How To Use LinkedIn To Generate Sales Leads

Let's say you're a salesperson who job it is to call on CFO's of construction supply companies in Massachusetts. You probably have a database, maybe a list sheet, a subscription to Hoover's, and of course your thousands of cold leads from that trade show you went to but never followed up on.

You've heard about LinkedIn, and you have an account, but so far you haven't figured out how to make it work for you.

I've got good news for you. Copy and paste this into Google.

site:www.linkedin.com "greater boston area" "CFO" "building materials" -inurl:dir -inurl:pub

You're welcome. The next step is figuring out what to do with those names. How can you reach them? What conferences are they going to? What's the best way to get them to call you, seeing as they make a habit of not picking up the phone?

That's where my training DVD on using LinkedTo to Generate Sales Leads comes in. Yes the Google search is a neat trick, and yes it can be expanded, but the real key to LinkedIn is learning how to use it to sale. We keep hearing about how great social media is for business, but few trainers have the expertise to show you how it's good for business.

So do the salespeople in your life a favor. Buy this DVD for them, and make sure they reward you with a big fat dinner for your efforts. And for yourself? If you're an internal social media person who is struggling to prove your value to the company, imagine having the expertise to show the Executive VP of Sales how you can identify key targets for her salesforce. If you're an independent consultant having problems generating clients - how would you like to know the name of every decision maker in your market?

And if you're looking for a job, how would you like to show the hiring manager just exactly why you stand out among all the people he's interviewed today?