Our insights
Social selling on LinkedIn: Successful selling
Mario Sinz
Chief Growth of Leadtree
Published on
Die Zeiten des harten Verkaufs sind vorbei. Wer heute erfolgreich verkaufen will, muss Beziehungen aufbauen – und zwar dort, wo sich die Kunden aufhalten: in den sozialen Netzwerken.
LinkedIn has established itself as the most important channel for B2B sales.
This guide shows you how to use social selling strategically to achieve sustainable sales success and qualified leads.
What is social selling really?
Social selling is more than just selling via social media. It's about building trust before you sell. Instead of pitching your products to potential customers without being asked, you become a helpful advisor who provides real added value.
The difference to traditional cold calling is obvious: while cold calls are often perceived as intrusive, social selling creates natural conversations.
Du lernst die Herausforderungen deiner Zielgruppe kennen und bietest passende Lösungen an – genau dann, wenn sie gebraucht werden.
Social selling works particularly well in B2B marketing because it relies on trust and long-term relationships. While traditional sales are often perceived as intrusive, social selling enables a natural approach to potential customers. The advantages of social selling are particularly evident in the higher conversion rate and better lead quality.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Your most important B2B sales channel
LinkedIn is not just another social network, it's your digital office. This is where you meet decision-makers, exchange ideas with industry experts and position yourself as a competent contact. Successful social selling starts with optimising the use of this platform for your B2B sales.
The perfect LinkedIn profile
Your profile is your digital business card. It should make it clear at first glance who you help and how you do it. A professional photo, a meaningful headline and a summary that appeals to your target group are essential.
Profi-Tipp: Denk nicht daran, was du verkaufst – denk daran, welche Probleme du löst.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator as a secret weapon
The Sales Navigator is a powerful tool for all B2B companies that want to practise social selling professionally. It helps you to find exactly the right contacts and maintain them systematically. The advanced search functions and InMail credits make it the first choice and basis for serious B2B salespeople who want to generate sales.
The Social Selling Index (SSI): Your compass to success
With the SSI, LinkedIn has created a practical indicator that makes your progress measurable. The index evaluates four areas:
- Establish a professional brand: How well do you position yourself as an expert?
- Finding the right people: How effectively do you identify potential customers?
- Interact with insights: Are you sharing relevant content and commenting in a meaningful way?
- Build relationships: Are you developing real business relationships?
A high SSI means better visibility, more enquiries and ultimately higher sales figures.
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Social selling strategies that really generate leads
Content that creates added value
Vergiss Werbebotschaften. Teile Einblicke, Branchennews und praktische Tipps. Wenn deine Kontakte deine Beiträge auf Social-Media-Plattformen lesen und denken „Das war hilfreich“, bist du auf dem richtigen Weg.
Examples of valuable content:
- Market analyses and industry trends
- Practical tips from your area of expertise
- Insights into successful projects
- Answers to frequent customer questions
Systematic networking
Baue dein Netzwerk strategisch auf. Suche gezielt nach Personen aus deiner Zielgruppe und sende personalisierte Kontaktanfragen. Eine generische Nachricht wie „Ich würde mich gerne vernetzen“ landet meist im Papierkorb.
Stattdessen z.B.: „Hallo Max, dein Artikel über die Digitalisierung im Mittelstand hat mich sehr angesprochen. Als Berater für digitale Transformation würde ich mich gerne mit dir austauschen.“
The power of recommendations
In B2B business, recommendations are often the deciding factor in closing a deal. Ask satisfied customers for LinkedIn recommendations and make recommendations yourself for services received.
These mutual recommendations strengthen your credibility considerably.
Through years of experience and continuous development, we at Leadtree have developed a systematic process to implement social selling in a scalable way.
Our Social selling package for example, combines granular target group segmentation with trigger-based and personalised contact.
As a result, we generate between 5 and 30 relevant B2B appointments per month for clients such as Blinkist and at the same time build visibility and trust in the target group.
