Increase sales with LinkedIn integration in Dynamics 365

It’s no longer a secret that good sales people are utilizing Social Media to maximize their sales prospecting. LinkedIn, in particular, is an effective tool that sales professionals should be constantly mining for new leads. Dynamics 365 recognizes this with LinkedIn integration in the Sales Navigator widget.  

You can expect even more LinkedIn integration in the Fall 2018 Dynamics 365 update, but there is already lots to dig your teeth into. Instructions on how to get going can be read here.  

Although most understand the importance of utilizing LinkedIn, what resistance remains is largely based on a misunderstanding of what LinkedIn is. Many people still primarily view LinkedIn as a recruiting/job searching site. That’s a mistake. LinkedIn is a rich and valuable sales resource. 

Here’s how you should be using LinkedIn and why LinkedIn integration is such an important component of Dynamics 365.

Connect, connect and connect!

Although there is nothing wrong with staying in touch with your college buddies, that’s not the purpose of LinkedIn. If a majority of your contacts are people that you know in real life and share a personal, not business, relationship with then you’re doing it wrong.  

Don’t be shy! Get out there and start connecting with people that are going to benefit you professionally. The beauty of the LinkedIn network is that connections spawn more connections and it doesn’t take long to grow your contact list to the point that you can leverage it to find and close leads.  

Create a roadmap to success

There is a great deal of depth of information on the typical LinkedIn company profile. With a few clicks, you should be able to map out a company’s organizational chart and understand who is working on what projects. All of this rich information allows you to ensure that you’re not wasting your time chasing dead end contacts. You can learn who you need to contact and what they are doing. In turn, you can know exactly how you can help them.

Break the ice and build relationships 

Sales is about relationships. In fact, it’s arguably more important than ever in an era where customers are doing more and more research on their own before engaging in a formal sales process. The customer often knows the product as well as the salesperson does. They are not likely to be swayed by a straight sales pitch. The sales professional needs to distinguish his or herself in other ways.  

Often that means building a good personal relationship with the client. LinkedIn provides you with the tools to do just that. You can easily see ways to relate to the client. Did you go to the same college? Share a fraternity or sorority affiliation? Have mutual connections? LinkedIn can tell you and, if so, you can use that information to reach out and connect. That connection might be the difference when it comes time to make that sale!  

More than just profiles

LinkedIn is more than just a series of headshots and profiles. There’s a whole interactive site that can and should be leveraged to find opportunities. The Groups feature is a collection of similar users that gravitate to one another because they have similar likes, needs and skills. These groups provide you with a great insight into how people in industries that you are targeting think. Since the groups are often less formal than what you’ll encounter in a business environment it provides an opportunity to introduce yourself and build truth and authority in the group in a less aggressive and more organic fashion. In turn, you’ll be viewed more favourably – as much a friend as colleague – when it comes time to sell.

Sell…yourself!

Don’t ignore your own profile in pursuit of making more and more connections and in massaging the connections you already have. Your profile is your calling card to others and a great resource in attracting people to connect to you.  So, it’s imperative to optimize your profile to drive sales.  

Make sure you do it right though. Have current links to your company site, Twitter and Facebook page. Ensure that you have references and a good description of who you are and what you’re about. Lastly, don’t be camera shy. Profiles with photos are much more likely to attract visitors. Just make sure your photo is professional and that you look friendly and approachable in it.  

Add value

One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to leverage Social Media is forgetting the ‘social’ part. Just as it’s important to engage in groups, it’s also vital to create unique content of your own and to share other relevant content.    

The goal is to be seen as a trusted authority in your field. The more trusted you are the more likely you are to find and close leads on LinkedIn.  

All of these benefits can be maximized through LinkedIn integration with Dynamics 365. If you’d like to learn more about how to take advantage of this great one-two sales punch give the D365 experts at CRM Dynamics an HSO Company a shout.