So I’m LinkedIn, now what?
This past March LinkedIn.com boasted it had more than 100 million users worldwide where 21.4 million unique monthly visitors come from the USA. The company launched an IPO in May where the value of the stock doubled from $45 to $90 per share. The company’s stock trades under ticker symbol LNKD.
So, what has that meant for you? Have you gotten any business that can be traced to LinkedIn? It’s 2011, and many people are saying that the way we sell today has changed forever. Selling today is different. Are you taking full advantage of this new selling tool? Do you know how to take advantage of this potential new business generator? The time has come to ask “How much business can I gain from LinkedIn?”
Like everything in life you get out of something what you put into it. Like selling anywhere else, selling on LinkedIn requires time, dedication and a strategy. The misconception many people have towards LinkedIn is that you put up a profile and the sales will come rolling in, or that it is just a site for people looking for a job. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. To generate business on LinkedIn you have to have a complete and active profile.
We have developed our strategy for selling on LinkedIn into an acronym as follows: FLOES. (pronounced FLOWS) as in sales flowing in. It stands for the following:
- Find
- Listen
- Organize
- Engage
- Sell
The first step is to determine with whom you wish to connect. Customers both current and past are a great place to start. The more connections you have the easier it is for potential clients to find you. However be careful here because people will come to judge you by the types of connections you have. Your goal should be to be viewed as an expert in your industry, a “go-to” resource. Listen first. Just as you would at a business function, you don’t just walk up to a group of people engaged in a conversation and interrupt with a comment entirely irrelevant. Listen first become part of the current conversation. Then contribute as your experience tells you.
Once you become engaged on LinkedIn it can become very addictive. Protect your time by setting appointments with yourself to work on your LinkedIn activities and monitor the results. Are you getting value for your time? Remember to be patient. You can’t plant a tree on Monday and expect to have shade by Friday. Use this tool effectively to sell your expertise and capabilities as a solution provider. Brand yourself as an expert in your industry. Building business on LinkedIn requires patience and persistence. Take advantage of LinkedIn and other tools available to increase sales opportunities. If you would like to learn how to develop your personal sales strategy and “brand” consider attending our Selling in the Digital Age course. Oh, and by the way, if you would like to follow Sales Concepts on LinkedIn you may do it here: Sales Concepts on LinkedIn
Guidelines for Active Listening and Reflection
Studies from over twenty-five years of experience with non-directive interviewing in industry have produced a series of guides for empathetic listening. For a manager the most useful of these guides are:
1. Listen patiently to what the other person has to say, even though you may believe it is wrong or irrelevant. Indicate simple acceptance, not necessarily agreement, by nodding or perhaps injecting an occasional “mm-hmm” or “I see”
2. Try to understand the feeling the person is expressing, as well as the intellectual content. Most of us have difficulty talking clearly about our feelings, so it is important to pay careful attention.
3. Restate the person’s feeling briefly, but accurately. At this stage you simply serve as a mirror. Encourage the other person to continue talking. Occasionally make summary responses such as, “You think you are in a dead-end job”, or “You feel the manager is playing favorites.” In doing so, keep your tone neutral and try not to lead the person to your pet conclusions.
4. Allow time for the discussion to continue without interruption and try to separate the conversation from more official communication of company plans. Do not make the conversation any more “authoritative” than it already is by virtue of your position in the organization.
5. Avoid direct questions and arguments about facts; refrain from saying, “That is just not so”, “Hold on a minute, let’s look at the facts”, or “Prove it.” You may want to review evidence later, but a review is irrelevant to how a person feels now.
6. When the other person touches on a point you want to know more about, simply repeat his statement as a question. For instance, if he remarks, “Nobody can break even on his expense account”, you can probe by replying, “You say no one breaks even on expenses?” With this encouragement he will probably expand on his previous statement.
7. Listen for what is not said, evasions of pertinent points or perhaps too-ready agreement with common cliches. Such an omission may be a clue to a bothersome fact the person wishes were not true.
8. If the other person appears to genuinely want your viewpoint, be honest in your reply. In the listening stage, try to limit the expression of your views since these may influence or inhibit what the other person says.
9. Do not get emotionally involved yourself. Try simply to understand first and defer evaluation until later.
10. BE QUIET. Let the other person talk. Actively listen to what THEY have to say.
