Building a network: The right approach counts

[sakibkhan22197]

In the business networks Xing and LinkedIn you have various options for reaching the right contacts.

Personal address book

You can grant Xing or LinkedIn access to your personal address book and have them suggest contacts found both in your address book and on the respective platform. Based on this, the business networks will then create further belgium phone number data suitable contact suggestions.

Buyer persona search

Use the search form to find representatives of your ideal customers. For example, if you type in "CEO Mechanical Engineering Germany," you'll receive a list of members with these characteristics. You can then contact them.

Topic groups

There are groups on both platforms for any topic. Join them to exchange ideas with interested parties and like-minded people and to learn what interests your target audiences.

Hashtag search

LinkedIn, like Instagram, allows you to search using hashtags. Using a hashtag that matches your offering, you can find people who are communicating using that hashtag, or people who follow a specific hashtag are more likely to become aware of your offering.

Tip : In this post we show you how to find suitable hashtags: Instagram Hashtags

Contact requests

If you've found someone you'd like to connect with, send them a contact request. It's important to remember: Social selling isn't cold calling in the digital space. When making a contact request, avoid a direct sales pitch. It's off-putting to be too pushy on the first contact. Most members won't accept such a request. Choose a low-threshold greeting, such as "I'd love to connect with you here. Best regards..."

For particularly promising leads, a personalized prospecting message is worthwhile. Briefly address the reason for contacting them. For example, congratulate them on a new position or a piece of news you learned about via Google Alerts. If you've found something interesting on your contact's social media profile, mention it to them. There may be a connection to existing contacts you can refer to.

Even after contact has been accepted, you should not start a hard sales conversation, but rather open doors by, for example, referring to a free offer such as a white paper, a suitable webinar or an interesting group with active exchange.