etailinsights eCommerce Data and Sales Blog

5 Productivity Tips That Will Help You Sell More

Ignored No More: InMail Plus Email Is A Winning Sales Combination

The growing popularity and widespread use of social media have greatly impacted many aspects of our daily lives. Family members and friends across the world can stay connected through photos and messages that are shared on Facebook. We have the ability to interact with our favorite brands and celebrities on Twitter. The way that business and selling takes place has also evolved with the use of LinkedIn. Social media is a game-changer, so it is imperative that business leaders and sales professionals take notice of its power.LinkedIn has made social selling possible, and the InMail feature that it offers can be a great advantage to salespeople when it is used correctly and efficiently. Why Are InMails So Effective? The great thing about LinkedIn InMails is that you have the ability to create a personal connection with each prospect that you message. Do not ruin this capability by sending out canned messages that try to sell your product or service right away. Every single subject line I use for my InMails is personal. You can reference sports, where they went to college (especially if you went to the same school), that you are a fan of their brand or mutual connections. There are many different avenues you can take to create a personalized subject line, but just be sure that it does not talk about anything you are selling. It should be all about the individual and trying to establish a personal connection with them. The worst thing that you could do is connect with someone that you have never met before and immediately send them a note trying to sell them your product or service.

2 Tips To Improve Your Social Selling

I am a huge fan of LinkedIn and social selling. I have made a career out of prospecting through this professional networking site, and I love being able to teach others how to have the same success. While I have talked about the importance of reaching out through both InMail and email, it is also beneficial for you to see the exact procedure that I follow. Keep reading to learn more about the particular cadence that I used when reaching out to prospects and how to track your successes.

Trade shows are an integral part of the sales process. These exhibits allow companies and business professionals within a specific industry to all come together in one place. With all these potential eCommerce leads, and limited time, how do you know who to spend your energy on?

3 Ways to Improve Your Cold Calls

Whether or not you want to accept it, cold calls still have their place in the sales industry. We get it – it can be uncomfortable and sometimes awkward to call a business professional about what you are trying to sell. Even if you have the best product or service in the world, it can be difficult to call someone who may have never even heard of your company before.

What can I do to get meetings scheduled before a trade show?

Trade shows are a key component of a career as a sales professional. These events are the ideal place to meet new prospects, connect with potential clients that you have been courting and get yourself on the radar of other industry professionals. While trade shows hold a lot of potentials, it takes skill and persistence to successfully navigate through this arena.

3 Ways for Salespeople to Increase their Trade Show Success

The art of scheduling meetings with prospects prior to a trade show is something that all salespeople should work to master. Especially when dealing with eCommerce websites, it always helps to have a few cards up your sleeve to make your job of prospecting run more efficiently. These people spend much of their days online, so use this to your advantage. If you missed the first part of this blog post, check it out HERE. Let’s now go over three more tips for setting up meetings before a trade show.

1. Find the right cadence.

Two weeks before a trade show, you should be utilizing all of your available tools for prospecting. Contact people through email, LinkedIn, and Twitter so that they become familiar with your name and do not miss out on what you have to say. Typically, I will start out by sending a LinkedIn InMail, since it is harder to say no to a person with a face than just a blank email address. If they do not respond to the initial message, I go to the sent folder and send another message. If I still do not get a response, then I send an email with a subject line like, “Check LinkedIn.” For my typical cadence, it takes me around eight times to get a response. It can take a while to finally get a response, and that is perfectly normal. The important part is to not let yourself become discouraged.

2. Take advantage of social media opportunities.

Social media provides unique opportunities for you to connect with prospects who are attending a trade show. First, make sure you are following the show’s hashtag. You may be surprised at just how people will post on Twitter and LinkedIn that they will be attending the trade show. Once they confirm that they will be at the event, you have more leverage to begin your prospecting. Additionally, let all of your LinkedIn connections know that you will be at the trade show as well. When I travel, I like to post a photo of the city I am going to and say, “Who wants to connect?” I cannot tell you how many awesome people I have gotten to meet and how much business I have gotten to drive just from a simple post like that. Finally, nurture your prospects who are also going to the trade show. Make sure that you are consistently liking or commenting on their posts on LinkedIn if they are relevant to you. As you are tweeting with the hashtag both before and during the show, also take the time to follow your prospects on Twitter. This makes it easy to find out what they are doing, where they will be, and what they are thinking about the trade show.

3. Confirm all of your meetings.

If you are able to get in touch with your prospects prior to the trade show, make sure you are setting up a meeting through a calendar invitation. Saying things like “I’ll swing by your booth” or “come to my booth and meet me” are too vague and easy to dismiss. Instead, send a confirmed calendar invitation. In the body of the invitation, make sure you include important details like the exact location of where you are going to be, directions on how to get there, and your cell phone number. Once you have a successful first meeting with a prospect, it is imperative to confirm the next steps that you will take as well. Go ahead and grab your phone or computer while you are meeting with them at the trade show, and get your next meeting on the calendar. It is not enough to say that you will call them the following week to set up a time to chat. Get things booked while they are still sitting in front of you. Do you have a trade show coming up soon? There is no time like the present to start implementing all of these tips and make some sales happen.

Getting ready for a trade show takes a bit of drudgery in the details of planning and pre-work, but it’s also the perfect time for setting up meetings, prospecting, and creating leads.

Focus on these six areas in your pre-work to get results at the trade show.

Trade show season is right around the corner!

For some, it's the most exciting time of year, wandering the aisles, visiting their favorite brands and trying out new demos. For others, it can be a nightmare, trying every B2B marketing tactic in the book to get potential leads to visit their booths.

If someone asked you what your brand is, how would you respond?

Building your professional brand is one of the most influential factors contributing to your Social Selling Index (SSI) score on LinkedIn, which is more important than you might think.