Ways to use LinkedIn to connect and make more sales

Using LinkedIn to generate more sales lead seems to be the way forward for most salespeople in recent times. The realization that you don’t need to make cold calls to reach out to your prospects but quickly start a conversation with them and talk about the value of your offer has made selling more effective.

However, to sell on LinkedIn, you have to learn how to find the right connects. And this does not end with checking prospects profiles or posts. It is also more than searching for prospects by location, industry, or other demographics. To be able to use LinkedIn to find and sell to anyone, you have to be more strategic and avoid mistakes that won’t yield any result.

Sometimes, it means doing away with the old strategies that seem not to be filling your sales pipeline and trying new things through observation. Here are some unique ideas you can try to connect and make more sales on LinkedIn:

Keep increasing your connections

As a salesperson, you should aim to get at least no less than 500 connects if you wish to appear on more people’s search. Accept any connections be it from colleagues, clients, buyers, etc. Endorse your contacts and ask them to do the same.

Check your new followers from time to time to see whom you can sell to right away. You can also reach out to people you know from other companies and ask them to introduce you to prospects and make referrals.

To get more prospects like your clients, follow their companies. Keep up with trends and use them to start conversations with your prospects. Also, when making connections, find out from their profile if you have any shared interests and mention it to them.

See your post interactions

You can also generate sales leads by taking note of those that interacted with your articles, videos, and any post you’ve shared on LinkedIn. Fortunately, you can see people who have associated with your posts without the need for a premium LinkedIn subscription.

Go to your LinkedIn profile; under it, you’ll see a drop-down menu, click on “posts and activity.” You’ll get to see people who have interacted with every post you shared.

Search for connections with recent changes

You can generate more leads by targeting people who recently changed jobs, career, had birthdays, or experiencing some significant positive changes in their lives. The chances are that they would need something new to complement the change. Find out who these people are and can take advantage of their current status.

You can start by using the notification tab to search for which of your connections had just started something new. Plan how to reach out to them by composing notes stating what you have to offer.

Check out the endorsers

You don’t have to wish you have more people like your current customers or clients. You can always search for them. Check the profile of your favorite customers to see if they have skill endorsements, and then check out the profiles of those that endorsed them and begin your selling process.

Check your prospects comment

You can keep expanding your reach to your target audience by checking out those who have commented under your prospect’s posts. The chances are that they might have shared interests with your prospects and therefore want your product. You can spark off a conversation with them by making reference to their comments, appreciating and agreeing with their point of view before moving to make any presentation you might have planned.

Check out similar individuals

In addition to checking out the endorsers of your customers, you can also use the people viewed sidebar to find people that share the same qualifications or other similarities with your favorite customer. You can locate the sidebar on the right-hand side. See if you can connect with them and sell to them.

Sell to your competitor’s customers

As long as there are no existing documents that prohibit you from selling to the customers of your competitors, you can also add them to your list of prospects. It is easier to introduce a product to new prospects that they can relate with rather than something they have no experience using.

You can get to these prospects by searching your competitor’s networks if they are not private. But then, you need to be able to convince them why they should make a switch to your product.

Try the alumni search

So you’ve probably used the LinkedIn standard search, but you are not getting any preferred result. You can take a step further with the alumni search that will help bring up people who might share a connection with the value you have to offer. It’s easy to sell to people with shared interests or connections because you’ll always have a talking point to use when reaching out to them.

To use the alumni search, copy this link: https://ww.linkedin.com/edu/alumni into the alumni search and get the list of people who had attended the same schools you displayed on your educational background. Add them to your records of prospects to engage with later.

Join relevant groups

You’ve probably joined some groups on LinkedIn, but how relevant were they to get you more leads? Find groups pertinent to your industry from the thousands on Linkedin and join them. You can join up to 50 groups at a time, but you need to ensure they are adding value to your sales.

Once you’ve joined these groups, make it a habit to post content that reflects your expertise. Join in the group conversation and offer thoughtful insights that will portray you as someone with something to offer. However, avoid appearing too salesy with your comments in the group so that other members don’t perceive your remarks as unreal. Try to flow naturally and have a good time also.

Ask bold questions

When you spot a new prospect and strike a conversation with them, there is no point running around the spot trying to get them to understand you want to sell. Be straightforward and ask them questions about their current service provider concerning the product or services you have to offer. Find out if they are content or would prefer making a switch. This way, you’ll know whether to start with your sales pitch or maintain social relations with them.

It’s no longer too difficult to generate sales lead and get people to convert. You only need to have the right tools and master the techniques of expanding your reach. Want us to help you achieve it? Reach out to us as soon as possible.