Episode 6: 5 Applications for Smart Links

Stan Robinson, Jr.  00:00

Welcome to the Sales Navigator live show with Stan and Brynne. Join LinkedIn expert and sales professional Brynne Tillman, and me, Stan Robinson, Jr, Chief coaching Officer here at Social Sales Link, as we bring you the best tips and strategies for leveraging Sales Navigator for your sales success. Enjoy the show! Hello, Brynne.

Brynne Tillman  00:39

Hello, Stan, how are you today?

Stan Robinson, Jr.  00:42

Excellent. Thank you. Welcome to this hot Monday, although compared to the rest of the month, I can't complain.

Brynne Tillman  00:50

That's true, it is true. But I'm happy to be here with you in the air conditioning. So…

Stan Robinson, Jr.  00:57

Yes, thank goodness air conditioning fan as the case may be. So thanks to everyone who's joining us, listening to us, as the case may be. Today, we're excited to be talking about Sales Navigators Smart Links feature. And it's one that some people are using and are super excited about but a lot of folks, especially if you are relatively new to Sales Navigator and still trying to get your arms around search filters and alerts and everything else that goes on in your Sales Nav account, you may not have gotten around to the little tab at the top that just says Smart Links. 

Now, this is available to advanced users, advanced and advanced plus, okay, so if you're part of a team, you'll have access to this. So if you're using core and you say, well, Stan, where is that tab, it's because it's only available to advanced and advanced Plus users. 

Brynne Tillman  02:00

If I could share, you can now be a team of one now. So you can actually as one person, upgrade to being a team of one, you just pay more, and you'll get Smart Links.

Stan Robinson, Jr.  02:12

Very cool. Very cool! 

Brynne Tillman  02:15

But what you’ll lose and this makes me sad, because it makes very little sense. You will lose LinkedIn learning when you move from core to advanced. So you're gonna have to balance out which one you'll use more.

Stan Robinson, Jr.  02:28

Yeah, thank you. Yes, sometimes it's a little bit hard to figure out the logic but it is what it is, as they say. So in terms of Smart Links, and what it is, I'm sure everyone listening to this has been in a situation where you want to send a file to someone, it could be a video, or it could be a great PowerPoint and you run into space limitations. If you try to attach it to an email, there's just, there's not enough space for your great video, or your PowerPoint and Smart Links gives you a way around that because in a single link in just one link, you can attach I believe it's up to 15 different pieces of content. I've never tried that. But you can attach multiple pieces of content. They can be documents, they can be video files, they can be PowerPoints, and you attach them and you send the recipient, just one link. They click into that, and they get access to everything that you'd like to share with them. So it is a beautiful feature, Brynne. I know you've been using it for quite a while. And you love it.

Brynne Tillman  03:53

I love it. I would say it's probably my number one true trigger of buyer intent. So in all of the prospecting that I do. So here's the beautiful thing, everything Stan said and when they click through and look at it or download it or click through, you know, it reports to you. Who's there. Now, this is one thing I love. I get the link from Stan and I forward it to Bob. So I look at it and now Bob looks at it and Stan knows that we both looked at it even if he didn't send it to Bob. 

So anyone that is logged into LinkedIn, will attach their name to the activities that they do. If they click through then they're not on LinkedIn. It will actually ask them for their email. Can they give you a spam email? They certainly can. And I've had it done. So they can access, know that even without their information. They can and access it. But it is really powerful. And you know, I have, well, I'm not going to start my stories because you've got a very good structure, and I have stories behind the structure. 

But before we get to your seven. SmartLink… So this is Gunnar,  have become one of my favorite features in Sales Navigator makes for easy sharing and monitoring for engagement. Thank you Gunner Hood. He is on our team's Sales Navigator. So we're thrilled about that. So thank you for sharing that. So I'll let you go with number one, and then I'll start telling my stories in the right place.

Stan Robinson, Jr.  05:37

That is fine. So first, in terms of the sales process, prospects, if you have information that you'd like to get to prospects that's relevant for them, that helps to build value in their eyes. So you're positioned as a resource, rather than just one of the many other people out there that are trying to sell them something with Smart Links, gives you a way to share content with them. So want to start with that one Brynne?

