If you want to improve at something, it pays to make it a daily habit. Here’s a routine for working your social selling muscle and boosting the results of your prospect outreach. Follow these four steps for ritualizing social selling and you’ll be on your way to prospecting prowess.
1. Search for New Connections
Start each morning with a quick search for prospects on LinkedIn. You’ll find more opportunities and stay plugged in to what’s going on in your target industries. Make short work of this using Sales Navigator to quickly filter through LinkedIn’s member base by function, industry, seniority, location, and a range of other relevant factors.
2. Identify Two Prospects Per Day
Outreach must to be relevant to resonate with your prospect. That’s why it’s in your best interests to avoid contacting as many potential buyers as possible, resorting to generic or copy-pasted messages. By setting a limit of two prospect outreaches per day, you’re able to invest the required time to figure out what makes each prospect tick and come up with an outreach strategy.
To up the chances of getting a response once you reach out, select your prospects carefully.
Our data shows InMail response rates tend to be higher for active LinkedIn users (those with a high number of connections, member of many LinkedIn groups, frequent updates, and complete profile).
Don’t reach out to a potential buyer until you’re ready or an opportunity arises: you can always add prospects as a contact and engage them at a more opportune time.
3. Craft An InMail That Triggers a Response
Many companies are vying for your prospect’s attention. With all the information available online (both on LinkedIn and beyond), it’s inexcusable to send a generic message. Top social sellers tailor this initial outreach to connect with the prospect’s professional priorities and personal interests. They also keep it short and to the point.
Start by introducing yourself, noting a common contact or personal interest, and highlighting insights you uncovered from your research. Suggest a way that you can help – in other words, make it worth the prospect’s while to respond. Close by inviting the person to enter a conversation with you, perhaps by soliciting their perspective on the topic.
Remember: you are trying to gain the right to advise this potential buyer but you can’t do it in one fell swoop. So don’t ask too much of the prospect with this first outreach.
Once you’ve polished the message, craft a catchy, relevant headline that’s sure to get their attention. Then view the entire message on a mobile phone to make sure you’ve kept it brief enough to fit on a single screen.
If the prospect doesn’t respond, review your InMail for any potential red flags. Was it too generic or wordy? Did you miss something recent – like a job change – that the prospect’s been through? Then follow up by referencing another similarity between you and the prospect. Maybe it’s a shared love of gourmet donuts or addiction to competing in physically challenging obstacle courses. Your goal is to find common ground. If at all possible, relate this to the first message but focus on being personable and helpful over all else.
4. Follow the 4:1:1 Ratio for Engaging With Content
Want those prospects to come to you? Reel them in by sharing information they’ll find interesting. Every week, share four pieces of content on LinkedIn, comment on one piece posted by someone else, and publish one piece of your own content.
Share a range of content related to trending business topics. When responding to posts, add value by asking a question or adding insight. And remember that the best original content is to the point, grounded in a clear perspective, and based on personal experience.
Aim to go through the 4:1:1 ratio once a week, but prioritize the quality of your comments and original posts over trying to meet a quota.
For more advice on engaging the right people on LinkedIn, download the LinkedIn Selling Tactical Plan.
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