As the professional social network, LinkedIn is the go-to move for B2B salespeople looking to venture into the world of social selling to generate sales and revenue. With 64% of LinkedIn members using the site to develop relationships and grow their business, salespeople need to know how to separate the wheat from the chaff and uncover the highest quality social selling opportunities.

B2B salespeople are laser-focused on one thing… getting the sale. It’s unsurprising then that venturing into the realms of social selling can be a little daunting. Having heard names like Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, salespeople are not complete strangers to the concept, many even have social media profiles; but using them to sell is a different story. 

Marketers have known for some time that there has been a fundamental shift in the B2B sales cycle. It was this development that provoked the advent of inbound marketing. Prospects now generally do their own research online, seek peer opinions via social media and avoid speaking to a salesperson until they are about 90% of the way through the buying process. This is why marketers now use tactics such as content creation, social media and blogging. But where does that leave sales people?