6 Steps to Get Started with Social Selling on LinkedIn

"So you’re looking to boost your B2B social selling power with LinkedIn. Where do you start?

You know that your prospects are out there and using the social network, but because LinkedIn has so many great many functions and features, it can be a little overwhelming.

Here are 6 easy and free steps I used to get myself started with social selling on LinkedIn.

• Set a Schedule Creating a schedule might seem insignificant and obvious, but it's the easiest way to keep your social selling plans on track and help keep you accountable. The time you spend on LinkedIn can vary based on what you hope to accomplish, but I personally find that two hours a week is a good place to begin. Allocate your time across two or more days a week to help maintain a stronger presence and keep up to date on the latest developments.

• Strive for Profile Completeness A complete profile is a must if you want to demonstrate your professionalism, highlight your credibility, and help attract inbound leads. To help you build a complete profile be sure to check out our former blog post on building a better LinkedIn profile. If you're looking for an example of what a complete profile looks like, feel free to reference my LinkedIn page.

• Build Up Connections and Ask for Referrals A major strength of LinkedIn is seeing how you are connected to your potential prospects and having the ability to ask for a referral. A 2^nd degree connection could be your chance to gain a warm introduction to your target prospect and earn their time. If you’re looking to grow your network with social selling try these 5 tips for making great LinkedIn connections.

• Find and Join Relevant Groups If you’re new to using groups you may not have noticed the “Insight” link within the group page. The information provided by the “Insight” link will outline helping information like the group’s demographics. Match the group demographics against your target prospect's characteristics to find the best groups to join. Groups provide you with the chance to demonstrate thought leadership and the opportunity to interact with potential prospects (the purpose of social selling!). Be sure to interact with your groups and check-in regularly for best results.

• Use LinkedIn Signal Of course, it's not practical to be on LinkedIn 24/7. To prevent missing an opportunity from a prospect update, use LinkedIn Signal. LinkedIn Signal allows you to quickly filter through status updates in order to find the most relevant data. Select keywords for your search and use LinkedIn’s eight filters to refine status updates even further. When you are satisfied with your search criteria be sure to save your settings for quick filtering in the future.

• Look for Trigger Events As a quick definition, a trigger event is a change in your prospects environment that results in an opportunity to sell. Craig Elias has presented the topic of trigger events in many of the webinars I've attended, referring to trigger events and timing as the “silver bullets” in sales. LinkedIn Signal can be a great way to find trigger events through updates but it also allows you “Follow” prospective companies to monitor for changes. New executive hires, promotions or dismissals could represent an opportunity for you to boost your B2B sales.

Be sure to put these free LinkedIn tips to use to enhance your social selling plan and boost your B2B social selling powers. If you enjoyed this blog post and would like to learn more social selling with LinkedIn, download VA Partners' LinkedIn for Sales White Paper."