Brynne Tillman  06:07

Yeah, so let's say you have lots of different personas. You sell to maybe marketing leaders and CROs and maybe even technology, you've got all these different people, you should have a different SmartLink hub for each of them. They all want different kinds of content. And it allows you to really send them what is important to them in their role. 

Now, the key here is it needs to be valued. So typically, if I'm going to have content, maybe I've curated a piece of content, maybe I have a podcast that I was on that I want them to hear, right, that might have value, maybe there's a checklist I want to give them, maybe there's a link to schedule a call with me almost always in my Smart Links, right? Want to chat? Here's the link.

So this is really a hub, that if you are talking with someone, you can send it now, you can create an unlimited amount of hubs. So there are times where I will personalize what I have specifically for a company. And now the deck that I upload has their logo on it. So we can totally personalize this and the interesting thing is not to go completely, like a squirrel on you. But the InMail when you go to send an InMail there's actually a place to create a Smart Link just for that person. So LinkedIn encourages it to be hyper personalized but you know, if you have basic hubs, then you know, you can send that over and over again. And when we talk about presentation, we'll talk about that in a minute.

But the one thing I miss, so this used to be called many years ago, LinkedIn. No, I don't remember what it's called. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Why Am I blocking? Okay, it was something else. Point Drive and so when it was Point Drive, there was a feature that you could go in and duplicate a SmartLink hub, and that is not in SmartLink. So it's one thing I missed deeply because I used to have the base, like general thing, and then I would duplicate it and then just add something customized to the first piece of content.

Stan Robinson, Jr.  08:48

It's not anymore. Okay. Well, note to the product team at Sales Nav.

Brynne Tillman  08:55

I love it. It's so easy. Oh, can I see something else in the product team? Another thing that went away, so we have four members on our advanced Sales Navigator team, we have Gunner, we have Stan, we have Bob and myself, right. We used to be able to create a Smart Link and share that Smart Link with our team members to use and that's gone too. So I create one and say, “Hey, Stan, I think your people would love this.” and you'd be like, Thanks, Brynne and It would just come over and you would say it's now in Stan’s  list, anyway , product Team. Listen to us. We miss these things. 

Stan Robinson, Jr.  09:41

Yes, yes. So all good stuff. Now, one thing that we just alluded to, we're presentations. And there are a lot of different contexts when you can use presentations. I mean, if you're going to give a presentation you can send a Smart Link for yourself that you can access because anywhere you go to give a presentation, normally you're going to have internet access. And although most of us will bring a thumb drive, just in case, but also presentations, if you share a presentation with a prospect, and they say, can you send it to us because I have other people I'd like to share it with. So Brynne, your thoughts on presentations, because that came up. 

Brynne Tillman  10:28

Yeah, I love this. So couple things. Let's go. Let's start with the presentation Live. I'm on stage, I am on Zoom, and people are listening to me speak. And the number one question you get is can I have a copy of the deck. So create the deck plus your calls to action and other resources and other things. So we have linkedInlibrary.com, that is available in my SmartLink. So I have the deck but then I have other resources that get them on the email list that get them to be able to schedule a call with me if they're interested. So there's lots of different reasons to do this. 

So what do I do, I take the Smart Link, and I will create a QR code for it. And I create, in fact, I'm going to do this. I know that this is also going to be in a podcast, so you won't see the QR code. But I'm going to paste so typically, you guys can see what I do if you go to socialsaleslinkedin.com/deck for those of you that are listening, and for those of you that are watching live, I'm going to stick the QR code. 

This is essentially if I were alive, I would stick on the screen a QR code so that they can go up and they can scan the QR code and this would bring them to the Smart Link, which would tell me that they were there and I could see. So even if they didn't do anything else, I at least know who was in the audience who scanned it and who came in, right. And if I don't have a QR code, socialsaleslink.com/deck. 

Now, if you get on this now, it's gonna be a little bit outdated, because I didn't do it live for today but this is what we do, right. I update this with a new deck every single time. And there's lots of resources there. So when you're in a presentation, this is a great way especially if you're not going to get a list of the people in the audience. You'll see some things. So that's just my thought right now and how to handle amusing Smart Links, given the deck plus a whole lot of other stuff.

