LinkedIn has become a big focus for B2B sales teams, particularly in SaaS. Why? A myriad of reasons. Email deliverability has taken a hit, teams across the world have been caught by dropping reply rates and engagement via email. Cold calling post-pandemic was a challenge, where many of us went remote and have not gone back to the office, or at least fully. 

So we turn again to LinkedIn, our favorite place to network and connect with our peers. How can sales pros start social selling on LinkedIn with efficiency, with all of the other issues they’re facing going on around them? 

Here are the top tactics and strategies cutting it right now:

Short Video Introductions

Why settle for text when you can make a lasting impression with video? Consider recording and embedding customized 20-30 second video messages into your messaging. A warm, human face on screen can build trust and pique interest far more effectively than text alone, adding a personal touch to your outreach efforts.

It also allows you to show off some personality, some research that you may have undertaken as well as some creative touches you want to express in your outreach. 

Text alone can only do so much of that. Body language, tone of voice, facial expressions and so much more give off more signals than purely text outreach can achieve. Add this to the fact that as much as video has been talked about and broadly accepted as a viable and encouraged sales channel to use, it has fairly small adoption. 

Most prospects are rarely being sent video messages, if they ever have been sent one. This is a great way to stand out, show that level of investment and relevance you way the prospect will associate your message with. 

LinkedIn Voice Note Messaging

A favorite of ours. Most commonly done using a cell phone on the LinkedIn app, a voice note offers almost as much of that personal approach that a LinkedIn video can. Though a video can feel like a lot of effort, a voice note is easy to send. 

Keep in mind that you have a maximum of 60 seconds per voice note before the message caps off and sends, so no monologues! 

One thing to keep in mind, not everybody loves to send or receive a voice note. So to keep your message applicable to prospects with any different communication preferences, consider writing a brief text based TLDR version sometimes. 

Of course, in Sales we are used to not hearing back with every message we send. But sometimes, mix in leaving a text based and a voice-based message in the same sitting. This will allow the prospect to choose how they want to engage with your message. Bonus points for leaving a quick flourish or surprise to the end of the message as a thanks to them for listening to it rather than just reading the message. 

Doing this will show some empathy for their preferences, creativity and thoroughness. And no Sales rep wouldn’t want their prospects to think those sorts of things about their outreach.

Send Personalized InMail Messages

This requires a LinkedIn Sales Navigator license. You can think of sending InMail messages as a similar mechanism to sending an email, but through LinkedIn. There is however no deliverability issue associated with this because the message is carried through LinkedIn rather than your domains with any spam issues. 

This is perhaps the coldest, last option on your weapon wheel with LinkedIn. The hail mary, as it were. Other, softer and more personable approaches often show better results over the long ter. 

Plus, once you have sent your quota of InMails per month, you’re out of credits. InMails don’t scale infinitely, so keep in mind that your InMail is a finite resource for social selling on LinkedIn.

Content

It couldn’t be LinkedIn advice without mentioning content. Just posting is becoming considered table stakes. You do not need to become an influencer, you do not need to average 50 likes on each post you publish. 

The value is not even related to your personal brand or the opportunities to network with everyone on LinkedIn, those are very valuable side-benefits as it relates to social selling on LinkedIn. 

If even the thought of publishing your thoughts or recollections of industry trends sends shivers down your spine, consider that every time you do go through that process there is another impression of your name and therefore message going out to those people you have previously and newly connected with. 

Now imagine those new connections are your prospects, if you’re adding them as connections while you start reaching out to them. They start seeing your content, it’s another reminder and eyeball on you and the message you are sharing with them. When you reach out again, your face and content comes back into their mind. They remember you, you’re not a total stranger who could be a very complex AI reaching out to them!

You are not fully doing social selling on LinkedIn if there is not a level of content you’re publishing. 

Engagement

Arguably the best for last! 

Commenting and engaging with people’s posts is so valuable it is hard to express the real importance of. If content is considered table stakes, commenting and engaging when your prospects post is considered an absolute must. 

Just the sheer act of the notification associated with your name and an action you did relating to that prospect and their posts or profile, carries weight and is a reminder to them that you’re there trying to help them. 

Of course, you’ll need to be your true self when you comment. Tempting as it may be to use an AI tool for speed and knowing what to say in a comment, people can tell when this is happening. Allow your personality to come through in what you say, how you say it and over time that sense of familiarity will be built with your prospect. 

Taking 15 minutes per day to engage with your prospects on LinkedIn, made easier if you save them as leads in LinkedIn Sales Navigator, will be a simple and easy way to stay front of mind. This is true social selling on LinkedIn.

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