Here at Fusion, we practise what we preach when it comes to LinkedIn outreach. Running campaigns for all our senior staff and professional services consultants, many good relationships at Fusion are started with a connection request.
If you’re currently struggling to expand your LinkedIn professional network and make new connections, I’ve highlighted some key traps to avoid below, along with some best practises too.
Give people time
It’s important to remember that not every new person you connect with and speak to is going to be a prospect for your business straight away. Make sure to give people time to see multiple engagements from you (posts, messages, webinars, emails) before writing people off as not interested. Research from multiple sources puts the number of engagements (aka ‘touches’) before a new prospect is willing for an initial conversation at at least 8.
Know your average sales cycle and don’t try to rush it
If your typical new prospects can take up to a year to close, concluding on your LinkedIn campaign’s success after 3 months isn’t representative of its likely true performance. Make sure to add people into your CRM when you engage in meaningful conversation with them, following up when necessary. Find ways to get permission to introduce prospects to other marketing channels (like email marketing), as the more channels they hear from you on, the better the success rate. As I mentioned above, remember to give people time- procurement departments can be notoriously slow!
Don’t sell when writing content
People login to LinkedIn to see interesting, informative content. Avoid using your company logo as an image for your post (I see this all too often!) and make sure to position yourself as a thought leader in your space, not a salesperson.
Speak as yourself, not your business
People buy people, not companies, when it comes to B2B sales. Make sure to accentuate your own personal knowledge and credibility as, when it comes to buying, people need to like and trust you to trust the company you are representing
Contact us if you’d like a free review of your current strategy.
