PROJECT DETAILS
REFERENCES / A1 DIGITAL
PORTFOLIO / A1 DIGITAL
LOCATION
Germany, Europe
GROUP SIZE
47 participants
DURATION
12 weeks
About A1 Digtial
A1 Digital advises companies on digital transformation issues and supports them in the digitization of their business areas. The focus is on industry-specific applications in the area of the Internet of Things (IoT) as well as on cloud-based products and solutions for the modern workplace and security solutions for cloud and IoT. With scalable services, A1 Digital also supports digital projects in medium-sized businesses. It is part of the Telekom Austria Group and thus of América Móvil.
The Journey
A1 Digital Deutschland initially planned to train 37 FRANSCHA employees. When the program got off to a great start, it was immediately followed by 10 more employees. Between April and September 2020, a total of 47 employees from A1 Digital Deutschland from the areas of direct and indirect sales, marketing and the product houses of FRANSCHA were trained in social selling. Due to the Covid-19 situation, almost all coaching sessions were held digitally.
FRANSCHA took the team on a journey of profile sharpening and optimization, optimal use of the Sales Navigator, personalized contact requests, targeted and successful content creation and strategic social selling.
"Social Selling is a philosophy consisting of the components Mindset – Toolset – Skillset, this will take our marketing & sales approach to the next level in a measurable way! I strongly believe a license for LinkedIn Sales Navigator should be every sales employees toolset nowadays!"
Jens Tinapp,
VP Global Sales & B2B Marketing
The initial situation - Why A1 Digital invested in social selling
We already had a LinkedIn corporate channel that we used to post company-relevant information about products or customer references, but we lacked the professional handling of the LinkedIn channel. It was important for us to get support for the strategy. How do I build a channel, what do I post there? As a digital company with digital products, we wanted to take advantage of the digital possibilities of social selling and also learn more about the Sales Navigator, which our employees now have access to. That's why we decided to train not only the sales team but the entire leadership and marketing team as well as our consultants and pre-sales.
Goals we pursued
Direct and indirect sales is focused on new customer acquisition and deepening existing customer relationships. The Marketing objective was to increase visibility in Germany. Overall, we wanted to increase the direct and indirect reach for us as a company and expand LinkedIn much more as a communication channel towards leads & customers in Germany.
Initial concerns
Overall, everyone was in a positive mood: Some of our nearly 50 trained employees were already using LinkedIn regularly and were looking forward to expert tips. Many employees had existing LinkedIn profiles, but so far LinkedIn has been used more as a private tool to keep in touch with colleagues and not for new customer acquisition or lead generation. Of course, some employees did not need to be convinced about using LinkedIn. FRANSCHA was able to capture and motivate everyone during the training sessions. We all use it very intensively now.
My aha-experience
Our coaches Franziska & Patrizia have taught us very well that Social Selling is not something you do temporarily, not a one-time activity, but something permanent, something that is integrated into your daily work. It is a philosophy consisting of the components Mindset – Toolset – Skillset, taking the company to the next level. All these components were explained and taught to us very well. We now know how and why to use it and that it needs to be used in the long term to achieve results. As a result of this insight, we have moved strongly forward as a company and this can be measured great by KPIs, such as our direct or indirect reach and the followers of our company site.
My personal highlight
When the program was about to start, Covid-19 got in the way and we had to decide what to do with the coaching. Due to the lockdown, we would have had to postpone all full-day workshops, which were scheduled in the office. Luckily, and despite the initial concerns of many, we decided together with FRANSCHA to run the entire coaching completely online. This was a very good decision. I am thrilled with what a very well-functioning, exciting, and interactive online format you have made of it, which keeps the participants engaged, even if sometimes it was a 2- or 3-hour session. That surprised me very positively. Also, the enthusiasm that our coaches brought and conveyed to the participants! You can feel that everyone has a huge passion for LinkedIn, Social Selling & Social Media! Besides, there was a great team spirit: The coaching sessions, in which we came together in small groups of 10-15 people from different departments, offered a platform that allowed us to work closely together and where we were able to have a great private exchange before and after the coaching sessions. We were all sitting in our home office. Also, people came together who have little contact with each other in their everyday work. This close contact and exchange strengthened the feeling of belonging to the company immensely. This was another reason why the coaching sessions were very popular. A great format! I would do the same again!
Successes we were able to celebrate
We were able to achieve a great deal:
50 of our employees have a LinkedIn profile improved by miles.
Everyone has understood what is important. Which wording, which media, which background image, which profile photo, everyone knows the basics of social selling.
Everyone knows why a network is so important, how to build it up, how to make promising contact requests & how to interact.
Our employees are now really motivated and work very intensively, also with InMails and the Sales Navigator, which was little used before.
We now act proactively & take the initiative, establish personal contact first, instead of just slamming the door.
The number of followers of our corporate site has shot up from 1,500 to 5,000 followers in less than a year! And companies have a much harder time reaching followers than individuals!
The loyalty of participants to the company has increased significantly!
Our ambitions
With regard to LinkedIn & Social Media, we at A1 Digital are striving to further significantly increase the number of followers of our corporate channel. Last year, we were able to triple our number of followers and already have more than 5,000. In addition, we naturally want to keep our trained colleagues up to date with the LinkedIn algorithm or similar, and new employees who join us need to be trained. I am looking forward to it!
We also want to further cement the use of the Sales Navigator in the company. Especially for sales colleagues, I can't imagine working without a Sales Navigator license!