What is Social Selling?

Social Selling Builds the “Know, Like and Trust Factor”

It’s a well known fact that  3% of the market are ready to buy now, the rest may sit on their problem for a while before finding a solution.

Social Selling lets us warm up the other 97% of our market, so when they are ready to buy, they buy from us.  Within the research phase, your prospective clients will look at your social media accounts, and this is where social selling starts.

Social selling will let them get to know you through reading your posts, watching your videos and reading the reviews that your clients are leaving around the web.  They’ll get familiar with they way you communicate your key messages, and they’ll become confident that your company is a good option for them to consider.

When it comes the day that they’re ready to buy, they’ll be contacting your company because they are already feeling warm to you and your company brand.

What is Social Selling?

Social Selling is simply what we do when we use social media platforms (like LinkedIn) to find, connect with, understand, and nurture prospective clients.  Social Selling helps you build up your company reputation and create a strong rapport with your connections and networks, because your brand becomes ‘top of mind’.

If you’re a sales professional, director, business owner, coach, consultant or marketing professional, you’re probably already Social Selling.  This is a good thing, because according to Accenture’s State of B2B Procurement Study, 94% of B2B buyers research online before making a business purchase.

Heres 3 Benefits of Social Selling:

• Social Selling helps your salespeople become laser-targeted in their prospecting, allowing them to be more strategic with how they spend their time.
• Social Selling enables your team to reach out to a bank of warm leads, this is especially effective when you want to market a special offer.
• Social Selling could replace the need for cold calling, as your sales activity is more focused on ‘inbound marketing’ instead of cold out-reach.

How does Social Selling Differ from Traditional Selling?

Social Selling is a softer approach than traditional sales tactics.  It’s also a more long term approach to developing a strong reputation, so you get a steady flow of new leads, instead of the traditional approach which was more focused on short term activities and results.

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My Experience with Social Selling

LinkedIn is my favourite platform for social selling, because that’s where you can connect with the decision makers and build a strong brand and online presence.

Over the last 12 months, I’ve used social selling to help my clients sell millions of dollars worth of services.  As a LinkedIn expert, I help my clients find and engage with their ideal type of clients, so they attract a steady flow of new leads.

The secret lies in the strategy behind the campaign.  You’ve got to really know your target market, and then build content and thought leadership around those topics that help your target audience solve their problems and achieve their goals.

Having a strong business network on the social media platform you choose to do your social selling is paramount for an effective campaign.  Your prospects are likely to trust you more when they see that you share many common connections.

Hands down the biggest leverage point to a successful campaign has been the copy used in the messages sent to prospects.  There are many people doing this wrong.  The message has to follow ‘direct response marketing’ methodologies so the prospect feels like you know them, and you understand their current situation.  Your messages need to show your personality, and not be written in a ‘stilted tone’ like a corporate brochure.  The idea is to engage them and compel them to take action once they’ve read your message.  Don’t make the mistake of sending out spammy messages and trying to make a sale within the first week of connecting with a prospect.  Customise your messages to them.

Interestingly, prospects find companies that use social selling principles on Facebook to be a little creepy, when compared to LinkedIn and other social media platforms.  I guess that’s because people go to Facebook to relax and zone out for a while….most B2B buyers don’t appreciate it when that space is invaded with sales messages.

LinkedIn research indicates  sales people who use Social Selling in their daily activities outsell colleagues who don’t use social media by 78%.

A to the E – How to Start Social Selling on LinkedIn

• Angle Your Positioning –  Strategically position yourself to stand out when expressing your point of view. Consider what slant your competitors take when marketing themselves through social media and take a different angle by doing things differently.
• Build Your Network – Make connections with your ideal type of client by sending them a personalised message that will resonate with them. Use LinkedIn’s advanced search functions and features found within Sales Navigator to
• Create a Strong Brand – Share relevant content that will help position you for topics you want to be known for.  Use a conversational tone in your messages so you aren’t talking ‘at’ your market, instead you’re communicating with them, like you would if they were sitting in the same room as you.
• Develop Thought Leadership – Write articles, post videos and give your opinion on the trends and issues happening within your industry, or within the industries of your target market.
• Engage Your Audience – Encourage conversations under your articles and posts so you warm up your prospects and signal to them that your available to them, this will help your audience keep you and your company top of mind when they’re ready to buy.

 

 

 

And don’t forget that F word that doesn’t get done too often….Following Up.

The Fortune is in the Follow Up.

We’ve all been told that the “fortune is in the follow up”.

Studies show that it takes an average of 7- 21 points of contacts with a prospect to finally convert a lead into a sale. So, its alarming to find that the average sales person stops after 2 points of contact.

Following up with your prospects is easy to do within Sales Navigator.  You can also use a CRM to automate your follow ups to some degree.  We suggest you follow up with personalised messages within both LinkedIn’s message box, and via email as many people still don’t go into their LinkedIn inbox every day.

In any case, the aim to take the conversation off LinkedIn, and into a meeting – either by phone, Skype or email.

 

Interested to Know More?

Write a question in the comments section below, or contact our team via email support [@] perfectboom.com or via phone on 1300 979 640.