the initial contact – through an introduction.
Gate keeping
And this is where the right things should happen.
If you, as a LinkedIn user, are approached to setup an introduction and you see that it isn’t an appropriate encounter, you get to step in and say “No, Mary isn’t going to be interested in this real estate transaction, sorry.”
And so while the site makes it easier to identify and reach out, it uses each individual’s ring of trusted connections to filter appropriately.
Training sessions for sales people…
And yes, it’s true, I’ll get pulled in to train sales people on how to use LinkedIn more often than any other group.
Why? Because they see a direct return on the expense – in increased ability to find and reach out to potential prospects.
And that makes it a favorite linked thing to me;-)
Viewing the video
And here’s the video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CajbCpS06_g]
Comments on the youtube copy of “Favorite Linked Things” appreciated.
To your continued success,
steve
—
Steven Tylock
http://www.linkedinpersonaltrainer.com