From the dawn of commerce, the act of buying and selling has always been a social dance. Long before our lives revolved around digital screens, people leaned on each other for purchasing advice, swapping opinions on the latest phonograph brands over garden fences. And when products failed to meet expectations? They penned fiery letters to manufacturers, voicing their displeasure over scratched records or other defects.
Now, those garden fences have morphed into the digital realms of blogs, forums, and social networks, effectively turning everyone into neighbors within a global village. Today, the ripple effect of consumer opinions is colossal; a single tweet or Google My Business review can broadcast dissatisfaction far and wide, instantly searchable and visible. This shift has transformed customers into pivotal, connected influencers within the marketplace.
Echoing the sentiments of “The Cluetrain Manifesto,” the market now often understands a company’s products better than the company itself, thanks to this interconnectedness. Information, whether good or bad, travels fast, pushing businesses to center around delivering stellar customer experiences. These developments have not only improved how people make informed purchasing decisions but are also reshaping the sales landscape, offering a distinct advantage to those savvy in social media navigation.
In this guide, we’ll dive deep into the concept of social selling, exploring several critical angles:
- What is social selling?
- Why are we in the age of social selling now?
- What could go wrong if social selling is ignored?
- How to harness social media for spotting sales opportunities?
- Using social media to understand potential customers.
- Strategies for leveraging help in closing deals.
- Techniques for early detection of competitive threats.
- Tips for minimizing customer turnover.
Stay tuned as we unpack these topics, equipping you with the knowledge to thrive in this new social commerce era.
What Exactly is Social Selling?
Social selling is the craft of using social media to drum up leads. It allows sales professionals, customer service agents, and marketers alike to directly connect with potential buyers right where they hang out online. This approach breaks away from old-school sales tactics, bringing the conversation to the digital platforms that customers prefer. The real magic of social selling lies in tapping into existing community networks and nurturing trust within these spaces. This method doesn’t just reach people; it engages them by leveraging the powerful, trust-based relationships built on social platforms.
Welcome to “The Age Of Social Selling”
Right now, there’s a worldwide pool of potential buyers who need exactly what you’re offering. They have specific needs, timelines, and budgets ready to go. Imagine if you could directly present your product or service to them—chances are, they’d snap it up in a heartbeat. Yet, making that direct connection has always been easier said than done.
Identifying and reaching the right audience has traditionally been a tough nut to crack. You need to know who they are, where they hang out online, and the best way to communicate with them.
This used to be a complex challenge, but thanks to our digitally interconnected world and advancements in technology, it’s become significantly easier.
Early on, marketers tapped into the burgeoning potential of social media, quickly making it a staple in business strategies everywhere. This led to most companies diving into social platforms, aiming to top-fill their sales funnels effectively.
Nowadays, the smartest organizations are weaving social media tools into the very fabric of their sales strategies. Whether it’s leveraging LinkedIn to scout for leads or building a robust Twitter presence to connect with industry players, social selling has become an indispensable tool in the modern sales arsenal. It’s not just about reaching people; it’s about making meaningful connections that can translate into sales success.
Keep Up With The Times
Navigating social selling today isn’t as complex as it might seem, and it doesn’t require any particular set of specialized skills. What it does require, though, is a fresh mindset when it comes to the sales process.
Interestingly, only about a quarter of sales executives are well-versed in weaving social media into their sales strategies. However, those who do engage in social selling see significant benefits, with 61% of such companies reporting a positive impact on revenue growth.
This skills gap in social selling opens up a remarkable opportunity for proactive sales executives. Consider these impressive stats:
- Companies leveraging social selling see a win rate boost by 10% to 20%, a reduction in sales cycle time by 20% to 30%, and an increase in revenue by 10% to 15%, according to KISSMetrics.
- Social media leads are seven times more likely to close compared to other leads (IBM).
- Salespeople who incorporate social media into their sales efforts outperform their peers, with nearly 79% achieving better results (Forbes).
- Sales reps with over 5,000 LinkedIn contacts are 98% likely to meet or exceed their sales quotas, far outpacing the 52% success rate of those with fewer than 250 contacts (The Sales Benchmark Index).
With these figures in mind, let’s dive into some actionable social selling tips that can elevate your proficiency and help you harness the full power of social media in your sales strategy.
