IT solutions provider, Gulf Business Machines (GBM), is looking at social media channels more seriously for meeting its sales objectives. The company is adopting LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator tool that enables salespeople to tap into the professional network to find and build relationships with prospects and customers through social selling.

The partnership between GBM and LinkedIn signals the onset of change in the regional IT sector, and the growing adoption of the social selling concept as a means to improve sales. Through this collaboration, GBM aims to utilize the social channel to revolutionize the relationship between the business and its customers. Sales Navigator is expected to further strengthen the GBM brand by providing its sales team with insights on the target audience. It also helps the sales force connect with decision makers and build on these relationships to seal business deals.

“LinkedIn has changed the nature of how we connect on a professional level. LinkedIn Sales Navigator takes this one step further and helps us convert these relationships into business opportunities. We are excited to be the first regional IT company to partner with LinkedIn to adopt the concept of social selling through Sales Navigator. This is aligned with GBM’s goal to innovate and change the way we do business as a company. We also expect that this will be the direction which the regional IT industry will head in the near future,” said Kevin Jones, Vice President of Software Solutions at GBM.

“Our tried and tested LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator tool will enable the GBM sales force to find and connect with prospects more effectively than the traditional sales route. We are delighted that GBM has recognized the benefits of LinkedIn’s social selling concept and is adopting this throughout the region. Success in today’s world relies on sales professionals being able to navigate the often-complex social structures within the companies they want to work with,” added Liam Halpin, Director of LinkedIn Sales Solutions, EMEA.

Through this partnership, the GBM sales force will have access to the LinkedIn Sales Navigator Team Edition which is designed to cater to groups of salespeople. The tool will be used by the GBM sales staff across the GCC, and will assist in their sales operations for both enterprise and SMEs.