What was the sales challenge?

In a modern, rapidly changing buying environment, sales teams face a diminished ability to reach out to prospects directly—buyers increasingly do their own research online and balk at unheeded outreaches.

“We understand that the leverage that we once had with the customer in terms of controlling interactions is becoming irrelevant,” says Matt Preschern, HCL Technologies’ Chief Marketing Officer. “B2B buyers and decision makers are slowly becoming reluctant when it comes to responding to cold calls and mass emails,” he says.

With the impact of cold calls waning, sales teams, at HCL Technologies, needed a new approach to find the right decision makers and earn their trust. They sought to sell within existing accounts and make inroads into new accounts by targeting decision makers across regions and departments. Beyond direct engagement, sales teams also wanted to establish relationships and showcase thought-leadership by leveraging relevant content. “We needed a time-tested, globally-accepted platform for sales enablement that would help sales teams connect and engage with customers and prospects effectively. This, in turn, would enable sales to know more, sell more, and win more—all at a faster pace,” says Shakti Srivastava, Head of Sales Enablement and CRM Operations. “The obvious choice was LinkedIn Sales Navigator.”

“We began with an evaluation period, demonstrated proof of concept, and presented a compelling business case,” shares Shakti. “We then shouldered the responsibility of cautiously allocating licenses, integrating Sales Navigator with our CRM, and ensuring high adoption.” The feedback was overwhelming. “We conducted an internal survey, and about 90% of users agreed that LinkedIn Sales Navigator helped them in identifying and discovering insights on decision makers,” says Rama. A total of 401 licenses were rolled out to employees across sales and marketing, who received detailed onboarding training and support.

What results did HCL Technologies see?

The impact was clear and convincing. "In just two quarters, LinkedIn Sales Navigator helped us connect to over 7,000 new decision makers, which resulted in establishing connections with over 2,500 new accounts,” says Shakti. “We also found that Sales Navigator users had 17 times more connections than the non-users,” he shares.

This increased efficiency led to a dramatic increase in deal and pipeline influence. “Our analysis, based on 50 survey responses, indicated that LinkedIn Sales Navigator helped influence or support deals worth over $500 million in contract value. Of this, won deals took the major chunk of over $350 million,” says Rama. Sales teams make great use of tools like Lead Builder to save and follow prospects and TeamLink to reveal existing connections across organizations, establishing credibility and trust.

Marketing also uses Sales Navigator to amplify account-based marketing initiatives. “Features like lead and account tracking helps us educate targets and get thought leadership pieces in front of them early on,” says Karmaresh Patel, Marketing Head for healthcare in North America. “You can influence your customer before the sales get in touch with them,” he says. “That helps a lot in terms of branding, positioning, visibility, credibility—everything.

Thanks to Sales Navigator, HCL Technologies drove:

Team members with LinkedIn Sales Navigator saw:

About HCL

HCL Technologies is a leading global IT services company working with clients in areas that impact and redefine the core of their businesses. It is one of only eight 21st century listed technology companies to cross $1billion in Net Profit, $6 billion in Revenue and $15 billion in Market Cap and today operates out of 32 countries. With 103,696 professionals from diverse nationalities, HCL Technologies focuses on creating real value for customers by taking 'Relationships Beyond the Contract'.