In this video, we provide a LinkedIn cold call example. After the call recording, we provide an analysis with three main takeaways and lessons that can be learned.

 

1. Call LinkedIn Connections

The first thing to point out in this LinkedIn cold call example is that this salesperson does something different than most salespeople, and that is that she actually picks up the phone and calls the contact after becoming LinkedIn connections. I feel confident when I say this is different from most other salespeople because I have been a LinkedIn user for over 20 years with thousands of connections, and I can count on two hands the number of connections that have called me.

I have salespeople inviting me to connect and sending me emails every day with their attempt to try to sell their product and none of them call me. So regardless of how good this salesperson does in this LinkedIn cold call example, I give her a tremendous amount of credit for simply picking up the phone and making the call.

 

2. What Are We Closing For?

One of the biggest things I think this salesperson can do is modify how she tries to close the prospect. After she shares what is fairly close to a value proposition, she then performs a quick close by saying this:

Wanted to see if this is something you were open to being a part of. What are your thoughts on that?

The main thing that is not great about this close attempt is what she is closing for. With this question, the salesperson is leaning more toward closing for the product by trying to validate interest in what is being sold. And the problem with that is that it is too early in the sales process for closing for that.

The next step in the sales process is to talk more in the form of a meeting, conversation, or appointment, and the salesperson could modify her close attempt to focus more on selling the meeting instead of selling the product. Not only is that more logical, but it is easier to close for talking more than closing for interest in the product.

 

3. Objection Response

The third area to discuss with this LinkedIn cold call example is how she responded to the main objection that she had to face. After she tried to close, the prospect gave her the following objection:

We are not looking for partnerships like that.

She responded to this objection by deflecting toward trying to schedule an appointment with her CEO by saying this:

I appreciate that. I see you are connected with our CEO. Wanted to see if you would be open to a call with him?

Another way she could have responded to this objection was by deflecting with a question or two to keep the call going and learn more about the prospect. Here is an example of what that could have looked like:

I appreciate that. Can I ask you real quick:

  • How important is it to get more referrals?
  • How do you feel about the number of referrals you are getting?
  • Do you currently have any referral relationships?

We hope this LinkedIn cold call example provides new ideas for your sales strategy!