Developing a list of qualified prospects for your sales efforts can be a daunting challenge. Having such a list of people who already know who you are and what you do is pretty much impossible, right?
Not with those people already in your LinkedIn 1st-degree connection list.
It doesn’t matter if you develop your own clientele, if you have accounts assigned to you, or if you prospect in an assigned territory. Identifying to whom you are connected should be among the first things you do in your sales efforts.
Here are three ways to build a targeted list of companies and decision makers to prospect:
Identify the companies already represented in your 1st-degree network. The list is probably larger than you think.
From any LinkedIn page, click the drop-down “hamburger” menu to the left of Search box at top center. Choose “Company” from the list, leave the actual Search box empty and click the magnify glass to the immediate right. After clicking, you will see all 7.5+ million (!) companies on LinkedIn. Don’t freak out; we’ll trim down that list.
Choose “1st Connections” under “Relationship” on the left-hand side—you’ll likely have to un-check 2nd Connections and Group Members—and a list of all the companies represented by those in your 1st-degree connections will appear.
Use the other filters in that left-hand column (location, industry, company size, etc.) to drill down further.
Found an organization or company you want to prospect? Right-click on the company name to open its LinkedIn Company Page in a new tab (two-finger click on a Mac). The right/two-finger click keeps your original list open in its own tab, so you don’t have to conduct the same search over and over again.
Click on the number just before the phrase “first-degree connections” on the company page to view all the people who can guide you or potentially offer an internal introduction to the right decision makers within the organization. Because you are her or his 1st-degree connection, you have access to their email or can send them a message. Simply reach out and ask for a phone call.
Do you have a particular company in mind that you want to prospect, but you also want to try to get its competitors into your pipeline? Use LinkedIn’s Search function for that as well.
Type in the specific company name in the Search box and either select the organization from the dropdown, or click the magnify glass and select from the list on the Search results page.
Look for the “People Also Viewed” box on the bottom right-hand side of the Company’s page, and pick a few companies similar to your client that you would like to add to the very top of your sales funnel. For example, when you search “IBM” you’ll see Microsoft, Google, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle and Accenture in that box.
Determine the companies you’d like to add, and click through to the Company page(s) to see how you are connected.
If you have 1st-degree connections at those firms, use Step 5 in the tip above. If not, click through to any listed 2nd-degree connections.
On the resulting page, filter on the left and identify who within that organization you would like to meet. Then click the green hyperlink below their name to identify who you know that could make an introduction. Use the following template:
Dear Friend,
I hope this note finds you well. I noticed that you are connected to XXX at XXX. I was wondering if you would kindly provide an introduction for me. If you could copy us both in an email or LinkedIn message, I can take it from there. To make it easier for you, I have included a short paragraph below that you are welcome to copy and paste. Also, please feel free to look through my connections, I am happy to make introductions for you as well.
Thanks so much!
Bob
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I would like to introduce you to Bob Woods, executive vice president at Social Sales Link. I thought it might make sense for the two of you to connect and investigate how you might work together. Bob helps sales professionals build their pipeline, reduce the sales cycle and close more business through leveraging the power of LinkedIn. His LinkedIn programs have made a significant impact on the way professionals are growing their business. Bob will be contacting you in the next couple of days, please take her call; I believe it will be well worth your time. If you would like to schedule a call with Bob, here is his online calendar: http://bookacallwithbob.com. Or you can reach out to him directly at bob.woods@socialsaleslink.com or 888-775-5262, ext. 705.
Visit the Profiles of your clients’ decision makers and influencers with whom you have worked. This is more of a 2nd-degree connection strategy, but it can beat cold calling.
From each of your clients’ Profiles, look at the right-hand side to see both “People also viewed” and “People similar to.”
Hover over one that may be of interest, then right click on that name to open it in a new tab.
If that person is a 2nd-degree connection, scroll through to “How you are connected” and choose a shared connection.
Request an introduction using the template in Step 5 of the second tip.
BONUS TIP: Offer to make introductions to others in your network as well! Reciprocity is a key to networking, so offer your help in getting members of your network to know one another. Your action will not only be appreciated but remembered as well.
