LINKEDIN: NOT JUST FOR JOB SEARCHES, ALSO FOR SELLING
That Linkedin is needed (and used) to find work is well known, but that Linkedin is also a good tool for selling is less well known.
The book Linkedin for Selling by Giorgio Venturini deals with exactly this topic. This is not just another manual to navigate the numerous (and continuously added) Linkedin buttons, but a method for managing your personal profile and company page for commercial purposes. In other words, we speak of “social selling, that is, the way in which a company uses social media and the power of the network to create relationships and achieve sales objectives” (source: Wikipedia).
In the book, you will also find a contribution by me that explains why and how Linkedin is also useful to export managers. Finally, the book talks about Sales Navigator, which is none other than a for-pay tool, created by the social, network itself, to help those who want to use Linkedin precisely with the aim of selling.
WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH SALES NAVIGATOR
It must be said that with the base Linkedin profile it is already possible to search for potential customers (people and companies). If you learn to use the available filters well, you can, in fact, find and contact potential distributors in your markets of interest for example.
Sales Navigator, however, has more features (in addition to allowing you to unlock profiles that would otherwise not be visible with the base version alone). Finally, Sales Navigator can be integrated with many of the existing CRMs that you are probably using too.
For a more in-depth presentation of Sales Navigator and how export managers can use it, I recommend the article I wrote on the topic: Exporting with Sales Navigator.
WHY DO POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS OFTEN NOT ANSWER ME?
Linkedin and Sales Navigator are not a magic wand but an additional (digital) tool for salespeople. Very useful these days with few trade fairs and customers unwilling to receive visits from new suppliers.
However, be careful: Linkedin used for commercial purposes works to the extent that our “shop window” is well done. This “well done window” is not just achieved with a beautiful photo and a clear description of who we are, but with the reputation that we build day-by-day. A digital reputation that – like in real life – is built over time: through regular and competent contact and appropriately commenting or responding to others’ posts or comments. In other words, investing the time to be present in a qualified way on this social network.
The more credible we are – even on this platform – the more those we contact will reply. Like in real life: if you are credible, you are taken into consideration. This is the only way Linkedin “works”!
CONCLUSIONS
This is the third article on the topic of Exporting with digital tools
The aim is to present, with simple words, what tools even a small and medium-sized digital enterprise has at its disposal, to improve its presence on international markets.
Pier Paolo Galbusera