Cracking the LinkedIn Sales Code: A Sales Mastery Interview with Jill Konrath

Without question, LinkedIn is the premier, powerhouse B2B selling tool. With over 200 million users leveraging the platform, LinkedIn’s power is undisputed. For the pasts 9 years, I have not only been an avid user, but I was convinced – even before the addition of all the features and functions available to us today – that LinkedIn would become an indispensable tool to sales people.

In our recent report, The Impact of Social Media and Sales Quota and Corporate Revenue, we wanted to know if using social sales tools like LinkedIn actually led to revenue results. Not surprisingly, the answer is yes! Sales leaders need to know that not only do sellers who use social media outperform their sales peers in relation to quota objectives, but they are also able to track back their social selling activity to closed deals.

Of the social networking tools that sales people told us they used when networking, prospecting or doing their sales call planning, LinkedIn is by far the leader. And that leads me to my Sales Mastery Interview with Jill Konrath.

Jill recently co-authored an e-book with Ardath Albee called Cracking the LinkedIn Sales Code. Their survey of 3000+ salespeople revealed that 4.9% of them were blowing it out on LinkedIn. And, what they’re doing with LinkedIn is fundamentally different from what most sellers were doing.

During the interview, Jill and I talk about:

• What differentiates the top sellers and everyone else using LinkedIn.
• How top sellers use LinkedIn as a platform to build their professional presence.
• LinkedIn capabilities that top sellers use frequently.
• Social selling strategies that lead to more sales.
• How top sellers use LinkedIn to prepare for their sales calls.
• The differences in how top sellers approach groups versus everyone else.
• The truth about the investment in time and why it matters.
• Action steps to better leverage LinkedIn for prospecting.

As with all of my interviews, I learned from another sales master! Jill is a sales thought leader and best-selling author that I’ve followed for years, and just a few weeks after this interview, I had the opportunity to hang with Jill and enjoy dinner and drinks while she was in Atlanta on business. If you don’t know Jill, and I’m not sure how that could be possible, here is what you need to know. She is the author of SNAP Selling and Selling to Big Companies. Using fresh strategies that actually work with today’s crazy-busy buyers, she helps sellers create new opportunities, sell more to existing clients and speed up sales cycles.

Her newsletter is read by over 100,000 salespeople globally. And, she’s a frequent speaker at sales kick-off meetings and conferences.

Her expertise has by featured by ABC News, Fortune, Forbes, The New York Times, Inc. and Selling Power. Everywhere you look, you see Jill’s name today; she’s on the leading edge of what it takes to be successful in a challenging business environment.

Enjoy the interview!