LinkedIn Selling Master Class with Lindsey Boggs

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is the ultimate tool for social selling. At the time of writing this article, Microsoft claimed half a billion users are on LinkedIn. Wow, that’s a lot of opportunity! We caught up to social selling expert Lindsey Boggs on the Playmakers podcast, who gave us a short but impactful LinkedIn Selling Master Class.

Lindsey Boggs (EntailInsights) was made famous at one of the LinkedIn Sales Connect conferences, when she managed to get the highest Social Selling Index. The Social Selling Index is a score created by LinkedIn to rank a members’ use of LinkedIn as a social selling tool.

LinkedIn uses an algorithm to create the SSI score, based on four criteria

• Creating a professional brand,
• Finding the right people
• Engaging with insights
• Building strong relationships.

Now, that’s a complex equation, but there are ways that you can master the Social Selling Index and push to its highest possible value. Here’s Lindsey’s list of tips on how you can become a Master Social Seller!

Why Your LinkedIn Profile Matters

Your LinkedIn profile is somebody’s first impression, but most people will just login to LinkedIn once in a blue moon, do not keep the profile updated and do not have any activity on it. If you haven’t filled our your LinkedIn profile, you are not using it to its full potential.

“This is people’s first impression, and it’s a public resume, so think of it that way, you don’t want to have just the bare minimum on there. You want to have a lot of information, especially your accomplishments. When it comes to prospecting, it really helps determine when a prospect’s viewing your profile if they want to connect with you or not, so make sure this is a priority,” said Lindsey.

What Makes a Great LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn makes it easy to see which are the most important parts of your profile and make sure you have them filled out. Here’s a few quick wins to make sure your profile is buttoned up:

• Have a professional life photo for your profile
• Make sure you have a strong header, with information about who you are and what you offer
• Make sure you have a call to action about your company offers

Publishing Articles on LinkedIn

One of the most overlooked actions you can take with LinkedIn is publishing articles. Usually, highlighting your accomplishments in articles shows authority and gives a signal that you are really getting your brand out there and promoting it.

“If standing out and getting your name out there is a priority for you, building your brand is essential, so make sure you publish. Publishing is so important – this one article I wrote on a rainy afternoon took off, (…) and LinkedIn ultimately caught on to it, and that’s how I was able to be a guest blogger with them,” said Lindsey.

The Secret to InMail Success

Sending InMails to your connections is an incredibly useful feature of LinkedIn for salespeople. But use it unwisely, and it can backfire. Here’s Lindsey’s take on sending InMails with the purpose of selling.

“You want to send a note that’s really personalized to what you, to the person you’re prospecting, so research them. Find out what their background is. Talk about how you’ve read their article, talk about how you identify with them on X-Y-Z,” said Lindsey.

“Make sure that when you prospect, it’s personal and it’s relevant. You don’t want to start sending generic messages to people,” she added.

Lead Prospecting with LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn has become seller’s favorite tool in the last years, and that’s mostly because of how helpful it is as a prospecting tool. You can find the right people with advanced searches – and then move further to find out their hobbies and area of interests.

“Every single note I send to them is very personalized, and it has a touch of Lindsey Boggs. It’s not a generic note talking about my software, if that makes sense,” says Lindsey.

Prospecting Cadence on LinkedIn

We’ve spoken before about how important the sales cadence is to your sales process, but here’s how to apply this concept to LinkedIn prospecting. Cadence is the sequence of activities that sales reps perform in order to connect with prospects and try to build a relationship.

“You can’t just send one InMail, and if they don’t respond, you just throw up your arms and say, ‘It doesn’t work.’ You can’t do that. LinkedIn is just simply another tool to prospect, and it’s one of the best tools to prospect, so make sure that you are persistent in using LinkedIn and InMails,” added Lindsey.

Using the NameDrop Feature on LinkedIn

NameDrop is another very important feature that can maximize your chances of success on LinkedIn. If you have a mutual connection with your prospect, you should use that to your advantage.

“Ask their permission first if you can use their name when you ask for an introduction. It shows rapport, it shows you have a similar network, and ultimately, people buy from people they like, so use the NameDrop feature. I use it all the time, it’s much better to get a warm introduction than a cold introduction on your own,” said Lindsey.

Why Engagement Matters

Making sure you have engagement every day on LinkedIn should ensure that you are increasing your brand visibility, says LinkedIn. It is the number one thing you can do to increase your SSI and your chance to get more business.

“Engage and share with your Insights, engage with your current employer, engage, share their content, engage with people that you interact with on a daily basis, engage with people that follow you, write, write, write, write, publish articles. It’s been super helpful in my career,” added Lindsey.

Listen to the entire podcast with Lindsey Boggs: