Jill Konrath

How do you find decision makers' names? That’s pretty important if you want to get your foot in the door of a new company. Let me tell you where to start.

The first thing to do is identify the position titles of the various people that you might want to talk to. Perhaps it’s the Head of Corporate Communications. Maybe it’s the Trade Show Director. Or, maybe it’s the VP of Marketing. Your job is to first identify the positions. That's where it all starts.

You know how you go on LinkedIn to check out your prospect’s profile? Well, guess what? They’re checking you out too.

If all they see is a bare-bones resume listing your previous work experience, they’re not going to be one bit impressed.

Nor will they get excited about meeting you if you describe yourself as a high energy, tenacious sales hunter. That’ll scare ‘em off good.

Instead, you want them to say, “This person sounds really sharp. She gets my challenges. It’d be worth meeting with her."

One of the best ways to make that happen is to craft a customer-focused summary that makes you come alive. Let me give you a couple examples.

If you're new to social selling, you're probably wondering if it's worth doing. After all, it takes time to build your online brand, search for info about prospects, connect with new people and especially, share your insights.

Let me give you an example of how different social selling is from our traditional approach. Thomas von Ahn of Viral Solutions recently shared with me that 58% of his company's revenue comes directly from LinkedIn initial contacts.

Have you heard the term "social selling" yet? If not, brace yourself. It's the way of the future. 

So what is it? Basically, it starts with social media -- which is simply user-created content. Your LinkedIn profile is a great example. So are your status updates and the group conversations you have. It also includes other user-created content like Twitter, blogs, YouTube and Facebook.   

Would you like to get a free copy of the international bestseller, How to REALLY Use LinkedIn? Right now authors Jan Vermeiren and Bert Verdonck are giving away 1 million copies. You can download it at http://www.how-to-really-use-linkedin.com.

They're also using this as an opportunity to raise $1 million in charity. You can find out all about this initiative on their website. I hope you enjoy this article from them too.

5 Ways to Find Potential Customers via LinkedIn

Have you ever felt that what you're selling is just like what your competitors offer?  Well, if you think that, imagine how your prospects feel. They get multiple calls every day from sellers who are all saying the same thing.

Crazy busy buyers don't want to waste one iota of their precious time with these sales clones.  Instead, they want to work with people who: