Every salesperson (and their boss) wants to sell more. The opportunities available with social media are vast, however, to leverage social media successfully and turn it into a referral engine takes deliberate action, consistency and perseverance. Social selling works, but only if you work it.
Social Selling as Urban Legend
I’ve been seeing and participating in some lively conversations online debating what social selling actually is. The “urban legend” that is social selling is producing many myths under construction around the topic.
In these discussions, it became clear to me that while everyone agrees there is power in social media, many are confused about or not ready to do the work to make social selling pay off.
I see salespeople using old media tactics on new media social channels (ie: Facebook, LinkedIn), posting their “best deal” and somehow believing that their friends or network want to see that. Social media is not for blasting “advertisements” about the products you sell.
The best social salespeople are content marketers too.
90% of customers start their purchase with a search engine (Forrester Research). When they search for your business or your salespeople, what do they find? Providing the type of content that gets you found early in the buying process on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Search is the secret sauce to differentiate yourself and beat the competition.
If you’re a salesperson considering venturing out onto social media, or you’re the boss who thinking about incorporating social selling in your sales process, there’s important information you need so you don’t fail before you’ve had a chance to succeed.
What Social Selling Is
- Social Selling is Strategy First
- If you’re a salesperson, it starts with your personal brand. Values, vision, target audience and purpose to serve – these are things that allow you to connect with your customers. These are also things that create an experience.
- If you’re the boss, it starts with a process of turning salespeople (and customer-facing employees) into social advocates. It’s embedding social media marketing within your sales process.
- Social Selling is strategically positioning your people to be there with the customer before they buy.
The best social selling teams are content creators; delivering the right content to the right customer on the right channel at the right time of the sales cycle. Research shows customers’ native behavior includes searching, consuming content and self-educating.
- Social Selling is Culture
Culture today is about authenticity. As the leader, your company culture is only as valuable as your personal role in it.
- Social Selling is Communication
By placing communication and customer experience before sales pitches, salespeople can retain happy, loyal clients and attract new customers through modern-day means.
- Social Selling is successful WIIFM
Only about 20% of your salespeople will buy into the value of social media. The other 80% are not just sitting around waiting for you to give them more work to do. Your entire team will need to understand and embrace how creating relevant content helps THEM, not you.
- Social Selling is Building a Referral Network
Helping customers navigate their purchase and converting leads are your ultimate goals however, the power of social media to develop referral relationships cannot be ignored. Word of mouth is still the best marketing ever and social media enhances it ten-fold.
What Social Selling is NOT
- Social Selling is Not Self-Promotion.
“When your personal brand is driven by your inflated ego and not by the value produced, you turn yourself into a commodity.” Koka Sexton, Social Selling leader, LinkedIn
Successful social salespeople have an inherent sense of self-awareness and position themselves with a plan that includes “who I work for”. Personal branding isn’t about separating employee & employer, it’s to create differentiation (standing out in the crowd) for a win – for both salesperson and the company they work for.
- Social Selling is not jumping into what you see other people doing without understanding why you want to do it.
It’s not putting up a Facebook page, Twitter account or YouTube video without a solid “brand strategy.”
How will you be different enough to attract and engage? With or without a plan, you’re showing up as a brand. Originals are always worth more than the replica.
- Social Selling is not publishing random social media posts or blog content.
For both salespeople and the companies they work for, that means no social movement without knowing what your brand stands for. Everything you post should compliment your brand’s identity.
- Social Selling is not jumping in without tracking your results.
What do you want to achieve? What time frame have you allowed yourself? How will you track your results and tie them back to your goals?
- Social Selling is not treating a sale as a transaction.
Indeed, sales are opportunities for referrals…and more sales.
Now than you know what social selling is and isn’t, you may feel like the time is right to take action. I encourage you to make a plan and figure out how you’ll know if it’s working. Time and effort spent on social media increases referrals, leads and sales…but only if you work it.
