How to create a B2B LinkedIn sales process that works.

Did you know that LinkedIn is the best place for B2B marketing?

It’s true.

The platform recently crunched the numbers themselves and found that 80% of B2B leads came from LinkedIn. And this isn’t just the platform blowing their own trumpet.

including NetBrain Technologies who managed to double their click-through rate (CTR) and increase leads by 94% due to LinkedIn ads.

And if that wasn’t enough, the conversion rates are higher and the cost per lead lower than other platforms. All of which means LinkedIn isn’t just a good choice for B2B marketers – it’s the best choice.

Before you start creating your own LinkedIn sales process.

There are plenty of ways to find leads for free on LinkedIn. But before you can implement them, first you need to work out what you are trying to achieve for yourself, what your client expects and the type of content that might interest them:

Your goals

Every business has different marketing goals. Here are some of the most common:

Increasing sales
Becoming a voice of authority in your industry
Improving interaction with existing and potential customers
Building your brand
Increasing website traffic
Growing your social media following
Reducing paperwork and processing time
Generating more leads
Improving your conversion rate
Increasing brand awareness
Improving sales support
Improving customer satisfaction
Reducing website maintenance costs
Optimising workflow automation
Improving employee satisfaction
Increasing employment applications
Maximising your ROI

You might have one of your own. Or you might need most or all of the above. The important thing is knowing what goals you want to achieve, so you can market yourself with those goals in mind.

Client goals

Once you know what you want to achieve, you need to make sure you understand what your clients expect of you.

So, ask yourself:

What will your clients get out of your marketing experience?
What are their objections?
Have you shown and given them enough value?
Can they identify themselves in your copy?
Have you solved their problems?
Is your pricing in line with what they expect?
Do you sound trustworthy and reputable?
Do you look and sound professional?
Can you deliver what they need on time?
Do you look better than your competitors?
What are the absolute deal-breakers for your potential clients?
How will your client feel after working with you?
Do you understand clearly what triggers a lead to sign up?
Have you got case studies to back this up?

Understanding what your target audience expects means you can pitch your LinkedIn ads right in their sweet spot, giving you a greater chance of creating a sales process that works.

Content

With your goals confirmed, the final piece of the puzzle to consider what content potential clients will want.

This could be:

Landing page to your website
Discovery session
Free trial
Online demos
Articles
Webinars
Events
Contests and competitions
Special offers
Templates
Cheatsheets
Live chats

Knowing what they want and expect and giving it to them shows that you understand their problems and needs and are the only one willing to give it to them.

Tools to help you create a LinkedIn sales process that works.

Knowing who you want to target and what you want to give them is just the start. Once you’re delivering all that amazing content to them, you need to make sure you capture those leads and turn them into sales.

And there are several tools that will help you get those leads on LinkedIn, each with a host of different functions:

Kennected

Kennected helps your business increase its reach and generates leads. And it does this by following the most relevant hashtags and groups so you can keep up to date on the latest news and trends in your industry.

And because Kennected knows LinkedIn is big on rewarding activity, its personalised automation features allow you to target your audience to help them identify and engage with your brand.

It’s the perfect tool for businesses with a team that builds lists and creates content for the same target audience.

Octopus

Octopus is a brilliant LinkedIn automation tool with a host of simple but effective features, including:

Sending automated connection requests to all 2nd and 3rd level connection
Bulk messaging hundreds of 1st level connections
Automatic endorsement of up to seven skills on the profiles of your LinkedIn contacts

It also views hundreds of LinkedIn profiles for you, so you appear as having viewed the profile page of a connection within your target audience range.

It’s the perfect tool for sole traders and start-ups.

Dux Soup

Dux Soup is a Chrome extension that allows it to interact on LinkedIn like a real person with automatic:

Following
Liking
Skills endorsement

And it can also send personalised images and helps you find potential customers who are not in your connections, so you can interact with them through LinkedIn’s InMail feature.

But that’s not all.

Dux Soup keeps a record of all your previous engagement settings, which you can choose between rather than creating old settings from scratch. And when running campaigns, it allows you to create relevant target groups to increase your conversion rate.

HubSpot

Linking your LinkedIn ad account to HubSpot allows you to sync your leads into one sales pipeline, allowing you to track, analyse and manage your ads and sales.

And you can do the same with your Facebook ads, which means you can view them all from one central hub rather than tracking them on multiple websites.

Acquity

Many business wonders view Acquity as calendar scheduling software, but it is so much more than that.

It has a range of tools which allow you to:

Accept online payments
Sync calendars
Create gift certificates, memberships and packages
Customise the look and feel to match your brand
Integrate video conferencing

Acquity is more than just calendar scheduling software. It’s more like a digital personal assistant.

But speaking of calendar scheduling…

Calendly

Calendly is an easy-to-use, out-of-the-box online scheduling tool that allows you to connect up to six different calendars. It’s simple to use and will enable customers to book a date and a time for a call when it’s suitable for you.

Great for small businesses and start-ups.

Skrapp

Like Calendly, Skrapp is a very basic tool without bells and whistles – but it doesn’t need them.

Skrapp allows you to capture verified B2B email addresses and build an email list for your next campaign.

That’s it.

Simple but effective.

Crystal Knows

Crystal Knows is one of the most popular tools used in creating a successful LinkedIn sales process right now.

Why?

Because it’s an app that allows you to view and target clients based on their personality and values. You can even take a free personality test yourself, allowing you to pin down your own beliefs and values.

By understanding your customers’ traits, you can target them with content that will appeal to the type of person they are. And, in turn, make your sales process strike a chord with your customers, no matter what temperament they have.

Perfect for businesses owners, leaders, marketers, salespeople, managers, recruiters, coaches – and anybody else who needs to access accurate personality data.

Unsure where to start?

If you are keen to create your LinkedIn sales process but feel unsure how or where to start, Pink Elephant Media can help.

We have two courses available.

The first is our free course, How to create a lead-generating profile for LinkedIn. This course alone will transform your LinkedIn profile to:

Talk to your ideal client by identifying their goals and pain points
Position you as the only solution
Demonstrate your authority, credibility and expertise.
Allow clients to see social proof before working with you

Or you can enrol on The Ultimate LinkedIn Lead Generation Course, which can help you generate between 8-10 new profitable leads every week.

The cost?

Just £250 – an investment that will more than pay for itself once your B2B LinkedIn sales process clicks into gear and gets you in front of your target audience.