Social media are connected very closely to all aspects of human life. Business affairs are no exclusion to that, and the ultimate platform for creating business connections is for sure LinkedIn. This network was at once famous for being a good place to keep a resume, but now it’s a powerful tool even for the highest echelons of the corporate world. The B2B segment is using LinkedIn to create and maintain the connections for their profit. Just like many other social networks, LinkedIn has influencers, clients, and sellers, employees, and CEO’s lurking there.
If you own a business in B2B, you basically have to do all the known things for your LinkedIn – attract and retain followers, gain recognition on the platform, and get some revenue out of it. One of the main questions that concern you as a business owner is probably how to turn your connections into real clients.
In this article are gathered some useful tips and techniques that will help you to close your deals with the help of LinkedIn.
Research The Market
To push your followers and connections, use LinkedIn as a monitoring tool. As this social network is populated by corporates mostly, the content which is shared there can come in big help, when you are searching for common points of interest. You need those points, because in modern times supply often exceeds the demand, and a more personalized approach wins the attention.
So before you will send your offer to the potential partner or client look through their activity on the platform. What articles they read, what influencers they follow, and so on. And only then, after detailed composing, send your message with hidden hooks.
You can also analyze the weak points of your prospects and understand what is the percent of success in each case.
Make It Personal
The next useful feature of LinkedIn is that reaching out to potential clients is more individual. Communication with followers through social media is always less official, and thus it is easier to maintain and develop. After doing some research on the sales prospect you can trigger the conversation by a common interest, and do it without sales-y intonations.
To begin some serious negotiating on and outside the network, the target company or person must accept your request for messaging. If you will use spammy unified texts as a presentation, most part of the potential connections will hit the “I don’t know this person” button, and after 5 hits only, you will be severely limited in your actions. Not good, people, not good at all, because then you will lose the possibility to send out your requests – the platform will require you to know the e-mail of the person to whom you address it.
Show How Valuable You Can Be
After someone accepts your connection request, don’t start dropping the selling bombs at once to new followers. That’s just spammy, like annoying TV Ads. Instead, be subtle in your actions. One of the best ways to interest a potential client is to share relevant content. Not just should you produce it, but also share other articles and news that are related to the product or service that you provide. As such content will regularly appear before the eyes of your prospects, they could show more interest in the deal.
Note: try to avoid constant praising of the quality and features of your product or service. Create useful posts with hidden accents, which will be focused on your specifics and professionalism, that on concrete features of your stuff.
Use Linkedin As A Feedback Cloud
Encourage your customers to share what they think on LinkedIn. Seeing the real result, the prospects can have a clear understanding of your business offer. Engage with your effective clients and show the best customer care that your company is capable of. Positive feedback is an instrument of influence in B2B segment as well.
Don’t be afraid to get a negative review. Problematic situations can play in your favor too, given that you react properly:
1. Do not ignore criticism.
2. Reply swiftly and drive the situation to private communication.
3. Share the solvations for sensitive issues that occurred in your experience.
4. Get permission from your clients to share their experience of co-working with you.
5. Demonstrate the improvements in your performance.
Drive The Connections Off The Platform
However weird it may seem to you, but it’s true. To close the deal with a potential client, it will work better if you lead them off LinkedIn. The thing is, LinkedIn is just a communication tool, which cannot be equaled to direct business agreements. It is used as a method to maintain the connection with followers, and expand your target group, but not as an analog of corporate meetings and agreements.
To turn your prospects into real clients, swing them off the network:
1. Share your site and propose to order your product or service from there.
2. Drive the official document exchange and dealership to e-mail.
3. Encourage offline meetings.
4. In times of coronavirus pandemic, it is better to keep your corporate meetings on Skype or another relevant app. But if you can secure a safe space with the possibility of keeping the required distance and hygiene assessments, there’s nothing to be afraid of.
The main thing here is – keep LinkedIn out of actual business deals. This makes you look more professional and serious – just what you need for building a reputation.
Conclusion
LinkedIn is a goldmine for the B2B segment. Here, people can build up the base of followers and connections they need. Not only you can find and examine the needs of your potential clientele, but get your eyes on something that your business needs too. Here you can share your industry-related content and gain a reputation with it.
As a monitoring tool, LinkedIn is priceless, as it gives access to the data about what your prospects really want. And knowledge is a powerful weapon that allows you as a business representative to reach out to your buyers more accurately, and promote your products or services subtly.