Spotlight the benefits of expanding relationships

and influence

HOW TO MOVE YOUR TEAM

TO SOCIAL SELLING

Social selling champions would be the first to say that social selling doesn’t remove the human element when building relationships with B2B buyers. Sales still hinges on person-to-person contact. But there are fewer opportunities for in-person meetings or phone calls because buyers are engaging with salespeople later in the buying process.

Relationships still matter to B2B sales, but buyers and sellers are connecting more often on social platforms and less often in person and over the phone. In a survey of buyers conducted by IDC, respondents said they agreed with these statements (percentage is those who agreed or strongly agreed):

INTRODUCTION

2

Relationships remain at the

core of successful sales

efforts. Today, the social/digital

world creates relationship

transparency and scale. Now,

both buyers and sellers can

equally research, vet and

qualify the strength and quality

of a professional relationship. -Peter Kim,

Director of Relationship Management, LinkedIn

76.2%

65.1%

73%

63.9%

I prefer vendors that have been recommended by someone I know

I prefer sales professionals who have been referred by someone I know

My network of colleagues, friends and acquaintances is critical for reference checking

I appreciate introductions to new people

RELATIONSHIPS MATTER

IN SOCIAL SELLING

More choices, more access to information and timesaving research tools are at buyers’ disposal to obtain most of the B2B products and services knowledge they need, so the salesperson is out of the loop during most of the decision-making process. According to Demand Gen Report’s 2014 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey, 68% of respondents agreed that the number of sources they used to research and evaluate purchases had increased over the past year, and 40% of respondents said they waited longer to initiate contact with B2B vendors.

Salespeople and their companies should embrace the reality of social selling and respond with an effective strategy. Social selling has challenges, but it also has raised the quality of the buyer-seller relationships by enabling better targeting and more meaningful conversations.

“There is so much information available that buyers and sellers are able to be far more judicious with their time and more selective in terms of how they choose to engage on a business level,” said Peter Kim, Director of Relationship Management at LinkedIn. “Additionally, software and intelligent use of big data can digitally map a person’s professional network, so they are empowered to connect the ‘virtual relationship dots’ through simple searches and a few clicks. You can cover more ground today, uncover more relationship insights and be efficient in your sales effort.”

This is a quantum shift that calls on companies, sales teams and individual sales people to change how they work to protect market share and maximize ongoing revenue potential. But many don’t know where to start when making the move to a social selling approach.

Sales experts interviewed for this eBook said essential elements of a successful social selling transformation include mapping out a comprehensive plan and sharing that plan with the entire sales organization. Training and development also play a key role in bringing the entire sales team up to speed on this new selling dynamic.

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RELATIONSHIPS MATTER IN SOCIAL SELLING

The number of B2B buyers who connected directly with potential

solutions providers via social networking

channels increased 57% from 2012 to 2013.

Source: Demand Gen Report’s 2014 B2B Buyer Behavior Study

BALANCING RELATIONSHIP-BASED

CULTURE AND PERFORMANCE

6

A social selling strategy requires a shift in mindset and culture. Some sales people may want to revert to their old ways of selling if they don’t see immediate results, but it’s important to stay motivated as you adopt this new process.

Social selling is about networking, and that means among individual sales reps as well as to clients and prospects. In a Jan. 9, 2014, blog on Harvard Business Review’s website, Why Individuals No Longer Rule on Sales Teams, the authors cite research and present examples of an emerging network-driven sales model, which is more akin to crowd sourcing than the traditional model of individual sales reps working in isolation on their “owned” accounts, clients and prospects.

This is such a divergence in mindset that some sales leaders might think it risky, while most probably would expect to face an uphill battle in convincing sales reps that sharing their contacts and contact knowledge will benefit them.

One strategy to overcome this resistance is to communicate the benefits of social selling on an individual level through research citations. For example:

• 78% of sales people using social media outsell their peers. (Source: Forbes)

• 70% of B2B executives use smartphones and tablets to look up product or service information upon first learning of an offering. (Source: Forbes)

• Leaders in social selling have 45% more opportunities per quarter and are 51% more likely to hit quotas than social selling laggards. (Source: LinkedIn)

Jonathan Harbison, Sales Product Consultant at LinkedIn, said adjusting performance metrics to reward networking behavior is important.

“Performance metrics in sales are typically centered around the individual sales rep achieving a personal monetary quota,” Harbison said. “When your sales organization puts relationships first, performance metrics should do things like measure success by adding a team quota to a rep’s compensation plan as a meaningful incentive for the sales organization to work together as a team. In addition, metrics tracking warm introductions to prospects should begin to be measured and monitored.”

