Understanding the Rule of Seven in LinkedIn Sales Networking

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a powerful tool for growing your business and gaining clients. However, using the marketing tool can be a bit complicated.

If you’re unsure how to use Sales Navigator, tune into this episode. I chat with Josh Shirley, a seasoned sales professional from Sandler, on the most effective ways to use the tool to help grow a sales pipeline. 

Josh Shirley’s Background

• Josh Shirley is a representative of Sandler, a renowned sales training organization. 
• He highlights that his relevance arises when sales leaders seek an institutionalized system offering predictable outcomes based on set inputs. 
• Sandler’s methodical approach provides sales professionals with the structured support similar to those in other professions with established educational backgrounds, enabling them to perform effectively right from the start.

Referrals: The Gold Standard of Leads

• Referrals are the golden component of receiving sales leads.
• Josh shares personal experiences about how structured approaches to request referrals can significantly enhance lead generation.

The LinkedIn Rule of Seven

• Josh shares explains that for every seven LinkedIn connections, there's typically one person willing and able to refer you. He outlines three practical applications of this rule to improve your referral tactics.
• One to Many Referrals: This is suitable for territory managers who need leads from various potential clients.
• Many-to-One Referrals: Useful for targeting named accounts where multiple mutual connections might lead you to a high-value prospect.
• One-to-One Referrals: This involves asking one referrer about one specific prospect and repeating the process.

Practical Execution with LinkedIn Sales Navigator

• Josh explains how LinkedIn Sales Navigator simplifies the process of finding mutual connections who can act as referrers. 
• He provides detailed steps on how to filter through profiles using Sales Navigator's advanced search functionalities to make this task more efficient.

Overcoming Psychological Barriers

• One of the barriers salespeople face when asking for referrals is the fear of appearing needy or intrusive. 
• Josh advises on shifting this mindset and adopting the belief that people generally want to help you succeed.

"It's not that you don't know how to ask for referrals. It's that there's something in you stopping you from asking because You’re afraid you’re going to come across as needy." - Josh Shirley.

Resources

Josh Shirley on LinkedIn 

Sales Tales Podcast

https://thesalesevangelist.com/opener

Sponsorship Offers

1. 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.

2.            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.

3.            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