4 Ways to Forge Better Relationships with LinkedIn Selling

In 2024, no sales professionals can afford to ignore LinkedIn as a powerful sales channel. With over one billion members and a range of innovative built-in features designed specifically for the purpose, it's clear why - and the figures speak for themselves: 78% of reps who leverage selling on LinkedIn outperform those who don't. Social selling is here to stay, so your business should optimize its social selling efforts to actively engage with potential customers, build relationships that last, solidify your professional brand, and boost sales conversations.

With us to explain exactly how to do this was Lindsey McMillion-Stemann of McMillion Consulting. Lindsey has made a stellar career out of her prospecting expertise and today helps business all over the country improve their sales funnels with a powerful social selling strategy. The last time we sat down with Lindsey, we discussed how businesses can use LinkedIn as an effective sales tool, so be sure to check that out if you haven't already.

Today, we're continuing the conversation. We're laying out four expert social selling tips you can implement today to build meaningful connections and close more deals. So stick around to see why social selling should be your next big focus.

What is social selling?

Social selling is a descendent of more traditional selling methods like cold calling and email outreach, and is a natural result of the social media explosion of the last two decades. In essence, social sellers leverage LinkedIn and other social media platforms - although LinkedIn is a favored option for its professional reputation and cool features, with 43% of salespeople using it to improve their social selling efforts - to identify potential customers, reach out with instant, personalized messaging, and book more appointments.

Although social setting isn't a replacement for other lead generation methods, and should be used in tandem with them, it does represent a growing segment of sales strategies worldwide. And according to HubSpot, 87% of sellers agree that it's helped them increase sales and drive revenue.

Three benefits of LinkedIn social selling

So what's all the fuss about? How is social selling different from email outreach or cold calling? Let's take a look:

1. Target prospects more efficiently‍
   
   • With built-in tools like the LinkedIn Sales Navigator, sales professionals can identify prospects and target accounts super easily. All they have to do is run a search using the LinkedIn Sales Navigator advanced search filters - after purchasing it, of course - to get a list of high-value leads they can reach out to.
   • Although not every result will lead to a sale, social selling tools like these are just as reliable as traditional databases. In fact, salespeople who use LinkedIn Sales Navigator see 42% larger deal sizes.‍
2. ‍Boost brand awareness‍
   
   • Social selling revolves around social media. This gives businesses who leverage LinkedIn a great opportunity to build awareness and establish themselves as a thought leader while they generate leads, all on one platform.
   • By making sure they create a polished LinkedIn profile, stay in the loop with industry events, and post content that's valuable to their target audience, sales professionals can use social selling not only for outbound sales but to increase inbound as well.‍
3. Build better relationships‍
   
   • Another huge advantage of LinkedIn social selling is that, by virtue of its nature, it's social. It gives your business and opportunity to showcase its authentic self, as well as start and maintain more natural, less 'salesy' communications and meet mutual connections. Let's face it: a DM in LinkedIn just feels friendlier than an anonymous email

How to improve your social selling efforts: four ways

So, let's take a look at the four major tips Lindsey shared with us in today's podcast episode. By implementing these, you'll set your business on course for some of those impressive stats we saw earlier.

Perfect your LinkedIn profile

Lindsey pointed out one fact essential for understanding social selling: however good your messaging is, potential buyers will still judge your profile before committing. And fair enough! They want to see who you are, not just what you're selling on LinkedIn. So to increase sales conversations, it's imperative that your LinkedIn profile - including everything from a profile picture by a professional photographer to relevant content showcasing how you've helped similar business in the past - represents your brand, builds trust, and establishes credibility.

Lindsey also notes that LinkedIn profiles are becoming more personal. Whereas pre-Covid (remember that?) sellers would have kept things tightly buttoned-up, it's now more common to incorporate your personality into your profile. The key condition, though, is that it somehow ties back to your ability to provide valuable information and effective solutions.

Make use of LinkedIn's features

Social media platforms are constantly experimenting with new tools and features. LinkedIn is no different, and now offers more features than ever sales professionals can use to make themselves stand out. We've already discussed the Sales Navigator tool; now, let's look at some others:

• Featured Section
  
  • LinkedIn's Featured Section is one of the most useful tools you can use to demonstrate valuable content to decision makers. The feature allows you to pin your best work - think LinkedIn articles and projects - to the top of your LinkedIn profile so it doesn't get lost in the crowd, putting sales professionals' past success front and centre.
• Showcase Page
  
  • Similarly, LinkedIn's Showcase Page allows sales professionals to display dedicated pages for individual services, products, and more. The difference is that the format gives you the power to segment your target audience and deliver highly-tailored content aimed specifically at them. This helps prospective customers reach you through advanced search results.
• Live Videos and Voice Notes
  
  • For further personalization, LinkedIn has introduced live videos and voice notes. The benefit of these features for sales professionals is clear: it transforms you from a 'connection request' into a real person with a real value proposition.

Many sales professionals fail to make full use of LinkedIn's full range of features, so by doing so, you'll be putting yourself ahead of the competition and improving your Social Selling Index score.

Take the conversation offline

Although LinkedIn is great for prospecting and initial outreach, it's important to remember that your leads probably spend less time on the platform than you do. And when they do log on, they're probably facing hundreds of connection requests, requests to join LinkedIn groups, and other DMs. So in order to keep the conversation moving, it's essential to give your leads offline contact options - basically, your phone number.

Not only does this ensure better CRM and communications, but it also adds credibility to your outreach. As Lindsey believes, sales professionals should never underestimate the power of voice, and professional cold calling should always be a part of good social selling.

Follow up, follow up, follow up!

The truth is: one, two, even three touches aren't enough. Your prospects are super busy, so it's important to stay consistent with your messaging. Following up is a key component of any great social selling strategy and can genuinely transform your sales funnel.

Here are two statistics which tell you everything you need to know about the importance of follow-up messaging: 44% of salespeople call it quits after just one follow-up call, and 60% of new prospects decline as many as four times before changing their minds and agreeing to buy.

So, by perfecting the art of the follow-up, you're not only standing out by demonstrating your seriousness, but massively improving your sales process and driving more conversions.

Improve your sales pipeline with a killer social selling strategy today

An effective lead generation or sales development strategy relies on a number of components, not least a great company website, CRM integrations, and multi-channel engagement. But things are changing, and in today's world of B2B sales, social selling on LinkedIn is fast becoming a go-to sales strategy.

And it's no wonder why: companies who've perfected the art of LinkedIn social selling are 40% more likely to hit revenue goals than those who haven't.

There's a lot that goes into effective social selling, but sales professionals should start with their LinkedIn profile, making sure it's as authentic and interesting as possible. They can use LinkedIn's incredible range of features - such as Showcase Pages and Live Videos - to achieve this and improve their Social Selling Index score. Plus, implement a disciplined follow-up schedule and always give your prospects the opportunity to take the conversation offline.

A lot to take in, right? Lindsey is a top expert when it comes to social selling, so following her is sure to give you an edge. Leadium also specializes in LinkedIn Social Selling as part of its multi-channel engagement strategy, so we've got tons of useful information on our blog. Or, to see how we can help you secure better leads and more sales, reach out today.