There Is A Wealth Of Opportunity On Social Media
Remember how tough it used to be to pinpoint exactly who needed what you’re selling? Well, those key people are likely out there right now, firing up online discussions, dropping comments on forums, asking questions to their Twitter circles, and updating their LinkedIn profiles.
All you need to do is tune in! Seriously, start listening to the online chatter and you’ll snag tons of insights into what your potential customers are buzzing about in real-time. This approach isn’t just about eavesdropping—it’s about understanding the detailed needs of individual customers and catching the wave of broader market trends. Armed with this knowledge, you’re all set to jump in with perfectly timed, highly targeted advice that hits just the right note.
Here’s A Quick Example of Social Selling For Sales Executives
Meet Jade, the dynamic head of sales at a firm that crafts digital marketing strategies for Fortune 500 giants. Jade’s fully aware that her company’s offerings are crucial during big transitions, like rapid expansions, cutbacks, or mergers.
To stay ahead, Jade sets up ongoing social media monitors targeting specific keywords. She keeps tabs on leading companies through LinkedIn, stays updated with the latest job postings, and keeps her finger on the pulse of industry shifts. Beyond just monitoring, Jade actively engages by sharing her insights on industry blogs.
This proactive approach significantly boosts Jade’s chances of being in the right place at the right time when new opportunities knock. She’s not just present; she’s engaged and demonstrating her value well before the pitch, giving her a hefty edge over the competition.
By streamlining her social media scans and quickly distilling insights, Jade not only stays ahead in the game but also frees up her evenings to spend quality time with her family, thanks to her efficient approach to social selling.
How To Sell On Social — The Cerebrum Way
Here at CEREBRUM, integrating social media is a key pillar of our sales strategy. Let’s dive into how we seamlessly blend it into our day-to-day operations:
“We harness the power of platforms like Facebook and Twitter to keep tabs on customer feedback, comments, and direct messages. This helps us pinpoint those in need of our digital marketing expertise.”
In our toolbox is the Digital Marketing Observation Deck—a state-of-the-art suite where we actively monitor, analyze, and engage with the online sentiment about our brand. This capability allows us to respond swiftly to comments, gauge the mood (be it positive or negative), and step in with help when needed, including notifying team members about urgent customer concerns.
All this valuable intel is then fed into our Copper CRM system, creating detailed social customer profiles. With Copper CRM, we’re able to collect extensive data ranging from Twitter engagements and LinkedIn profiles to more nuanced details about our users and their networks.
We even integrate publicly available data from Facebook into our system.
“Our team enjoys guilt-free meals, knowing we have a 360-degree view of our customer interactions, available to everyone involved in the sales process.”
Whenever a sales opportunity arises, we leverage our internal social network, Google Chat, to quickly mobilize our team, ensuring that resources are aligned and everyone is on the same page, ready to engage effectively.
Get To Know Your Prospects Better Using Social Media
Sealing a deal isn’t guaranteed, even with the finest product or service in hand. The secret to successful sales lies in deeply understanding and empathizing with your customers’ needs, which underscores the importance of researching prospects thoroughly before making contact.
Before the rise of social media, gaining deep insights into potential clients was tough. Sales executives were limited to perusing company websites, annual reports, and scavenging for tidbits across relevant web pages. This often only scratched the surface of understanding a prospect’s unique needs, making it tough to tailor pitches effectively.
However, today’s savvy sales executives equipped with social media skills can dive much deeper into the nuances of their target audience. With minimal effort, they can pinpoint specific individuals within an organization, identify mutual contacts, gather up-to-date information in almost real-time, understand the engagement level of prospects with their clients, and uncover the explicit and implicit needs and issues faced by potential customers.
Armed with this rich, detailed insight, creating a compelling, empathetic sales pitch becomes much easier. Sales professionals can move beyond merely pushing their products, showing how their offerings can solve real problems faced by prospective customers, potentially even those the customers themselves haven’t fully realized. This approach not only makes the pitch more relevant but also helps salespeople identify key stakeholders needed to clinch the deal effectively.
Get Social To Make The Sale
Some sales might seem simple — like when a customer visits your website or store, grabs a book or a sandwich, pays, and walks out. But let’s be real, most sales scenarios, especially those involving high-value items like homes, vehicles, or extensive projects like kitchen renovations, or when your clients are other businesses, are anything but straightforward. These transactions typically require a lengthy, interaction-heavy process.
