5 Things EVERY Salesperson Should Be Doing On LinkedIn

Whilst talking to a VP of Sales today, I pulled up the LinkedIn profiles of some of their sales team. I must admit, I was shocked...

It was a big company, their brand was strong, but their LinkedIn presence was, well, non-existent. Looking at the profiles of their sales team it made me realise just how much opportunity so many companies, sales teams and salespeople are missing out on.

So I thought I'd write a quick article to share FIVE things that every salesperson should be doing on LinkedIn (and don't worry, it won't take you hours to do these things, a maximum 10-15 minutes each)

Here we go...

LINKEDIN TIP ONE
Share good, value-giving content, on LinkedIn. Consistently.

One of the things I see with many companies and salespeople is that the ONLY content they share is internal content. More often than not this revolves around RE- SHARING the company blog that they share on the company page on LinkedIn. Guess what happens when they do that? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

No likes. No views. No comments. And worse, no leads or sales.

It's time to change that, and instead to start sharing content that's actually valuable to your prospects and target audience. If you sell to marketing leaders for example, instead of just sharing your company blog, why not share some marketing tips, or review a marketing book, or find insights from a marketing expert? Suddenly people will enjoy the content, they'll benefit from it, and when you do that you'll start to grow engagement, build a personal brand and generate social results.

LINKEDIN TIP TWO
Create a customer-focused profile, not a salesperson-focused profile

This is always the first place that I start with any company that I'm hired to train or deliver a keynote. I'll review the teams LinkedIn profiles, and to date in my experience, 80-90% of the profiles I see (and this will be thousands each year) are NOT GOOD.

Most of them, and I mean the vast majority, are SALESPERSON-FOCUSED.

Not only are they often quite empty, but what information they do have simply boasts about how great they are at selling. Do you think that's what your customers want to see? No, of course not. They don't care about how amazing you are at sales, they care about WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THEM.

So turn your profile into a customer-focused profile and make it more about them. Talk about what you can do for them, what results you generate, how you've helped similar people etc.

LINKEDIN TIP THREE
Grow their networks, every, single, day.

of my favourite phrases in the world of social selling is "Your network is your netWORTH" It's completely true but only IF you fill your network with the right people. A company who was enquiring for my help admitted they had BOUGHT 5,000 LinkedIn followers on their company page, but none of them met their ICP (Ideal customer profile). 

That network has no worth, no value. But when salespeople grow their network with prospects and potential customers, then it becomes VALUABLE.

Some salespeople go day, even weeks, without adding anyone. I've been growing my network every day since the beginning and will continue to do that. 

Set a goal, 5 people a day, 10 people a day, 20 people a day. It all adds up, if you do that on a regular and consistent basis, you'll grow quite quick.

LINKEDIN TIP FOUR
Build their personal brands and become known in their industry

Imagine cold calling someone and they RECOGNISED who you were? Imagine cold emailing someone and they WANTED to reply? 

This is what a personal brand does, and right now in 2021 and going into 2022, this is the differentiator for salespeople succeeding.  People buy from people, we all know that, and the salespeople that grow their personal brands and show their prospects that they're not just another salesperson will be the ones who win deals.

A big contributor to building a personal brand is being present and active on a consistent basis. The first step to this is to scroll through your LinkedIn feed and comment on 3-5 industry-relevant posts on a regular basis, either daily or several times per week.

When you do this, people start to see you. The more they see you, the more they get to know you. Do it right, and the more they get to know you, the more they like and trust you and then there you are, in the perfect position to win more opportunities.

LINKEDIN TIP FIVE
Send better, more effective and more engaging messages

You won't create any sales unless you have conversations, and you won't start any conversations unless you send effective messages. Not spammy ones. Not copy and paste ones. Not generic ones. Not pitch and go ones.

Personalised messages that are focused on your customers and how THEY will benefit and what you can do for THEM. Not just personalised, but creative and leveraging written, audio and video format. The goal isn't to send as many sales pitches as possible but to start as many conversations as possible. The biggest tip I can give you to do that is make your messages more about them and less about you. It's a game-changer.

Those are a FIVE things that every salesperson should be doing on LinkedIn.

None of them are time consuming, all require just a small amount of time and effort, but when done right and done consistently, can deliver HUGE results.

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Author

Daniel Disney

Founder of The Daily Sales