Over the last 2 weeks I participated in the Sales Stimulus Package series from Jill Konrath. My favorite session by far was "Using LinkedIn for More Sales" delivered by Patrick O'Malley (energetic is an understatement for this guy!).

Sure, I use LinkedIn all the time, don't we all?  Well, Patrick took my understanding to another level.

The highlight for me was the importance of creating a "Power" public profile and how this can help you increase sales.

Just to be clear, your Public Profile is what people who aren't logged into LinkedIn see when they Google you and LinkedIn comes up.  Here's mine for example: Click for larger view.

As you can see, my public profile shows:

• Current position
• Summary
• Experience
• Websites

Now, you probably use LinkedIn to do research and gain some personal information before you make a sales call. 

Patrick argues that we should also be using LinkedIn to sell our strengths and to sell our companies.

He continues that profiles must have:

• A professional headline
• A status that is updated on a regular basis
• A summary that tells people what you do
• Links to your website (SEO bonus!)

How powerful is your public profile?  Take a moment to Google yourself (you can use this search phrase):  Linkedin yourfirstname yourlastname

Take a look at the results. What do people learn about you & your company when they do research on you?

The key takeaway here is that every customer facing person at your company, starting with you, should have a "Power" public profile.  It will help to sell your value, the value of your organization and ultimately help you to sell more.

If you are looking for tips on using LinkedIn more effectively, I recommend you visit Patrick O'Malley's blog.

So how are you marketing you on LinkedIn?

Sellers and marketers, are you losing them at hello?

What an important question to ask ourselves. Jill Konrath asks this very question on her Selling to Big Companies blog. Here is an excerpt:

A commenter combined Jill's perspective with some Seth Godin: "If you can't state your position in eight words or less, you don't have a position."

I would add to that a little David Meerman Scott:  "Nobody cares about your products and services except you and the others in your organization. What your potential customers do care about are themselves. And they care a great deal about solving their problems."

So what to do? Channeling Seth Meerman Konrath I would argue 4 things are key when delivering the message:

• Be clear & concise - On the phone they can't see our gestures or read our body language. Our messages have to come through quickly and clearly. We also need to keep in mind that our buyers are experts in their business not in ours. We shouldn't use jargon, acronyms or industry-speak. Here's a quick test: Can your best friend/sibling/spouse understand your pitch? If not, chances are your buyers won't either.
  
  
• Be remarkable - We sometimes forget, but...other salespeople are trying to sell our decision maker at the same time. When we sound just like the previous three sales calls / voicemail, we aren't worth their attention. Over the phone, it costs the buyer absolutely nothing to give us the boot. The bad call that might steam you for an hour, but the buyer has forgotten within 60 seconds.
  
  
• Be honest - So we need to share how we solve their problems clearly, concisely, remarkably and honestly. If I claim to increase your visit to lead conversion rate by 200%, I better have rock solid intel on how you are performing today or have had other customers with those kinds of results. Otherwise, I look like a fool. Especially today, voicemails can be forwarded, emailed, blogged and generally passed about. We risk doing ourselves and our brands disservice when we stretch remarkable into dishonest.
  
  
• Be relevant - In my opinion, a message targeted to the masses cannot be remarkable. We as sellers and marketers need to attack head-on the profile, problems & politics of each of our buyer personas. If we pitch the VP of Sales & the CFO the same exact message, we will lose them "at hello."

I bet most every organization has these 4 pieces to the puzzle already. Unfortunately, they exist in group mind and haven't been documented so they can be replicated.

So how do put the messages down on paper? Here are my thoughts:

• Get your people in a room - Marketing, Product Management, Sales Management, Field Sales, Inside Sales, etc.
  
  
• Pitch each other - Which messages resonate with which personas? Keeping trimming the fat.
  
  
• Road test the results - Inside Sales a great place to test your message. In terms of dials & connects this is where the rubber (your message) meets the road (your buyers).
  
  
• Track the results - What worked and what did not? Stay consistent on the message for a month or two. If you over tweak, you won't have enough data to know what is working.
  
  
• Repeat - This process should not end. The market changes, you have multiple products, you open up to new industries, etc. keep it going.

Please share your thoughts! Are you a Seth Meerman Konrath-ist too?

Update: By way of example, check out the 2009 Elevator Pitch Champions. They are highly effective examples and the judges comments may help you in crafting your own pitch.

------------

I find it fascinating talking to sales & marketing executives about their company’s messaging and positioning. The reason I find it fascinating is that they are quite often able to articulate for me a great value proposition that paints a picture of what they bring to the table.

The problem is that when I ask them to translate that value proposition into an elevator pitch that can be used over the phone by their sales organization, they struggle. And if they struggle, can you imagine the struggle their sales people have?

These are the days of short attention spans. We need to be able to craft an elevator pitch that is an “actionable sound bite”.

