What if I told you that there is a cohort within companies who could help you break into and grow your presence within the largest accounts on your list? It might sound fiction. Except they are out there and exist, often overlooked in plain sight.
We call them 'hidden allies’. Research shows that top performers routinely recognize and collaborate with these allies, leveraging their influence or coaching within the account to seal deals at an impressive rate.
SO, who are hidden allies? The “diamonds in the rough” of the sales world.
A hidden ally is someone you don’t yet know. But they have some connection to you or your solution, making them much more likely to take a call with you or champion your latest proposal.
Simply Put– They are the elusive gems of the sales world. They lead to referrals, and referrals are diamonds in terms of closing deals. Buyers are nearly 4x more likely to purchase when referred to through a warm introduction.
And, as the saying goes “People Buy from People they know”
Even if you have an existing deal within the account, hidden allies are people who can make for great internal champions. They can help you retain and grow any deal.
What are some examples of hidden allies? Here are a few of the most common:
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People who used your solution at a previous organization.
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People who previously worked at your company.
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People who know people that you want to connect with
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People who attended the same school as you
Of course, not everyone in these categories will necessarily be a great champion for you. However, they are far more likely to already know the value of your solution and/or be more open to having a conversation with you. And that significantly increases your chance of turning them into a great ally.
Let's understand this through real life examples:
✅Past customers make for great paths in.
LinkedIn Solutions Account Executive Miss Emma has one hidden ally in past customers she will reach out to. Meaning, if someone used LinkedIn Solutions at a company, and then switched over to another company that didn’t have that solution, they’d be someone she’d
They already understand the value of the product and, often, they are already a champion of LI solutions. It is a great way in
“These individuals have already purchased my product in previous roles, understand the value, and as a result, can be a champion at their new organization.”
✅Mutual connections can provide deep sales intelligence.
LinkedIn Solutions SVP Mr John wants to show up great to every sales call. To do that, he does deep research to really understand the customer.
While there’s a lot he can get online, the best-case scenario is when he can talk to someone, he knows who already knows the person he’s meeting with, i.e. a mutual connection.
Specifically, he’ll use Teamlink to see if anyone in his organization knows the person he’s meeting with. If there’s a match, he’ll reach out to learn more about the other person
“I can't tell you the number of times it's allowed me to navigate a relationship with the customer faster because I was able to look at our mutual connection, reach out to that connection prior and say, ‘Hey, do you know ‘so and so’ – I'm meeting with them next week’, “‘What can you tell me about them? What can you tell me about their decision making? What can you tell me about the company, the culture, the brand, the experience? Tell me everything that you know’.” “It always allows me to move faster in building that trust and relationship with the customer,” John continued.
LinkedIn Relationship Manager Kelly uses this same process for multithreading.
“Knowing where I can get warm introductions through my teammates and leaders at LinkedIn is a game-changer for me,” Kelly said. “I am always mindful of who I am reaching out to, along with the messaging. So having this insight before ever reaching out helps me craft relevant messaging, which increases my response rates!”
✅Past colleagues can help you win deals (even if you’ve lost them).
LinkedIn Enterprise Sales Leader Roger loves looking for “alumni connections” as potential hidden allies. And not just people who went to his same college, but also people who previously worked at the company he now works for.
“I find alumni paths are most reliable in getting people to respond to you and help with your sales process,” Roger said. He gave a recent example. One of his accounts at LinkedIn churned. To win it back, he contacted someone at the account who used to work at LinkedIn. “He got me in touch with someone else, and that person gave me a very detailed overview of the entire buying committee,” Roger said. “That allowed us to get back in and re-sell the program.”
🌟How Sales Navigator can turn hidden allies into just allies!
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Through lead search. Use lead filters like “Past customer”, “TeamLink connections”, “Shared experiences”, and more to identify hidden allies when searching through potential leads, to find the ones most likely to respond to you. Read more here.
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Through Relationship Explorer. For any account you have, go to Relationship Explorer to find hidden allies. Read more here
Pro Tip: leverage these Spotlights (in blue) shown by sales navigator will help you find ‘why’ that prospect is a hidden ally
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Team Link. With it, every rep on the team gets the full value of every person on your company’s network, by showing who knows who within your org. Read more here.
The Takeaway: Hidden allies are so valuable. Don’t leave finding them to chance! 😎
I would love to know what is your secret sauce of success? Please comment below and share your thoughts/ success stories 👇
