LinkedIn Grows Corporate Solutions Business With Help From Salesforce.com 

Challenge

• LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, needed a CRM system to help its corporate solutions and advertising teams grow their businesses.
• The 70+ person corporate team, which markets and sells a suite of solutions for corporate recruiters called the LinkedIn Talent Advantage, did not have a system for maintaining customer data and managing pipeline for its 900+ customers.
• As an Internet service pioneer, LinkedIn wanted a cloud-computing solution that would align with its vision.

Solution

• Salesforce CRM Enterprise Edition is used by more than 70 LinkedIn employees in sales, marketing, support, and management in the U.S. and U.K.
• Salesforce CRM Sales keeps data on tens of thousands of leads and contacts organized and accessible. It tracks and schedules activities to help deals keep moving toward close.
• With Salesforce CRM Marketing, LinkedIn can create, manage, and measure campaigns from within Salesforce CRM.
• Using document processing and electronic signature partners helps reps create custom proposals using Salesforce CRM data to dramatically increase the customer signature process.
• Integration of a call center solution with Salesforce CRM allows the sales team to efficiently connect with customers while also providing operations with immediate access to daily call activity.
• Dashboards provide real-time views of key business metrics including new customers, bookings, length of sales cycles, contract prices, and renewals.
• Custom forecasts help LinkedIn manage its pipeline, and custom objects track customer trainings and usage.
• Integration with a business research company provides fast access to detailed information on customers and prospects from within Salesforce CRM.
• Integration with Microsoft Outlook maintains a record of communications and helps keep customer information in sync.
• Salesforce.com Training & Certification programs helped administrators learn to integrate solutions and customize Salesforce CRM to meet LinkedIn’s unique needs.

Results

• Salesforce CRM helped LinkedIn’s reps become more efficient, enabling them to handle 200% more customers and contributing to dramatic growth in revenue/customers.
• Salesforce CRM provides a centralized repository for customer data, enabling comprehensive customer views across the entire organization. Fast access to metrics support planning and decision making.
• Real-time campaign analytics and ROI measurements have helped LinkedIn’s marketing team generate more qualified leads and optimize its spend. Automatic lead conversion ensures all leads move toward close.
• Through integration of LinkedIn’s price list with a document processing and an electronic signature application, LinkedIn reps can now generate 80% of contracts without oversight for shorter sales cycles.
• With sales activity and case management, reps and account managers are more productive and can focus on closing more deals and keeping customers happy.