Any Missing Links? Further best practice on LinkedIn and Sales

This post is the third of a three part series on getting better use of Linked In for sales. It is drawn from the excellent article by Paul Castain. see link to his article in part 1.

Click for Part 1 of the series

Click for Part 2 of the series

15) Use Linked In as part of your pre call planning process.

It helps to get inside your prospect’s head by enabling you to get a feel for how they think in group discussions and link to their blog etc. Paul Castain suggests you can follow companies and the RSS feed is a good way for you to organize your data via a reader. I have not tried this yet but will start to do it.

16) People find out about what you are about by using the applications such as Amazon bookshelf, slideshare and links to your blog! I think you need to be on a Linked In upgrade for this.

Tip: People buy from people they trust. One of the first steps towards trust in social media is familiarity ( in the sense of being better known). Ensure you give your network regular updates of your experiences !

17) Put a link to your Linked In profile in your email auto signature. ( Another task I must undertake for myself from now on)

Tip: Whenever you connect with someone, try to immediately connect with them on the other venues where you participate! e.g.: When you connect with someone on Linked In check their profile for their Twitter info if you are into Twitter !

18) Status Updates: Visibility on social media is important. Some put inspirational quotes in their status updates. Others will put a link to a timely article, links to article and/or blogs they have written.

The key is to stay on their 'radar' screen by continuing to add value. Take it easy on the self promotion though!



Make sure you comment on status updates from your network. Example: If you see that someone was just promoted at the ABC Company, by all means comment, like and send a congratulatory email. People appreciate that stuff.

Tip:It s a good discipline to scan the home page daily.

19) Keep your profile it up to date. This needs to be a regular ( daily if possible) investment. Don't forget, this is a long term investment.

20) Recommendations: When someone you barely know asks you for a recommendation be careful. Be selective with whom you ask and be selective with whom you give recommendations to. Don't forget it’s your credibility!

21) Ask and answer questions to further position yourself as a thought leader by clicking here: http://www.linkedin.com/answers?trk=hb_tab_ayn

Apparently when you answer a question on Linked In Q & A it allows you to share up to 3 links? This might be a good opportunity to gently guide someone by the hand to some content you have written.
Tip: If you want to get a better response and greater visibility when you ask a question? Choose the option to send the question out to up to 200 people in your network.