Are you ready to take the “elevator pitch test”? There are 4 questions and each is worth 1 point.

Don’t read any further until you have written down your elevator pitch. Take the time to really craft the message that you deliver to your prospects on a consistent basis.

Okay, ready?

So, how many points did you get? If you scored less than 4, at least you know what areas to work on right?

Most companies try to make their pitch too complicated. It seems the higher the price tag the more complicated the pitch. But, our prospects are inundated with messaging all day every day. Sometimes simpler is better...you know the KISS principle ("Keep It Simple Stupid")!

Oh and BTW, here is our elevator pitch:

We help technology companies build, evolve or validate inside sales strategies.

If you have a great elevator pitch you would like to share, feel free to post it as a comment!

Todya's guest blogger, Rose Mauriello, is the President and Founder or RRM Staffing a Boston based contingency search firm that specializes in Inside Sales candidates. Here Rose shares her counsel on how an ISR should effectively prepare for an interview.
-----------------

Preparing for a Sales Job Interview:
The most important step in the process is that the candidate takes the time to do their homework.

Company homework:

• Research the company by thoroughly reviewing their website
• Read recent press releases
• Download a product demo and participate in a webinar (if possible)
• Be ready to articulate the company's value proposition
• Research the industry
• Learn who the competitors are and what differentiates them from the company you are meeting with
• Find out who you will be meeting with in advance and read their biographies. Look them up on LinkedIn and Google.

Personal homework:

• Know your strengths and be able to articulate them
• In practicing your responses to standard interview questions, make sure to include concrete examples of what you have done in the past that demonstrates your skills, experience and capabilities
• Know all of the details (you can bring a "cheat sheet" with you) on your past quota numbers and your actual performance as well as specifics on all relevant metrics
• Keep a list of key customers you have sold to and notes about the sales process for each situation

Anticipate and prepare for typical questions that you will be asked such as:

• "Tell me about yourself".
• "Why are you considering leaving your current position"?
• "Tell me about a competitive sales situation you were involved with and what you did to win the deal".
• "Who do you sell to? What is your sales cycle and average deal size?"
• "Tell me how you prospect to build the pipeline?"
• "How do you organize your day? Tell me about what you do from the time you arrive at work until you leave".
• "What are your strengths and weaknesses"?
• "Why are you interested in our company"?
• "Where do you see yourself in five years"?

Plan on asking several key questions such as:

• "What is the greatest challenge offered by this position?"
• "How is success defined for this position?"
• "How many sales reps are currently exceeding quota?"
• "What are the greatest challenges your company faces?"
• "What are some potential career paths within your company?"

During initial interviews it is generally not a good idea to ask about compensation and benefits. You want the company to be sold on you before getting to this point.

Be sure to close at the end of the interview. The best way to do this is to ask: "Do you have any concerns about my qualifications for this position"? This gives you the chance to overcome any potential objections that you can uncover about your candidacy.

Next step is to let the interviewer know that you are very interested in the position and company. Find out what the next steps are and reiterate your strong interest in taking that next step.

Look your best. Even if the company is "business casual", dress professionally as you would for a customer meeting. Wear conservative, but current clothing, shoes, etc. Do not wear overpowering cologne/perfume. Know the location/directions and plan on arriving at least 15 minutes early. Bring a notebook and pen - taking notes definitely shows interest and commitment. Get business cards from each person you meet with. Within 24 hours, send meaningful thank you e-mails that reiterate your interest and why you would be the best person to hire.

Good Luck!

----------------------------------------------------

Since I started the LinkedIn Inside Sales Experts Group (request to join here) a little over a month ago, the membership approval process has afforded me the opportunity to review more than 240 LinkedIn profiles.  Most, I would say 90%, of the members are sales people but I have to tell you that I would never know that from looking at their profiles!

These are the days of social networking providing the public with not only information but a view of YOU.  These are the days when peers, potential employers and even prospects will look up a person on LinkedIn before they ever have a conversation with them.  And what do most of our profiles say about us?  Nothing.

Here sits your online resume for the world to see and most of us have expended zero effort in selling ourselves.  It is just a laundry list of places we have worked with dates attached.  Shame on us! 

Where is the sizzle?  Where do we let others know that not only are we are good at the game of sales but that we are passionate about it?

Here is a sample of a GREAT profile.  What follows was in the summary section.  I have removed the person's name to protect the innocent but it will give you a sense for what I mean...

Now, Mr. X is obviously no slouch in the ego department but hey it was interesting right?

If you think your LinkedIn profile is as well done as Mr. X's, please post a link with your comments in this blog.  Give yourself a pat on the back for being smart enough to brand YOU! 

Now, I have to go, I have to eat my own dog food and rewrite my profile.  Happy Selling!

Technorati Profile