Pitching On LinkedIn Don't Work, Do This Instead! | Donald Kelly - 1883
The Sales Evangelist
Navigating LinkedIn: Avoiding the Sales Pitch Trap
This chapter addresses the prevalent mistakes users make on LinkedIn, particularly the tendency to send immediate sales pitches after connecting. It emphasizes the importance of building genuine relationships to avoid disengagement and frustration among professionals.
LinkedIn is a goldmine for opportunities, but the challenge many sales reps are finding is that no one is responding to their messages after connecting. In this episode and the next one coming up, I’m sharing LinkedIn tips that provide the right touch to get prospects to start engaging with you. My research will help you network better and close deals, without resorting to those silly automated messages.
Why Sending Pitch Messages Is A Mistake?
- Recently I did a LinkedIn poll that said, “When you accept a connection request, what percentage of them turn into pitches right after?” Out of the 316 people who responded to the survey, 60% of them received pitches in the next line of communication and did not like it.
- My poll result shows that prospects really hate those automated LinkedIn messages, especially right after you just connected with them. Just because they match your ICP, doesn’t mean it gives you the authority to pitch your services. Your prospects aren’t machines who are just going to do business with you because you have a great product.
- Sales reps who think that prospects are supposed to say yes to their first pitches often believe that sending out hundreds of automated LinkedIn messages works. It doesn’t, and you’re making it harder on yourself to close deals by doing it this way.
What Do Prospects Want?
- I share more stats to help show you how to stop automating messages. For example, regarding content consumption, 40% of users between 30-49 consider LinkedIn as their primary news source.
- The stats I share show why people are even on LinkedIn, which is to grow their network, find industry insights, solve business problems, and engage with thought leaders.
- From this research, you can see why your prospects are on LinkedIn: they’re trying to find answers, solve problems, and get news.
What Can You Do To Get Their Attention?
- Instead of sending automated LinkedIn messages after a connection, consider sending, “Hey, thank you so much for connecting with me,” and then figure out a way you can connect back with them in the message.
- Prospects are networking to build a community; how can you become a part of their community without pitching to them right away? I share how you can keep the engagement going to help close a deal by simply being a friendly person.
“We’re polluting everything just for a short-term win, hoping to get by. But in reality, we’re damaging ourselves, our company, our careers, and our industry. The way we pitch on LinkedIn is why 30% of people are deleting messages after they see them.” - Donald Kelly.
Resources
Connect and follow me on LinkedIn.
Do you need help with creating a podcast? Check out Bluë Mango Studios.
Join my LinkedIn Prospecting Course for more guidance.
Sponsorship Offers
- This episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.
With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.
- This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.
Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse.
- This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation.
Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin.
Credits
As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.
Mentioned in this episode:
HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS
HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com
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