How 4 Companies Build Better Relationships with Sales Navigator [Case Study]

From outdated lead databases to impenetrable gatekeepers, sales professionals face the same obstacles no matter their industry.

According to a HubSpot poll, only 3% of people trust sales reps (and marketers). This troubling stat owes to a disconnect in the way potential customers are approached and engaged. In today’s ultra-social world, prospects don’t just want to be sold to; they want to know, like, and trust you in order to build a long-lasting relationship with your brand.

One benefit of the ongoing digital transformation is that you don’t have to pick up the phone or send an email to start building rapport — it can take up to 18 phone calls to connect with a buyer, and only 23.9% of sales emails are opened. Many companies are having much more success reaching out to prospects through social networking platforms like LinkedIn.

These four technology companies have developed outstanding strategies for building meaningful connections through LinkedIn and Sales Navigator. Let’s take a look at how they make it happen, and what lessons other sales teams can take away.

Akkroo Puts Personalization Principles into Action

When you’re in the business of promoting customized and targeted outreach for customers, it stands to reason you should be practicing what you preach with your own lead generation tactics.

This was the thinking that drove London-based SaaS firm Akkroo to implement Sales Navigator for its own prospecting. 

Offering a platform that connects event leads with backend marketing and sales systems to drive personalized follow-up engagement, Akkroo realized it needed to find a more efficient way of identifying sales leads.

Sales Navigator provided it, giving their sales team a chance to apply the company’s tenets of personalization by strategically identifying prospects and using customized outreach to grow a stronger relationship. 

“Now I can focus on having really personalized conversations, because I can quickly and accurately pinpoint the right person to speak to at the company I’m reaching out to — it only takes seconds,” explains Chris Coggin, Business Development Executive at Akkroo.

Learn more about Akkroo’s story.

First Copy Corporation Grows Engagement with Smarter Connections

To say that First Copy’s CRM system had an outdated database would be an understatement. Senior new business executive Ellie Di Fiore would often reach out to people who had changed companies, retired, or even passed away.

But in Sales Navigator, information is always up-to-date and reps stay informed when prospects change jobs, or target accounts make new hires. This helps generate warm leads and better connections with prospects as conversations start earlier in the process.

“It’s rewarding and encouraging to see connections like, share, and comment on my posts since using Sales Navigator,” says Di Fiore.

Learn more about First Copy’s story.

maihiro Refines Outreach and Zeroes in on Pain Points

Antiquated methods of prospecting are (finally) falling by the wayside in order to make room for more sophisticated options that deliver real-time information.

Sales reps don’t have the luxury of filtering through hundreds of unqualified names on purchased lists. Your time is better spent building relationships with decision makers.

“With features like Lead Builder and the ability to save search results, we can turn insights into prospects and prospects into leads,” says Martina Saller, maihiro’s demand generation manager.

With the help of Sales Navigator, maihiro sales reps can better understand their prospects’ pain points and share those insights with their teammates to continuously fine-tune their search criteria.

Learn more about maihiro’s story.

Smarter Ecommerce Breaks Through to New Markets

Breaking through into new markets can be challenging to say the least, especially when you don’t have boots on the ground. The beauty of social networks is the ease with which you can connect to people all around the world.

Better still, LinkedIn Sales Navigator helps you keep track of target companies your team still hasn’t engaged so you can stay informed of any important news around their business, as well as tracking additions and changes to their teams.

For Smarter Ecommerce, a PPC automation software provider headquartered in Austria, this has led to opening many new doors and reaching decision-makers directly.

According to Martin Zauner, sales operations for Smarter Ecommerce, “What we like best about using LinkedIn Sales Navigator is saving leads and accounts that you're not yet connected to, so you're always up to date on the status changes.”

Learn more about Smarter Ecommerce’s story.

Real Connections with LinkedIn Sales Navigator

In today’s crowded digital world, it seems we’re less than six degrees from anyone. As such, it is even more important to build true connections that help us stand out from the masses.

These companies have shown how using powerful sales intelligence tools like Sales Navigator can help your team keep track of what is important to your prospects, which in turn helps you build stronger and more meaningful connections.

Ready to make real connections a part of your sales plan? Learn more about LinkedIn Sales Navigator and its many features.