Last week LinkedIn rolled out a new feature: “Follow Company”. My initial reaction was that this would just add to the information clutter problems that we’re all facing.

After a week of limited use, I can say my first impression was dead wrong. This tool should be added to the Inside Sales arsenal today.
 

What it does

LinkedIn describes the feature as follows:

 
What it gives Reps

On this blog and in conversation with clients, we stress the importance of trigger events and delivering timely, relevant & compelling messaging in outbound prospecting efforts.

“Follow Company” gives your Reps a stream of potentially relevant trigger events that use changes in the buyer’s environment to potentially engage in conversation. For example:

Now, I’m sensitive to the difficult balancing act between crafting buyer-centric messaging and establishing & meeting Inside Sales productivity goals.

The reason for my bullishness on this tool is that it’s native to LinkedIn and doesn’t add to the growing list of applications & sites that are involved in pre-call planning. 

 
Who it's best for

There are some limitations to which types of organizations can or should be followed. Follow Company works best for:

But what do you think? How do we walk the fine line between preparation and activity?
Can this tool be useful in your Reps’ prospecting efforts?

Also, here’s a great write-up on the how to use Follow Company. Thanks for listening

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?

(This post is part of an ongoing series of Ask the Experts questions, put to members of LinkedIn's Inside Experts Group - request to join here.  Whether you are a member or not, please share your thoughts and experiences by posting comments!)

Mark Moore is a member of the LinkedIn Inside Sales Experts Group.  He is about to start a new venture and has a 2-part question to pose to Inside Sales practitioners.

Background:
Mark is creating an inside sales group for a technology company.  The focus is on the SMB - selling products/services, maintenance renewals & education/training. 

Question:
What pitfalls/wins others experienced that he could avoid/emulate in establishing the group? (whether with compensation, metrics, quotas, or even just the basics such as databases and CRM software)

This is a very broad question so to narrow it down, please provide the following:

1. What is the one thing that you did right when you were building your group that you would always do again?
2. What is the biggest mistake you, or your company made, that you would never repeat?

Thanks in advance for your answers and for participating in the discussion!

Want to learn more about building an Inside Sales team? Download the free ebook Building Inside Sales: Your Roadmap to a Best Practice Group.

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!

We all recognize that LinkedIn is one of the most powerful social networking sites in existence.  There are dozens of blog postings, and even books, being written on how to leverage LinkedIn for business. 

One of the ways to get the most out of this network is to join groups where you have a common interest.  I have joined several marketing and sales groups on LinkedIn.  So far....

• The good news is that I have permission to connect directly with all the other members in the group. 
• The bad news is that I have yet to receive value add from being a member.  

This got me thinking about what I would like to see from a group focused on Inside Sales so I created one!  Here are my initial thoughts on how it will work:

• Inside Sales Practitioners - We are targeting members that are Inside Sales Reps or Inside Sales Executives.  We will deliver information on best practices, compensation trends, training, technology etc. 

• Recruiters - Yes, this group is a great place to find new talent but we are going to ask you to give as well as receive.  On a quarterly basis you will be asked to submit an update about what is going on in your industry.  What trends you are seeing and what challenges you are facing? This will be a great way for us to understand more about you and your business!

• Vendors - Call center and technology vendors will also be asked to contribute.  What is new?  How can we as Inside Sales practitioners most effectively utilize your product or service?  What guarantees success when we work with you?

Networking events, job fairs, seminars, group discounts on products and services....these are all under consideration.

So, sound good?  If you are a member of the LinkedIn Inside Sales Experts Group and you have ideas about what you would consider value add, please post your comments.  If you are not yet a member and are an Inside Sales practitioner, please feel to request membership via this link.

To make this work we all need to contribute so don't be shy!  This is our forum to share information so let's make the most of it.

Update: Find out more about the Inside Sales Experts Group on LinkedIn.

I must be getting a bit long in the tooth because all this talk about how to promote your business via social media has me in a panic!  Now, don't get me wrong, I love technology and I am one of the first to embrace whatever will help me expand my network and build my business. But really...do I have to build a profile on Facebook?

I just put my picture on LinkedIn and it took years for me get up the courage to do that.  Now every time I go to my profile I see myself staring back at me.  When the heck did I have to start wearing glasses?

So, I decided to start to educate myself.  I read a great blog posting this week written by Jill Konrath author of "Selling to Big Companies".  In it she talks about what she has learned about effectively using LinkedIn to your advantage and how to present yourself most effectively on the site.  She also quotes other authors and experts - all very interesting!

Take a peek at http://sellingtobigcompanies.blogs.com/selling/2008/02/can-linkedin-in.html

I can only assume there are many of you out there on the same mission. So I ask of you....what social media sites do you use to promote you and your business?

I look forward to your feedback!