LinkedIn Social Selling Index: Improve Your SSI Score

The LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI) is your personal scorecard for success on LinkedIn. It shows how well you build your brand, find the right prospects, and close deals.

The challenge is that many sales professionals use LinkedIn without a clear strategy. They connect, post, and scroll, but miss real opportunities. That wastes time and effort.

SSI changes that. Think of it as your LinkedIn roadmap. It measures four key areas: building your brand, finding the right people, engaging with insights, and building relationships. A higher score means stronger results in social selling.

The best part? You can improve it. With the right approach, your SSI score can grow fast — leading to more visibility, stronger connections, and more sales. If you want LinkedIn to work harder for you, SSI is the place to start.

This guide will show you exactly how to check, understand, and boost your LinkedIn SSI score for stronger social selling results.

What is the LinkedIn Social Selling Index?

The LinkedIn Social Selling Index, or SSI, is a score from 0 to 100. It shows how well you use LinkedIn for social selling. In simple terms, it measures how strong your sales activity is on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn built this tool to help salespeople and businesses check their selling skills on the platform. It works like a progress report. The higher your SSI score, the better you are at using LinkedIn to find leads and build trust.

The SSI score is based on four main parts:

• Build your brand: Create a professional LinkedIn profile. Add a clear photo, headline, and summary that shows your expertise. A strong profile helps you attract the right people. ‍
• Find prospects: Use LinkedIn search and filters to connect with decision-makers. The more targeted your search, the better your chances of building a high-quality prospecting list and reaching the right buyers. ‍
• Engage with insights: Share posts, comment on updates, and interact with industry content. This shows your knowledge and builds visibility. ‍
• Build relationships: Stay active with your network. Send messages, follow up, and create long-term connections that can turn into deals.

A good SSI score means you are building your brand, finding quality leads, and creating real relationships on LinkedIn. It gives you a clear number to track your progress and compare it with others in your industry.

Today, social selling has changed. Many sales teams now use AI sales tools and automation for quick lead generation. But the SSI score still matters. It shows how well you are using LinkedIn as a sales platform and helps you improve your online selling strategy.

Why Your LinkedIn SSI Score Matters for Sales

Your LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI) score is more than just a number. It shows how well you use LinkedIn to sell, connect, and build trust. A strong SSI score is proof that you are an effective modern salesperson.

1) It Boosts Sales Performance

• More opportunities: Sales reps with a high SSI score get up to 45% more sales opportunities than those with lower scores. ‍
• Higher quota attainment: A strong SSI makes you 51% more likely to hit your sales quota. ‍
• Outsell your peers: LinkedIn data shows that 78% of social sellers outsell professionals who don’t use social media at all. A high SSI places you in this winning group.

2) It Improves Visibility and Credibility

• Better reach: LinkedIn’s algorithm favors active users. A higher SSI score means your posts and profile are more likely to show up in searches and feeds. ‍
• Stronger authority: Sharing valuable content and engaging often helps you build trust. People start seeing you as a helpful expert, not just another salesperson. ‍
• Warm introductions: With a strong network, you get easier access to decision-makers through mutual connections. This reduces the need for cold outreach.

3) It Gives You a Roadmap for Growth

• Actionable insights: The SSI dashboard breaks your score into four parts. This shows you exactly where you are strong and where you need to improve. ‍
• Competitive edge: You can compare your SSI score with others in your industry. This helps you track progress and stay ahead of peers.

A high SSI score shows you build strong relationships and engage with valuable insights. It proves you connect with the right people. Acting like lead scoring helps you focus on the best prospects. This lets you sell smarter and faster.

How to Check Your LinkedIn SSI Score

Checking your LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI) score is quick and easy. It’s also free, and you don’t need a LinkedIn Premium account to see it.

Steps to Find Your SSI Score

1. Log in to LinkedIn: Sign in with your personal LinkedIn account. ‍
2. Visit the SSI page: Open this link in your browser: linkedin.com/sales/ssi. ‍
3. View your dashboard: Once the page loads, LinkedIn will show your full SSI dashboard.

What You’ll See on the SSI Dashboard

• Your total score out of 100.
• A breakdown of your score across the four social selling pillars.
• A comparison of your score against people in your industry and your network.

The best part? The SSI dashboard updates daily. This means you can track your progress in real time and see how your activity on LinkedIn impacts your score.

The 4 Pillars of the Social Selling Index

The LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI) is built on four main pillars. Each pillar focuses on a key skill that makes social selling successful. Your total SSI score is out of 100, with 25 points available in each area. To rank high, you need balance across all four.

1. Establish Your Professional Brand

This pillar is about how you present yourself on LinkedIn. A complete and polished profile is the first step. Add a professional photo, a strong headline, and a clear summary that highlights your expertise.

You can boost your score by publishing posts, writing articles, and collecting endorsements or recommendations. The goal is simple: build credibility and show that you are a trusted voice in your industry.

2. Find the Right People

Here, quality matters more than quantity. This pillar tracks how well you identify and connect with the right decision-makers. Use LinkedIn search filters or tools like Sales Navigator to target your ideal prospects.

Your score rises when your connection requests are accepted by relevant people. A focused network leads to stronger sales opportunities.

