e-Book Social Selling GVS-4

GVS Social Selling Sales GuidePut the Wisdom of Your Peers to Work for You

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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TABLE OFCONTENTSClick the numbers on the next page to jump to a specific section, or use the navigation at the top right to move through the document.

MORE THAN 40% OF SALESPEOPLE SAY THEY HAVE CLOSED BETWEEN TWO AND FIVE DEALSAS A RESULT OF SOCIAL MEDIA.YOU CAN DO IT TOO. (Source: Social Media and Sales Quota Survey)

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GVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE

04 Welcome to the Social World 07 Getting the Story Straight 08 WIIFM: What’s In It For Me?

11 Hear From Your Peers 12 GVS Interview Highlights, cont’d

15 Changing the Customer Care Journey 16 Selecting and Researching Target Accounts 19 Warming the Target Accounts 20 Reaching Out to the Target Account 23 Nurturing the Target Account 24 Continuing to Engage Socially

27 Right Customer, Right Time, Right Way

28 Determining Your Social Media Persona

31 Social Communication: Asking and Answering Good Questions

32 Using Content Effectively

35 LinkedIn: Forge and Deepen Relationships 37 Build a Powerful Profile 39 Tips and Tricks

40 Twitter: Share Thoughts and Drive Traffic 42 A Tweet Deconstructed 43 The “Secret Language” of Twitter 45 Developing a Twitter Content Strategy 46 Using Twitter Lists

49 GVS Social Selling Best Practices

50 Where to From Here?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Social media is changing everything – including the sales function. As with every new venture, we need a guide to help us foresee obstacles, overcome challenges, and blaze new trails.

Who should use this guide?

The guide was developed for GVS account managers, by GVS account managers. To create it, we spoke with several of the skilled social sellers within GVS to understand the methods and techniques they’re using to engage with named accounts and prospective customers online. They told us what’s working for them – and how they’re leveraging social selling throughout the customer lifecycle.

Why was this guide created?

The most socially savvy sales pros are far more likely to drive more revenue. In fact, according to LinkedIn, social selling leaders create 45% more opportunities and are 51% more likely to hit quota, as compared with social selling laggards. Within Cisco GVS, we are seeing similar results. Our goal for this guide is to amplify individual success by communicating and replicating best practices across the organization.

What will you learn?

There are plenty of good, but generic, social media guides out there. There is also a wealth of tool-based training available on each of the social media platforms. This guide was custom developed to help you leverage peer-to-peer learning to address the specific opportunities and challenges you face within GVS. It will:

• Show you the benefits of social selling

• Explain best practises for social selling for GVS

• Provide GVS-specific strategies for using LinkedIn and Twitter

• Enable you to leverage the wisdom of your GVS peers who have achieved social selling success

• Serve as an ongoing reference as you advance your social selling capabilities

WELCOME TO THE SOCIAL WORLD

WELCOME TO THE SOCIAL WORLD

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THANK YOU! MERCI! DANKE! OBRIGADO!

We appreciate the input and expertise of the GVS Account Managers who brought this guide to life:

• Nathalie Emanuele, Virtual Sales Account Manager

• Nethal Hashim, Virtual Sales Account Manager

• Federica Ingrao, Virtual Sales Account Manager

• Loic Ursel, Virtual Partner Account Manager

GUIDE AT A GLANCE

• Audience: GVS Account Managers

• Objective: To promote peer-to-peer learning around social selling

• Takeaway: The inside scoop on GVS-specific tips, tricks, best practices, and resources for social selling

GETTING THE STORY STRAIGHT

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“I use social selling with partners. It’s great for sharing information, talking about events, and building rapport.

” Nethal Hashim Virtual Sales Account Manager

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Using social selling approaches does not replace traditional sales methods. It does, however, offer new and often highly effective ways to reach, establish, and maintain relationships with your target accounts.

GETTING THE STORY STRAIGHT

Social Media: The spaces where we interact with each other online. This includes a variety of tools, platforms, and collaboration spaces – including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and even Salesforce.

Social selling (aka social media marketing and sales): Using social media to interact directly with current and prospective customers and drive business decisions, actions, and outcomes.

Engagement: 1. To capture, catch, arrest, grab, snag, draw, attract, captivate; 2. Two-way conversations between you and your prospects and customers.

GETTING THE STORY STRAIGHT GVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE

• Social selling can help you get to know your target accounts and better solve their business problems by learning more about their needs, hopes, and challenges.

• Social selling creates the opportunity for ongoing touchpoints and maintaining continuity throughout the sales cycle.

• Social selling may seem daunting and mysterious. But success in sales and marketing has always been about connecting – people to people and people to data. Now it’s being done through technical means.

