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Using LinkedIn as a Vendor Database & Reference Check
January 5, 2015 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
LinkedIn began as a resume database where people filled out a Profile (online resume) for review by potential employers. But the bigger draw for human resources and headhunters is the much larger database of passive job seekers--those not actively looking, but if someone were to come along and make them an offer... So, LinkedIn came up with LinkedIn Groups, LinkedIn Pulse, posts, and the ability to share in an effort to attract those passive job candidates. LinkedIn also offered companies the ability to have their own pages to keep companies happy.
What has resulted is a database of most companies and a large percentage of their employees: A boon for sales reps as all their prospective customers are out there on LinkedIn. But now LinkedIn is proving to be a boon for the purchasing people out there too. More and more B2B companies using Linkedin to check out possible vendors--both early on in the purchasing cycle and near the end of it too.
Early on, a buyer may use a LinkedIn search to find possible companies to check out further. Using LinkedIn, someone can search for keywords like “flex PCB” and choose a site wide search, or a search within people, companies, or LinkedIn Groups. Upon finding several companies to investigate further, the buyer can see what kind of presence the potential supplier has, how many of it’s employees are on LinkedIn, how they present themselves, and how they use LinkedIn (yes, you can see how people use LinkedIn, you just have to know what to look for and where to look).
All this is actually more laborious to explain than it is to do. Try it yourself: Go to LinkedIn and enter any term you like (use quotation marks around multiple words) like “flex PCB” or “metal core PCB.” It takes 10 seconds.
Late in the cycle, a buyer may use LinkedIn as a sanity check. They are asking themselves: Am I making the right decision here? A company may have presented itself beautifully, but the prospect wants to know what’s behind the curtain.
- Is the company I'm considering a leader? Do they have posts to links or articles that can help me out?
- Is this a company we want to business with? How do their fans or followers compare with others in the industry? Do their status updates get likes and engagement?
- What does the company page say about the company? What do they have to say? Are they providing information that is helpful to solving my problems or are they more concerned with saying how wonderful they are?
- Does the company show leadership in LinkedIn groups? Are they active in industry groups? Are they active participants or just spammers?
- What do individual LinkedIn Profiles say about the company’s leaders? Are the profiles complete or done indifferently? Is it obvious that the company leaders use LinkedIn?
Companies that buy based on price don’t care about this intangible stuff, but companies looking for aspects like quality, reputation, and technical leadership sure are. LinkedIn is a place where they can get the information that will help them form opinions on possible vendors.
If you're a vendor, go have a look at your--and your company’s--presence on LinkedIn. When a potential customer comes to LinkedIn to check you out, will what they see help you or hurt you?Bruce Johnston is a sales consultant specializing in social media and especially LinkedIn. He has over 25 years experience in high-tech sales and management. He can be reached at brucej@practicalsmm.com or through his profile on LinkedIn.