An account executive plays an important role in driving new business and managing key client relationships. On LinkedIn, an account executive utilizes the platform to build their professional brand, connect with prospects, do research and position themselves as an industry expert.
Building a Strong Professional Brand
A LinkedIn profile serves as an online resume and first impression for many prospects. Account executives should ensure their LinkedIn profile is complete, professional and optimized to attract their ideal clients. Key elements include:
- A professional headshot and background photo
- A succinct, keyword-rich headline
- A current position with detailed responsibilities
- A summary section highlighting value provided to clients
- Key skills, certifications and languages
- Recommendations from managers, colleagues and clients
Posting relevant content and engaging with others boosts visibility and establishes the account executive as an industry thought leader. Sharing articles, insights, and commenting on posts increases reach.
Connecting with Prospects
Account executives leverage LinkedIn to make strategic connections with prospects. Features like search make it easy to find ideal targets based on company, industry, job title and more. Relationship-building starts with sending customized connection requests.
Once connected, account executives have access to contact details and can engage prospects through:
- Direct messaging
- Commenting on posts
- Liking and sharing content
- Sending InMail messages
Nurturing connections is key to developing sales opportunities. Scheduling meetings, sending helpful articles and providing value prepares prospects before any sales pitch.
Conducting Research
LinkedIn provides a wealth of data to inform sales strategies and outreach. Account executives should use it to thoroughly research:
- Leads and prospects
- Existing clients
- Target companies
- Competitors
- Industry trends
Research helps personalize outreach, identify upsell opportunities, tailor pitches, and stay on top of what is happening in the market.
Sales Navigator features like Lead Recommendations and TeamLink allow collaborating with marketing and business development teams to align on the most strategic targets.
Positioning as an Industry Thought Leader
Buyers engage salespeople who understand their pain points and provide education. Account executives should establish themselves as go-to experts by sharing valuable insights, experiences and best practices. Ways to demonstrate expertise include:
- Publishing long-form posts
- Joining industry groups
- Giving recommendations
- Commenting on other posts
- Hosting or participating in Live videos
- Contributing to LinkedIn newsletters
- Speaking at events
Becoming an active participant in the industry community leads to more organic relationship-building.
Prospecting Efficiently
With over 850 million members, LinkedIn offers substantial opportunity but also demands a strategic approach. Account executives should follow best practices to prospect efficiently:
- Define an ideal customer profile
- Leverage tools like search to find targeted prospects
- Prioritize connections within accounts instead of scattershot invites
- Personalize invitations and use InMail judiciously
- Start conversations by mentioning common connections or interests
- Add value before promoting products/services
- Follow up quickly but avoid spamming prospects
- Track prospecting activities and iterate on what works
Optimizing time spent on LinkedIn is key to maximizing results. Avoiding batch invites and prioritizing relevance keeps response rates high.
Nurturing Leads
After making initial connections, account executives need to nurture relationships over time to build pipeline. Strategies for lead nurturing include:
- Starting discussions through comments or messages
- Sending helpful articles and resources proactively
- Reminding prospects you exist with social reactions and shares
- Following up on pressing challenges prospects mention
- Providing advice and recommendations
- Introducing prospects to others in their network
- Keeping track of touchpoints to maintain momentum
Nurtured leads convert at a substantially higher rate since trust is established before any ask.
Growing Existing Accounts
In addition to new business development, account executives leverage LinkedIn to maximize existing customer success. Upselling additional solutions, expanding to more departments and renewing contracts all depend on maintaining strong executive relationships.
LinkedIn allows keeping a pulse on key client stakeholders through news alerts and profile updates. Sharing relevant articles and celebrating clients’ successes develops lasting loyalty. Account planning tools give visibility into upcoming renewal dates.
Advanced LinkedIn users can create targeted Company Pages and Showcase Pages to increase exposure among client employees.
Collaborating with Marketing
Sales and marketing alignment is critical for creating cohesive prospect experiences. LinkedIn provides data transparency and integrations to enable better collaboration.
Account executives should partner with marketing leaders in areas like:
- Sharing target account lists and contacts
- Coordinating campaigns and sequences
- Reviewing analytics on content and lead engagement
- Providing feedback on what messages resonate with prospects
- Brainstorming ways to position the company as an industry authority
Joint business planning sessions centered around LinkedIn data help sales and marketing continually refine strategy.
Increasing Team Productivity
As team leaders, account executives are responsible for driving sales team productivity. On LinkedIn, this involves:
- Setting up CRM integrations to ensure accuracy of data
- Training reps on how to optimize their profiles and prospect effectively
- Championing features like Lead Recommendations and TeamLink
- Monitoring team member activity and reach
- Modeling best practices on their own profile and activity
- Recognizing top performers
Great account executives motivate teams while providing the tools and knowledge needed for sales success.
Continuous Learning
Product updates and algorithm changes mean LinkedIn strategy must be continually refined. Ongoing learning helps account executives maximize results. Ways to stay up-to-date include:
- Taking LinkedIn Learning courses
- Attending live events, talks and certifications
- Joining industry groups and discussions
- Following thought leaders
- Exploring blog content and help center articles
- Setting Google alerts for relevant news
- Testing new features and providing feedback
The most effective leaders make learning part of their weekly routine.
Measuring Performance
Data is critical for optimizing LinkedIn effectiveness over time. Key metrics account executives should monitor include:
- Profile views
- New followers
- Content reach and engagement
- Leads generated
- Sales pipeline influenced
- Team member productivity
Tools like Sales Navigator and LinkedIn’s analytics provide visibility into what content and prospecting activities yield results. Tracking performance allows leaders to double down on what works.
Conclusion
Mastering LinkedIn delivers a substantial competitive advantage for account executives charged with winning new business and retaining key clients. By showcasing expertise, forging strategic connections, nurturing prospects and collaborating with marketing, top leaders generate more high-quality leads. They also increase sales team productivity through training, motivation and data-driven optimization. Committing to continuously improve strategy based on results allows account executives to maximize LinkedIn ROI and exceed revenue goals.
Key Account Executive Activities on LinkedIn | Benefits |
---|---|
Building an optimized, professional brand profile | Attracts ideal prospects by showcasing expertise and experience |
Making strategic connections with prospects | Opens door to relationship-building for sales conversations |
Conducting in-depth research | Informs personalized outreach and sales strategy |
Establishing thought leadership | Organically builds recognition and relationships |
Prospecting efficiently | Maximizes return on time invested in LinkedIn |
Nurturing prospects with helpful content | Converts more leads by building trust over time |
Collaborating with marketing team | Aligns targeting, messaging and content strategy |
Coaching and motivating the sales team | Multiplies results by empowering reps to excel |
Continuous learning and improvement | Keeps strategies relevant amid constant platform changes |
Tracking performance data | Enables data-driven optimization and growth |