KEY VOCABULARY

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Social selling pays dividends. In fact, 54% of salespeople who used social media tracked their social media usage back to at least one closed deal. (source: Social Media and Sales Quota Survey). Here are some other ways that social selling is good for business:

• Boost your visibility – through social engagement, you can increase the profile of Cisco as well as your own professional acumen.

• Promote business networking and collaboration – no need to wait for conferences and other in-person networking events. Through social media, you can tap the vastness of the network to reach specific people and experts and advance your professional goals and interests.

• Take the pulse – social media provides an ongoing, evergreen focus group. Watch social streams to tap into new ideas, conduct quick research, validate your current thinking, and spot emerging trends.

• Begin the selling process sooner in the cycle – 55% of B2B buyers search for information on social media (source: MediaBistro). Make sure they find your content, insight, and perspectives when they first go looking for information.

WIIFM: WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?


SALES BEST PRACTICE: 8 WAYS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO DRIVE ENGAGEMENT

1. Share content from Cisco2. Share “intelligence” – including market

buzz and insights on the industry3. Start a conversation4. Offer advice5. Ask for advice6. Collaborate with a current customer7. Like, share, and retweet content from

your customers and partners 8. Provide customer support9. Co-innovate new solutions

WIIFM: WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

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SOCIAL SELLING LEADERS ENJOY THESE BENEFITS:

45% MORE OPPORTUNITIES CREATED

51% MORE LIKELY TO ACHIEVE QUOTA

80% MORE PRODUCTIVE (source: LinkedIn)

HEAR FROM YOUR PEERS

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SALES BEST PRACTICE: LISTEN UP!

What is social listening? It’s using your digital eyes and ears to monitor the social media activity related to your prospective and current customers. Social listening enables you discover information and insight that can inform the sales process – and leverage that information in online or offline conversations.

“The great power of LinkedIn is more information about the customer — not just generic information — insight into his or her mind!

”Loic UrselVirtual Partner Account Manager

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To develop this guide, we spoke with social selling leaders within GVS for 45-60 minutes each. Here’s what we heard:

• Social listening is an especially powerful capability. The biggest benefit social sellers cited was the ability to bring a deeper level of context to their client interactions via what they learned through social listening. Regardless of whether their prospective clients were active on social media platforms or not, social sellers wove social listening into all aspects of their approach.

• Social sellers combine traditional and social selling approaches to create the biggest impact. Social sellers stressed the importance of researching the account, the market, and the client’s social footprint to decide whether a social connection or a traditional approach is the best

• Social selling promotes breadth as well as depth. Interviewees told us that social selling has benefits whether they’re trying to drive engagement with a large group of partners or go in depth with one particular customer. fit as their main or first interaction point. In either case, however, they have better information about the client through the use of social media.

HEAR FROM YOUR PEERS

HEAR FROM YOUR PEERS GVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE

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During our interviews, GVS social sellers shared their tips, tricks, and techniques. Here’s what we heard:

• Social selling drives efficiency and speed. Social selling enables GVS account managers to get information fast and share information faster.

• LinkedIn is an especially effective social selling tool. Multiple interviewees mentioned the ability to share information, connect with prospects, and organise and research their target accounts faster due to the LinkedIn tool set – which includes LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, and Pulse. In particular, the “warm introduction” feature of Sales Navigator helps social sellers see which of their relationships has a connection to the target account – and this leads to faster introductions and a more receptive point of contact.

• Social sellers value Cisco’s Social Ambassador Hub. It provides well-crafted social content that can be mapped to the different stages of the buyer journey. This takes the burden of content creation away, so the GVS team can focus on selling.

MORE GVS INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS

MORE GVS INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTSGVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE

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“As a social seller, I spend 20 minutes per day going through Sales Navigator to see what my customers are doing and sharing their news. I have 300 accounts, and it helps me plan my day better. For example, yesterday I added an account and noticed that he published something on IOT. I plan on calling him tomorrow to talk about it. This gives me content and context for the call!

”Federica Ingrao Virtual Sales Account Manager

CHANGING THE CUSTOMER CARE JOURNEY

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THE SOCIAL SALES APPROACH

Select and research target accounts

Begin with social listening and researching the target account’s social footprint.

Opportunity to add new contacts within company line of business to expand the connection points at company.

Start and continue conversation on social media channel(s), when appropriate. Use information learned through social as a conversation starter.

Use social to provide ongoing support and thought leadership to socially accessible target accounts.

Reach out to the target account

Warm socially accessible target accounts

Nurture the target account

Continue to engage socially

Book sale

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CHANGING THE CUSTOMER CARE JOURNEY

CHANGING THE CUSTOMER CARE JOURNEY GVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE

The Internet is having a huge impact on how your customers buy – and it’s dramatically rearranging the sales cycle.

