When I put together prospect lists, I usually save the potential account and I filter to find key personnel in target areas of business. Additional filters used may include recent activity on Linkedin and perhaps school.

I begin leveraging Buyer's First strategies by observing insights that may be available on the account and perhaps the individual(s). I will casually engage in posts from these contacts with likes initially and later I will start commenting. During this process, I am gathering intelligence that will allow me to personalize a connection request or send an Inmail.

In my correspondence I make it 1. personal, 2. Relevant 3. I will have some kind of call to action.

I will also use Smart Links to share information. Metrics from Smart Links allow me to view prospect engagement. I use smart links in correspondence that includes Inmail, emails, as well as Linkedin posts periodically.

Throughout this process, my goal is to establish trust with the prospect in a non threatening way before I drive the ask for business. You have to use your experience and judgment where it is appropriate to start "soft close" and test response from the prospect. If the prospect is ready to engage in that direction after a gentle nudge or two, let your observations guide you to next steps.

I am driving the engagement process but with Buyers First, The prospect feels like they are in the drivers seat without the hard sell pressure.

Regards

Scotty

I'm a huge believer in buyer-centric, human-to-human communication. So I've created a list of key prospects for a group of target accounts. I monitor those for activity looking for posts I can engage with and comment on.

I also look for insight in the prospect's profile, posts and company page to find a "nugget"...something that is clearly of interest to that person (and at least tangentially related to my offering). I'm looking for something that I can use for a conversation starter that's super relevant to that person.

Then I send a connection request mentioning the nugget and asking a question. I have 4 goals for that connection invitation:

1. demonstrate that I'm not a bot, and that I've taken the time to research them
2. get them to accept my connection request and reply to my question
3. start a very human, 1:1 conversation (much as I might if I met them in person)
4. once we have a conversation going, ask if they'd be interested in getting acquainted and continuing the conversation over a virtual cup of coffee.

This approach is very reliable for booking introductory calls (about 70% success rate).

After that intro call, I keep track of them in a separate list in Navigator to stay on top of what they're posting, so I can continue to react, comment, engage and nurture the relationship.

Where appropriate, I'll send additional messages, sharing content, asking their thoughts, and furthering the relationship until they're sales-ready. Often they reach out to me to ask for a meeting, or they just go and buy my course, because they've seen me demonstrate the value.

Not only have I won lots of clients this way, but I've also established deep friendships, been booked for speaking engagements and podcasts, and established partnerships and affiliates. LinkedIn is an amazing platform for true networking.

 Winner Announcement

Hi Community members,

First, thank you so much for taking the time to complete another bi-monthly mission and share how you are putting buyers first. We are incredibly grateful and humbled for you to be part of our Community.

Just like we've announced below, we have run a random draw to select the winner (please see this video with the random winner selection.) This said, I'm delighted to announce that @Candyce E​  is the lucky winner of our Community Bi-Weekly Mission! Congratulations! 👏 🎉

(We'll be reaching out in order to send you the incredible award package.)

Lastly, to everyone who participated, we will be running many Community bi-weekly missions in the future, so stay tuned and get ready as the next one will be announced soon!

Thank you for being outstanding members,

Nádia 

Congratulations @Candyce E​ 

Thank you @Nadia Vieira​!!

Thank you for sharing how you've been able to put your buyers first with so many Sales Navigator features, @Scott R​! Love, love what you said at the end— that you are driving the engagement but it feels like the prospect/buyer is in the driver's seat, which is exactly how it should be when we put buyers first.

I really like how you're putting the focus on gaining the buyer's trust in the long run and slowly putting yourself on their radar in a gentle, polite way rather than coming at them with your business ask without any engagement or relationship first.

You touched on not only one but four/five specific Sales Navigator features (Lists, Search & Alerts, InMail messages, Smart Links) to put buyers first, and that is what shows you're truly thinking about them and how you can best add value and support them with the tools and techniques you have. 😊

Thank you @Eva Chen​ 

This is so amazing, @Candyce E​! And welcome to the Sales Navigator Community. 😊 It sounds like you're already familiar, but if you haven't, I'd recommend watching the Getting Started Videos to help new members find resources, navigate the platform, and become more advanced members. Check out our List of Resources for more links and top Community threads as well.

I just love everything you've shared with us here on how you're leveraging Sales Navigator to put your buyers first. You've not only touched on how you're using each feature to do so, but you've also spelled out a step-by-step process for how you've been able to convert those leads to sales— and most importantly, created long-lasting and meaningful relationships as well.

Bravo! Thank you so much for sharing your successful approach and reminding all of us to be human even when behind a screen. I can see how you're personable and approachable and why you've been able to form friendships with those in your LinkedIn network.

Congrats on winning and hope to see you around in the Community!