Virtual selling has taken center stage and it’s here to stay. Research from McKinsey shows that about three-quarters of buyers prefer remote, digital interactions over meeting face-to-face. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 80% of all interactions between buyers and sellers will occur through digital channels. Even with in-person engagements returning to the fold, there is little doubt that connecting through a screen will permanently remain an integral part of the craft.
How are modern sellers adapting and thriving in this environment? Successfully leveraging the right digital tools is essential. With this in mind, we turned to our community of customers and sales experts to learn how they’re using LinkedIn and LinkedIn Sales Navigator to empower salespeople, to strengthen relationships, and to acquire new sales opportunities.
1. Spotting new decision-makers.
“One of my favorite uses of Sales Navigator has been the Saved Searches feature. I create some very specific searches around specific job titles and functions. But I’m not necessarily looking for people that come up immediately (although those can be good prospects). I’m actually priming the notification feature. I want to see when someone is brand new to a decision-making position (like VP or Director), because that’s when they are a great prospect for me.”
—David J.P. Fisher, President, Rockstar Consulting
2. Mapping accounts and surfacing warm introductions.
“I’m always amazed at how much Sales Navigator aids the sales process. For years, I only used Sales Nav for the advanced search capabilities, but newer features that surface key decision makers, shared alumni, recommended leads, as well as the Account Map greatly accelerate the buying process regardless of industry.
Personally, I love the TeamLink feature because there’s no easier way to get in front of someone than via a warm introduction, and I’ve been encouraging my clients to try out the TeamLink Extend process to have even more opportunities for warm intros.
And even something as simple as having a feed that is made up of only your leads and accounts always blows my clients’ minds.”
—Robert Knop, CEO, Assist You Today
3. Staying in touch with key contacts.
“When it comes to using LinkedIn Sales Navigator to strengthen relationships, I would say there's three things.
Number one is keeping tabs on what people are posting and what they're commenting on and liking. This is one thing that people don't leverage enough: you can go to someone if they're first- or second-degree connected, and see what they're posting, and also what they're liking. So that way you can engage with their content, and show that you're a supporter of whatever they're doing. Obviously, there's going to be many ways you can approach that.
Number two, I create a Sales Navigator list of all the people that I've done business with, across my entire career. Across the board, this allows me to keep tabs on certain individuals that I've had conversations with, which allows me to stay connected.
And then number three is using voice messages and videos to continuously build relationships, and also create new ones as well. That's a great way to stand out. If you're not using that, I highly encourage you to do so because it's a good way to start a conversation”
—Morgan J. Ingram, Director of Sales Training and Execution, JB Sales Training
4. Rethinking social media as a business driver.
“Most organizations are on social media in some shape or form today, but social media is used tactically. This means that social media is a cost (not a profit) to the business and provides little competitive advantage.
For the leadership team to see the use of social media and align the relevant budget investment, there has to be a direct connection between social media with revenue and profit.
Better still, a business can transform from being “on social” to what we call “digital dominance.”
Digital dominance is where a business has a top down driven strategy that leads to the total obliteration of the analogue competition. This is how we run our business.
We use LinkedIn Sales Navigator, not because it’s the best lead generator on the market, but because we know that with every keystroke, we are able to tie use of the product to profit.
But let’s not forget, you don’t just get Sales Navigator and the magic happens, first you need a strategy and you also need to understand what it means to be social.”
—Tim Hughes, CEO & Co-founder, DLA ignite
5. Bringing value and authenticity forward.
“LinkedIn, as well as LinkedIn Sales Navigator, have become critical tools to a seller’s success in a world where we find ourselves surrounded by virtual sales touchpoints rather than personal and face-to-face interaction. I would hope that by now, every seller realizes that only the ones who are creating value through connecting with possible buyers virtually in an authentic way, through sharing interesting content and contributing to the broader conversation, are the ones that will successfully adapt to this new way of selling and growing businesses.
The two key words are ‘value’ and ‘authentic.’ Providing value cannot just happen while moving through the sales cycle, value should actually attract new potential prospects in the first place. LinkedIn Sales Navigator allows us to identify and reach those prospects in a short period of time and in an effective manner, which further enhances early relationship-building and trust establishment. ‘Authenticity’ comes into play even more when setting yourself apart from the masses that all use the same channels to acquire new sales opportunities. LinkedIn Sales Navigator gives sellers the power to be up-to-date on current developments, and stay tuned with what potential buyers care and speak about. It enables sellers to drive educated and relevant outreach rather than using copy/paste messages.”
—Irina Soriano, Head of Enablement, Seismic
6. Advancing the art of relationship-building.
“I don’t know any sales professionals who prefer cold calling or spray-and-pray prospecting because it doesn’t let them connect with users. Sales professionals value the art of creating and nurturing relationships and LinkedIn Sales Navigator allows them to do that. When I work with sales teams that haven’t tried Sales Navigator and show them just a few things that I use the tool for, they can’t wait to start using it. I’ve found they most frequently use search to really hyper-target and find prospects that they know would benefit from what they are selling and build their lead list. That’s when the “art” comes into play.
Sales professionals – I mean the ones who actually treat sales as a profession and care about their personal brand – will begin genuinely creating relationships and connecting with their leads by engaging with them and their content. Once they are ready to create a highly customized message that will resonate with the prospect, they send an InMail to get their attention. The response to these tailored messages is incredible. You don’t have to sell people on Sales Navigator once they see it takes prospecting to a level that is powerful and not dreadful as they’ve always known it to be.
I love that Sales Navigator shows me people who recently changed jobs. I have gotten great results from reaching out to first level connections who begin a new role and showing them how my services can help them get started with a bang. Most people in a new role want to be able to show their value ASAP – that really matters to them and by showing them how I can help them do that quickly and easily, it becomes a no brainer for them to call me to learn more. It’s amazing to me that some sales professionals don’t think to mine their first-degree connections that have changed jobs! It’s a new start – think about how you can help them create an impact and reach out!”
—Anita Nielsen, President, LDK Advisory Services
7. Taking advantage of filters and lists.
“I use LinkedIn Sales Navigator's Lead Filters and Account Filters to find out more about prospects. I also save the prospects using their Lead Lists feature. Sales Navigator is also a great tool that you can use for ABM if you want to reach out to target prospects using InMail.”
—Pam Didner, Board Member, Frontier Technologies Inc.
To learn more about Sales Navigator and how to get the most out of it, check out these posts:
- How to Be Great at Reaching Out: What Every InMail Sent in 2022 Told Us
- Sales Navigator Alerts: What They Are and How to Best Use Them
- Buyer Intent for Sales: What It Is and How It Can Help You Close Deals
- 3 Tips Worth Checking Out When Searching in Sales Navigator
- What is Relationship Explorer – And Why LinkedIn's Sellers Are Excited About It
Don’t have Sales Navigator? See how it can help you and your team here.
Topics: Winning with Sales Navigator
Related articles
