5 steps to guide your sales team in the use of Linkedin

We in transformation projects that rely on social networks, we hear very often questions around the ROI . However, there are few times when you miss the most likely platform conversion offers us in terms of business: Linkedin.

Here we provide some ideas to make it easier to convince and involve your company's sales force in the world of networking, and explore and a new way of relating to customers and capture leads.

1. Change, the better from within

Consulting agencies help accelerate the adoption of changes within organizations. But only those companies that embrace and internalize deeply and consciously changes faced involving all departments and hierarchies that form, will yield results and lasting in time.

Any process of change requires a time of adoption and adaptation, and in the case of LinkedIn, is no different. The following pyramid (made by Angel Alvarez ), showing different levels of participation that a user can develop in Linkedin, starting from a discovery phase of the platform to a stage where the user creates his own environment of communication and professional relationships through own group within the same.

2. The more power within the organization to have your imprendedor, the more likely the target

The imprendedores pulleys are those that initiate the movement within a complex system that attempts to move a heavy wheel. Found within the organization that person restless, curious, optimistic, capable of spreading to the rest of the organization, will bring us closer to the first of the great wheel turns.

Locate this imprendedor (it is difficult at this point in the film, can not find at least one of these # socialholics within your organization) can be as simple as making public the project proposal to carry out and watch out for first companions they pick up the baton and give their support.

Once you have located our imprendedor, project managers should trust to offer support and to strengthen their leadership, and provide it with the tools necessary for the implementation of the project and the achievement of the first 'quick wins'.

3. Training and information as the only way to end fears

Experience tells us that the fear of what we know and misinformation are the main causes that hinder the adoption of new tools.

Having a team of experts to impart a number of training to sales teams in order to explain in detail the features Linkedin (advanced searches, recommendations, access to contacts 2 and 3rd. Level, participation in open groups or creating exclusive cliques where customers add value, etc.) and show, with practical examples, the opportunities it offers in generating new business contact or maintain a closer relationship with customers will make the business of your organization see how to open before them a range of possibilities.

You probably arises the need to establish different levels of training. One intended for users familiar with the platform, which will widen further in the full range of possibilities offered by Linkedin, and another group where we focus more efforts to convince those who do not know how the tool can facilitate and enrich your relationships professionals.

4. Encourages and rewards initiative

Requiring or forcing certain employees to use Linkedin as a working tool will not help your adoption, if not separate us from our goal causing the rejection of those who have not yet proven its benefits.

Establish some kind of contest where the commercial rewards (eg, a next-generation gadget that facilitates the use of social tools anywhere) that has managed to generate more debate or who, without resorting to spam, get more number of contacts, customers who subscribe to a closed group, etc.. may be a good tool to encourage your sales force.

5. No choice, your customers are waiting

They are necessary only 5 minutes and a specific search (preferably commercial client you intend to impress) to show your sales force that their customers are already using Linkedin as a professional networking platform.

Ignoring the use of LinkedIn, the business B2B trade are not only depriving an organization to establish contacts with potential customers, but will be offered the opportunity for competition to occupy a space that no one has bothered to protect.

If you still have doubts, do a couple of questions to your nearest shopping: how much value a direct contact with a manager of a large company? What about the possibility of sharing a discussion with the CTO of a large bank? Once you have answered these questions, you may have your doubts are gone.

To learn more all this you can download an interesting HubSpot ebook (50 pages) on the need for companies to build a strong presence in Linkedin.

Picture of nan palm on Flickr