by Tim Hughes | @Timothy_Hughes | LinkedIn
Why is it like this every year?
Budgets are tight all year round, even through some of the best demand generation months. For example, in Spring and the run up to summer. Then we all get back from holiday in September and the management start screaming:
“Where’s the pipe?”
“How on earth are we going to do our number in Q4?”
Suddenly, there is budget for sales.
How many events, telesales campaigns and email outreach campaigns can we cram into September, October and the first two weeks of November, before the Christmas parties start and we close down for the holidays.
The sales people are mobilized. Get on the phone they are told. Cold calling days are arranged and they are told to get people to events.
The problem with this is that sales people will take the line of least resistance.
The cold calling will start with their mates, those calls they have been putting off over the summer. In other words, there is the role of diminishing returns.
When it comes to events, the salespeople are told to get people along and what they do is get people they are already talking to.
There is no new pipe, new meetings and or leads. Lot’s of activity but nothing new.
Doesn’t really help does it?
So here’s a thing!
Why not get a social selling program up and running?
“Can’t. Social selling is all about relationships and takes a long time.”
Rubbish.
Digital Leadership Associates (DLA) has sales people creating leads and new pipeline by the second session.
The difference with your telesales and social selling is; with telesales you pay the money and get the leads. Then nothing happens. With social selling, you pay the money, you get the leads and you also have a lasting demand generation methodology and philosophy.
In other words, once you implement social selling you have “leads for life and not just for Christmas”.
You break away from the “feast and famine” demand generation that seems to plague all companies. Bringing to an end that September rush of throwing money at agencies and hoping and praying there are some leads to close.
Social selling will bring you a culture of continuous meetings and leads so at the end of the day, your leads go up and the marketing budget goes down. Or means you can spend your marketing budget on something else. (More social maybe).
More for less!
Digital Leadership Associates: We are a Social Media Agency. We do three things: Social Media Strategy, Social Selling and Social Media Management. Drop us an email and let’s talk about how we can make an impact on your organisation.
