How To SellIn LinkedIn

As LinkedIn’s profile states on its own company page – “LinkedIn takes your professional network online.” With 135M+ users and 11k new members every 90min, Linkedin has dominated the professional social media space as we all know it.

Aside from connecting with past lunch buddies from previous jobs, one might ask “what can a sales person do on LinkedIn?” As I always tell my students, LinkedIn allows you to do the most important business task ever - SELL!

So then, how should one sell via LinkedIn? If I may add another MBA framework, to a world that doesn’t need another self-proclaiming framework, I would like for you to consider “The 5Cs” of How to SellIn LinkedIn:

CONNECT-->CREATE-->COLD-TWEET-->COLLABORATE-->CLOSE

Let me explain…

CONNECT: Just as a sales person needs to leave the office to meet new prospects, he or she also needs to connect with new prospects on-line.

CREATE: In the era where “Content is King,” a sales professional also needs to be a source of knowledge and information. A well-crafted editorial agenda comprised of engaging & “non-salesy” content can position you and your sales team as a credible resource in your industry.

COLD-TWEET: Rule #1 is to never ever cold call on LinkedIn, aka send a request to someone you don’t know, trust me it looks horrible! However, finding a prospect’s Twitter handle, aka username, following them and eventually replying to one of their clever tweets can be a very classy way to start developing a relationship.

COLLABORATE: Get your sales team to cooperate and collaborate on LinkedIn. Develop discussion groups for teammates to exchange contacts, information and insights. Use the team’s collective LinkedIn connections to generate more leads and don’t forget to recommend one another.

CLOSE: Considering that any given prospect has a never-ending number of options at their fingertips, focus on being an expert and educating the prospects before they have a need for a solution. If you manage the process correctly, the prospects will be closing on you instead of the other way around!

So my dear sales friends, I hope this helps you leverage your sales on LinkedIn, and remember, as Aristotle once said, “A friend to all is a friend to none.” With that in mind, go out there and focus on making ONLY relevant LinkedIn connection, sharing your knowledge and the sales will follow!

Don't Stain Your Brand with Greenwash

As I see brands claiming to have won the “Green” award, I would like to share with you a few principles to keep in mind in order to protect your brand from taking home the “Greenwashing” trophy.

• Proof = Truth – All claims should have scientific proof.
• Don’t Hide and Emphasize – Don’t try to hide some facts and emphasize other information. Your audience will notice and the truth behind your message will come to light. Tell the whole story!

• If you are not different, it doesn’t make a difference – If you are claiming something every other company is doing you are not special.
• The Label Matter – Get a neutral and respectable third party organization to endorse your claim/stamp/label.
• Educate your Audience – If you use a term, i.e. Fair Trade, provide a definition on your label for that or any other term and or claim.

As this blog post is dedicated to my UCLA Green Marketing Strategy students, I would like to share and informative video I found on YouTube made by grenkblog.com. Please watch the video and let me know how you would avoid the “Greenwash” trophy.

Can a Chinese Brand make it in America?

I think it can! A great example is Lenovo, who acquired the former IBM PC Company Division for approximately $1.75 billion, and is currently the largest seller of PCs in China with 28.6% market share. The Chinese PC maker was ranked sixth with a 5.6 percent market share in the U.S. market in 2010, with sales outpacing all competitors in the US.

I believe Chinese brands have to do the following to compete in the US Market:

#1- Upgrade quality standards.

#2- Communicate NEW quality standards through better advertisement and promotional efforts.

#3- Develop a customer relationship management system with “the customer is always right” mentality.

#4- Reevaluate their pricing strategy, as we all know it, in America cheap = low quality.

In addition, the Chinese American community represents the largest group of Asian Americans, accounting for 22.4% of the Asian American population in the US. Therefore, utilizing the following Chinese symbols in product development to communicate Chinese heritage can be a competitive advantage in the American market:

Red: For the Chinese, the color red symbolizes good luck and happiness.

Chinese Dragons: A symbol of authority, might and power. Chinese people consider themselves to be descendants of the dragon and proudly communicate that in several forms.

Chinese Characters: There are over 80,000 Chinese characters that illustrate the Chinese culture.

Given that this blog post is dedicated to my dear Global Marketing Strategy students at UCLA, I am interested in knowing what you think a Chinese Brand ought to do to make it in America?