Kim Walsh-Phillips: 5 LinkedIn Tricks For Quick Sales In 2015

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As you kick off your sales and marketing strategies for 2015, seek a quick win by looking to LinkedIn. This powerful data-driven prospecting pool can give you the early successes you need to start the year off strong.

(For more of the complex strategies, join me at LinkedIn Domination Launch! Live Online Workshop. For more information on that, click here.)

1. Get introductions.  To quickly build out your prospect list, utilize your network tree by leveraging LinkedIn Recommendations.  These ensure your client or customer really knows the person you are going to ask for the introduction to.  Here’s how:

1. Make a list of your top customers and/or clients
2. Go to their LinkedIn profiles
3. Check to see if they have any recommendations
4. Make a list of those who recommended them to see if any of them would be worth having a sales conversation with
5. Write an email to your customer and/or client asking for a simple introduction to this other person (for exactly what to write, check out: How to Get More Offline Referrals)

2. Start a Conversation

Scroll through your newsfeed for postings about job title changes, career moves and work anniversaries.  Post a positive comment publicly and then dive into a private conversation using LinkedIn messaging.  Ask additional questions about the change, what the person’s role is and what the plans are for the future.  Start this first email just talking about them and as the person responds, work to identify opportunities to fulfill needs.  Do not sell in LinkedIn though. Instead request to have a conversation offline and begin your sales dialogue there.

3. People You May Know

Scroll through the list of “People You May Know” suggested connections and as you are adding to your network, jot down those who you’d like to be in your sales pipeline.  Each day, message 5 of these new contacts to thank them for their connection and ask them about their position and role at their firm.  Same as #2, do not sell on LinkedIn, but instead, request to have a conversation offline.  LinkedIn’s built-in CRM is a powerful tool for managing this process.

4. Have a posting frenzy

Take advantage of LinkedIn’s Long Form Posts to promote your authority to your entire network.  To do this quickly, so you can focus on selling and not writing, simply breathe life into old content.  To do this, write an introduction to a blog post or article and post the introduction as the Long Form Post.

5. Sponsor an Update

Using “Sponsored Updates” from LinkedIn’s advertising platform, you can get your messaging in front of key contacts quickly.  These are run from your company page and you can focus your target market on geographic location, industry, title and keywords, just to name a few.  Start small and analyze results before spending a lot to see if this is worth ongoing investment for you. With the analytics report, you will receive metrics for: Impressions, Clicks, Interactions, Followers Acquired and Engagement.

Want to leverage social media to boost your sales quickly? Join us for the upcoming live workshop, LinkedIn Domination Launched! For more details on that, click here: LinkedIn Domination Launched!