Time to read: 3.5 minutes. LinkedIn Sales Navigator IS worth the money. But only if you have an effective, repeatable way to get buyers talking with you. Navigator and Premium buy you access. Nothing more. Here is a proven way to spark prospects’ curiosity PLUS get them asking for more details. Let’s quickly examine what I learned in my LinkedIn Sales Navigator review. 

What is LinkedIn Sales Navigator REALLY?

Essentially, access.

What you’re buying is a faster, easier way to search (access) specific kinds of prospects. LinkedIn will also:

• make automated lead suggestions for you (my clients all report the suggestions are not good);
• allow unlimited search results at a time when querying the database;
• provide a “legal” way to access prospects you don’t already know (InMail messages).

Otherwise, if you manage a team of sellers, Navigator gives you insights on how your team is, or is not, using Sales Navigator to its fullest potential.

Navigator also gives you the ability to connected your sellers to a CRM or SFA system like Salesforce.com, etc.

Why some are canceling Navigator accounts

Lack of InMail & email response is causing many sellers to cancel their Sales Navigator account.

Here’s the crazy part: Most are investing in Sales Navigator training; however, they’re forgetting the most important piece. The part that helps get appointments set with prospects:

An effective communications technique. The ability to grab attention, earn response and start discussions with buyers.

The most neglected prospecting skill is communications methodology. Specifically, “interruption training.”

“Interrupting your prospect’s day is a fundamental building block of robust sales pipelines,” says sales trainer, Jeb Blount, author of Fanatical Prospecting.

“No matter your prospecting approach, if you don’t interrupt relentlessly, your pipeline will be anemic.”

Sales reps are given cold calling training. Why not cold emailing training? Successful Sales Navigator sellers are using an effective, repeatable way to:

• attract customers by sparking their curiosity;
• guide buyers to self-qualify/disqualify themselves;
• set appointments with potential customers faster.

Want to learn more this system? Here is a more detailed explanation.

Is InMail worth it?

LinkedIn gives you “credits” to send a limited number of email messages with. They’re expensive. About $10 each.

The good news: You are rewarded for earning responses from prospects.

Good news: You receive a credit (get your $ back) for each InMail receiving a response within 90 days.

If you get a response from your prospect the credit/investment comes back! You can re-use the money invested again … and again and again. Cool eh?

But if you earn no reply your money is gone—forever. Also, you are limited to the number of InMail messages that can be sent.

InMail is also monitored and rated by LinkedIn—and you must maintain an InMail reputation score in order to send messages. If enough prospects mark your message as spam, you’re out of the game.

Why most LinkedIn Premium users waste it

I cannot provide an honest LinkedIn Sales Navigator review if I overlook this piece.

The most common mistake made is this:

Not giving the prospect a compelling reason to respond. Failing to interrupt buyers in a way that provokes a reply.

To remedy this, spark curiosity in what you sell. Here is a way to do it—systematically. Making qualified sales appointments via email (faster, at scale) is mostly about:

1. not saying “too much, too fast” about you;
2. NOT asking for the appointment;
3. helping the prospect want to reveal what is most important right now and
4. sparking curiosity in how you might help them (not your solution).

For example:

Hi Jeff,
Gold’s Gym, Curves and other fitness franchises are experiencing high levels of member turn-over — and wish to lower it. So far it’s working. Curves members are staying on-board for 30% longer annually.

They’re using an unorthodox approach to “packaging” membership incentives.

Would you like to hear more about this approach via email? This way you can decide if a larger conversation makes sense.

Please let me know what you decide, [first name]?

Stan Smith

Want to learn this system now? Here’s a training to get you started.

The best place to start

Here’s where to start.  Pick a:

• Pain your customers needs a remedy for
• Hurdle your buyers usually need to clear before they can buy
• Risk you can help them avoid (maybe one they’re taking and don’t realize!)
• Short-cut you can offer—to help them achieve a small but meaningful ‘taste of success’

Jot them down right now!  These are the pains, goals and challenges we’ll use when connecting what you sell to the conversation! Once you get past “go” with the prospect, success is mostly about creating curiosity in what you are able to offer the buyer.

This cold email technique induces prospects to ask more question—reply and, ultimately, request an appointment.

A proven, repeatable system

This is a proven, effective and repeatable system. When you send email messages, make sure you/your sellers systematically:

1. Spark prospects’ curiosity;
2. provoke buyers to act (become a lead) using “trigger words”;
3. connect that curiosity to what you sell.

What you “put into” Sales Navigator is ALL that matters. If you don’t follow this process your LinkedIn Sales Navigator and InMail investment will be wasted.

Want to learn this system now? Here’s a training to get you started. You might also join our private community of conversation-starting pros. 

Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions.

 Photo credit: Martin Fisch.