LinkedIn is an amazing marketing tool for Business to Business sales. If this is your marketplace, you will want to invest time into being the expert in your industry on finding, connecting, building rapport and selling on LinkedIn. It’s a goldmine just waiting for you to dig in.
The question is how do I do that? This article highlights the 5 most important steps you want to take to make a killing using LinkedIn.
1. Have a well-defined target audience.
The narrower the niche the easier it will be to make the right connections and skyrocket your sales. This may sound counter intuitive but as the saying goes “The riches are in the Niches” it is also true on LinkedIn. Would you prefer talking to 100 people and making 2 sales or talking to 50 people and making 7 sales? If you strategically identify your ideal niche, you will save time and make more sales.
2. Create a powerful profile.
Your profile is your billboard and brochure all wrapped up into one place. Many people see this step as just a quick form to fill out. This is a major mistake. As you begin delving into LinkedIn, you will see how many different ways your profile is a very valuable asset. Take the time to make it outstanding then continue to refine it often.
“Who Knew” Tip: Keep the eye-catching critical information visible but write enough that they have to click “More” if they are interested. In LinkedIn’s algorithm, it gives you more “points” since it shows interaction with your profile.
3. Content is still King.
For those of you who do not like to write I know this is frustrating. However, it is recommended to have 5 – 10 pieces of content that you have submitted. These are important to show your expertise and knowledge of your industry.
Now here’s the good news. You don’t have to write them all yourself. You can write a short paragraph introducing an article you found that would be of interest to your ideal clients and link to the article. The benefit of this is that you can let the author know that you have shared their article, making a connection to the author who might be an industry influencer. You could also compile a list of tips from the leaders in your industry or on a specific topic. You can create a slide deck, a video, show off your products, and more. Don’t feel confined to writing articles. Tap into your skills and your network to create engaging content.
4. Accept all connection requests (unless it is spam) but seek out your ideal clients.
I get asked often if you should accept connection requests even if they are not your ideal client. My answer is “Absolutely” and here’s why. You never know who they know. An artist may be connected to the CEO of a company you have been dying to get into and is willing to make an introduction. If you didn’t accept the connection request, you would have missed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
You want to be pro-active in finding your ideal clients on LinkedIn. You can do this through LinkedIn’s search features, meeting people in groups, and engaging in comments on other people’s content. These are the people you want to make a connection and build rapport. You take them through your marketing journey to turn them from just a connection to a loyal customer and client.
5. Daily tasks make surprising progress.
If LinkedIn is your main social media platform then you want to make sure you are active on the site. Make it a goal to connect to 5 new ideal clients a day every week. Comment on articles and posts, create your own content, curate content, engage in your groups and be aware of your marketing journey so you know you are moving potential customers and clients along to the sale. You will not need to do all of this each day, however, create a strategy that will fit with your business and skill-set so you know what you need to do each day to make progress. You will be amazed how being diligent and consistent will bring in many ideal customers and clients.
Sounds simpler than you thought? Great! The key is getting in front of the right people, building rapport and gently leading them through your marketing journey to the sale.
Consistency is key to any social media platform. Know what to do, do it daily and reap the benefits.
Go Forth and Connect!
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Bethany Sunny is a Speaker, Author and Marketing Coach with over 25 years of business experience. She shows driven entrepreneurs how to become more visible so they can attract more clients, make more money and grow their business fast. Connect with her on Facebook – fb.me/bethanysunny