Are you ready to add social selling to your sales process? Reach us –> Here
AWESOME article, Kathi! WHY I FOLLOW YOU and GET YOUR EMAILS! EVERYTHING TODAY IS ALLLLL ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA and trust me I could and have done so here talk social media and making it actionable and how to do it right etc ALL DAY LONG.. but I really loved and resonated with so much you said in educational, well-written article, Kathi. How you write and speak about social media.marketing etc. and write! WELL DONE AS USUAL! Marketing and Social media have been a passion of mine as I have grown with it and its digital change just a few years into my started career and professionally grew and learned a lot and served in social media managerial positions and developed many first social media platforms…Most of the businesses today I hear that they use SM for EXPOSURE.. they do not know how to best use it to generate leads, sales, exposure credibility, word of mouth, referrals, and much much more — how to make SM WORK FOR THEM and not be a consumer putting off ADVERTISEMENT as you mentioned… IT HAS TO BE CLEVER.. YOUR SM SPECIALIST HAS TO BE CLEVER, STRATEGIC COMPELLING, UNIQUE, TRENDY, ACTING IN REAL-TIME AND SAVVY with your business brand and mission in mind and par for the course of actions …. But how can businesses/owners hire and get a actionable social media with results if they do not know what social media is NOW and how much it has changed and evolved and what is right and wrong like in this great article..??..It’s a catch 22 for all.This is HOW I know social media/selling to be after 20 years in the market…15 in serious social and digital environments learning it under the masters. Newbies can make the mistakes that you have mentioned and that is proven by businesspeople who come to me after being burned and who have admitted it to me… they allegedly go for what they think are advanced educated newbies and digital experts just out of school and pay bigger bucks too…I had one assocaite get burned twice by putting a newbie TWICE into the Marketing and Social Media position for his company with both failing and fired before he realized the truth of the situation when we spoke and how much experience ( and lack of it they had and put into an impossible position to succeed; now each have started off with black spots on resume) and training over years to do it ALL right/effectively and lead a team of the marketing world/job that in now an onion of many many layers and each important and the inner most core being your brand/product. Many who hire “digital marketing” trained newbies as managers or higher level positions that do not have any real business world experience nor any REAL-WORLD KNOWLEDGE outside of the classroom are going to be our future leaders but the need the practice time we all had moving up. They started RAW, not their fault, I think, rather than letting them start and grow first in entry level positions as we all of middle age and greatest knowledge and skill have , , so they do not get burned bc there is A LOT to be said for years of experience in marketing and what marketing means and still means — it is the lifeblood business and it is still the smae at its core but no wwe have the assistance and optimization the internet and social media bring — PROS AND CONS — a lot more CONS no with internet facebook/twitter etc — no more burying of negative comments — unless you delete them and do not address them but what does that tell your customers? — for all the world and all your customers to see allteh bad dirty laundry with the good and why new practices are in lace like crisis and reputation management… For me it as been like raising a child and watching and learning as they learn, or being a child when you first start and and learning under top mentors, consultants and teachers during all the phases of the marketing industry and today’s digital and techie growth era that have yielded true experts in the field that can led with true innovation and clever strategies, as I do today but admit could not do what I know know and can do know compared to 22 first really good entry level job ….. I know I grew up personally and professionally with incredible mentors and an open mind and advanced education. It takes experience, action, knowledge, education, no egos, investment and so much more to know how to do this effectively, the real meanings, measuring, interpretations, how you are viewed socially and critical must and must-not do actions …. to know the VERY TRUE facts of action you have presented and how to make your social media selling or just your social media overall ACTIONABLE. I know how to do so by trial and error over 20 years, and learning, writing, performing, posting and doing social media and digital content since its inception, all with advanced education like Direct marketing association certification workshops and courses to harness the power of the internet and enhance my senior level copywriting skills, which were always ahead of the curve due to legalities — getting opt ins after years of not needing them, then using your digital time effectively, with continuity and skilled craftsmanship — it takes years to develop honed skills and to especially be a manager of marketing and social media, which entails so much MOOOORE than knowing how to write digital content. You are leading a team, a budget, multimillion dollar campaigns, representing the company and delegating to A-team players. I am not saying newbies do not deserve to start high level if they are truly the right person for the job despite lack of experience. I know I was always ahead of the curve and practicing such advanced skills and strategies and I was trusted bc of results and respected with rapid promotions and numerous recruitments along my career journey across many different mediums. ALL OF IT goes back to your brand, your product, your culture, your actions etc. I still see many businesses as you wrote about doing social media wrong and when I respectfully and cleverly point out how to leverage, maximize, optimize and capitalize on social media and social selling and use it as a lead generator PROPERLY, I have been laughed at though I have a 20-yr record of proven results and broken records digitally due to such advanced education and actions. I got laughed at recently when I told a prospective client that PInterest was one of the fastest growing social media accounts to get to your direct target audience and explained why with facts and was told ” HA…that’s something my wife plays on!” Exactly I told him as his product’s target audience was women and a quicker route for gaining purchasing of his product and how ti should be set up. The fact I learned about PInterest in another SM article is that especially women but also men are going straight to Pinterest to search for coveted wanted items THEY PURCHASE and they TRUST Pinterest where everyone should per research stats have a stunning magazine layout image which stats show is the number one attractor for consumers plus an EMBEDDED PIN with your URL …Stats showed many never did (chosen not to) or forgot to embed their pin and drive traffic back to their site …. ??? …..Per the story and stats I read, these consumers find it easier and trust in it more allegedly bc of peer reviews/sharings and its quicker to find what they covet on Pinterest in gorgeous picture form with an embedded URL link so they can go straight to your company site and buy the product — they can picture the items in their home or wherever –per article — than a VAST, longer random “search engine” search. Female consumers know what they want and they will buy if the process is easy, respected and trustworthy. The fact is everywhere your company and product should be on the internet is where it needs to BE.. and to get it there.. places you would not even think of yet can find out via analytics of how your messages and posts are spreading, rooting, organic rooting, trends I SUPER STRESS and conversations to participate in minus any ego or selling but to be in the conversation (real time) and gain exposure, notoriety, image culture credibility, engaged exposure and thus start gaining referrals, as KK said! … plus it is very cool via real time dashboards to see geographical patterns and spread etc. Thank you Kathi for such a great article that is so raw and anyone — pro or businessperson — can understand it and hopefully start making positive changes in their SM approaches and people doing these jobs — their mindsets need to match this written mentality and the actions presented. …. Big fan of yours, Kathi!Keep it going!! Learn so much from you!! – LD