3. Engage with Insights

This pillar measures how active and valuable you are on LinkedIn. Sharing industry news, posting your own insights, and commenting on updates all count toward your score.

It’s not enough to scroll passively. You need to spark conversations, react to content, and add value to your network. The more you engage, the more you position yourself as a trusted resource.

4. Build Relationships

The last pillar is about growing and maintaining strong connections. It looks at how often you interact with your network and how many senior-level professionals you build relationships with.

Your score improves when you turn connections into meaningful relationships. Consistent communication, follow-ups, and trust-building are key to long-term success.

Together, these four pillars show how well you use LinkedIn to sell, engage, and build influence. A balanced approach across all of them is the fastest way to raise your SSI score and boost your social selling results.

How is the LinkedIn SSI Score Calculated?

Your LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI) score is not just one number. It’s the total of points you earn across the four main pillars of social selling. Each pillar is worth up to 25 points. Together, they add up to a maximum score of 100.

Think of it like four building blocks. To get a high score, you need to perform well in all four areas, not just one. Here is the scoring breakdown:

1. Establish Your Professional Brand (up to 25 points)

LinkedIn measures how complete and professional your profile looks. You get points for having a strong headline, detailed summary, and professional photo. Publishing posts or articles, earning endorsements, and receiving recommendations also boost this score. A strong personal brand signals credibility and expertise.

2. Find the Right People (up to 25 points)

This part focuses on how well you connect with the right prospects. LinkedIn tracks how you use search filters, tools like Sales Navigator, and how many of your targeted connection requests are accepted. It’s not about how many people you add, but whether they are relevant decision-makers. Effective LinkedIn prospecting means finding and connecting with the right people who can actually move your sales forward.

Pro tip: Explore LinkedIn Sales Navigator alternatives to find tools that match your prospecting style.

3. Engage with Insights (up to 25 points)

Your activity level and content engagement are measured here. You earn points by sharing valuable content, commenting on posts, reacting to updates, and sparking conversations. The more engagement your posts receive, the higher your score climbs. This shows LinkedIn that you are an active, trusted voice in your industry.

4. Build Relationships (up to 25 points)

This pillar measures how well you turn connections into meaningful relationships. Points come from sending and replying to messages, keeping in touch with your network, and building ties with senior-level professionals. Consistent engagement and strong relationships raise your score in this area

Daily Updates: Your SSI score updates every day. That means your recent activity directly impacts your score. By improving each of the four pillars, you not only raise your SSI score but also strengthen your overall social selling strategy on LinkedIn.

What is a Good Social Selling Index Score?

A good Social Selling Index (SSI) score is generally above 70. You don’t need a perfect 100 to succeed. What matters most is how your score compares to others in your industry.

Here is the SSI score breakdown:

• 75 or higher: Excellent. This places you in the top 1% of social sellers. It proves you are strong across all four SSI pillars and a leader in your field. ‍
• 65–74: Very strong. Many top-performing sales professionals fall in this range. It shows you are using LinkedIn effectively to find prospects and close deals. ‍
• 40–64: Average. Most LinkedIn users are here. It means you’re active but still have room to improve your social selling strategy. ‍
• Below 40: Low. This shows you’re not using LinkedIn for social selling much. Even small actions, like posting content or engaging with prospects, can quickly lift your score.

You should focus on rank, not just score. The number is important, but ranking is even more powerful. LinkedIn shows how your SSI compares to peers in your industry and network. Aim to be in the top 10% of your industry. This proves your LinkedIn strategy is working and gives you a clear competitive advantage.

Industry Benchmarks: For B2B sales teams, most reps score between 55 and 70. High-performing teams usually average 65 or higher, which gives them an edge in visibility, credibility, and LinkedIn lead generation.

How SMARTe Boosts Your SSI Score

A high Social Selling Index (SSI) is not about working harder. It’s about working smarter. SMARTe gives you the tools and data to improve your LinkedIn selling strategy and boost your SSI score.

1. Finding the Right People  

The “Find the Right People” pillar of SSI is about quality, not quantity. SMARTe gives you access to a large, verified B2B contact database. You can use advanced filters to target your ideal audience by industry, company size, job title, and more. This makes every connection more relevant. By focusing on quality leads, you improve your efficiency and strengthen your SSI score.

SMARTe’s LinkedIn email finder tool makes this even easier. It helps you quickly find verified email addresses for your prospects, so you can connect directly without wasting time. This ensures your outreach is faster, more accurate, and more effective.

2. Engaging with Actionable Insights  

Effective engagement starts with having the right insights. The buying signals of SMARTe tracks real-time events such as funding rounds, leadership changes, and hiring updates within your target accounts. These insights give you meaningful reasons to engage. Whether posting a relevant article or commenting on updates, you can add value and position yourself as an industry expert. This strategic engagement boosts your SSI score and credibility.

3. Building and Nurturing Relationships  

Trust is the foundation of successful social selling. SMARTe helps turn cold outreach into warm conversations by providing deep contact insights. Knowing your prospect’s interests and company updates allows you to personalize messages effectively. Personalization builds trust, strengthens relationships, and increases your Social Selling Index over time.

Stop settling for average SSI scores and manual research. See how SMARTe can fuel truly effective social selling. Book your demo today.