Stan Robinson, Jr.  13:03

Yes. Because I know all of us have heard Hey, can I get the deck? Where's the deck? etc, etc, etc?

Brynne Tillman  13:10

Yeah, yeah, you can have the deck. And sometimes they start with the number one question I get is, can I have a copy of the deck? And I start with that?

Stan Robinson, Jr.  13:20

Yes. Yep. Let them go ahead and scan the QR code, the beginning of the meeting, and then you can keep it rolling. Good deal! Well, one of the most powerful aspects of Smart Links and once you try it, you'll say “Oh, this is sweet.” getting notified every time someone looks at what you've sent them. So it's like, “Hey, you have a lead. Here's someone that you should talk to.” And proposals are one other use case where Smart Links can be super valuable. Because it allows you to get some visibility into organizations you might not otherwise have. So Brynne, yep, I know you've used it for that.

Brynne Tillman  14:10

So I use them for almost every presentation, every proposal. I will upload it to a Smart Link along with a scheduled call with me and sometimes I have a personal letter, great talking with you almost like a cover letter in the front. Then I have you know the proposal, so it's very personalized, and I send it out and then I get to see who they pass it around to which is great but here's what's really, in my opinion, game changing. I sent out a proposal over a year ago and ended up dying on the vine. 

Not sure I tried to find out why I didn't get the deal. They ended up going in a different direction, which I have now found out was cold calling training, just FYI. And now they've reached out and said that didn't work. We'd like to talk to you again. No, they didn't reach out. They looked at my proposal a year later. And I got notified. I'm like, Oh, what happened? So I reached out, got on a call, and they said, Look, those cold calling just didn't work. Don't do that. But that's okay. Yeah. And now, you know, we have an active proposal for a good one for training. Awesome. I don't know if they would have reached back out to me but I knew because they clicked on that Smart Link that they were talking about it again. 

Stan Robinson, Jr.  15:51

Yeah, that is so incredibly powerful. So we talked about triggers in a previous episode, this is another form of triggers, just alerting you to potential opportunities that you might not otherwise be aware of because it's been said that with this prospect that came back 12 months later, they may not have reached out or they may have intended to reach out. And as happens with all of us, you know what happens? Someone comes into the office, you get interrupted, and the thought is gone but Smart Links notified Brynne, Brynne was able to take the initiative.

Brynne Tillman  16:35

And if they hadn't notified me, I don't think I would have gone back to look at who looked at that. That presentation a year later. So to your point, Stan, that notification is a big deal.

Stan Robinson, Jr.  16:48

Yeah, great. Now we've also heard that some people are using them across a variety of content that they're sharing, whether it be posts, newsletters, or even landing pages. So you're only limited by your imagination as far as where you start to use these. And of course, as I know, we have Gunnar on the call and he always says, if you have an idea test it.

Brynne Tillman  17:23

Yeah I love that. test it. So smart Links is a great thing to test. You said a couple things Stan that I just want to touch on. A newsletter is great. Now, if you have a newsletter that's going out inside of your marketing campaign, you may be able to see who's looking at it but if they forward it to someone, you start to lose visibility, you never lose visibility with Smart Links, whomever is clicking on it and they're logged into their LinkedIn, which most people are always logged in, you have full visibility. So I love having a newsletter and then you know, a call to action is to download a resource, a checklist, you know, and then use Smart Links to do that. It is a soft gate, right? 

So we've talked about gated content where they have to give you their name and their information they are accepting through LinkedIn that they don't read, though, they just click Yes. And so it's a soft opt in. And then typically, if I do that, I'll have a harder opt in, in the SmartLink. So I earned the right. And now say you want more, here's another link. And now you go on to my email list. So there's a lot that you can do, because a typical newsletter even on LinkedIn, you don't have visibility into who's engaging on it. And this will help you if they're not active commenters or reactors, you can miss them but if they're lurkers, they still may want to download or get more content. So that can be really helpful. 