Before Social Selling

Using traditional approaches, many companies struggle to connect with buyers throughout the sales cycle.

• Cold calls have a limited rate of return

• Stand-alone webinars and in-person events exist in isolation

• After the sale, the burden of engagement is on the customer – and the customer rarely connects unless he has an issue or problem

Bottom line: Episodic, needs-based transactions

After Social Selling

Social business affords opportunities to connect throughout the buyer lifecycle by creating ongoing relationships and open communication.

• Use social channels to share content and conversation throughout the buyer’s awareness and evaluation phases

• Provide ongoing resources for product and services up to and after the point of sale

• After the sale, continue the engagement – and proactively begin the lifecycle anew

Bottom line: Consistent, relationship-building interactions

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As a first step toward social selling, you should assess the social presence and social engagement potential of your target accounts. Here are some ways you can do that:

STEP 1:

SELECTING AND RESEARCHING TARGET ACCOUNTS

• Scan the social landscape to learn which platforms your target account frequents: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Vimeo, Periscope, etc.

• Make Twitter lists of key individuals at target accounts (for more on Twitter lists, see page 46)

• Set up Google Alerts and News.le for target account companies and their leadership – you’ll get notifications whenever they’re in the news

• Load your accounts into LinkedIn Sales Navigator (if you have a license). Then, use Sales Navigator to see connection points to the target account among your Cisco colleagues

• Add what you learn to Salesforce so everyone benefits and you build institutional knowledge

STEP 1: SELECTING AND RESEARCHING TARGET ACCOUNTS

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SALES BEST PRACTICE: SOCIAL SIGNS

In general, socially approachable companies share these characteristics:• International

• Based in a big city

• Informal work culture

• Knowledge workers – not industrial setting

• Wide range of business solutions

• Younger workforce

• Progressive partners

• Newer company

“LinkedIn is the most powerful contact database in the world. The combination of LinkedIn and Sales Navigator gives control to the sales person to do their own, deep research and connect online with new and existing customers. This is a powerful shift in how we sell at Cisco!

” Carola van der Linden EMEAR Marketing Social Selling

STEP 2: WARMING THE TARGET ACCOUNT

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SALES BEST PRACTICE: GETTING TO KNOW YOU

An important element of social selling is getting to know the members of your community on both a professional and personal level. Some strategies social sellers find useful for getting to know others include:

• Talk about your situation

• Offer a “profile” of yourself

• Share information about your interests

• Look for things you have in common with other members

• Address people by name

• Use humour to make the conversation feel more informal

“Be proactive! Clients can’t come to you if they don’t know you. So put yourself out there. We have all the tools at hand, use them well.

”Nathalie Emanuele Virtual Sales Account Manager

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Listening to customers on social channels and learning what matters to them is the best way to understand their priorities, challenges, and professional interests. With this knowledge, you can use these ideas to help you warm your target accounts:

Twitter• Follow influencers at the target account company• Notice a trend or point of pain and use the Cisco

Social Ambassador Hub to share content

LinkedIn• Share content about industry trends to show that

you are in the know• Like a target account’s LinkedIn update

or announcement

Other ideas• If a target account writes a blog post, leave a

comment or a follow-up question• Scan the Cisco online communities for ideas,

content, and leads

STEP 2:

WARMING THE TARGET ACCOUNT

STEP 2: WARMING THE TARGET ACCOUNT GVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE

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Using social selling techniques, you can begin a conversation digitally to advance your relationship with current and prospective customers. Here are some ways to reach out:

• Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator’s “warm introduction” feature

• Leverage the social engagement exchanges on Twitter to establish a connection, which you can then use to set up a call, connect on LinkedIn, or send an email

• In your introduction, refer to commonalities you learned about them from their LinkedIn profile such as alumni status, a shared cause, or former employer

Remember: Never “cold call” any target account who has a social presence. There are multiple ways to warm them prior to the direct contact. By using the warming techniques described in step 2, make your customer aware of you and demonstrate your value. This is an effective prelude to a more robust introduction or outreach.

STEP 3:

REACHING OUT TO THE TARGET ACCOUNT


STEP 3: REACHING OUT TO THE TARGET ACCOUNT

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SALES BEST PRACTICE: TIMING

With social media, messages travel quickly but the timing of the response is left to the user. How quickly you respond to messages affects the pace and feel of a conversation:• An instantaneous response (e.g.

same day) helps to keep the conversation moving, but may make the recipient feel pressured to also respond very quickly.

• A timely response (e.g. within a few days) helps the sender feel responded to, and allows some time for reflection before responding.

