by Tim Hughes | @Timothy_Hughes | LinkedIn
Often when we engage with clients about Social Selling we hear “Social Selling doesn’t work, we tried x and it didn’t work” for example …
“We wrote some content and nothing happened”
“We sent 250 InMails and nothing happened”
We have written before about how of course these actions won’t expect to get any results, but more so, these actions alone won’t get any results.
Social Selling is a prospecting culture, whatever the vested interest of the cold calling gurus may tell you. If you go to the gym, you train your whole body, not just your arms or legs.
So here is your Social Selling full body workout!
Core – You must have a buyer centric profile. Buyers are looking for experts and now is not the time to sell, plenty of time for that latter. Pro-tip: Make sure your social profiles have a human touch.
Legs – This is your network. Not a bunch of people you have fired connection requests to, but people that are of an interest. People in your clients, People in your prospects, people who influence your prospects and customers. The whole of your territory needs to be connected to you. Pro-Tip: Work as a team and get coverage this is a great competitive strategy especially if you competition use legacy sales methods.
Arms – There are only two measurements in Social Selling, how much inbound you are getting and how much revenue you are making. You need to think of your LinkedIn profile, as a way to attract prospects. It’s your shop window to the world. Put things in the window that will draw people in. Pro-Tip: People don’t like being sold too, so don’t do it.
Legs – Everybody can write blogs, salespeople after all are some of the best communicators in the world. These blogs don’t need to be more than 500 words, we have clients that are winning business through blogs as it sets them apart from other sales people and proves they are experts who are relevant in the modern world. Pro-Tip You can use content to accelerate deals through the pipeline.
Chest – Networking has always been important in both the analogue and digital world. Don’t forget meeting people isn’t just about selling. Sometimes it’s just about connecting people. Always go out of your way to connect people in your network through no financial gain for yourself.
Back – While scheduling is OK, don’t automate. Let’s not forget that social media is social …. media. While using products like Buffer, Hootsuite are OK, don’t lose your human side. People are not stupid, if they think you are “robo tweeter” you won’t get the follows. Pro-tip: Don’t forget 4-1-1 – 4 pieces of curated content, 1 piece of your own created content and 1 piece of content that makes you look human.
Aerobic – Content has many uses, it will create you inbound, will help you nurture leads and will help you accelerate your deals through the pipeline. Content is not some thinly veiled advert from your company this is proving you are an expert, you can relate to the prospects business, you understand their business issues and industry issues. Write it, curate it and share it. Pro-Tip: Use different types of content, blogs, videos. Keep them short and insightful, don’t be boastful and don’t talk about yourself or your company.
and finally stretch. Social selling provides a business with a prospecting culture, don’t forget you are not restricted, as you are with legacy sales methods by time. If you want you can prospect 24 hours a day, we don’t recommend it but we have clients who have customer meetings during the day and prospect at night. Pro-Tip: Invest in a social media listening tool such a MSE (Microsoft Social Engagement) so you can get Insight data from social.
People who read this article also read these:
https://dlaignite.com/linkedin-pods-are-they-worth-the-effort/
https://dlaignite.com/what-is-social-selling/
https://dlaignite.com/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-content-on-linkedin/