You also mentioned on landing pages now, I mean, I'm open to a discussion on this, but my gut tells me No. And the reason I don't want to have landing pages, I've already done the work to get them here. I don't want them to leave my landing page to go somewhere else. And I don't want more than one call to action. So generally, I would say on the landing page, I want their email. I want their name and email to get something but whatever they get in their, download could have an additional resource in smart links. So that you can follow that. 

So we have a wonderful participant, “Any suggestions also on buyer intent? Or you'll prepare another great episode? So we love buyer intent, this is a buyer intent, right? How many times they look at it. And you can see it looked at seven times, twice today and three times last week, five people in the organization looked at it so you can really get buyer intent. And you can choose whether you want them to download something or not. Many times, I do not offer the ability to download the proposal. So they have to pass on the link in order for someone else to read it. 

So, you know, there's a lot of buyer intent in there. I would say to answer this question, you want to be very strategic at what content you're putting in the hub, and recognize if someone is interested in this, there's a good chance that they're interested in that. So don't randomly create hubs to really brainstorm and identify what engagement means when it comes to buyer intent? And then what is your follow up on that? So I don't know if that answers that question but anytime a buyer engages with content that leads to your solution, there's some level of intent. In my mind.

Stan Robinson, Jr.  21:33

Yeah, exactly. Because people are so busy today, they will not be taking any time to look at something that is not relevant. So even if it's in the back of their mind.

Brynne Tillman  21:46

We got to thank you. You're very welcome.

Stan Robinson, Jr.  21:50

Yes, and thank you for the question, because that's exactly what we're here for. And then, lastly, because we don't want to leave out the audience of those who are looking for sales talent. So for example, if you're a hiring manager, and you're looking to bring on new sales, talent, Smart Links are another way where you can get your message. Now your value here is the value of working with your organization, your company culture, and everything else that you offer to talent.

Brynne Tillman  22:29

I love this one, Stan, I do. And we talked about this earlier, like, how do we position it that we're not teaching recruiting because we're social selling, folks, right? But here's the beautiful thing about smart links. If you reach out to a salesperson who's making a good bank, and it's pretty happy, and you say, “Hey, I'd love to share a new opportunity with you there.” chances are, they're not going to hop on a call, because they're getting recruited all the time. Passive sales, people get recruited by active salespeople, it's tough but passive salespeople, you know, the sales leaders want to talk to because if they're killing it at the company they're in, they want to bring them over. 

So how do you get interest without them having to hop on a call with you? So as a hiring manager, if you create a content hub, that it might be content around, how to get more, how successful sales professionals get more client referrals? They go, I'm a successful person, I want more client referrals. So this isn't about pitching your company, or pitch. This is about just getting on their radar and seeing what they how they bite, then maybe or maybe you have them or you could have a poll that you link to it. If you want them to answer a poll. You can or it may be the trigger is if they look at this, we send them the poll to vote on. But we could also put in, you know, maybe five ways sales professionals are negotiating better payouts, who's going to be interested in that? Someone who's not really thrilled with their payout.

The new culture of commissions, how strategically the top companies are paying their sales folks? You will then so buyer intent, candidate intent, you'll attract the people that might be open to learning a little more. So we call this leading to your solution, not with your solution. I have a position for you know, right, because they get those all day long, but we can start to identify even triggers on where they might have a gap or be unhappy because they're looking at the article that's around, negotiating better compensation. So, I'm sorry, I went on and on about the one that I didn't want to talk about.

Stan Robinson, Jr.  25:36

Yes, but great suggestions in terms of how to use it for that specific use case. And ironically, not to come across as too salesy. Even when selling to sales professionals.

Brynne Tillman  25:48

No, that's right. Start trust based conversations without being salesy. And when you're hiring salespeople, I love that.

Stan Robinson, Jr.  26:00

Yes, great. Well, Brynne, thank you. This has been awesome as always. We’re  gonna wrap this episode up. Look forward to the next one. And pass this on to your friend and we will see you soon. 

Outro  26:16

Thanks for listening and join us again for more insights on Sales Navigator and social selling strategies that will differentiate you from your competitors and accelerate your sales success. In the meantime, you can go to socialsaleslink.com/library for free content on LinkedIn Sales Navigator and social selling.