Viveka von Rosen is the leading LinkedIn, social selling expert, and author of LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour A Day. In today’s episode, Viveka and I chat about LinkedIn, social selling and how businesses can use these platforms to build a stronger relationship with their prospects and clients. We also discuss how sales reps can use these tools to warm up their cold calls for inbound or outbound. Tune in to hear about the misconceptions of LinkedIn and how to use this tool to build better relationships in business.

Bullet Points

• • What is the biggest misconception in regards to LinkedIn?
• • How to utilize Sales Navigator.
• • Why is LinkedIn becoming more isolated?
• • What should Sales Reps focus on about LinkedIn?
• • What are the differences between LinkedIn and other social media outlets?
• • What is the psychological aspect of using LinkedIn?

LinkedIn has become an indispensable tool for sales reps but like everything else in life it suffered from a little too much attention. There is increasing talk about LinkedIn succumbing to some of the overused spam tactics that have plagued email, and others are saying they are done with LinkedIn altogether. However, all of your contacts for your prospects and customers are on LinkedIn - more than likely the best way to connect with potential buyers, prospects, and services.

There are many misconceptions about LinkedIn, it isn’t just a job seeking tool. Sales reps do not realize how critical of a social selling, content marketing, and lead generating tool it is, which is a problem for corporations because some of them are conservative and don’t realize the benefits of LinkedIn. Don’t worry about employers thinking you are job seeking, you can shut that feature off on your profile.

Some people also think that LinkedIn is a social media site, which harms them. It is a business tool first and foremost that has the added social elements, such as timeline and groups.

Sales Navigator is better than the regular messenger on the unpaid side of LinkedIn. The ability to sort and see the communications of your prospects is huge and contacting people that you aren't linked to is a big bonus.

LinkedIn is isolating themselves, which is going to cost them business. They are also disenfranchising from the free membership, and that’s who their paid customers are paying for access. What LinkedIn fails to remember is there are over 400 million users, and only 3 million of those users are Premium. There are many other ways LinkedIn could monetize, but that is not going to happen if they keep upsetting their bigger group of people, catering to their higher end premium users is going to isolate them even more.

 LinkedIn’s end user agreement states you need to represent yourself; people need to use their full first and last names, post a picture of themselves, not their company. There is a feature that you can make your name and photo visible to everyone, make sure to add a professional headline in 120 characters or less.

You can warm up those cold calls by doing research on LinkedIn, so that when you pick up the phone you know who the person is that you are speaking with. This will go long ways to your prospect or customers knowing, liking, and trusting you. Spend time curating relationships by making sure no matter what, your prospects or clients know you are the one to go to for the information they need. You don’t have to be a professional writer to share content, utilize someone else’s information you know will solve your client’s pain points.

Give LinkedIn a try for 30 days to test out the practices. If you don’t get the benefits within those 30 days then maybe it isn’t the proper platform for you.

LEARN MORE ABOUT VIVEKA VON ROSEN

What's your most powerful sales asset?

The ability to empathize by listening to clients.

Who’s your business role model?

Bob Burg

Name one book that every sales person should read.

Ask : The counterintuitive online formula to discover exactly what your customers want to buy...create a mass of raving fans...and take any business to the next level by Ryan Levesque

What’s your favorite music to get you pumped up?

Everything, except for Country Music.

What’s the one question you get asked by sales people?

Does LinkedIn really work?

CONTACT/RESOURCES FOR VIVEKA VON ROSEN

Viveka’s LinkedIn Expert

(If you want to connect with Viveka, please let her know you listened to this Podcast.)

Viveka on Facebook

Viveka on Twitter

In today’s episode, Tim and I discuss his 4th book Dealstorming: The Secret Weapon That Can Solve Your Toughest Sales Challenges.

