Why Use LinkedIn? Because It’s Free

It amazes me when I hear business professionals and/or business owners say that they are not on LinkedIn. My next question is always, “Why not?!” To this day, I have not received a valid reason for not using this valuable and FREE asset.

Small companies don’t usually have the resources to hire a sales team. Generally the CEO/Founder is tasked with prospecting. And as we know, prospecting can be tedious.Building a list of prospects is fundamentally different work than relationship-building.

Working as efficiently as possible is the key to squeezing a few hours of prospecting into your week. Simple steps to successfully using LinkedIn include:

  1. Create a prospect profile: Step one in being successful is knowing exactly what the prospective client looks like. What is the buyer’s persona?  Example information: title, size of company, location, vertical, customer’s age, educational background.
  2. Search Queries: Once you have your buyer’s profile built, use LinkedIn’s search and/or advanced search to identify prospects that fit your parameters. Filter by degree of connection, geography, company, industry and other relevant parameters.
  3. Identify and join industry groups: Joining groups allows you to meet your prospects, stay up-to-date on industry breaking news, and extend your prospect and referral network.
  4. Track down any emails not listed on LinkedIn: Finally, you’ll want to collect the email addresses of each person you’ve put in your list. Tools such as Rapportive and Name2Email can make this task more efficient.

Develop a system that is repeatable and scalable. Use time blocking to make prospecting a habit. Set up daily or weekly prospecting blocks on the calendar. Sales is about discipline. Create a routine, execute it, and refine where necessary. Whatever your sales system is, make sure LinkedIn is a part of it.

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SalesCocktail: Discover today’s techniques and technologies to eliminate the digital divide for minority and woman-owned enterprises. Use technology to accelerate your sales, replicate daily tasks and manage your time!

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