Tweeting on Twitter, getting “Likes” on Facebook and building your followers on Google+ may all be marketing tactics used on the various social media platforms available today, but are any of these really creating leads to fill your sales pipeline? My guess is NO.
If your reason to be active on social media is to develop an online presence, then keep at it… just like your competition. However, if you are interested in generating leads LinkedIn is the place to be.
There are many ways to generate leads and boost your sales on LinkedIn, I’ll be covering one in each post in this series.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Participating in Q&A’s is an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and provide value to the LinkedIn network. As always, don’t pitch your company, products or services – provide quality information.
Within the Q&A area you or any user can pose a question and get answers. These Q&A’s are open to the entire LinkedIn network, not just those you are connected to, so it expands your reach far beyond those you already know.
Where to start
1. Select “Answers” from the drop down options next to the search box. You can then type in and search for a topic you’d like to answer. Or click on “Advanced” and use the advanced search feature to find a topic in your desired category.
2. Once you have found a question you are comfortable answering click on the “reply privately”. That way your answer will be delivered to the questioner and get their attention, even when there are numerous other answers posted to the same question.
3. Offer the person a quick call to provide a more detailed answer or to assist them in solving their problem. At the end of the call suggest some possible next steps… this is where your sales ability needs to kick in.
To generate leads and fill your sales pipeline on LinkedIn focus on consistently adding value to your network. A great way to add value is to contribute your knowledge without selling your services (that comes later).
How are you using LinkedIn to generate leads?