How to Use LinkedIn to Boost B2B Sales: 5 Expert Tips

As a B2B marketer, which channels are you using to generate leads and drive sales for your business?

Email? 

Cold calling?

Facebook? 

Google Ads?

While these avenues have their merits, they are still less effective than LinkedIn regarding B2B sales. 

Why? Because the key decision-makers are not just present but actively engaged on the platform. 

The latest statistics show that LinkedIn has 63 million decision-makers and 10 million C-level executives. 

Image via LinkedIn

If you want to use LinkedIn to boost B2B sales, this article can help. I will show you how to connect, engage, and drive sales for your business like never before. 

What makes LinkedIn the perfect platform for B2B sales

Below are the reasons that make LinkedIn a fantastic tool for B2B sales: 

• A community of businesses: Recent statistics show that there are 67M+ businesses on LinkedIn. By leveraging LinkedIn prospecting tools, you can discover which companies might need your services and devise a plan to connect with them. 

• The key decision-makers are on LinkedIn: LinkedIn gives you ungated access to the key decision-makers in your target companies. All you have to do is send them a connection request, and once they accept, you’re in. 

• Effortless lead generation: Lead generation is almost effortless with LinkedIn. LinkedIn’s search engine allows you to search for users by industry, position, location, and more. And given that the search results are ready-made contacts, it becomes easy for you to generate leads on LinkedIn. 

• Your LinkedIn profile builds trust: LinkedIn allows you to create a profile that builds trust with prospects. Potential clients can view your profile to see the content you publish to determine your expertise. 

5 ways to use LinkedIn to boost B2B sales

With most B2B marketers using LinkedIn to grow their sales, you need a targeted approach to succeed on the platform. Here are four proven strategies to create a social media strategy for your LinkedIn B2B sales.

1. Showcase your expertise

To convince other businesses to consider the product you’re selling, you need to show them you’re an expert at what you do. 

Remember, your target users are well-informed individuals who hold key positions in your target companies. To get them to buy your product, you need to demonstrate in-depth knowledge and offer solutions that address their specific pain points. 

To achieve this, you must create valuable content on the key topics in your industry. As you publish informative posts, you showcase your expertise and understanding of current issues and demonstrate your ability to solve common problems in your industry. 

The good news is AI has made this process easier, so you have no reason not to have quality content on your profile. You can choose a tool from Attrock curated list of the best AI content writing tools you can use to simplify your content creation efforts. 

To show you what I mean by quality content, check out this LinkedIn post by Olga Andrienko, the VP of Brand Marketing at Semrush. 

Image via LinkedIn

In the post, Olga shares valuable information one can use to measure their success on LinkedIn. This is an effective way to use LinkedIn to boost B2B sales since, by demonstrating her expertise, she appeals to businesses that need the brand marketing services that Semrush offers. 

2. Optimize your LinkedIn profile for sales

Your LinkedIn profile is a great sales asset.

How so? It helps you build trust with prospects and convinces them to accept your connection request. From there, you can engage them via direct messaging and tell them more about your product or service. 

That said, here’s how to create a compelling LinkedIn profile that leaves a lasting impression on potential clients. 

• Professional profile photo: Your profile picture should be a professional headshot, not a selfie. Ensure to smile to portray a friendly and approachable image. 

• Compelling headline: Mention what you do and where you work in your headline. 

• Captivating cover photo: Your cover photo should be a text banner in your brand colors and messaging. 

• Summary section: Write a brief summary section that explains who you are and what you do. 

Arina Boikova has shown us how to build a great LinkedIn profile for B2B sales. Her profile photo is a professional headshot, and the cover photo is a banner with LinkedIn branding. 

Image via LinkedIn

She has also clearly mentioned what she does and where she works. When you scroll down her profile, you’ll see the summary section that briefly highlights her skills, experience, and achievements. 

3. Leverage LinkedIn Ads

Another way to use LinkedIn to boost B2B sales is through paid advertising. LinkedIn has a paid advertising solution you can use to reach your target audience effectively and promote your products. 

Since you’ve already done audience analysis and know who your target users are, their roles, and the companies they work for, you can use LinkedIn Ads to reach them effectively with your marketing messages. 

LinkedIn offers several advertising options, including:

• Native ads: These ads are displayed on the LinkedIn feed and include simple image and video ads. The image below shows a native ad by Paddle displayed in the LinkedIn feed. 

Image via LinkedIn

• InMail Campaigns: Send sponsored messages to prospects to initiate a direct conversation and offer tailored solutions. 

• Dynamic ads: These ads allow you to engage potential clients with ads that are automatically personalized to them to increase the likelihood of engagement and conversion. 

When running ads, ensure to track LinkedIn analytics to gauge ad performance. Use the insights to make appropriate changes to the timing, visuals, headline, and body text to optimize your campaigns. 

4. Build a strong network 

To generate sales for your B2B brand through LinkedIn, you need to work on growing your connection. Identify your prospects and interact with them so you can inform them about your product. 

In instances where your prospects haven’t accepted your connection request, use InMail messaging to deliver your message directly to their inbox. 

Just ensure to craft a personalized message that highlights the value of your product and addresses the specific needs of your prospects. 

That said, don’t limit your LinkedIn interactions to one-on-one connections. One of the benefits of social media management is fostering connections through niche groups. 

LinkedIn allows you to join relevant groups and build connections with prospective clients. By joining these groups, you can connect with users who are talking about problems that can be solved by your product.

The key to success with this strategy is being active in the group. Publish relevant content and contribute as much as you can to discussions within the group. 

This will help you earn the trust of prospects and convince them you have the right product to solve their needs. 

5. Track your Social Selling Index (SSI)

Finally, LinkedIn has a feature known as the Social Selling Index (SSI) that measures how effective you’re at:

• Establishing your professional brand
• Connecting with the right prospects
• Engaging with insights
• Building relationships with prospects

LinkedIn updates your SSI daily and you can access the insights at any time from your dashboard. Armed with this information, you will know what you need to improve on to generate more B2B sales through LinkedIn. 

Final thoughts

LinkedIn is a powerhouse when it comes to acquiring B2B clients. The platform provides ungated access to the key decision-makers in your target organizations. 

When applied correctly, these strategies will help you use LinkedIn to boost sales. However, bear in mind that success on LinkedIn requires patience and consistency. 

As such, it’s important to think long-term as you embark on your LinkedIn B2B sales journey. Don’t drop a strategy because you didn’t see results in a week. Keep at it and watch your sales soar as you provide consistent value to your audience.