• A delayed response (e.g. within 1-2 weeks) or never responding may make the sender feel ignored, unappreciated, or neglected.

““I get a positive reaction from people who know that I’ve researched them and tried to understand their needs instead of just cold calling them.”


STEP 4: NURTURING THE TARGET ACCOUNT

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SALES BEST PRACTICE: USE CAUTION

Be aware competitors can see anything that you share socially too. So refrain from sharing information that could “tip them off.” For example, “great meeting @target account” lets Cisco’s competitors know that the prospect is considering a solution and is potentially a buyer.

“Using social selling techniques, I have completely changed the way I’m working.

”Loic UrselVirtual Partner Account Manager

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STEP 4:

NURTURING THE TARGET ACCOUNT

STEP 4: NURTURING THE TARGET ACCOUNT GVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE

All relationships – online or offline – require nurturing to progress. Here are some ideas to help you advance relationships with your accounts:

• Use LinkedIn or Twitter to share an article and reference the client by name/handle

• Explore the public Cisco Online Communities for content, endorsements, ideas and prospective buyer engagement opportunities and respond to them

• Leverage the Cisco Social Ambassador Hub

• Invite people to attend a webinar or event use a #hashtag relating to the topic to cover “white space” prospective buyers

• Proactively share relevant content and ideas digitally

• Share, like, and retweet content from your customers and partners

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You’re connected, now what? Most people ignore their connections until they need something! Social sellers continue to engage with the customer in these ways:

• Celebrate their success – Note their professional accomplishments including recent wins, new blog posts, and company announcements. Send a note of support to the customer or share their news with your network.

• Outreach to contacts occasionally and regularly – Choose a few a month and check in with them using LinkedIn messages or email. Continue to share ideas, insights, and quality content via LinkedIn and Twitter.

• Pay it forward – Think in terms of what you can do for the customer vs. what they can do for you. Offer to introduce them to other Cisco clients who are similar in industry, product, or geography.

• Keep your finger on the pulse – Continue “social listening” across all channels. For example, watch for new SlideShare updates or LinkedIn profile changes.

With social selling, you are always just one click away from an outreach!

STEP 5:

CONTINUING TO ENGAGE SOCIALLY

STEP 5: CONTINUING TO ENGAGE SOCIALLY

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SALES BEST PRACTICE: KINDLE THE FIRE

Continuing the relationship with the target account is critical because it is easier to keep a client than to get a new one. In fact, it costs 6–7 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. (source: Bain & Company)

“Always check in (even after the sale) every month or month and a half. People can forget about you if you don’t provide ongoing value. If you’re not there, the competitor will be!


PROMOTING SOCIAL SELLING EFFICIENCY

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SOCIAL PROFILE CHECKLIST (TEMPLATE)

Buyer #1

In�uencer #1

In�uencer #2

Company

Key competitor to target account

Key Cisco client in same industry

Target account

Set-up Google Alerts

Active Twitter account (yes/no > if yes, list URL)

Follow on Twitter (Y/N)

Put on Twitter list (Y/N)

Active LinkedIn pro�le (yes/no > if yes, list URL)

Connect on LinkedIn (Y/N)

Load into Sales Navigator (Y/N)

Shared connec-tions (list)

Has blog (Y/N) if yes, list URL. Leave comment or social share.

LISTEN WARM - CONTACT NURTURE

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One of the common challenges GVS sales professionals face is maintaining speed and efficiency with social listening and engagement.

This template can help you keep track of your contacts and activities in a single place. Consider creating a spreadsheet using this template, with one tab per key target account.

Don’t forget that although you may be targeting a specific contact, customers tend to make large buying decisions as part of a team. Be sure to track influencers as well.

RIGHT CUSTOMER, RIGHT TIME, RIGHT WAY


““I am on LinkedIn 6-7 times a day, sharing from the Cisco Ambassadors Group. I use Sales Navigator to organise LinkedIn contacts by partner, and also check other companies where I have key contacts to see what they are doing online as well.”

” Loic UrselVirtual Partner Account Manager

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With social media, there are no facial or verbal cues. But you can still have an identity, a personality, and a voice. Here’s how:

1. Start with your company’s standards and guidelines – Cisco has established rules for professional social media use. This will give you the broad strokes of what you can and can’t do as an agent of the company. Get to know Cisco’s Social Media Policy.

2. Speak like an individual – Within the confines of your Cisco’s brand standards, there are ways you can infuse humanity. Social media lends itself to first person and a conversational tone. You’re not a robot – and you don’t have to sound like one.

3. Be useful and engaging – Don’t just post or tweet for the sake of posting or tweeting. Have something interesting to say or share. Tweet @ specific people to draw them into a dialogue. Respond if someone replies.

