Address a common but unspoken "human truth": top salespeople are often culturally destructive. Create content validating the need to fire them and target it at HR executives on LinkedIn. This empowers HR to act and positions your company as a solution to a critical organizational vulnerability.
A text-only LinkedIn post with low engagement but a strong problem-solution focus can generate significant sales pipeline. This is because it targets a niche audience with a specific pain point, making vanity metrics like likes and views misleading indicators of business impact.
Despite its massive user base, LinkedIn is not saturated with content creators. A very small percentage of users actively post, meaning those who do share content face significantly less competition for attention. This creates a prime opportunity for sales professionals to establish thought leadership and capture mindshare with their target audience.
A critical mistake in content creation for sales is leading with a product pitch. Instead, content should share insights that highlight a customer's problem, sparking a conversation. This strategy positions the salesperson as a trusted advisor who guides the buyer to the solution, rather than just a vendor pushing a product.
Effective B2B content marketing involves giving away valuable secrets, not just pitching services. Instead of saying "hire me," create content that teaches potential clients how to fix common problems themselves. This demonstrates true expertise, builds trust, and makes them more likely to hire you for complex issues.
Leaders struggling with firing decisions should reframe the act as a protective measure for the entire organization. By failing to remove an underperformer or poor cultural fit, a leader is letting one person jeopardize the careers and work environment of everyone else on the team.
Don't dismiss LinkedIn as just for B2B. Its organic reach is powerful and underleveraged. Users are in a business-focused mindset, making them receptive to a different style of content than on entertainment-driven platforms, creating a unique opportunity for brand distribution.
The goal on LinkedIn isn't to reach all one billion users. Instead, sales professionals should focus on their specific Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) within a niche market. By creating highly relevant content for this small, targeted audience, you can establish authority and influence decision-makers far more effectively than by attempting mass appeal.
In toxic work cultures that protect high-performing but problematic employees, the most effective strategy isn't to complain but to leave. Proactively build your personal brand and expertise on LinkedIn to attract recruiters and create your own exit opportunities, reclaiming your power.
Sellers need not create all content from scratch. You can leverage existing assets like company white papers or reports from industry associations. By extracting key data points and trends and sharing them, you provide immediate value, validate your audience's own observations, and position yourself as an insightful expert with minimal effort.
A senior hire was instrumental in getting Snowflake's CRO promoted. Eighteen months later, that same person was found to be 'cancerous to the organization.' The CRO had to fire them and go on an 'apology tour,' a painful but necessary act of leadership to protect the company culture.