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:
Starting today, you can be in the loop on new developments, potential business opportunities or even job opportunities by following companies of interest to you
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:
- Departures and/or new hires in target roles
- New job opening in target departments
- Internal role changes that might spur re-engagement
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:
- Companies that are large enough to have formal LinkedIn Company profiles
I've found 3 person shops that have claimed their profiles and much larger organizations that have not. - Companies that aren't so large as to inundate you with information
Netflix, for example, had 1 role change, 8 job postings & 4 employee departures all within the last 7 days.
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?