4. Balance the personal and the professional – Your social media persona should not be a separate being – it should be an extension of you. People buy from people, even in the digital world. So go ahead and share your passions and personality. If you’re a competitive runner, post your race results and photos. If you’re involved with a great cause, share that newspaper article. Just remember to keep the balance. A good rule of thumb: don’t post anything online that you wouldn’t say in a customer meeting.

DETERMINING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PERSONA


https://cisco.jiveon.com/groups/joinsocialambassadors

DETERMINING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PERSONA

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SALES BEST PRACTICE: QUALITY TRUMPS QUANTITY

You may think the measure of social media success is how many times you post or tweet. The numbers are not important – but the quality of your content, and your audience, is critical. You don’t need a huge volume of tweets to a huge number of followers who will never buy your products or services. To succeed at social selling, you need to be consistently useful and engaging to your prospects and customers.

HOW TO BE USEFUL AND ENGAGING

There are lots of ways to provide value in the social world. Mix and match these approaches in your social media interactions.

• Be the conversationalist: start a dialogue by saying “I was wondering…” or asking “What do you think about…”

• Be the expert: serve as the voice of reason or authority by responding “OK, but have you considered” or by affirming, “You’ve got it right!”

• Be the connection-maker: attract clients by asking, “Have you read, heard, seen, met…”

SOCIAL COMMUNICATION: ASKING AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS

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SALES BEST PRACTICE: STRIKE THE RIGHT TONE

Although social selling is digital, people still buy from people. Here are some tone choices you can use to personalise the exchange:

• Inquiring

• Warm, inviting

• Humorous

• Thoughtful, analytical, serious, reflective

• Friendly and supportive, nurturing

• Challenging, provocative, stimulating

• Informal, musing

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SOCIAL COMMUNICATION: ASKING AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS

SOCIAL COMMUNICATION: ASKING AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS GVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE

Participating in a dialogue is a fundamental aspect of driving engagement via social media. There are three key components:

1. Ask questions that encourage a thoughtful answer

GVS account managers should function as subject matter experts who inform and engage with their audience. Questions that only require a “yes” or “no” response do not promote conversation. Asking questions that draw out another’s ideas or points of view can lead to a rich and reflective dialogue. Think in terms of “How would you approach…?”, “What have you found…?” and “In your experience, what is…?” types of questions.

2. Blend inquiry with advocacy

In the digital world, we need to provide more context to our questions so that they are not misunderstood. Make your intentions more explicit when writing messages that contain questions. Instead of asking someone “When are you going to make a decision?” ask them, “Could you let me know when you might reach a decision? I’m doing some resource planning this week.” People need to infer the agenda behind the question or else they are likely to shut down if they are not ready to engage with sales.

3. Be real

It is difficult to convey your intentions in writing. There are no inflections, facial expressions, or body language. Your voice and personality come across through your choice of words, length of message, spelling, and emotions. Make sure you sound like you. It’s OK to be slightly informal, whilst still being professional. Here’s a good rule of thumb: Read your message out loud. If it sounds like something you would say in person it’s more likely to evoke a positive response from the recipient.

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We live in a world that is awash in content. Sharing the wrong content at the wrong time will not help our customers reach their goals.

Walk in your customers’ shoes and consider what type of content they might need to at each stage of the buyer journey. For example, if they’re unaware of Cisco, introduce them to our thought leadership content by sharing a relevant white paper. If they’re evaluating a solution, success stories or case studies from other customers might be a better fit.

USING CONTENT EFFECTIVELY

OVERVIEW OF THE BUYER JOURNEY... FUELED BY SOCIAL CONTENT

SALES WARMS

AwarenessCisco’s thought leadership and ability to solve the problem or advance the business opportunity.

• Blog posts from thought leaders

• Links to white papers• Digital marketing

campaigns• Share info from the

Cisco communities

SALES MAINTAINS RELATIONSHIP

LoyaltyNot just a point of renewal

but continuous engagement (e.g., 1x per 1-2 months) makes renewal relationships easier!

KEY

Sales Journey

Buyer Journey

SALES NURTURES

EvaluationCase studies, competitive benchmarking, data about positive outcomes from Cisco solutions

• Videos• Data-driven

infographics• Invitations to webinars

or demos• Connections/

endorsements from others in the same industry

• Share info from the Cisco communities

SALES CLOSES

PurchaseSupportive and congratulatory content.

Showcase leader and company’s successes socially

• Create visual announcing client (with permission)

• Acknowledge sale on social “look forward to working with you,” etc.

USING CONTENT EFFECTIVELY

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SALES BEST PRACTICE: MAKE A VIDEO

Visual content scores consistently high marks with customers! Consider uploading a video to draw more attention to your social profile.

