WHY SHOULD I HAVE A LINKEDIN PROFILE? Expectation: “I’m not looking for a job so I don’t need a LinkedIn profile” Reality: LinkedIn is a powerful platform with endless opportunities. Here’s a few reasons why you should have a LinkedIn Profile: Business professionals expect you to have one Greatly supports networking efforts (reinforces the business card) Shows that you are relevant Resources you desire are here (sales leads, industry updates etc)

Settings & Privacy > Who can see your connections > Only You THE DO’S AND THE DON’TS Choose a professional profile photo that represents you and the company. Keep your work history, skills and notable achievements up to date. Share useful content (especially from your brand) and comment on relevant posts. Profile photo containing alcohol, cigarettes or unprofessional clothing. Incomplete profiles (missing profile photo, outdated work experience) give a bad first impression. Don’t feed the online trolls or get into a keyboard war with the competition! Pro Tip: Make your connections private to keep the competition away from your esteemed customers and dealers, don’t make it easy for them! Settings & Privacy > Who can see your connections > Only You

SOCIAL SELLING Social Selling: measures your performance against four essential elements: create a professional brand, find the right people, engage with insight and build relationships. Sales people use social media to find and engage with new prospects. Social media helps them provide value to prospects by answering questions, responding to comments and by sharing content throughout the buying process from awareness to consideration, until a prospect is ready to buy. Why it’s important­­­­­? Present the digital version of you that will be useful and meaningful to the buyer you hope to attract. 75% of B2B buyers and 84% of C-level executives use social media when making purchase decisions

“Grow social networks and contribute to conversations” SOCIAL PROXIMITY “Grow social networks and contribute to conversations” How to increase social proximity? Find the social connectors (people in your industry with strong social networks and influence), and try to get to know them. Grow social networks to be closer to more people/right people. Be at the intersection of conversations, as presence alone helps build familiarity and eventually trust.

Improving Social Presence “Manage a professional identity that is credible, authentic, accurate, information-rich, and service oriented.” Improving Social Presence Be present in the right way. Buyers will want to get to know a sales professional in advance of a deeper relationship, and people who may serve as possible references will also be looking. Manage a professional identity (trusted personal brand). Be credible, authentic, accurate, information rich, and service oriented. When sharing thought leadership or expertise, consider the interests of potential buyers with respect to the purchase process stage. For example, buyers who engage with content intended for final-stage decision making may be primed to purchase, which is a signal for salespeople to increase attention and outreach. Engage earlier and with a lighter touch. Approach people with a "warm" introduction through their valued social network.

Build social capital (build up a reservoir of "like" and trust) “Do your social homework to ensure relevancy before you reach out and facilitate peer-to-peer recommendations” Build social capital (build up a reservoir of "like" and trust) Conduct research before making sales calls. Review the prospective buyer's profile, follow the individuals and companies of interest, and investigate group memberships and other social media activity to ensure relevancy. Salespeople with knowledge of the person/situation are more likely to be able to serve as a trusted advisor. Facilitate peer-to-peer recommendations. Make others proud to be a reference. Make it easy to share information. Send thank you notes, share knowledge freely, facilitate exchange between peers (help them help each other), provide referrals, and rarely ask for favours (social capital is built when people give without demanding immediate exchange).

THE IMPORTANCE OF SHARING CONTENT The content our brands develop is very relevant to our customers & the industry By sharing LinkedIn posts from your brand, you are helping to: - Build your personal brand equity among your contacts - Build equity and trust with your brand - Help drive awareness and traffic to your brand’s website By constantly sharing relevant articles to your industry, you show that you are on top of the latest trends and that your experience and skill sets are up to date. Sharing makes you better. It keeps you informed of your marketplace. When you are constantly finding the best news and information, you will be a more effective professional because of all you learn from the content you find.

KEY TAKEAWAYS Make a LinkedIn profile today if you don’t already have one. Keep your work history, education and skills up to date. Share your brand’s LinkedIn posts with your personal network. Connect with and interact with customers (make comments and write messages when necessary). Connect with LinkedIn groups that are industry specific. Don't feed the trolls. Check your LinkedIn page regularly.