Before I get to the reason I’m writing today, I just have to take a moment to reflect on how incredible it is that I can be blogging at 30,000 feet. I’m “literally” in the cloud as I organize my thoughts. As a kid, I knew that I would be a frequent traveler, but never did I imagine that I would be doing my writing from a device the size of day planner. Amazing stuff.
OK, on to my topic for today.
Had the opportunity today to conduct a social media program with a sales organization looking to better leverage tools like LinkedIn and Inside View to supercharge their referral building, prospecting and lead generation activities. Though some in the audience were completely overwhelmed at times (there is so much to absorb it can make your head spin), they were a group eager to learn and stand apart from their competitors. Some of them may have walked into the room a little skeptical about how social can drive sales opportunities, but by the time I wrapped up…they got it.
Do you?
If you sell products and services and are reading this post, I want you to hear loudly and clearly what I’m about to share with you now.
Ready?
80% of buyers go online and start the sales process WITHOUT YOU! That’s right, they do their homework and may even be researching you right now. And you don’t even know it.
How’s that for a compelling reason to stop procrastinating and get that profile rockin’?
Buyer 2.0 is online looking for solutions that will solve their business problems and the people who will help them implement those solutions. Will they find you or your competitor first? If they find you, what message are you communicating? Is there enough compelling content to peak their interest so that they want to engage with you personally?
You likely have only one shot, and I’ve experienced firsthand how this works.
A recent client told me how they had been referred to me by a colleague. Rather than call me based on the recommendation, the very first thing that they did was go to my LinkedIn profile and website. They reviewed the content, watched my videos, checked out my background to validate that I did have the skills they wanted. It was at that point that they made the decision to connect with me about doing business together.
If I didn’t have the skills they needed, they would have kept looking for someone better suited to meet their needs. And, I would never have known it!!!!
I cannot emphasize enough that this happens all the time.
The tough part is you don’t even know how many times you are being passed over for a sales opportunity, because your LinkedIn profile is practically screaming at your prospect to move on to your competitor.
What can you do? Well, take a minute to read another post I wrote that talks about 29 ways that you can better leverage LinkedIn and put the suggestions into action. That will be a good starting point.
I’m about to close for today, so I want to leave you with a final thought.
If you really believe that actual revenue cannot be generated using tools like LinkedIn…you are wrong!
I would like to suggest that just because you do not understand how it all works doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work. And that is a conversation for another day!