• Here’s an example from the Netherlands featuring Jonathan Jeuken, Virtual Partner Account Manager: Watch Videomail

• If you’d like to record a similar video using the DX80 + OneMob application, follow this tutorial.

• Don’t forget to update it regularly.

SOCIAL CONTENT SOURCES • Cisco’s Social Ambassador Hub

• Cisco Twitter Accounts – including your colleagues and country-specific Twitter accounts

• Cisco Online Communities

• Cisco Blogs

• Cisco LinkedIn Groups

• Influencers like Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson, Marissa Mayer

• Analyst Firms such as IDC and Gartner

• LinkedIn Sales Navigator

https://www.onemob.com/player?video_token=ml_nFocuEcy52Mst8qwbGw

http://www.onemob.com/p/wC-jByiR0MOEW-gdWUflkQ

https://cisco-emea.voicestorm.com/User/LogOn?returnUrl=/

http://blogs.cisco.com/

LINKEDIN: FORGE AND DEEPEN RELATIONSHIPS

SALES BEST PRACTICE: A BIT ON BLOGS

Blogging is a terrific way to stay top of mind in the social sphere. LinkedIn Pulse makes it easier than ever. Put Pulse to work for you in three key ways:

1. Offer your point of view – write and publish blog posts to showcase your industry knowledge and insights

2. Get informed – personalise your Pulse feed by selecting from hundreds of trusted sources and influencers – including your clients and prospects

3. Join the conversation – use Pulse to easily like, comment, and share articles with your network

WHAT IS SSI?

LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index (SSI) is a first-of-its-kind measurement that ranks company utilisation of LinkedIn and Sales Navigator as social selling tools. The Social Selling Index (SSI) measures how well your team has embraced social selling on a scale of zero to 100. You can use it to gain visibility into your company’s activities, uncover new opportunities, and benchmark yourself against peers and competitors.

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LinkedIn is a business-focused social network that is chock full of the people you want to connect with professionally.

• 400,000,000 users worldwide

• 200 countries and territories

• 80,000 Cisco members on LinkedIn

• 808,000 companies at which Cisco employees have relationships

(source: LinkedIn)

LinkedIn use and utility is growing steadily among business professionals.

• 41% of people now report 500+ connections

• 48% spend more than two hours a week on LinkedIn

• 98% of sales reps with 5000+ LinkedIn connections achieve quota

(source: Sales Benchmark Index)

LinkedIn has 3 key components:

• LinkedIn – enables you to connect, find, be found, and build your professional identity

• LinkedIn Pulse – allows you to publish your own blog posts and see what others are publishing

• LinkedIn Sales Navigator – advanced features and functionality that support social selling

LINKEDIN: FORGE AND DEEPEN RELATIONSHIPS

LINKEDIN: FORGE AND DEEPEN RELATIONSHIPS GVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE

SALES BEST PRACTICE: BEST FOOT FORWARD

• Upload a professional photo

• Write a compelling headline

• Customise your public profile URL

• Add your contact information

• Add rich media

• Customize links to websites

• Tell your story in your summary

• Update your current and past positions

• Add your education

• Ask for recommendations

• Include a link to your profile in your email signature

LINKEDIN: BUILD A POWERFUL PROFILE

LinkedIn: Who Would You Rather Buy From?

< VS >

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Maybe you need to create your LinkedIn profile from scratch. Or maybe you have one, but it needs a facelift. Be sure to use all features of the profile so when others look you up, you stand apart.

• Profile summary: Write your summary in first person, as if you were presenting to a client, introducing yourself on a stage, or speaking with a journalist. Using key words in your summary increases your “findability.”

• Solicit and give recommendations: In the spirit of business networking, it’s a good idea to recommend other people and ask people for recommendations. Recommendations help bolster your credibility and let you sing your own praises using other people’s words.

• Share an update: This is the perfect place to showcase new content or endeavours. These updates get inserted in your connections’ social streams and keep you top of mind.


LINKEDIN TIPS AND TRICKS

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TWITTER IS LIKESPEED DATING LINKEDIN IS LIKEA COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP

SALES BEST PRACTICE: CONNECTING ETIQUETTE - DO’S AND DON’TS Don’t:• Use the canned language suggested by the

LinkedIn connection form – nobody likes a form letter.

• Accept connection requests from others without a further response. Aka “accept and ignore.”

• Act like you’re throwing a business card at someone – and then running in the opposite direction.

DO:• Write a personalised message in the LinkedIn

connection form. Express your reasons for wanting to connect: “We used to work together” or “Your company seems to be up to some interesting things” or “Your professional background is interesting to me.”

