Questions To Ask About Using Linkedin For Sales [Plus 3 Mistakes]

Using Linkedin for Sales has better for conversions because it’s more professional and more business-oriented than other social media platforms.

So you’ve built your network from the ground up, now it’s time to put it to use. The everyday trouble of business professionals everywhere is taking promising leads and turning them into concrete clients. With LinkedIn, this age-old struggle is simplified—if you make proper use of your connections that is. LinkedIn is the quintessential tool for finding promising leads, and thanks to your hard work in the messages, you’re halfway there already!

In this article, we’ll be looking at how to ease this transition from connection to client and walk through the steps that make it possible. We’ll also make sure to focus on some major pitfalls of failed conversions to help you avoid losing out on promising leads.

With all that being said, let us get into it and uncover how we can seamlessly transform our network into our client base.

Why is LinkedIn better for conversions?

In the modern world, partnerships, transactions, outreach, and just about everything else have moved online. Most commonly, this highlights the major social media players as avenues for reaching new clients. Often when we think about social media marketing and creating clients, we’re drawn to the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. However, it’s important to note that LinkedIn has continuously expressed the highest rates of lead generation of all social platforms.

In a study done by Hubspot, they discovered that LinkedIn touted an unbelievable 2.74% visitor-to-lead conversion rate, which shined compared to their peer’s Twitter (.69%) and Facebook (.77%). So, just how valuable is LinkedIn for converting new leads? Immensely, and here’s why.

We have to consider who is using these platforms. On the various social media platforms, there are all kinds of discourse taking place. From sports games to selfies, there is a wasteland of content. On LinkedIn, however, there is a clear focus on professional individuals who are actively seeking out the latest work expertise, products, and professional information. With this, the information you choose to broadcast for your brand or business is naturally more well-received and more likely to attract clients.

When you hit your stride on LinkedIn and find content that is consistently gaining attention and interaction, it is much easier to maintain this momentum. On other social platforms, your content will be diluted by the newest trends and photos, but with LinkedIn, your audience remains for your product, services, and branding. All of this combines to make LinkedIn a necessity for identifying your prospects and shifting them into the client space.

What should you say in your LinkedIn section?

Not sure how to get started on writing your about section. Here are some pointers.

• What drives you: What you’re incredibly passionate about, what excites you? Your work experience might not always make this obvious, so the about section is your chance to convey it.
• Address your current role: Keep it simple but brush over what it has taught you and your field expertise.
• Explain changes or gaps: If you’ve done a complete 180 and changed career paths, use this space to explain that. Show your audience that you’re an asset because of your multifaceted background.
• Share your accomplishments: Shine bright and show us in words something that you’re proud of. What have you accomplished that is a must-know about you?
• Be genuine: Remain humble and exude authenticity. After all, you want to show your audience why they want to work with you specifically. Show off your personality and your traits. So many others might have held the same role as you, but you’re the only person with your stories. Let it be seen and admired.
• Share your passions: Complete the whole picture and give us a sneak peek at who you are outside of your career endeavors. Are you a movie enthusiast? Do you know all there is to know on hiking trails?

Steps to converting prospects into sales from LinkedIn

It’s time to look beyond the abstract and get right into the meat of picking up sales.

Step 1: Find the right prospects with filtering strategies

Luckily for you, a great amount of your work has already been taken care of. Once your connections are made and you have a formidable base of potential prospects, all you need to do is dig a bit deeper to see who could fit the bill of your perfect customer or client.

LinkedIn makes this investigation a simple task for you with two search functions, the Boolean search and the technology search.

• Boolean Search: With a Boolean search you can easily compound all of the keywords that will lead to your target consumer. For example, with the touch of a few keys, we can identify senior marketing directors and then add relevant locations, fields, and companies to create the perfect client profile.
• Technology Search: Using the technology search is a path to the promised land of optimal leads. The technology search will allow you to find out exactly what tech is being used by your peers and competitors with the use of a quick filter in Sales Navigator. From here, you can identify prospects that may be inclined to use your services due to their use of a certain program or you can adapt your pitch to fit this newfound information. It’s a nifty way to find out which users are optimal for your pitch and cuts the fluff out of the search process.

Step 2: Establish a professional relationship with your prospects

Once you’ve found your prospective clients, there are two ways this could go. Ideally, you’ve used the filters and they show ideal prospects are already in your network. If this is the case, use your arsenal of messaging techniques to further inquire about how you and your connection may mutually benefit from a partnership. From here it should be a straightforward shot to a coffee chat or phone call to break down your services or to demo your product and the ball is in your court.

Alternatively, it could be that your most ideal prospective clients are entirely unrelated to your network. This might take a bit more work, but hey, this is what you live for. You’ll make the connection, you’ll set up the chat, you’ll make the pitch, and then you’ll know you made use of what you’ve learned.

Just a refresher, you really should know this by now, but I’ll give it to you once more, do not send the default message request. I know, I know, it’s quick and easy but you’re better than that. With a concise and personalized approach, get into the inbox, and let prospective clients know that you appreciate their work and would love to be a part of its growth.

Step 3: Continue to nurture your leads

If you couldn’t have guessed it, you probably won’t cement any deals with a LinkedIn connection request. If it was that easy, I don’t think we’d both be here right now. Building a professional relationship and then converting it into a real client is the real meat of your task. Like all things of beauty, it’s going to take some effort and growth. Before your pitch or demo make sure that you are a consistent presence on your prospect’s timeline. This goes well beyond sharing your achievements and articles, make sure you are engaging with your newfound connections in the form of a comment, a repost, or anything of the like.

Step 4: Make it happen

So, you’ve done the heavy lifting. You’ve searched, you’ve found, you’ve invested time, and now it all pays off. It’s time to get off the direct message and into the boardroom (a Zoom call works too, work with what you’ve got).

Extend an invitation to your prospective client in a gracious manner and be sure to make it known it will serve as a discussion rather than a blatant sales pitch. Remember to be personable and to highlight your assets. The cards are finally in your hands. With a good product, a great presentation, and an open mind, you’ll have no issue closing a sale. From LinkedIn filters to the last drop of ink, you’ve built the relationship and have seen it through.

Avoid these conversion mistakes

From top to bottom there’s a healthy amount of room for mistakes, and mistakes will surely happen. What’s important is to avoid the worst of these mistakes and the rest will sort themselves out. Let’s discuss several common errors that you should always avoid.

• You fail to perfect your pitch: Your initial offer should be a win for your prospective client. Presenting an offensive and insincere offer is a formula for disaster. Word spreads throughout a network and one-sided or intentionally deceptive offers are red flags that will follow you.
• You spend time on the wrong audience: Prior to preparing your outreach efforts, be sure to create a profile of your target audience. Vague and wide-cast approaches to conversion will likely fail. The more direct you can be with your goals the more direct you can be with your search. This will lead to much higher conversion rates and ultimately a whole lot of time saved.
• You don’t follow up: Never walk away from a potential lead. Naturally, not everyone will bite and not every connection will become a client. With graciousness, this will still benefit you. Being able to maintain a relationship even after a failed conversion is important for career longevity. Make sure you always (!!) send that follow-up message and keep these prospective clients around for your future pursuits and for future developments in your projects.