Tim Sanders, author of four books, including the New

Bullet Points

The sales environment has changed over the last 15

When you make a B2B sale you do it by traversing four

Dealstorming is a process developed to bring the

Dealstorming is a problem-solving technique that is a

The sales process has become a bit antiquated in one

The first role to fill in the team would be the owner

Don’t invite people to come to a meeting - those are

LEARN MORE ABOUT TIM SANDERS

What's your most powerful sales

Curiosity

Who’s your sales role model?

Stephen Covey

Name one book that every sales person should

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our

What’s your favorite music to get you pumped

Mickey Snow, Gary Clark Jr, Old Dominion, and The

What’s the first sales activity you do every

Rehearse the day, before checking email.

CONTACT/RESOURCES FOR TIM

www.dealstorming.net

In this episode, Brad Szollose (the author of the award-winning book Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia--Multigenerational Management Ideas That Are Changing the Way We Run Things) and I discuss new styles of leadership - primarily how to get progressive tech-savvy Gen Y and analog driven Baby Boomers working together.

Brad Szollose is a business adviser, web pioneer,

Bullet Points

There can be a compelling argument made that the work

Millennials are getting a bad rap. People think they

Millennials want to be treated the way an experienced

Millennials, college educated and tech-savvy adults

Baby Boomers were raised to fear superiors and needed

LEARN MORE ABOUT BRAD SZOLLOSE

What's your most powerful sales

Spending less time on himself during the

Who’s your business role model?

Richard Branson and Grandfather

What’s your favorite music to get you pumped

Jazz and Funk

CONTACT/RESOURCES FOR BRAD

liquidleadership.com

[email protected]

Tune into the podcast to receive a Free Report: What

My regular guest on Front Line Friday is Bridget Gleason, VP of Corporate Sales for SumoLogic. In today’s episode, Bridget and I discuss the most commonly asked questions by sales managers on compensation for sales reps, title creep, and termination.

My regular guest on Front Line Friday is Bridget

Be sure to join us for this information-packed

Bullet Points:

Should you pay commissions to your sales

There is no clear yes or no answer to this question.

Do you have one plan for the entire sales

It’d be good to have a simplistic approach when it

Title creep is a bad idea.

If a sales rep conveys they want a title so the buyer

When do you know it’s time to terminate an

IMPORTANT!!! You don’t want anyone to be surprised.

Managers need to examine their more experienced

MORE ABOUT BRIDGET GLEASON

My first job in sales?

Selling and networking products and desktop

My most powerful sales tool?

LinkedIn Navigator

One book every salesperson should

Winner’s Dream by Bill McDermott

Music that psyches me up before an important

I tend to go quiet and focus and role play the call

CONTACT BRIDGET GLEASON

Bridget is VP of Corporate Sales at SumoLogic.

Contact Bridget:

Website: http://www.sumologic.com/

In today’s episode, Justin Christianson (best-selling author of Conversion Fanatics: How To Double Your Customers, Sales and Profits with A/B Testing) and I talk on how to test conversation rates and implement them into the sales process. 

Justin Christianson is the co-founder and President

Bullet Points

Focusing on a positive first impression is important

Conversion Fanatics reps lead quickly; their website

Justin starts off the conversation by finding his

The prospect is already educated on some of what

The business development side of Conversion Fanatics

Sales reps need to be a conversion copywriter; they

Companies lead with their features, but don’t tie

LEARN MORE ABOUT JUSTIN

What's your most powerful sales

Fun

Name one tool you have for sales management

SalesLoft

Who’s your sales role model?

Grant

What's the one book that every salesperson

The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og

What’s your favorite music to get you pumped

Sound of Silence by Disturbed

What’s the first sales activity you do every

Checking stats.

What’s the one question you get asked most by

What’s the price?

CONTACT/RESOURCES FOR JUSTIN

http://conversionfanatics.com/

https://clyxo.com/justinchristianson

In today’s episode, Julie and I discuss how most salespeople are using old presentation models in today’s market and how we can propel them forward into the 21st Century.