So what exactly is social selling? Social selling is the process of developing relationships through social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, as part of the sales process. With a heavy reliance on social channels for information, consumers have shifted the traditional sales process away from conventional sales approaches like cold calling and door to door sales. Microsoft has made it easier for companies to utilize social channels for social selling by bringing LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales together.

Today’s buyers are self-educated and well-informed. They have access to a wealth of information and have more control of the buying process than they did in the past. In a Forrester survey, 74% of business buyers say they conduct more than half of their research online before making a purchase decision. Buying decisions are also being made by teams of people, so you no longer have a single decision maker to persuade. You need to engage with a group of stakeholders that have different needs. This adds complexity and requires strong relationship management.

The latest LinkedIn State of Sales in 2016 report provides insight into the world of social selling and highlights which tools, strategies, and tactics sales teams are employing to boost their sales efforts.

• Sales professionals spend most of their time working with social selling and CRM tools, as they believe they deliver the highest value
• More than 70 percent of sales professionals use social selling and see relationship building tools as having the highest impact on revenue
• 90 percent of top sales professionals use social selling tools, compared with 71 percent of overall sales professionals

These trends show that having the right tools is critical to the success of sales professionals, and has resulted in many organizations equipping their sales professionals with the new tools they need to do their job.

The integration of LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales offers social selling experience for sales professionals that can help them overcome these new sales challenges. You can install the LinkedIn solution for Microsoft Dynamics today and benefit from the following social selling capabilities.

Stay on top of customers you care about

You can view LinkedIn Account Profiles from Sales Navigator right within Dynamics 365 for Sales to help you learn about your customer and their industry. It will also help you stay up to date on news, recent activities, and job changes.

Discover new leads

The Account Profile also provides you with lead recommendations based on your sales preferences in Sales Navigator. This Account Profile information is available to view on the Lead, Contacts, Opportunity, and Account forms in Dynamics 365 for Sales.

With these capabilities, sales professionals can stay informed about their customers, and identify new opportunities to build their sales pipeline.

Contact Bond Consulting Services TODAY to Learn how BCS can Become Your Dynamics 365 Partner