4 Easy Steps To Find Your Perfect Customers On LinkedIn (And Close Deals)

Ready to target your perfect B2B prospects?

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 5 years you're probably aware that LinkedIn has evolved into a tool that allows you to target, connect, build relationships and close deals with your ideal prospects. Over the past couple of years this platform has been the primary source of clients for my digital marketing agency Digital Maximum. Sure, I've had the odd offline referral here and there, but for the most part, my mid to high value recurring business has come from LinkedIn.

(If you couldn't be stuffed reading the article, here's a video of the entire thing! :) )

Why LinkedIn?

LinkedIn now boasts over 500 million users with 2 new users signing up every second! While often viewed as a network for job hunting and recruiting, LinkedIn is also the best social network to discover and connect with leads and clients. When we’re talking B2B sales, this should be your platform-of-choice.

If you are like most people I know, you may have created a profile on LinkedIn but are now unsure of exactly what to do with it or how best to use it. Or, you are reasonably active; You post things, comment, like and share other peoples content, but aren't really having a lot of success getting clients though it.

You may not be totally convinced that it is worth your time and effort to actually use LinkedIn or develop a LinkedIn marketing strategy. Now if this is the case, I want to share a couple of quick stats with you:

• Over 80% of all B2B leads generated by social media come from LinkedIn. (Source: LinkedIn)
• 90% of top performing sales people now use social media as part of their sales strategy. (Source: LinkedIn State of Sales Report)
• 79% of B2B Marketers say LinkedIn is an effective source for generating leads. (Source: LinkedIn)

So how do you access this potentially never ending pool of prospective clients?

If you’re not 100% sure who your perfect prospect is, follow these next steps

This is how you determine the demographics of your perfect prospect …so you can target them on LinkedIn

A: Review Your Current Customer Base

Do they have anything in common? Title? Location? Size of business?

B: Research Your Competition

Review their website, content and LinkedIn Profile. Who are they targeting? You may learn about a new niche market you can sell to.

C: Analyse Your Product or Service

 Who benefits the most from using your product or service?

What is the decision maker’s title you need to connect with on LinkedIn?

Are they a:

VP?

CEO?

CXO?

Director?

CMO?

CTO…. Recruiter, Human Resource Director, Manager, Attorney, Marketing Company, Social Media Company, Doctor, Dentist and more…a Speaker, Author, Contractor, Engineer or Nurse…

The possibilities are limitless, right? 

What size business do they work for?

Do they employ 10 people or 1,000 people?

Or, are they self-employed?

Where are they located? (Did you know you can target prospects on LinkedIn using postal zip codes!)

Now that you’ve identified your perfect demographic and are targeting them on LinkedIn…

...let’s monetise your work using a simple strategy that will help you close more sales.

Here is: The 4-Step Strategy to Successfully Close Deals on LinkedIn

1: Get your 'Expert Positioning' right

This is the most important step in my opinion!

Have you ever asked your doctor for proof of their medical degree? Or asked a chef at your favourite restaurant to show you proof of how long they’ve been cooking professionally? In pretty much all cases the answer to these questions would be ‘No’.

Why then do most businesses spend an inordinate amount of time validating their experience and credentials with potential clients? This comes down to their lack of ‘Expert Positioning’.

Expert Positioning is the art of presenting yourself as an expert in your field, without overtly shouting it out. This opens doors and increases your authority, both to your target market as well as within your industry. It lets you command higher fees, makes the ‘sell’ easier, and goes a long way to building a scalable, predictable client base.

When you are perceived as being an authority in your industry, it means that any conversation you have with a prospect is only about how you can add value to their business. It brings the focus on to how you can help them achieve their goals and solve their marketing pains. There is almost no requirement for you to explain why the client should choose you, and not a lower priced competitor, who seems to be offering exactly the same service you are! Isn’t that the bane of most businesses?

When you have expert positioning, you are not being judged on price, but by what return on investment you can bring to the table.

So how is this magical state acquired?

