Resource of the Week: Sales Playbook LinkedIn Group

What is it?

There are thousand of groups to participate in on LinkedIn. Whatever industry your in, whatever market you serve, whatever strengths or interests you have, there is a group to join. Groups on LinkedIn are very useful for professional interaction and engagement. The group that I've found most helpful is Paul Castain's Sales Playbook! The group, of course, is headed up by sales trainer Paul Castain and serves as a valuable resource for thousands of sales professionals across the globe.

Why I love it

Paul (Uncle Paul as his group members fondly refer to him) does a fantastic job of moderating his group. He has a set of rules that keeps the group (yes, even a "sales" group) from becoming a platform for pitches. It is not about self-promotion; it's about self-improvement. Questions can be asked by any group member and several topics are introduced daily. As a relatively new sales professional, it's great to get feedback from sales pros that have been in the game for years. There are just under 25,000 groups members in Sales Playbook, which allows for a great variety of opinion in the discussion. Never, in any group on any platform, have I seen such lively, consistent, professional discussion taking place.


Who uses it

For the purpose of confidentiality, I will refrain from mentioning the names of people in the group (why don't you just join and find out for yourself?). Instead, I will post below a list of the most recent questions/comments posted for sales pros to react to, so that you can get a feel for the discussion that takes place:

• Why do many outside sales reps quit before they have given themselves enough time to become successful in the role that they took on? (currently 12 comments)
•  Doesn't price matter a little bit? (currently 38 comments)
•  How would you define the secret to your success in a paragraph? (currently 5 comments)
• Twitter updates on LinkedIn!!!! Are you a fan of that??? (currently 16 comments)
• There is a sales mindset that goes something like this . . . "I don't have clients . . . I have friends" (currently 14 comments)  

This list goes in; this is just from the past few days.  I highly recommend, if you are in sales or a sales-related field, that you get involved and benefit from this amazing group.

featured image courtesy of Nan Palmero licensed via Creative Commons