• Reply to invitations to connect. Once you’ve accepted an invite, send a reply to say thank you and to express interest: “Thanks for the invite – I’d love to learn more about your work with data security.”

• Use every exchange as a strategic opportunity to keep your relationships alive – not just at the point of sale, but also throughout the customer lifecycle.

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LINKEDIN TIPS AND TRICKS

LINKEDIN TIPS AND TRICKS GVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE

LinkedIn is a powerful way to connect with current and prospective customers – and it’s a strategic weapon to showcase your thought leadership.

1. Get connected - Go through your address book or use your email contacts to find people and invite them to connect. If you have 80 people you want to connect with, don’t invite them all at the same time. Chances are, they will accept and you’ll want to say, “Thank you – I’m glad we’re in touch” or “Good to hear from you – how have you been?” Social media is a two-way conversation. Taking the time to engage with your connections enables you to grow a stronger network over time. Pace yourself.

2. Keep in touch - Once you’re connected, reach out to the people in your network – and not just when you need something. Choose a handful of contacts every month and send them a personalised message. Maybe you noticed something they published? Or you saw that their company won an award? Or you read an article they might find valuable? By dedicating a little bit of effort to cultivating your network you’ll reap the rewards of deeper relationships.

3. Join groups - LinkedIn Groups are a great way to discover like-minded professionals and join discussions. Look for groups to join that are representative of your interests. Some closed groups require administrative approval before you’ll be admitted into the group. If you run a Cisco LinkedIn Group, invite others to join by writing an invitation that describes the value of the group and refers to their background so the invitation is personalised.

4. Stay active - LinkedIn is not a static profile – it’s a living, breathing network. So be sure to keep your connections updated on “share an update.” Use Pulse for blog posts. Continually share content, ideas, and activities. Keep this formula in mind: Activity + credibility = visibility.

5. Consider Sales Navigator - LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a for-fee service that offers recommendations on sales leads. It provides real-time updates and alerts on leads and prospects, and increases your reach with prospective customers. Check it out.

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Twitter is a social tool that uses brief messages (140 characters max) to connect, converse, and drive traffic to other sources. It’s used for both personal and professional activities, and it has a mass audience, so you need to work harder to cultivate a network within your professional sphere. That said, Twitter does have its advantages when it comes to social selling and engagement:

• Brief and succinct – it’s the perfect conversation starter

• Super social – lots of people use it to congratulate and thank and share news, kind of like a giant cocktail party in the ether

• Skews younger – it’s mainly used by 20-40 years old, although we are seeing a rise in adoption by older, more senior people

• Great on the go – it’s very mobile friendly so you can use it to interact whenever, wherever

• Terrific for trendspotting – because of the sheer volume of information, Twitter is a great listening tool to gauge what’s changing or rising to top of mind within your (or your customers’) industry

• Cool for connecting – it’s common practice to meet on Twitter, but then transition the relationship to LinkedIn to continue the dialogue

TWITTER: SHARE QUICK THOUGHTS AND DRIVE TRAFFIC

Be sure to personalise your professional Twitter account but remember this rule of thumb: Don’t say anything on Twitter

that you wouldn’t say in a conference room!

TWITTER: SHARE QUICK THOUGHTS AND DRIVE TRAFFIC

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SALES BEST PRACTICE: SPOT THAT TREND

Here’s how you can use Twitter’s trendspotting capabilities to turn information into opportunity. Let’s say you want to expand your list of prospects by adding newly appointed IT executives:1. Set up and save a search

on Twitter to look for trigger phrases – e.g. “new CIO”

2. When you view the search results, look for a button that reads “more options”

• Save the search and/or• Refine the search if

there is a particular region, company, or person you want to focus on

3. When the new CIO takes her role or the announcement is made, follow the new CIO on Twitter and send her a congratulatory note

4. Once she begins her new job, use Twitter to start a conversation

5. If she responds, consider inviting her to connect on LinkedIn to deepen the relationship over time

When a sales opportunity does come up, she is more likely to take your call or schedule a meeting if she recognizes you as someone who demonstrates value!

74% OF B2B MARKETING COMPANIES USE TWITTER TO DISTRIBUTE CONTENT(Source: Content Marketing Institute)

THE “SECRET LANGUAGE” OF TWITTER

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A TWEET DECONSTRUCTED

SALES BEST PRACTICE: SPEAK TWITTERESE

Twitterspeak is changing all the time. Get the latest and greatest vocab from The Twitter Glossary.

B2B MARKETERS WHO USE TWITTER GENERATE 2X AS MANY LEADSAS THOSE THAT DO NOT(Source: Inside View)

Chuck Robbins (@ChuckRobbins) wrote and posted

a tweet.He mentioned Cisco (@Cisco) and Cisco Internet of Everything (@CiscoIoE). The tweet will appear on these home pages because he used their Twitter handles.

