For most Business to Business (B2B) establishments, LinkedIn is vital in gaining prospects. This is because it is one platform where millions of professionals from all across the world are looking to collaborate and facilitate business growth. In fact, LinkedIn actually makes up 80 percent of the leads generated by a business through social media.
1. Promote your Connections
Operating within a B2B industry, promoting your connections with other corporations could go a long way in attracting new prospect. This is because the more likely you are to publicly appreciate another’s work, the more likely they are to return the favor. This would mean that you get more publicity because you are being endorsed and advertised to a different market as well.
2. Join Relevant Groups
LinkedIn allows for businesses and individuals to join various groups within an industry in order to promote collaboration. While many believe this is a place where they can get more prospects, the reality is that groups are good for information that leads you to your target market only. Then you can advertise yourself to them directly.
3. Alter your Profile
When you create a profile on LinkedIn, you want to ensure that it is fully optimized. Not only should you develop your profile in a manner that makes is easily accessible but you should incorporate aspects or features that will set you apart from all your competitors. That is the only way you will be able to generate leads because people will look for a business that goes the extra mile.
4. Explore the ‘People also Viewed’ Section
After a certain amount of time spent of LinkedIn, you will have a loyal customers who are responsible for the growth of your business. However, you will want to attract more but you may believe that you will not find leads quite like them. Through the use of the ‘people also viewed’ section, you will be able to look for prospects that are very similar to your regular customers. This is a simple way through which you can maximize the number of leads.
5. Explore the ‘Skills’ Section
Much like the ‘People also Viewed’ section, there is a ‘Skills’ section at the bottom of every prospect’s profile. This gives you access to potential leads who have endorsed the skills and services of your prospect. Chances are, they are looking for the same thing that your prospect is looking for thus creating opportunities for you.
6. Approach New Connections
There are times when important customers decide to switch between companies. Gaining a prospect, then, is most effective if you target them at that point in time because they are looking for new projects to embark upon. Providing them with new and exciting opportunities is a sure way to maximize the number of prospects you can generate.
7. Observe Competitors
Through LinkedIn, you can have access to the networks your competitors have established for themselves. If you search for their name, you will be given access to that same network as well. You can decide to advertise or attract new leads through connecting with their customer list and prove why you are the better option. This way you won’t have to come up with a new prospect list altogether.
8. Try the Alumni Search
If you use the LinkedIn alumni search, you will be able to find prospects that have been with you throughout college. When a B2B business’ employees use this tool, they will have access to prospects they went to college with. This ensures that the new leads are those that easy to connect with. If you don’t create a prospect, you will still be able to create connections which can result in endorsements as mentioned above.
9. Go through the Comments
Next time you open LinkedIn, it is advisable that you go through the comments on the profile of all of your prospects. This will give you access to more individuals and companies that are interested in the same field and will prove to be a good collaborative partner for your business.
10. Look through Interactions
When you are active on LinkedIn, you will publish various posts that people can comment on, like and interact with. This gives you an opportunity to get in contact with them to figure out whether they could be a future prospect.
11. Use Search Alerts
There are many times when you will face difficulty contacting the right people at a company or even getting access to their profiles on LinkedIn. In order to overcome such issues, you should keep an observing eye on the hiring posts that competitor companies put up. Going through the applicant list or the interaction their hiring post has accumulated can grant you opportunities to contact these individuals and transform them into leads.
12. Refrain from Cold Calling
Before you actually contact a prospective lead, you need to go through their profile so that you learn more information about them. This will ensure that your first transaction is as relevant, precise and persuasive as possible. Cold calling entails that you initiate the conversation without gathering any information on the prospect thus making your pitch poor in quality.
