LinkedIn: 10 Best Practices for Sales

Remember when you got that first LinkedIn invite 6 years ago and you thought it was spam? So much has changed! Today, LinkedIn is officially a phenomenon -- with 50 million users worldwide -- and growing roughly one new member/second! When LinkedIn launched in 2003, it took 477 days to reach their first million members. The last million took only 12 days.

So, how do you make the most of LinkedIn in your prospecting, negotiating, and closing efforts? I’ve collected 10 great best practices; from some of the wisest Smarketing thought leaders I follow every day on Twitter:

1. Take a few regularly scheduled minutes each week to expand your network. Develop your network before you need it. [Mark Hunter ]
2. Include a personal note when you invite others to your LinkedIn network (i.e., go beyond the standard form greeting). Consider adding, “If you feel you have received this invitation in error or simply don’t want to connect, please archive this message”. This way they are less likely to ‘I don’t know’ you  [Viveka von Rosen]
3. Send a LinkedIn request to anyone you meet in a professional setting. Even if you don't see immediate opportunity, there's a chance something may materialize down the line with that person or someone in their network [Aaron Goldman]
4. Start writing quality recommendations for people you can vouch for. If they can do the same for you, ask for one back. If not, hold off. No sense making someone feel awkward. [Chris Brogan]
5. Focus on being genuine and offering something of value to your connections. [Bill Rice]
6. Use your LinkedIn connections to create meeting opportunities (breakfast, lunch, phone conferences, etc.) Simply connecting on LinkedIn is not enough. [Nathan Kievman]
7. Create a power public profile (including a professional headline, a regularly updated status, a summary that tells people what you do, and links to your web site for SEO bonus) [Gail Milton]
8. Make sure your profile sizzles! Tell your audience not only that you’re great at your job, but passionate about it. [Trish Bertuzzi]
9. Include a link to your LinkedIn profile as part of your email signature [Guy Kawasaki]
10. Participate in, and initiate LinkedIn Q&A forums and polls to assert your thought leadership. [Doyle Slayton]

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-- Carla Gates, Director, Marketing

Comments

[Billrice]

Thanks for the compliment and inclusion with this all-star cast!

I think LinkedIn is still an under-utilized social venue teaming with B2B sales and business development opportunity. That of course means opportunity.

Thanks for the great post.

[relationshipsellingbuffs]

Thank you for a great post on the power of LinkedIn. I just recently started using it and I think it is definitely an underutilized networking tool. With facebook, twitter and other social media tools, many times the most powerful ones are left on the sidelines. Thanks for a great post.