Social Selling I:

LinkedIn-Powered Sales Success: Personal

Branding, Intel and Relationship Building

AGENDA

• Why Social Selling ?

• What is Social Selling?

• Step 1: Personal Branding on LinkedIn

• Step 2: LinkedIn for Prospect Intel

• Step 3: LinkedIn Engagement

• The Why and What of Social Selling

• Buyer-centric Personal Branding

• LinkedIn for Research & Intel

• Relationship Building with LinkedIn

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Why Social Selling?

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77% of B2B buyers conduct

product review research before

ever contacting a salesperson.

Buyers look at an average of

over 10 digital resources before

ever making a purchase.

Enterprise technology buyers

will find nearly 70% of the

content they need on their

own, with only 15% sent by

marketing and only 15%

delivered by sales.

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Social Selling Defined:

• What is social selling?

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Buyer-Centric Personal Branding on LinkedIn

• Image of today’s sales executive, shows man and

woman with these labels:

Industry Thought leader

Corporate Spokesperson

Subject Matter Expert

Industry Influencer

Trusted Advisor

Thought Leader

Leading Expert

Top Blogger

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1. Profile Picture

• 93% had a picture of some kind.

Professional headshot

at proper resolution and

size.

• JPG, GIF or PNG

• 4MB max

• Square 1:1 shape

• 200x200 to 500x500

• 4000 pixels max

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Just like the first 7-10 seconds in face-to-face impressions, first encounters via your digital self produce immediate, largely subconscious, judgments.

1. Profile Picture

• 93% had a picture of some kind.

Search-optimized

headline.

• Defaults to current job title.

• 140 character max.

• Headlines are indexed for

internal and external

search.

• Powerful Google page

rank.

• Use buyer persona for

keyword optimization.

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1. Profile Picture

• 93% had a picture of some kind.

Thorough contact info.

• Email

• Phone number

• Twitter

• Blog and website

• Vanity URL using full

name.

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Important contact info should

also be added to your

summary and additional details

sections.

• Not an online cover letter.

• Write in first person.

• Write for buyer persona

audience.

• Include key contact info.

• Keyword rich SEO.

• 2K character max.

• Alt Code symbols.

• Ask colleagues to

proofread.

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Summary

5. Endorsements

• Quid pro quo.

• Movable module.

Recommendations

& Endorsements

• Client recommendations

trump co-workers.

• Quid pro quo.

• Endorsements boost LI

search results.

• Goal: 1 recommendation

per job title, 10 total is a

sweet spot.

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Prospecting

Lead Nurturing

Competitive Intel

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“LinkedIn is the best tool we

have for business development”

— Anna Bratton, top sales exec

at Salesforce.com

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Prospect Intel

Step 2: Analyzing company and personal profiles

.

What can you glean from knowing: • 2nd & 3rd party connections • Groups • Companies followed • Personal interests • Connections

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Joining key groups that your prospects already participate in can

offer valuable access to conversations. *Default settings will also

give you access to free InMail to co-Group members.

• Any LinkedIn member can be saved as a contact by

going to their profile page and clicking the Relationship

tab next to Contact Info.

• Your notes, reminders and tags are private to you.

• Tags can be categorized by buyer persona, job title, or

even a conference call name and date.

• Pull up saved contacts by going to your “contacts”

under “Network,” then sort by desired filter.

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Prospect Intel

• Salesforce Integration

• Jerad Demo

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Engagement

Relationship building & nurturing

Introductions

InMail

Soft Sell

Social posts

Mutual Groups

Content sharing

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Follow and engage key influencers on

LinkedIn Pulse

• Relationships with influencers lends credibility

and influence to your own personal brand.

• Influencers are power connectors with vast

networks and connections.

Participate in key LinkedIn Groups

• Conference, professional association and niche

industry groups are hotbeds of insightful

conversations and industry prospects.

• Participation increases visibility in target

audiences outside your personal network.

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• Engagement ranges from InMail and

Connection invites to posts, comments, likes

and shares.

• Start by listening. Prospects’ conversations

often provide insights into problems and

areas of interest.

• Engaging with your group and network

audiences builds trust, influence and visibility.

• Demonstrate value by sharing helpful content

to your networks-at-large, and also to

individual prospects when appropriate.

• Be ever-conscious of tact, you don’t want to

come across as pushy or creepy.

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• “Like” or “share” stories from LinkedIn

Company Pages, Connections and Groups.

• Contribute thoughtful comments or expertise

to conversations happening in key LinkedIn

Groups.

• Follow and engage with LinkedIn Pulse

Influencers relevant to your industry.

• Secret sauce: leverage online with offline

engagement to initiate and sustain long-term

relationships.

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1. B2B buying behavior has changed.

2. Get ahead by getting active in the first 70% of today’s path

to purchase (B2B buyer journey).

3. Design your digital persona according to your ideal buyer.

4. Harness LinkedIn for prospect and competitor investigation

and analysis.

5. Successful LinkedIn relationships start with listening.

6. Harness the power of industry influencers and groups.

7. Master the Soft Sell by providing value long before

mentioning your product or launching your “pitch.”

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?

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• Troubleshooting? Email: xadame@cds-global.com Twitter: @xochiadame

• Grab the deck: SlideShare, CDS Global Blog, xochiada.me

• Stay tuned for future Social Selling resources