LinkedIn isn’t magic.
LinkedIn isn’t a place to “sell” today.
Linked in is a place to stay connected.
Notice I said “stay connected” not “get connected.”
Staying connected on LinkedIn (and in real life) takes effort.
The effort to make sure you are sharing an update, providing content that matters, adding a comment that is relevant, liking people’s posts, and congratulating your connections on career milestones.
The crazy part is you may not even know how connected you really are, until something like this happens: “Well I see your posts on LinkedIn – the things you write, as well as share when you think they are important. It made it easy for me to contact you again.”
That comment is from someone I did business with over 10-years ago, connected with on LinkedIn last year, and who just moved into a position where he needs what I do – again.
Without LinkedIn – instead of sending me an InMail message he would have been wracking his brain; to remember how to spell my name, what is my email address anyway, etc.
If it were too difficult to find me, I’m sure he would have gone to someone else.
They wouldn’t have been his first choice… but they would have been an available choice.
Instead staying connected on LinkedIn made me both his first choice and an easily accessible one!
I know, now you’re wondering why this is my Inside Sales Leadership post and not one directed to the members of your team.
1. Make sure the people on your team have a solid profile (while you’re at it check your profile too, be a good example) – not sure how to help them? Check out this eBook I created with the Bridge Group: The Fundamentals of LinkedIn: Social Prospecting™ for Inside Sales Reps
2. Have your team think of LinkedIn activity as critical to their success! Ask them to schedule time on their calendars for interaction (not just research).
3. Expand your own network and be connected to your team! This will give you access to even more people via that second level connection.
Think about what you can do to make LinkedIn a success for your inside sales organization! Then do something about it.
photo courtesy of © Techvisionary | Dreamstime
This Post Has 0 Comments