BALANCING RELATIONSHIP-BASED CULTURE AND PERFORMANCE

I love LinkedIn Sales Navigator

because it opens doors to

connections in a way that I have

never experienced! I can

reach out to someone across the

globe and get an introduction

to a conversation within minutes

of finding the contact I’ve

been searching for.-Mandy Hanks,

Account Manager-SBD, ISV Alliance

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Social selling expert Jill Rowley said metrics need to change to reflect not just social selling, but how business relationships in general have changed. Proximity isn’t as important to relationships as it used to be, for example, so awarding plum contracts to a sales person through division of territories doesn’t make sense; nor does using performance metrics based on number of phone calls and demos.

“If we are going to get sales people to behave differently, we have to measure and reward them differently,” Rowley said. “We should be measuring things like size of network, quality of connections, number of followers, and internal collaboration because social selling is a team sport.”

The collaborative aspect of social selling is something that leaders absolutely must support through their actions, Rowley said. Traditionally, it has benefited sales people to closely guard their relationships, but tapping team members for warm introductions to prospects is what fuels long-term success for companies and individuals.

“Culture matters,” Rowley said. “How do you show you are a sales leader that supports collaboration? Make your network accessible. It starts at the top.”

Here are some tips to get, and keep, the team on board:

• Focus on long-term benefits. Relationships have to be nurtured, which takes time. No one is going to close a sale with the first invitation to connect.

• Educate sales people on what “helpful” content means to prospects. This directly influences pipeline development. When sales people focus on adding value in advance of sales opportunities, their pipeline fills quicker.

• Use LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index metrics to benchmark. Being viewed as a credible business adviser who solves problems is what leads to achieving quota. Make this a goal.

Social Selling Adoption Best Practices

1. Focus on Pipeline Progression

Consider these metrics:

ü Quality of leads

ü Connections, Number of connections within target

companies

ü Current social activity

ü Referrals/recommendations

2. Focus on the Earliest Possible Engagement

Some frequent buying signals include:

ü Questions about industry-related topics

ü Critiques of a competitor’s solution

ü Job changes

3. Focus on Social Proof

Testimonials, recommendations, case studies and referrals —

these all provide insight into your target prospect and company.

4. DON’T Focus on the Status Quo

Be prepared for follow-ups and new opportunities as the

sales relationship develops. You’ll need to stay informed on

your prospect’s updates, changes, connections, and

opportunities—social selling is an ongoing process.

Source: Koka Sexton, Global Sr. Social Marketing Manager, LinkedIn

SOCIAL SELLING SATISFIES REVENUE

DEMANDS AND BUYER NEEDS

9

Organizations with bigger budgets for purchases in the millions of dollars have a lot riding on their buying decisions. They do a lot of research and do their due diligence online before committing their resources.

The average B2B buyer who uses social media in the decision-making process is more senior, has a bigger budget and makes more frequent buying decisions, according to research from IDC. They also have a greater sphere of influence than those who do not access social media as part of their buying process.

Larger BudgetsThe average typical purchase of a buyer that used social media was $355,520 versus a buyer that did not: $195,515

SOCIAL SELLING SATISFIES REVENUE DEMANDS AND BUYER NEEDS

Q. What is the typical size of the purchase(s) you were involved with over the past 12 months?

Source: IDC’s Social Buying Study, February 2014

Buyers with Larger Budgets Are More Likely to Use Social Media

Use Social Media for Purchasing

Do Not Use Social Media for Purchasing

($)

400,000 $355,520

84%$195,515

350,000

300,000

250,000

200,000

150,000

100,000

50,000

0

Frequent PurchasersThe average number of purchases in the past 12 months for

buyers that use social media was 19.8 versus buyers that did not: 12.3. There is a clear connection between social

adoption and higher performance.

Q. How many purchasing decisions at the “department level” or above have you been involved

with in the past 12 months?

n = 760

61%

19.8

12.3

25

20

15

10

5

0Use Social Media for Purchasing

Do Not Use Social Media for Purchasing

Frequent Purchasers Are More Likely to Use Social Media

Knowing your customer before

you walk in is part of winning

the sale! LinkedIn enables me

to know my customer—their

values, their career history, their

interests and more. It’s a great

conversation starter.-Kelly Houston,

National Account Executive, Capella University

10

Joe Galvin, Chief Research Officer and Executive Vice President at the HMI Research Institute, said there is a clear connection between social adoption and higher performance, according to HMI’s 2014 Sales Best Practice Study. However, the study also pointed to a definite need for guidance and setting of expectations.