Nope, its not rocket science or black magic. I like to use the analogy of a display home. A builder will never invite you to look at a display home unless it is properly setup. They will make sure every little detail is perfect; from the furniture and décor accessories that are chosen, to how the place smells. It needs to look and feel better than the other 30 display houses down the street.

With LinkedIn, expert positioning can be as simple as displaying a very specific set of elements. They are; clarity of identity (a good profile pic for example), social proof (info that validates who you say you are) , a strong value proposition (why should your perfect customer connect to you), testimonials, and articles presenting marketing info relevant to your target industry. Real-world case studies add a nice layer of icing on the authority cake.

If you're unsure of how your 'Expert Positioning' stacks up, I'm happy to give you a profile 'audit' and 'makeover' (if required) to make sure you're optimising how your profile is presented. Message me!

2: Connect with your ideal targets

We've already gone over how to figure out who your target demographic is. Now connect with them. Don't just hit the connect button. Use a simple, personalised message as part of the connection request.

Here's the formula for a good connect message. Keep it simple and personal. DO NOT SELL! Just say hello and say that you'd like to be part of their network....in your words!

It could be as simple as;

"Hey Sam,

Hope you're well. I noticed that we had quite a few mutual connections in Melbourne. I'd love to connect and learn more about what you do.

Enjoy your week.

Cheers

Bobby"

Let’s translate this to the real world. You’re at a cocktail party or networking event. A guy you’ve never met comes up to you, politely introduces himself, knows exactly who you are, shares some nice words about how you or your business helped him, and asks for nothing else but to shake your hand.

Would you shake his hand?

Of course!

Think of your LinkedIn connection request as your way to get that virtual handshake. Even if someone doesn’t accept your request, which is unlikely, by using a simple and personalised message, they're less likely to report your request as spam.

3: Message them to lock in an appointment

Here's where the Pros get separated from the Amateurs. Send a follow up message. Most people on LinkedIn have been trained to never hear from you again after connecting, so you'll catch them off guard.

Here's a tip that might go against everything you've done or been trained to do; DON'T ASK FOR A MEETING. Any time you begin your sale by trying to get an appointment you are being rejected by 90 – 97% of perfectly good prospects. (So says Sharon Drew Morgen, inventor of the Buying Facilitation method. And she’s got 20 years of experience to back-up the statement.)

This is because most buyers don’t know precisely what they need when you email them. Or they do have a need but aren’t ready to buy yet. Other buyers have not assembled the decision-making team—yet. Setting an appointment with a seller will happen—but not with you. Because you asked for it (too early).

Instead, use a message to provoke a, “can you tell me more?” from a potential buyer. Use the chance to push on a pain—or surface an unknown fact the prospect needs to know about before they can make an informed decision.

Here is an effective 'get an appointment' template for you to try. Let me know how it works for you.

"Hi, Sam.

Are you adding new capability to your ______________ [insert area of business your product addresses] at any time soon or in future? I work with organisations like _______ [prospect’s business] to make sure ________ [goal].

Would you like to quickly explore, via a discovery call, if a larger conversation makes sense? Please let me know what you decide.

Thanks for considering,

Cheers

Bobby"

Remember, be creative. You don’t need to stick with this template verbatim. Make the tone sound like you. Get on the radar of all decision-makers by asking for permission to facilitate, not discuss need.

4: Speak to them on the phone or in person and close the deal

Sales closing techniques are a whole different ball game and I will talk about them in upcoming articles!

But just remember this quote when you pitch to a prospect! "No one cares what the shovel costs when you're digging for gold!"

Establish the end result of what using your product/service will be for them before you discuss price. If someone is going to make an additional $20,000 a month profit because of what you are bringing to the table, then your $3000 a month fee is not going to be a problem!

In closing...

I hope this article gave you some insight on how to use LinkedIn better. As I mentioned earlier, please feel free to reach out if you'd like me to audit your profile and give you some recommendations on how to increase your industry authority.

Cheers

Bobby

Phone: +61 404 054 636

Email: [email protected]

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This article uses partial content by:

Cory Sanchez - MojoGlobal.com

Larry Kim - Wordstream.com

Jeff Molander - JeffMolander.com