[SCRIPT]

Hello there, I’m Doug LESSELLS.  WELCOME to the NEW Sell Smarter podcast from SalesFuel!  We’re taking your sales to the NEXT LEVEL every month with our top tips and WINNING STRATEGIES so you can re-​energize and ENGAGE in just three short minutes.

[SEGMENT 1: Lead Gen]

LinkedIn can be a great LEAD resource for sales reps; they just have to know how to USE IT efficiently. An article for Small Business Trends offers advice to help make finding leads a much less DAUNTING task. Here are some tips.

• One idea is to connect with NICHE GROUPS.
  If you know your product or service well, this SHOULDN’T be difficult. Narrow your FOCUS and join groups that include a more CONCENTRATED market. This will lead to HIGHER engagement and IMPROVED conversion rates. It will also help you concentrate on specific ASPECTS of your business that will benefit these niche leads.
• Another suggestion — take a look at the "People Also VIEWED" section.
  It’s not just there to help you find business CONNECTIONS you may know. It can  may actually help you DUPLICATE your best previous CLIENTS. Think back on those clients who were really a PERFECT fit for what you sell. Then, visit THEIR LinkedIn profiles to see, based on related views, who ELSE is in the same POSITION. This can lead you to OTHER users most in need of your PRODUCT or SERVICE.

Follow this advice to uncover leads you might not have otherwise discovered.

[STAT]

43% of executive managers have viewed LinkedIn or posted to it in the past 30 days – AudienceSCAN 2017, SalesFuel

[SEGMENT 2: Response Rates]

Now that you’ve used LinkedIn to FILL your sales pipeline, how do you get these leads to RESPOND? If you struggle with LinkedIn response rates, a couple of simple tweaks to your strategy can have a BIG impact. Doug Camplejohn, Head of Products for LinkedIn Sales Solutions, shared some insider insight on a Nemo Radio podcast.

• One tip: Treat initial LinkedIn communications like WARM INTRODUCTIONS.
  Buyers expect salespeople to personalize EACH communication. B2B reps with high response rates treat InMail messages more like a HANDWRITTEN NOTE than a spam cannon. The key is to find a CONTEXT for conversation that will appeal to EACH potential lead.
• Another suggestion is to heed the “virtual STOP LIGHTS” LinkedIn uses for InMail messages.
  The stoplight will alert you to the ideal CHARACTER count for your message, using a red, yellow, or green light. SMART reps pay attention to this helpful tool. BREVITY is the key when it comes to your invites and messages.

LinkedIn can be a POWERFUL and EASY-​to-​use lead generation tool. And, by simply following these TIPS, you’ll INCREASE the chance of receiving a response.

That’s it for THIS edition of the Sell Smarter podcast.

Remember, you can always get MORE great insights every day at SalesFuel​.com AND in the SalesFuel MOBILE app.