Vast Networks: How To Connect Your Sales Circles with TeamLink

Every person has a story, and a circle.

Throughout our lives and careers, we all meet different people along the way, forging connections. These relationships are reflected in our social networks. Each individual on your team, and in your company, has their own unique circle — some larger than others, and no two the same.

As salespeople know, when our stories and circles overlap with others, these are the commonalities that spark conversations, discovery, and kinship.

Surfacing these intersecting points is perhaps the most powerful capability of Sales Navigator, and one that every sales pro should seek to capitalize upon.

Tapping Into Vast Networks

“Sales Navigator has enabled my team to tap into the vast networks that our own employees have in order to make connections with prospects and current customers, reducing sales cycles by as much as one-third! Indispensable,” said Bridget Gleason, former VP of Sales for Yesware, in our guide, How to Maximize LinkedIn’s Value with Sales Navigator.

If you use LinkedIn for social selling, chances are you’ve stumbled across a hidden pathway to an introduction through your professional network on the platform. Maybe you identified a key decision-maker within a target account and realized that they were a second- or third-degree connection, acquainted with someone you know more closely.

These are critical links that open doors and opportunities. As the data below from the State of Sales 2017 report shows, prospects are far more likely to respond to sales outreach when introduced through a contact.

If you are consistently scouring your own network for ways to gain an “in” while prospecting, that’s smart. But if you aren’t tapping into the collective networks of your colleagues, then you’re probably missing out on any number of channels for potential warm intros.

Your personal circle becomes immensely more valuable when you’re able to multiply it by orders of magnitude. The TeamLink feature in Sales Navigator makes this easy by combining and intertwining the circles of everyone on your team.

Getting By With a Little Help

For B2B sales reps, cultivating relationships is essential. But as Reid Hoffman has pointed out, the number of relationships we can meaningfully maintain is not infinite. You only have so much mental bandwidth to keep everything in order, and so much time to actively stoke the coals of familiarity.

Hoffman talks about the importance of I-to-we. “Your career success depends on both your individual capabilities and your network’s ability to magnify them,” he wrote. “An individual’s power is raised exponentially with the help of a team (a network).”

That word — exponential — is at the heart of what we’re discussing here. If you’ve built out a robust professional network, then you’re in good shape, but it will still pale in comparison to the cumulative system of connections across your entire team. This is a fundamental strength of using LinkedIn for B2B sales.

Most likely, your coworkers have all followed journeys very different from yours. Their hobbies and past work experiences have ingrained them in communities and circles you haven’t encountered. This diversity is highly beneficial in the scope of business development, broadening your sales team’s reach across varied industries and niches. TeamLink is how you connect the circles and take full advantage.

Making It Personal

Not only does TeamLink help reveal connection pathways, it also highlights specific commonalities that might help facilitate a conversation. These include attending the same college or crossing paths at a previous employer.

“Hey, I noticed that you used to work at Microsoft with my coworker Gerald! He mentioned that I should reach out to you.” Even this seemingly minor reference can make a big difference during your first contact. Buyers are five times more likely to engage if the outreach is through a mutual connection.

And it’s not just these common ties that bolster your odds. By consulting acquaintances and exploring profiles through extended LinkedIn network access on Sales Navigator, you can gather insights around third-degree connections that help tailor your messaging.

This is crucial, because 64% of B2B decision-makers won’t engage with a salesperson if the communication is not personalized.

It’s simple: in the modern digital sales environment, your story and your circle are among your most vital assets. Using Sales Navigator and TeamLink enables you to coalesce yours with those of your entire company. This leads to cascading benefits for your sales team, producing a vast network that teems with opportunity.

To learn more about enhancing your sales prospecting, download our guide: How to Maximize LinkedIn’s Value with Sales Navigator.