4 Obvious Prospecting Tips for Your LinkedIn Profile
Posted by Barb Giamanco on Sat, Nov 12, 2011 @ 01:14 PM
This week I had the opportunity to write a couple of guest posts for the Sales 2.0 Conference blog that offer salespeople tips for ensuring that prospects can easily contact them. The first focused on LinkedIn and the other focused on the things that you can do to enhance your Twitter profile and you can read both of them here on my site also.
Let's start with LinkedIn...
When was the last time you viewed your social profiles through the eyes of your prospects? Although many salespeople have LinkedIn accounts precisely to network and build referrals, a high percentage of them unwittingly make it difficult for prospects to connect with them.
Buyers are impatient. Make it difficult for them to reach you, and guess what? They move on to your competitor.
If you want to shrink the sales cycle and improve your chances of being contacted by a prospect, here are four things you can do immediately:
1) Add your phone number to your LinkedIn profile.
Select “Edit Profile” (under the “Profile” tab) and scroll down to the Personal Information section (all the way at the bottom). Although the section is titled “Personal,” add your business phone number and address. Because LinkedIn only makes your phone number visible to first-level connections, I also suggest that you include your phone number in your profile summary and specialties areas.
2) Include your business email so that your first-level connections have another communication option beyond emailing through the social site.
Remember, not everyone visits LinkedIn on a daily basis.
3) Set your email settings so that LinkedIn invitations and messages come directly into your email inbox.
View your inbox as your communications hub. Use inbox rules to automatically organize and forward your message to folders you designate for your LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook messages. Be careful, though—don’t forget to check those folders regularly.
4) Download the LinkedIn mobile app so your LinkedIn network is always with you.
This lets you respond quickly to connection requests and incoming messages; it also allows you to reach out to others when you have down time.
By the way, on November 15, I will present "Sales Meets Social: Identifying and Reaching High-Profile Prospects: at the Sales Strategies in a Social & Mobile World Conference. Perhaps I'll see you there?