E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions is one of Europe’s leading providers of sustainable energy and infrastructure solutions for cities, municipalities and industries. In 2018, the German utility company started their virtual selling strategy with a small pilot of LinkedIn Sales Navigator licenses at a time when the company was undergoing significant change. As part of this, E.ON was expanding their international footprint and bringing on new team members across the globe.

Over time, the program became widely adopted across the B2B team and grew even further when the pandemic hit as traditional selling came to a halt.

Challenges

●  Given the complex industry, the German utility company needed a tool to help them target specific audiences such as energy managers from an industrial group or the mayor of a European city undergoing transformation.

●  Because of the elaborate solutions that the team provides, the ability to reach the right contact at a buyer with tailored outreach became essential.

●  Due to the pandemic, E.ON had to adapt to the changing sales landscape and further focus on virtual selling.

Solutions

●  Detailed LinkedIn Sales Navigator search functionality allowed E.ON salespeople to identify new target groups and relevant buyers on LinkedIn.

●  The team was able to identify multiple stakeholders within their target company to ensure that they were multi-threading at the account.

●  Sales Navigator insights and alerts helped sales teams better understand their buyers to personalize their outreach and pave the way for more initial discussions.

Results

●  Given the success of the tool for the utilities company, there has been a 10x increase in Sales Navigator active licenses since the pilot launched in 2018.

●  E.ON has been able to reach new, targeted audiences and expand brand visibility with potential customers.

●  The implementation of new digital sales tactics increased internal collaboration and new best practices.