Long gone are the days when B2B sales pros could rely on a relationship with a solo decision maker to close deals on large corporate purchases. According to SiriusDecisions’ 2015 B-to-B Buying Study, purchases of $500,000 and up typically involve five or more buying centers and six to 10 colleagues — sometimes more.
Selling to multiple decision makers – or the buying committee – is now the de facto standard. That means sales pros need to build and cultivate multiple relationships on the road to making a sale. Fortunately social networks like LinkedIn make it possible to create and nurture more than one relationship at a time. But getting it right is a three-part formula, which we help you master in LinkedIn’s Definitive Kit: Mastering the Consensus Sale. Here’s a quick breakdown:
1. Target the Right Buyers and Companies
It goes without saying that you won’t make a sale if you’re not engaged with the right target companies and stakeholders within those organizations. Simply put, it’s important to find the right decision makers and influencers before the competition does. LinkedIn Advanced Search is an invaluable tool for doing just that, helping you efficiently and effectively find the right people on LinkedIn within each target company. By uncovering and nurturing multiple contacts at organizations, you can build trust, gain deeper knowledge of the organizations’ needs and accelerate the sales process.
2. Understand What Buyers Value
With buyers empowered to gather so much information on their own, interacting with prospects via social media has taken on even greater importance. One of the most valuable activities you can undertake is sharing insights via social that will earn potential buyers’ attention. The key is to do your research so you can glean buyers’ top-of-mind issues and then reach out at the right time in the right way. This could take the form of liking what they are sharing on LinkedIn and leaving comments on their posts before reaching out directly to offer relevant content or to offer up your insights on a topic. With in-depth knowledge of the entire buying team’s individual needs, you can make sure to satisfy everyone’s information needs.
3. Engage Buyers with Personalized Outreach
Establishing yourself as a helpful resource is one way to stand out in buyers’ eyes. You can find topics of interest by using Pulse to see what your connections are sharing and discussing. Make it your focus to share your insights and know-how whenever relevant. At the same time, share content from industry experts and other relevant third parties (including those in your network). By directly sharing helpful information and content with prospective buyers in your network, you save them time, cultivate the relationship and keep yourself top of mind until they are ready to engage.
Want to learn more best practices for developing relationships with multiple stakeholders across a target organization? Download LinkedIn’s Definitive Kit: Mastering the Consensus Sale for everything you need to know to tap in to the power of LinkedIn to expand your web of connections, close the sale, and drive revenue.
Related articles