“Those sales people who rated themselves as being highly social—as compared with those who rated themselves low—outperformed in activities related to opportunity creation,” Galvin said. “But we also saw a difference in revenue, retention and satisfaction.”

The use of social selling tactics is a new skill set for the sales professional, Galvin said, and how it applies and where it has greatest impact is based on the type of product/solution offered and the existing nature of the relationship. Sales people need to know when and how to maximize social selling.

“For those environments where the majority of revenue comes form current accounts, the immediate value is less obvious. For new-logo, high-velocity environments the access to prospect and company data is unprecedented in the history of sales. Why wouldn’t someone in this selling environment embrace these methods?”

DRIVING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

IN A SOCIAL WORLD

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There is a demonstrated advantage to aligning sales and marketing, and that becomes even more evident in social selling. B2B companies’ inability to align sales and marketing teams around the right processes and technologies has cost them 10% or more of revenue per year, according to IDC.

“Relationship building is alive and happening, but it’s no longer the job of just sales,” said Craig Nelson, Founder and Principal at Sales Enablement Group. “It’s also the job of marketing. The more aligned they are, the better the success.”

Nelson stresses that relationships don’t happen overnight, and sales people need content, research and other information that they can use to establish relationships and nurture them into the long term.

B2B buyers can, and often do, get basic product and service information on their own. What they really need are trusted advisers. If you share content and resources on social media that will help them do their jobs better and stay on top of industry trends, they will more likely turn to you when it is time to buy.

In addition, B2B buyers turn to vendors with whom they have relationships with or vendors who are able to build relationships within the buyer’s company. LinkedIn has done research and found that 69% of B2B buyers are more likely to choose a vendor who is recommended to them, and 46% more likely to choose a vendor who builds relationships with the buyer’s other stakeholders.

DRIVING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN A SOCIAL WORLD

69% of B2B buyers are more likely to choose a vendor who is recommended to them

Source: LinkedIn Global Study of 1,500 B2B Decision-Makers and Influencers, May 2014

BECOME A TRUSTED ADVISER

AND WIN MORE DEALS

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Today’s buyers are looking for sales professionals to take on more of a consulting role, rather than simply enumerating the features of their products, said Nelson of Sales Enablement Group.

The benefits of focusing on being helpful instead of closing a sale are many, he said, and include: referrals for new business; add-on business with existing clients; the ability to create a vision for buyers; an emphasis on value over price; and an improved personal brand.

Research supports this. According to Demand Gen Report’s 2014 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey, 65% of buyers said the winning vendor’s content had a significant impact on the purchase decision. And, more than 80% of buyers reviewed five or more pieces of content.

BECOME A TRUSTED ADVISER AND WIN MORE DEALS

Adapting and curating content to be shared allows sales people to project thought leadership

and enhance personal credibility, but not every sales person

will be able to do this. Sales-enablement teams must feed social-ready content for sales

people to leverage.-Joe Galvin,

Chief Research Officer and Executive Vice President,

HMI Research Institute

Bouygues Telecom, a leading telecom operator in France, was finding that traditional prospecting methods were falling flat. They were having difficulty reaching prospects, particularly because people frequently changed jobs.

As LinkedIn profiles are highly accurate and continuously updated with current employment information, LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator was the natural choice to provide sales reps with direct access to accurate lead data.

With Sales Navigator, sales reps can make prospect lists in a matter of minutes and immediately reach out to the list via InMail, and Teamlink enables the sales team to get warm introductions to key players.

According to company leaders, Sales Navigator has given new life to the sales team by making it easier for them to do their job.

“TeamLink gives a whole new meaning to the

saying ‘What a small world,’” said Marine Lucas,

Sr. Social Media & Marketing Manager for

Bouygues Telecom Enterprises. “It is amazing

how we are all connected in some way.”

Bouygues Telecom Fires Up Sales Team

With Sales Navigator

HOW LINKEDIN AND OTHER LEADING COMPANIES

DRIVE A RELATIONSHIPS-FOCUSED SALES CULTURE

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LinkedIn’s Sales Solutions team has proven the value of Sales Navigator within their own organization. LinkedIn analyzed their own sales people’s performance across all global regions by mapping their SSI performance, and showed that sales reps with an SSI above 90 were three times more likely to go to club than any other rep.

“As a sales organization that sells a social selling product to sales organizations, it is not lost on us that we must fully embrace our solution. And we do,” said Mike Derezin, VP of Sales at LinkedIn.

“Sales Navigator is where we start and end our workday.”