Integration into your B2B sales strategy and marketing
Social selling is now an indispensable part of a successful sales strategy. Link your LinkedIn activities with your CRM system and use marketing tools or an agency like Leadtree for efficient content planning and creation.
The combination of social media marketing and direct sales via LinkedIn creates a powerful synergy for lead generation. While your content generates attention and trust, personal conversations close the deal. Of course, the practical implementation is not always easy, but if necessary, evaluate the professional support of a specialised Social Selling Agency.
We help our customers to integrate social selling and LinkedIn into their current processes. Be it the CRM connection or, for example, inviting LinkedIn contacts to webinars or events. The result: holistic approaches and the efficient use of LinkedIn as a sales and marketing channel.
Mastering common social selling challenges in B2B sales
„Ich habe keine Zeit für Social Selling“
All our customers feel the same way. At Leadtree, we have specialised in successfully taking on the topic of social selling. Talk to us and we'll be happy to give you an insight into what the whole thing looks like. If you do the whole thing yourself: Invest 15-20 minutes a day. It's better to do a little constantly than a lot sporadically.
„Wie messe ich den Erfolg?“
Monitor your SSI, count qualified conversations and track leads from LinkedIn in your CRM.
„Was passiert, wenn ich keine Antworten bekomme?“
Patience is crucial. B2B decisions take time. Stay visible with valuable content without being intrusive.
"I don't know enough about social selling to really utilise its potential."
If you really want to utilise the full potential of LinkedIn, it usually makes sense to get a strong partner, such as Leadtree, on your side. Talk to us at any time.
Less effort, avoid pitfalls and more success.
Talk to us and increase your sales efficiency today:
Practical example: This is what your day-to-day work could look like
- Monday: Research new contacts and send personalised requests
- Tuesday: Reply to comments and interact with the network
- Wednesday: Create and publish your own content
- Thursday: Follow-up messages and interaction with warm contacts
- Friday: Analyse the week and plan the next steps for lead generation.
Tools that make your life easier
In addition to the LinkedIn Sales Navigator, there are other helpful tools:
- CRM integration: Connect LinkedIn with your existing system
- Content planningUse scheduling tools or simply the native scheduling function for regular posts
- Analytics: Miss which content works best
The future of selling
Social selling will continue to gain in importance. Artificial intelligence will help us to find the right prospects in an even more targeted way and to develop personalised approaches. Those who start now will have a decisive head start.
The integration of social selling into comprehensive marketing and sales strategies is becoming standard. Companies that train their teams accordingly and prepare them for Personal branding will have a clear competitive advantage. Salespeople who do not incorporate social selling into their sales process will fall behind.
Your next step
Get started today. Optimise your LinkedIn profile, define your target group and start networking systematically. Rome wasn't built in a day, but every successful sales campaign starts with the first contact.
Concrete steps for this week:
- Revise your profile and use professional photos
- Share and comment on three relevant articles
- Request five new, strategic contacts to generate new leads
- Check SSI score and identify potential for improvement
Social selling is not a trend, it is the future of B2B sales. If you start now and keep at it, you will build up a sustainable competitive advantage and significantly increase your sales.
Bonus tip: Network with colleagues from the industry. They are often the best referrers and can be valuable door openers.
Are you ready to turn your LinkedIn into a goldmine?
Let's talk:
Frequently asked questions about social selling in B2B sales
What is social selling in the B2B sector?
Social selling is a modern sales method in which social networks such as LinkedIn are used to build relationships with potential customers and generate leads.
How does social selling work on LinkedIn?
Social selling works through strategic networking, valuable content and personalised communication with the target group on LinkedIn.
Which social selling tools are recommended?
In our opinion, the most important social selling tool is the LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Content planning tools can also help you to strategically distribute your content.
You can find more B2B sales strategies in our comprehensive guide on the topic B2B sales..