Don't be afraid to think beyond sales. LinkedIn can be used to save your company money - and being more profitable can be just as valuable as increased sales. I don't think any CFO will complain about extra cash in the bank.
We recently worked with a manufacturing company's HR Department and taught them how to leverage the tools within LinkedIn to help in their recruiting efforts.
By utilizing the job posting feature within LinkedIn this company was able to hire a plant manager without the use of an outside agency - saving the company over $30,000 in recruiter fees. Worth mentioning is that of their top 5 candidates, 3 of them were found through LinkedIn.
Another feature within LinkedIn that can save your company money is the "Answers" area of the site. You can ask questions to a large network of people or to a very targeted segment of users. For example, you could ask a question to your entire network or choose to just pose that question to graphic designers in the Milwaukee area (a wise choice indeed).
This type of feedback is extremely valuable. You'd not only be surprised on the number of answers you receive, but also the detail in which some of the respondents put into their answer. At times, it can be an answer that may have cost you $100 per hour (minimum charge) for asking an outside consultant that same question.
So, next time you accept a LinkedIn request, take an extra 15 minutes to navigate around the site and see what other cost-savings opportunities are available to you.
Has your company discussed using LinkedIn to increase profitability? Do you have a success story you'd like to share? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Photo by AMagill (via Flickr)