Ateet Dave, Sales Product Consultant for LinkedIn Sales Solutions, said Sales Navigator also has strong support from leading companies.

“At Softchoice, all the high-ranking executives have been encouraged to be a part of LinkedIn Sales Navigator,” Dave said. “They are offering access to their vast and powerful networks for the various sales professionals to leverage. Even their CEO has a license and has encouraged everyone in the company to come to him for an introduction to someone in his network (with a valid business reason).”

This level of executive sponsorship can have a dramatic impact on how employees feel about leveraging each other’s relationships to add business value to their organizations, Dave said. It

“flattens” the organization to the point where all the employees are working towards a common goal as opposed to fulfilling solely their personal goals.

“LinkedIn Sales Navigator is helping to push the social selling revolution within organizations by showing the power of professional networks,” Dave said. “We have had discussions at the highest levels of General Electric with senior vice presidents about the value of ‘connection density.’ That is, developing stronger and deeper connections into respective accounts and industries for sales success.”

HOW LINKEDIN AND OTHER LEADING COMPANIES DRIVE A RELATIONSHIPS-FOCUSED SALES CULTURE

A large percentage of our sales team’s wins come from warm

introductions through using Sales Navigator’s TeamLink feature, which surfaces who in the company has

a relationship with a prospect, regardless of whether our sales rep

is connected to their colleague.-Mike Derezin,

VP of Sales, LinkedIn

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Comunycarse Leverages Sales

Navigator To Help Increase Pipeline

and Revenue

When Spanish IT solutions provider Comunycarse

adopted LinkedIn Sales Navigator, it drove a 20% rise

in conversions and spearheaded the business’s drive

into new areas. Comunycarse’s Sales and Marketing

Director Victor Magarino shares the secrets of his

company’s success—and his top tips for building a

social selling culture around Navigator:

Step 1: Equip the team with appropriate LinkedIn profiles

They were very much starting from zero in terms of

number of contacts, but the experience showed

how quickly one can build up a powerful database of

contacts on LinkedIn.

Step 2: Use Sales Navigator to bring sales and marketing together

Telemarketing and sales used to work quite separately,

and Sales Navigator provided a great way to bring them

together around a shared focus.

Step 3: Incentivize LinkedIn networks, not just leads

We then incentivized them to build databases of

relevant, quality connections, and started rewarding

them for every 50 qualified connections that they made,

on top of the meetings they closed.

Step 4: Use the power of curiosity

Our people have been getting a lot of enthusiasm

and excellent results just by asking people to become

connections. About half of our leads are coming

through that process.

Step 5: Leverage profile data for more meaningful incentives

We’ve been able to add precision to the company’s

incentives, using profile data to classify particular

contacts as ‘VIPs’ and providing additional incentives for

meetings with them.

Step 6: Give guidelines, but leave space for creativity

The key to maintaining that level of enthusiasm lies in

balancing guidelines for effective use of Sales Navigator

with space for sales and marketing to use their

own initiative. We set guidelines for the key specific

messages we wanted to deliver to different groups, but

we then leave space to be creative in how our team

gets those messages across.

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

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With the most influential and senior buyers on social media, B2B organizations cannot ignore the power of social selling, and the good news is that the relationship-building foundation that has always been a part of sales remains.

Sales teams have nothing to fear about social media, and in fact should be reassured that it is a more efficient and prolific way to sell.

Developing a social media strategy from the top down and having everyone on board with the new sales dynamic provides a competitive advantage. Your sales people are not just answering questions about features and pricing. They are consulting and building long-term relationships.

Getting started is a matter of:

• Making sure leaders are committed and demonstrating their commitment through their actions;

• Setting expectations on the personal and organizational level and adjusting performance metrics to align with expectations;

• Providing training and tools, such as Sales Navigator, that enable sales team members to make social selling part of their daily work; and

• Bringing Marketing and Sales closer to collaborate on content development and targeting to help build long-term relationships through networking.

LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator provides a ready-made toolbox and infrastructure to begin social selling.

Demand Gen Report is a targeted e-media publication spotlighting the strategies and solutions that help companies better align their sales and marketing organizations, and, ultimately, drive growth. A key component of our coverage focuses on the sales and marketing automation tools that enable companies to better measure and manage their multi-channel demand generation efforts. For more information, visit www.demandgenreport.com.

ABOUT DEMAND GEN REPORT

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LinkedIn Sales Solutions empowers sales professionals to fill their pipelines proactively. Find the right people, know what to say by uncovering key insights, and get warm introductions by extending your LinkedIn network. For more information visit sales.linkedin.com.

ABOUT LINKEDIN SALES SOLUTIONS