So you just received a hot lead from your web site, and it is your job to convert the lead to a sale. My advice to you is: be quiet, listen, look, question, validate and define next steps.

Be Quiet
The most damaging thing you can do while on a sales call is talk too much. If you do, you run the following risks:

• Not learning about your potential client
• Offering half-baked ideas
• Giving the client the opportunity to prematurely judge if you are able to solve his problems

Listen
You will learn almost everything you need to know by listening. The client wants to share his pain with you. Let him! If he says something you don’t quite understand, write it down so you can ask for clarification later or, better yet, suggest a follow up meeting, when you can bring a team member with you.

Look
When visiting a client’s office you are given the opportunity to take a glimpse into his world. Be observant and try to learn as much as you can. What you see can contribute to offering a solution that best fits the client’s needs.

Question
You listened so now you can ask questions. Ask for clarification on items you may not have completely understood. Ask about what you observed while walking through the office. Show genuine interest and ask probing questions about the client’s business. Most people take pride in their business and appreciate insightful and provocative questions.

Validate
It is now time to validate that you understood what the client told you. Hopefully you took good notes. Describe to the client your understanding of his situation. The client will correct you if he thinks you misunderstand something. Incorporate the client’s corrections or insights in your description.

Define Next Steps
It is very important that your meeting be brought to a meaningful close. Don’t walk away without defining the next steps. The client will want to know what the process is and how and when it begins. Show him positive movement by setting up a follow-up meeting or promising a prompt delivery of a proposal.

Be quiet, listen, look, question, validate and define next steps. If you can do this you have a good chance of turning a prospect into a client.

LinkedIn has been around for a while now and recently they passed 20 million users. Unless you live under a rock, you probably have received at least one invitation to connect with someone on LinkedIn.

That said, I frequently hear, “Okay, so I have an account and a couple of people have connected to me. What can I do with LinkedIn?”

Recommendations - start by recommending people in your network and then ask to be recommended. You control what appears on your profile, so only good things will appear on your profile. It’s about making others look good and asking for the same in return.

Prospecting - if you are trying to make contact with a particular company, you can search for people who might have connection with a person the company. Once you have created enough connections, you will often find that you are one or two connections away from a potential client. You can then request an introduction or go all old school and pickup the phone to your contact and ask for a referral.

Questions and Answers - LinkedIn has an active Q&A section where members post questions and others reply with answers. Answering questions is a way to show your expertise, as members can mark the answers as “good” or “best” which earns you some LinkedIn “street cred.” We’ve actually gotten some business opportunities as a direct result of answering questions.

Groups - there are a whole bunch of professional organizations, alumni groups, etc. that provide another way to link to members. And you can even start your own interest group if it make sense for your organization. The groups feature in LinkedIn is still maturing, so keep watch for what happens there.