Are you using LinkedIn to connect with new leads and clients?
Do you want to learn about social selling tactics on LinkedIn?
Social selling is the use of social media to discover and connect with new leads and new clients.
In this article, you’ll discover a 6-step process to find new leads and attract new clients on LinkedIn.
Start social selling on LinkedIn with these 6 simple steps. Image source: iStockphoto
#1: Make Your Profile Easy to Find
Most of social selling requires an active outreach process. But you can draw prospective clients to you when you optimize your profile with keywords a potential new client might use when seeking out someone with the products or services that you provide. Add strong keywords to the Title and Summary sections of your profile to ensure you show up in search results.
Remember that you’ll only show up in search results for people in your network. This includes first-, second- and third-level connections, and people who are members of groups you belong to. For this reason it’s beneficial to have a larger LinkedIn network rather than keeping it limited to close personal connections.
The more connections you have, the more searches you will show up in. That said, try not to treat LinkedIn as a popularity contest, since you’re limited to 3000 connection invites.
#2: Create Strategic Alliances
Next you’ll want to remember to network and build business relationships with peers in your industry.
Find professionals who share a target market similar to yours, but don’t offer the service you provide. Once you connect with them, consider fostering a reciprocal relationship to generate referrals for each of you.
Before connecting with a prospect, ask yourself “What do I have to offer her?”
The third-party credibility you receive will dramatically shorten the sales cycle with prospective clients.
#3: ‘Search’ for Opportunities
Now you can focus on finding the prospects you want for your business.
First, join a few LinkedIn groups to network with a wider audience.
Second, use the excellent functionality of Advanced Search to find prospects. You can filter by relationship, groups, location and industry, and the Save Search function even allows you to store effective criteria.
Search by relationship, groups, location and industry.
Use the Tags feature in LinkedIn Contacts to sort your results and save profiles of prospects to the Profile Organizer without being connected to them.
#4: Carefully Craft Your Message
After you identify someone you want to connect with, you’ll want to carefully tailor your communication.
A great first impression with your prospects on LinkedIn should leave them with an interest in your service and a willingness to continue communication.
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/finding-clients-on-linkedin/