He included a link to a Forbes article

and added his own commentary.

Number of times this was favourited

People who replied to this tweet

Number of times this was retweeted

02

04

01

03

05

06

https://support.twitter.com/articles/166337-the-twitter-glossary

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THE “SECRET LANGUAGE” OF TWITTER

THE “SECRET LANGUAGE” OF TWITTER GVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE

Because of the character limit, it’s necessary to use shorthand to communicate on Twitter. Here are the survival basics:

• @ and username – This is a Twitter handle. You can use someone’s handle to send him or her a tweet or “tag” them in a tweet. Very important: tweets are not private, even if you send them to a specific Twitter handle. If they contain a Twitter handle and are not sent through Direct Message/DM (see below), they are always visible and searchable.

• RT – stands for Re-Tweet. So if you like content that someone else shared, you can hit RT and send it to your audience.

• MRT – stands for Modified Re-Tweet. Use this if you want to add your opinion or perspective before you RT.

• DM – stands for direct message. Using DM sends a private message (like an email or InMessage) when you don’t want to converse in the public sphere. DM conversations are non-searchable.

• # – this is a way to label tweets. Hashtags let you categorise tweets so that other users can see tweets on the same topic. For example, if you search #Cisco you will find all the tweets that reference Cisco.

• .@username – add the period before the user name when you want a broader audience to see the social share. Without it, your Tweets beginning with @username will not show up to your ALL of your followers, unless they happen to follow both you and the person you are replying to.

• “ ” – put quote marks around your Twitter search terms. This ensures that you’ll search on the specific phrase you’re looking for vs. all its variations.

• cc:@ – use this when you want to let @username know that you have information that might be interesting for him or her. This invites them into conversations that will be of benefit or where they might have something to add.

DEVELOPING A TWITTER CONTENT STRATEGY

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SALES BEST PRACTICE: TO TWEET OR NOT TO TWEET

Say you read an interesting article. Ask yourself these four questions to see if it’s worth tweeting to your network:

1. Does it bring up an issue or trend that people in your industry should know about?

2. Do you have an additional perspective to add?

3. Do you want to be associated with the author or organisation that wrote the article?

4. Would you say it on a stage or in a room full of people you don’t know?

If you answered yes to all four questions – tweet away!

REMEMBER: CURATE YOUR RETWEETS CAREFULLY– YOU’RE BUILDINGA BODY OF WORKTHAT’S ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR

PERSONA!

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DEVELOPING A TWITTER CONTENT STRATEGY

DEVELOPING A TWITTER CONTENT STRATEGY GVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE

Look at your content choices in light of your business goals and your persona – and make sure you’re adding value. That’s the way to share content that gets shared. Still got cold feet? Here are some more low-risk ideas to get you started:

• Find a quote that speaks to you – quotes serve as daily inspirational pauses during our fast-paced workdays. Find a quote you like and turn it into an image. And if you quote someone who uses Twitter, be sure to thank them.

• Pull a statistic – people love figures and factoids. We’re all looking for qualified data to punctuate our presentations or reports. So pass along useful stats – and don’t forget to source the reference.

• Incorporate a photo – Tweets with photos are six times more likely to be shared. If you don’t have an original photo, find a free stock image that underscores the message you’re sharing.

A Word on Integration

For time and efficiency’s sake, it’s important to integrate your social media platforms so that you can publish once and share across many. For example, if you publish a presentation on SlideShare, you can link it to your LinkedIn profile, and then tweet it out via your Twitter account to drive traffic across your social channels. These tools are all integrated – so use these features to reduce your effort while increasing your reach.

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As your Twitter use increases, you will naturally begin to follow a wide variety of tweeters from multiple personal and professional spheres. Twitter lists help you keep this information organized. To promote social selling efficiency with your target accounts, use Twitter lists in three key areas:

1. Targeted engagement: by defining your main audience for any given list you’re able to reach and engage with specific target account

2. Targeted social listening: listen to what target account executives and influencers are talking about

3. Building your follower community: gain new followers who fit perfectly into pre-specified target groups

Here’s how to get started with Twitter lists:

• From your Twitter page click on lists, then choose create new list.

• Name your Twitter list, add a description, set the privacy and save it. Name and description are important, as other people may want to follow your list.

• A list is great because you don’t have to follow anyone in order to add him or her to the list. Simply go to their profile, click on the list icon, and choose which list you want to add them to.

• When someone adds you to a list, you are notified. Review the list and consider following it – provided it is representative of content and people you value.

• