How This AE Built a $1M Pipeline Through LinkedIn (With Laura Erdem)
Nov 21, 2024
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In this engaging discussion, Laura Erdem, a salesperson at Dream Data, shares her impressive journey of generating a $1M pipeline primarily through LinkedIn. She dives into the challenges of traditional outbound sales and the shift to social selling. Laura reveals her effective playbook filled with practical tips for self-prospecting and building authentic connections. She emphasizes the importance of team collaboration, founder support, and striking a balance between social engagement and traditional techniques for sales success.
Consistently dedicating time to LinkedIn can lead to significant pipeline growth, demonstrated by a $1 million sourcing example from Dream Data.
The shift from traditional outbound to social selling emphasizes the importance of relationship-driven interactions and collaborative efforts between sales and marketing teams.
Deep dives
Generating Pipeline through Social Selling
Sales representatives can significantly enhance their pipeline by dedicating just 30 minutes daily to LinkedIn. One example shared in the discussion reveals that the team at Dream Data created a pipeline worth $2.7 million through their LinkedIn efforts. By engaging consistently on the platform, team members were able to source $1 million of this pipeline through strategic interactions and content sharing. This approach emphasizes that the focus should be on consistency rather than aiming for virality, as a steady presence on social media fosters meaningful connections.
Shifting Focus from Outbound to Inbound Selling
The podcast highlights a fundamental shift in sales tactics from traditional outbound approaches to inbound strategies, particularly through social selling. While cold emailing and calling may have been effective in the past, the current environment favors methods that facilitate organic engagement. Sales professionals are encouraged to establish their presence where buyers are actively engaging, particularly on platforms like LinkedIn. This change acknowledges that potential clients prefer relationship-driven interactions over traditional sales pitches.
The Importance of Measuring Social Selling Success
Measuring the impact of social selling presents a unique challenge, as it is difficult to trace leads directly back to specific social interactions. For instance, events or posts that generate interest may lead to clients booking demos without directly linking their interest to the social content. Dream Data emphasizes a systematic approach for measuring outcomes, focusing on understanding client behavior and engagement with the brand before reaching out. This analysis is crucial in proving the effectiveness of social selling to stakeholders in an organization.
Building a Collaborative Culture for Effective Social Selling
A successful social selling strategy often relies on the active participation of both sales and marketing teams, cultivating a collaborative culture. Team members should share content, ideas, and support each other's efforts in creating and distributing engaging posts. Furthermore, it's essential to empower individuals to express their creativity while promoting the brand, fostering an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing. This unified effort not only enhances the quality of outreach but also ensures that messages resonate with potential customers, driving engagement.
We've found a salesperson who's successfully sourcing 30% of her pipeline herself. How? Using LinkedIn.
Laura shares her playbook, giving you practical tips to get going and much more.
(00:00) - Introduction
(01:27) - Welcome
(02:53) - Challenges of Traditional Outbound Sales
(05:07) - The Shift to Social Selling
(05:57) - "You're not Gartner"
(10:40) - How much pipeline? And how do you calculate it?
(16:57) - Building a Social Selling Playbook
(20:32) - Getting founder support
(23:19) - Who to get on the team
(24:42) - How do we get started
(26:39) - Figure out the who and the what
(28:41) - Forget the POV
(31:54) - And now, book a demo!
(37:06) - But that deal is mine..
(41:25) - Laura's secret tricks
(45:54) - Concluding Thoughts and Final Tips
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