LinkedIn started as a job-seeking platform, but it's grown into a hub for industry insights, thought leadership, and professional development. This makes it valuable for companies and individual users who want to grow their business and demonstrate their expertise in the industry.

In the B2B world, LinkedIn is unmatched. Four out of five LinkedIn members drive business decisions, and its audience has two times the buying power of the average web audience. This concentration of influence and purchasing power is why every sales team needs a strategic presence on the platform.

As the platform grows and evolves, companies should leverage their employees as brand ambassadors on the channel, using their connections to spread the brand messages to key audiences. Sales teams can also target high-quality leads and build relationships with decision-makers, while marketers can distribute content and build brand awareness. This makes LinkedIn the perfect platform for B2B and B2C companies alike.

Leveraging LinkedIn for business growth

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional social network designed for businesses and industry professionals to connect and build relationships. It is home to more than 1 billion members, including more than 63 million decision-makers and 10 million C-level executives who are actively seeking insights and solutions.

CEOs, vice presidents, employees, and industry thought leaders use the platform to share insights, participate in discussions, and establish themselves as trusted resources among peers. This forms a core part of a strong LinkedIn strategy for business growth.

Social selling on LinkedIn: Content on LinkedIn can range from industry news and thought leadership articles to company updates and job postings. By engaging with these posts and participating in relevant groups, professionals can connect with potential clients and collaborators, fostering trust and eventually earning new customers. This process is key to successful social selling on LinkedIn.

Becoming a thought leader on LinkedIn: In order to build connections and establish yourself as a thought leader, it’s important to actively post and engage with content on the platform. There are a few types of posts that set LinkedIn apart from other social media platforms for thought leadership and industry insights:

  • Article: This type of post allows you to write an article about a specific topic. It can be viewed by anyone on LinkedIn and allows you to go into more depth than a normal post would.
  • Document post: This type of post allows you to upload a PDF document to a post. This is great for sharing technical information or infographic content that is more detailed than what can be put on an image.

By sharing insightful content and starting conversations with other individuals within your industry, your employees and sales teams can bring great awareness to your company and brand and connect with potential customers. These connections can translate awareness into movement through the sales funnel. 

How LinkedIn empowers your sales team

When your sales teams are active on LinkedIn, they’re able to reach prospective customers and build connections, creating more personalized interactions compared to traditional cold calls.

By engaging with prospects’ content and learning more about their business needs, your sales team can ultimately drive sales and become a trusted resource. Your sellers get several benefits from being on LinkedIn:

  • Targeted prospecting: LinkedIn's advanced search filters allow you to pinpoint your ideal customer profile based on industry, job title, company size, and even skills. You can build targeted lead lists filled with high-potential prospects. This is crucial for effective LinkedIn prospecting and lead generation.
  • Building relationships: When used effectively, LinkedIn isn't just about sending connection requests; it's a platform for fostering relationships.
  • Building trust and credibility: When your sales reps connect with a prospect's existing network, it creates an opportunity to build credibility. When a prospect sees their colleagues connected to your reps, it opens the door to warmer conversations and positions your reps as established figures within the industry.

A quick-start guide for your sales team

For your sales team to be effective, it’s important that their personal LinkedIn profiles are up to date, they’re posting regularly, and they’re engaging with the right people. Here are a few quick tips to get them started on effectively using LinkedIn to drive business growth:

  • Host an internal training: Teach your sales teams the ins and outs of the platform, guide them on effective posting strategies, and ensure that they understand your company’s social media policy.
  • Optimize profiles: Before they start posting, individuals should make sure their profile is filled out completely. This includes making sure they have a profile picture and header image, their work history is up to date, and they’ve added any relevant certifications.
  • Join industry groups: Associates should join relevant industry groups to connect with professionals within their industry and engage with meaningful content. This will help them become an extension of your brand and position themselves as trusted sources within the industry.

Get started with LinkedIn sales team training

Unsure of how to host a training? We can help! We offer LinkedIn training that is tailored for individual companies to engage their employees in the platform and give them hands-on experience before diving in. Reach out to us to learn more about how your team can leverage LinkedIn for business growth.