As a fleet owner do you want to: identify new potential clients, establish trusted relationships that could bring in new business and secure more sales? Of course you do. That is what every successful business owner wants to do.
LinkedIn is one of the most powerful business-to-business (B2B) sales tools in history. More than 350 million people are on LinkedIn, and over 100 million users are in the U.S. However, many sales people do not even have a LinkedIn profile and few know how to use LinkedIn to find new clients and generate sales.
What is the missing link in LinkedIn? You can create the perfect LinkedIn profile. However, if you don’t have any connections and you never engage with targeted groups or share any information it is highly unlikely it will ever generate any new sales.
The missing link in LinkedIn has nothing to do with how LinkedIn works. The missing link in LinkedIn is you and your failure to tap into LinkedIn’s true power
Here are six easy steps to remove the missing link in your LinkedIn marketing and tap into a wealth of sales opportunities.
- Create a well developed LinkedIn profile – Your profile must be complete, up-to-date and include a professional photo. It should also describe what sets you apart from others who provide the same fleet services. What makes you different? Do not proceed to step two until you have a great profile completed. You do not want to drive potential customers to a page that is incomplete or poorly developed. If you need assistance developing your profile check online or you can hire a professional LinkedIn advisor to assist you.
- Identify and join strategically targeted groups – For example, if your fleet serves the food industry, join LinkedIn groups that include purchasing managers from food companies you want to target. Join groups with the largest number of members and whose members are active and participating in sharing information and discussing industry issues. There are thousands of groups on LinkedIn.
- Monitor discussions in the targeted groups you belong to – you can monitor discussions and posts and participate in the discussion. This is an easy way to engage with potential new clients and identify their needs. Then you can take your LinkedIn discussions from online to offline and even in person.
- Share valuable industry information that would be of interest to group members. This will boost your credibility, raise awareness for you and your fleet, and help others. This information can include latest industry trends, top issues impacting the industry, ways to cut costs and other helpful information.
Do not, share sales collateral, make sales pitches or attempt to sell to the group. Doing so will brand you as someone only interested in selling and not sharing.
- Monitor what generates interest and follow up – When you share or post to a LinkedIn group and another user comments or “likes” what you share, you will receive an email. Follow up, thank users for liking your posts, or get involved in discussions you start.
- Connect with group leaders and industry influencers – You never know who you will find in a LinkedIn group. It may be the CEO of a company you are targeting. It may be someone who works in their purchasing department. When these group members post or interact with your posts, ask them to connect with you. Doing so will enable you to build a valuable long-term connection that can pave the way for future sales.
Creating a great LinkedIn profile and not sharing information with potentially valuable connections is like purchasing a new Ferrari, parking it in a closed garage and never putting any gasoline in the tank. Your profile will look great! However, it will never be seen. It won’t help you accomplish your goals and it won’t drive sales.
The missing link in LinkedIn is you! You must develop a great profile. Join targeted groups. Share valuable information and interact with others on a regular basis – at least 3 – 4 times per week or more. Then others will: trust you, view your profile, connect with you and buy from you.
