Present in virtually all sectors of the modern economy, the internet increases its share in the sales segment every year. And in addition to its importance for the B2C (Business to Consumer) sector, those working with B2B (Business to Business) have been gaining many benefits from digital platforms.
Gartner revealed that since the COVID-19 pandemic, B2B digital commerce has experienced significant acceleration. According to the Gartner report "Future of Sales 2025," by the end of next year, 80% of B2B sales interactions will occur through digital channels.
Despite the room for growth, the Brazilian scenario also shows that businesspeople, entrepreneurs, executives and salespeople are also taking the internet into serious consideration.
Around 50% of all B2B purchases are made online. The trend is that this number will increase to over 60% in the next 5 years, according to the Wunderman Thompson's The B2B Future Shopper Report 2023.
The Importance of LinkedIn for B2B Sales
In a context where online B2B sales are already becoming dominant, LinkedIn appears as one of the main platforms.
In 2024, Microsoft's corporate social network announced it had reached 78 million users in Brazil. Counting the whole world, there are more than 1 billion members.
Denise Maia, CEO of DMS — a B2B business prospecting company — and author of the recently released book “LinkedIn found me, and now?”, indicates that the so-called Sales Navigator specifically is a very useful tool for those who want to generate qualified leads.
The specialist, who was certified as a Social Selling Expert by LinkedIn, points out that Sales Navigator is enhanced by AI to perform intelligent searches, for example. With more than 50 filters available, the salesperson can search for potential clients and decision-makers based on keywords, location, current and previous job titles, types of companies, level of experience, and accounts with purchase intent.
Another task performed by LinkedIn's AI is displaying updated company information. With this, it is possible to check news, team changes, and all movements of the potential client on Microsoft's social network.
“Knowing these details makes a difference when sales teams approach potential customers,” adds Maia.
AI also enables Sales Navigator to automate tasks, recommend leads that make sense for salespeople’s scope, show results and sales funnel performance, and personalize approaches.
“Like generative AI tools, LinkedIn Sales Navigator provides inputs for professionals to make more informed strategic decisions. Knowing how to make the most of all these platforms ensures that the best possible results will be achieved,” concludes Denise Maia.
In this scenario where the virtual environment has become so essential to reach potential customers, partners and collaborators, terms such as generative AI, language model, neural networks and algorithms have entered the popular vocabulary.
AI transforming B2B sales
The B2B sales sector is undergoing a revolution thanks to various AI tools. And since many of these platforms are free, they end up offering a great potential for new business opportunities.
Denise Maia states that those who know how to use these new technologies will have an advantage over competitors. Actually, she says that in a very short period of time, knowing how to use AI will no longer be a differential, but rather an obligation.
“We are seeing the revolution happening before our eyes. Soon, AI software will be as common as the use of cell phones and computers,” he predicts.
The specialist argues that AI offers great improvements in customer service and experience. Starting with chatbots, for example, it is possible to clarify doubts, provide information, and even create a sense of closeness. It's no coincidence that many companies have been investing in more humanized figures to interact with the public.
Maia recalls that those who use the internet to make B2B sales can still perform predictive analyses with the help of AI. She explains that through machine learning and big data, platforms can predict purchasing behaviors and also infer the best moments to contact the customer and decision-makers.
And another capability of artificial intelligence — mainly generative AI — is to perform personalizations. Generative technologies can analyze specifics from inputs (commands) and generate new information that has been cross-referenced from an extensive database. In other words, with generative AI tools, it is possible to analyze text suggestions for landing pages, gain insights for outbound marketing emails, and even verify ideas for social media posts, for example.
“Platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Anthropic and others help in the sales process from the point where they serve as inspiration to create content and have ideas to achieve new sales solutions. They serve as a starting point for human beings to optimize their work,” argues Maia.
In the book “LinkedIn found me, and now?”, Denise presents other tools and strategies to build a personal brand on the platform, expand your network of contacts and boost sales.
Released on September 27th, the book can be purchased at this link: https://www.neo21.com.br/negocios/o-linkedin-me-achou-e-agora-do-perfil-estrategico-aos-segredos-do-sales-navigator
