Does Your B2B Sales Team Dominate LinkedIn?

Wouldn’t it be great if, when your prospects search on LinkedIn for your products or services, your sales team dominates the results?

Adoption of LinkedIn is increasing by B2B professionals in corporations and organizations. Executive and managers are asking questions of their peers about which products and services they prefer in LinkedIn Groups and  the Questions and Answers feature. If your sales team not only participates but is able to dominate these conversations on LinkedIn, you can build your brand and stand out as an industry leader.

How Can Your Sales Team Dominate LinkedIn for Your Industry?

1. Have a strategy and a plan for your use of LinkedIn. Many salespeople have been on LinkedIn for years, doing their own thing. Make it clear that your company will be working with employees to create guidelines for use while in your employ.
   
2. Understand the conversation. Know what keywords and phrases customers use when they search for your products and services, and then strategically include those  in your company and employee profiles, in answers and group discussions.
3. Maintain complete profile information. Make sure your company profile and your employees profiles are complete and accurate with keywords and phrases and as much helpful description as possible.
4. Connect strategically with stakeholders – customers, prospects, partners, vendors and others. These connections become your platform for communicating via status updates and direct messages about new products, services and events
5. Train your sales team on how to use LinkedIn features. Does your team understand how to participate in groups, ask for recommendations, enter status updates, ask and answer questions, set up events and invite their contacts?
6. Incorporate LinkedIn into your marketing program. Make sure marketing builds information about your products, services and events on LinkedIn and your sales team champions them in their online conversations. (Note that I call them conversations, not sales pitches. It’s about engaging customers online, not stalking them.)

I’ve gotten feedback from some business owners that they don’t plan to invest in a LinkedIn strategy, because if their employee leaves the company, that investment will be lost. Wrong! This is very short-sighted. The conversation by your employees on LinkedIn remains forever, even if they leave.

Do you think it’s possible for a company or team to dominate LinkedIn? Please comment below.

Photo on Flickr Some rights reserved by Kraft Hockeyville Thetford Mines 2009

Tagged as: b2b, LinkedIn, marketing, results, social media