Dealing with complex sales means engaging with multiple stakeholders, each with their distinct needs and roles. Crafting a compelling pitch often demands pooling together diverse expertise from your team.
Here’s where being social within your workplace steps up the game. By embracing social collaboration tools, your sales force can tap directly into the wealth of knowledge within your organization. These tools enable them to consult with in-house experts, exchange insights, and even co-create documents in real-time, all of which can significantly enhance your team’s ability to deliver a strong sales pitch.
Moreover, these digital tools streamline communication, ensuring that every team member stays in the loop. By integrating these platforms, your sales team can “socialize” business opportunities, allowing for seamless real-time updates and tracking across the team’s devices, keeping everyone informed and engaged throughout the sales process.
Spot Competitive Action Early
In the high-stakes world of sales, getting the upper hand on your competitors can decisively influence the outcome of a deal. You no longer need to wait for competitors to unveil their strategies through traditional advertising like banner ads.
Major business initiatives usually undergo months of planning, during which key ideas are often floated in presentations or softly launched in specific market segments for testing. This is where social tools become invaluable, offering early insights into these strategic shifts. By keeping an eye on the communications and reactions from competitors and their staff, you can quickly spot changes in their approach and react promptly to these competitive moves.
Here are five proactive strategies to monitor your competitors using social media effectively:
- Set up Google Alerts for keywords related to your competitors, including brand names, products, and key personnel.
- Engage in relevant LinkedIn groups where your competitors’ customers gather and converse.
- Keep an eye on platforms like SlideShare and Scribd for fresh presentations and documents from your rivals, and stay informed about the conferences they attend.
- Follow your competitors, their customers, and industry thought leaders on Twitter to get real-time updates on their activities.
- Dive into Q&A sites like Quora to deepen your understanding of the questions and answers that involve your competitors or your industry.
Anticipate and Counteract Customer Churn
Did you know that on average, companies experience about a 50% customer turnover every five years? But your business has the power to dramatically improve this statistic. Customers generally don’t switch providers impulsively—it’s a decision that often involves considerable time and financial investment. This reality opens up actionable strategies for your company to enhance customer retention and decrease turnover rates.
In the realm of B2B sales, customer losses typically trigger extended periods of analysis and dialogue to unearth the root causes, a process that can stretch over several weeks or months. Previously, such insights might have been gleaned from unreliable hearsay or mere speculation, leaving businesses in the dark about effective response strategies. Today, however, transparency and accessibility have transformed the landscape. Knowing where to look is half the battle.
Historically, peer recommendations were gold standard for business decision-making. Now, the definition of “peer” has broadened with the advent of professional networking platforms like LinkedIn. Your peer group today includes a diverse array of individuals connected through various professional channels.
Social media platforms are pivotal in strengthening these connections. They facilitate a fluid exchange of information, allowing for easier and more efficient advice-seeking on services and suppliers. Operating in the public domain, these platforms offer an unparalleled advantage.
Beyond just keeping an eye on competitors, social tools can also unlock critical insights into customer behavior and preferences. These insights often illuminate underlying issues that might otherwise remain hidden. By proactively tackling these concerns, you can avert potentially costly separations with your customers, resulting in mutual benefits and sustained relationships.
Let’s Review The Three Keys To Social Selling
Let’s break down the three essential elements of social selling that can transform your sales strategy:
A) Social CRM: This tool integrates social connectors into our Sales Cloud, allowing you to connect efficiently with the right people, armed with all the relevant information before you even start the conversation.
B) Social Listening: Keeping an ear to the ground on social platforms helps identify critical interactions and gauge public sentiment, enabling you to react promptly and effectively.
C) Social Collaboration Tools: These tools are vital for fostering a collaborative environment where every team member can contribute to the sales process at critical moments.
Ready to Bring Social Selling Into Your Strategy?
To wrap up, there’s no better time than now to embrace social selling tools. They’re your gateway to uncovering new leads, crafting tailored pitches that resonate on a deeper level, and connecting with the right contacts to seal deals.
Thank you for sticking with me through this guide. Are you ready to dive deeper into social selling? I hope you’ve found this overview both useful and insightful. I’m eager to see how you will integrate these strategies into your daily operations. Drop me a line on X @gcamwil to share your progress or ask any lingering questions.