The Ultimate LinkedIn Messaging Guide

CHAPTER 25PICK UP THE PHONE

Yes, you are reading this right. A LinkedIn book written by a social seller has a chapter called “Pick up the phone”!

I've spent over ten years making, training and leading large sales teams making cold calls. Whilst I now focus on helping salespeople leverage LinkedIn, I know the power and importance of the phone and am certainly not scared to pick it up and use it.

There's an unfortunate stigma in social selling that most social sellers are too scared to pick up the phone and prefer to just hide behind a computer.

Whilst I don't doubt there are people out there scared to use the phone to sell, it's certainly not just social sellers, nor is social selling the reason that salespeople don't use the phone.

It has never been “social selling VERSUS cold calling.” Whilst the debate rages on in sales, it's never been about choosing one or the other. Ultimately, if you choose, you lose.

Here's a simple truth that I need you to know:

Some of your prospects will ONLY buy from you if you phone them.

Think back to the modern‐day prospecting maze that I showed you in Chapter 2 and what I said about communication preferences. There are many people out there who prefer to use the phone—who prefer to buy or discuss buying over the phone.

This book will hopefully show you how to leverage LinkedIn messaging to generate opportunities and communicate with prospects and customers, but it works EVEN better alongside the phone.

You can use LinkedIn messages to arrange ...