Inside Sales Training – Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile for Supporting Sales

LinkedIn estimates that 1 in 3 professionals around the world maintain a LinkedIn profile. Increasingly, the LinkedIn platform is becoming a prime resource for sales professionals and B2B businesses. With an optimized profile and inside sales training best practices, you can capture the attention of customers and potential leads while you build an invaluable source of information to bolster your sales performance. These tips will turn any LinkedIn profile into an inside sales monster.

Communicate Value Starting with Your Title

A cornerstone of inside sales training is communicating value. Your LinkedIn profile should be no exception. When it comes to capturing attention, the top of your profile is your one and only chance before leads are move to the next item on their list. Hone your title, profile picture and summary to deadly precision. Suggestions include:

• Offer a solution in your title. Inside sales tells the customer nothing about how you can help them.
• Use a professional image. Would you trust the guy in flip-flops to improve your business?
• Keep summaries short and sweet. Limit your summary to 12 and 15 sentences, broken up into multiple paragraphs.

Connect with Customers and their Businesses for Instant Insight

From questions in groups to profile posts and position updates, the level of insight into the businesses and work of your customers that LinkedIn offers cannot be found anywhere else. Connect with your customers, follow their businesses and make LinkedIn a regular part of your workflow. Inside sales training offers you best practices to improve your performance—LinkedIn offers the information needed to take those tactics and tips to the next level.

Join Relevant Groups to Quickly Build a Network of Information and Contacts

When it comes to getting the most out of LinkedIn, it is all about your connections. Groups are a simple way to build your connections without having to follow and connect with each profile. However, it is important to remember that too much information can impact performance just as much not having enough. Take a few minutes to look at the group and see if it fits your style and check it over the next few days before leaving it in your permanent collection.

Don’t Hog the Spotlight—Make Your Profile About Your Buyer

One of the biggest mistakes that you can make when harnessing LinkedIn for sales is making your profile all about you. Approach your profile with a customer-centric approach and you’ll see improved results. Easy to implement tips include:

• Take the time to identify your ideal target. Research and speak directly to their needs and concerns.
• Include calls-to-action, communicate value, create an experience and establish rapport.
• Be sure to highlight recommendations, endorsements and other elements involving your connections as well. After all, social media works best when it’s truly social.

If you’re looking for more ways to improve performance, boost the efficiency of inside sales training or leverage social selling for your business, you can find more information on the Asher Blog.