For those of you who were saw Alec Baldwin’s performance on “Glengarry Glen Ross,” you were mortified by his threats associated with the edict, “Always Be Closing.” But ABC as a sales mentality really means there are mini-closures in the steps it takes towards the final close of a deal, and that usually includes relationship building, discovering client goals, presenting solutions, proving value, overcoming objections, and finally negotiating mutually rewarding outcomes.
Unlike these steps, I’ve discovered that many sellers who use LinkedIn forget the genuine relationship-building steps and jump into how fast they can move to close a deal. Here are some examples:
Sender: “You spend a lot of time and money during your hiring process, and you know the wrong hire can really set you back. With XXX, you’ll be able to quickly identify the perfect candidate for any job you’re looking to fill.”
My thoughts: I’m not hiring, but thanks for the mass sponsored message!
Sender: “I’d love to connect with you! I’ve shown people how to pick up another $5,000 in monthly revenue in just four weeks using our methodology to harness the power of Linked IN.”
My thoughts: I don’t know you; you have no credibility with me, and no, I won’t accept your invitation. Oh and by the way, where did you learn that this was the way to sell your services using social media?
How many of you readers are receiving these types of invites and messages? Probably a lot of you. And I sincerely hope the people who are using LinkedIn in similar ways are reading this too!
Just because this is a social media and rather impersonal platform, does not mean we forego the principles of humanizing our communications; working to learn about an individual’s needs (by showing interest and asking questions). We want to discover what prospects care about and value.
Sellers have to first ensure there’s a potential match for their offerings before diving into a pitch.
When I was a young sales person at New York Magazine, my boss advised me that, “You will always get the sale as long as what you have to offer meets the goals of your prospect. It may take time to build that relationship, but in the long-term you will get the order.” I always found this to be true throughout my 23 year tenure in media sales.
Assessing prospects doesn’t come out of reading a profile – it’s looking to create a bridge through common ground. You can’t build rapport or credibility if all you’re going to do is try to sell your services and provide some facts to back up your pitch.
Try these approaches instead:
-Whom do you know in common?
-Who in your network will champion you and introduce you to prospects?
-What have you studied about your prospects that demonstrate you really care about their expertise, accomplishments, industry, opportunity, etc…?
The win-win is when you’re invited by your prospect to want to hear more from you. This comes when sellers present themselves as service-oriented, resourceful, caring people, who don’t see social media as an efficient means to achieve KPIs, quotas and bonuses.
Lastly, I’d like to highlight another form of Linked In connecting that doesn’t bode well for building a reputation or credibility – it’s those who initiate connections because of commonality, then don’t follow through.
Sender: “Hi Jackie, I came across your profile and see we have a number of common connections. I would like to join your professional network.”
My thoughts: Yes, accept the invitation. I then received an immediate response —
Sender: “I just wanted to drop you a quick note and say thanks for connecting with me here on Linkedin, and I’m looking forward to keeping in touch and getting to know you better.”
My thoughts: Okay, stay open, see what happens! However, I never heard back from him after that! Perhaps he wanted access to my network but didn’t seek a real connection. Or, maybe he was waiting for me to work on building the connection! I deleted him from my network.
We have to be so choosy about whom we invite into our networks. We have to protect ourselves, and the people who trust us to be a part of their networks — no one likes an overload of invitations from sellers that come across their names from your contacts.
Bottom line is, if you want to successfully generate leads using LinkedIn, then make it your business to learn the old-fashioned art of building real relationships. This way, you gain the status of earning the right to be a consultant and become an invited resource to your clients. That’s how salespeople build great reputations and achieve long-term success, both online and offline.
Happy Connecting,
Jackie
Copyright, PointMaker Communications, Inc., 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jackie Kellso and PointMaker Communications, Inc., with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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