Top sellers today leverage LinkedIn and Sales Navigator to share valuable insights and perform better than their competitors. However, many salespeople are not utilizing LinkedIn to its full potential.
Want to avoid being one of those people? Read on as I break down the four most common mistakes salespeople make on LinkedIn and how to avoid them.
1. Having a barebones, generic, or pitch-heavy LinkedIn profile.
Success on LinkedIn starts with a compelling profile. Here are some things to avoid:
- A barebones profile that only shares your jobs and education.
- Deter from generic, third-person descriptions filled with too many buzzwords.
- A profile that overpromises or pushes products too hard. This can often lead to mistrust.
What to do instead: Follow these tips! Your LinkedIn profile should showcase who you are, whom you serve, and how you add value to their lives. Craft it with a mindset focused on speaking directly to your ideal prospects.
There’s no one perfect way. And if there was, it would be pretty dull and inauthentic if we all looked alike.
2. Sending out generic InMails en mass.
Sending out mass, generic InMails in Sales Navigator simply doesn’t work, as data shows people are far less likely to respond to them.
What to do instead: This article shares our best InMail data. Here’s the main takeaway: do the research to make your InMails relevant and personalized, and you’ll see much stronger results.
3. Never posting on LinkedIn or just posting sales pitches.
Regular posts on LinkedIn help establish you as a thought leader, keep you top of mind, and foster trust and credibility within your network. Focusing solely on promoting your product leads to low engagement and losing trust with your prospects.
What to do instead: Start posting and over time you will build confidence. Write about what your market will care about, not your product, and you are far more likely to build a sales engine.
4. Treating LinkedIn as a one-way conversation.
LinkedIn is not just about you; it's a platform with 1 billion members actively posting and engaging. If you only focus on your own stuff, you are missing a golden opportunity to connect with your buyers on a deeper level.
What to do instead: Engage with your audience. Become part of the community you want to work with. Learn from what they have to say to build your own expertise.
Click here to read the full article by Senior Content Marketing Manager at LinkedIn, Paul Petrone.
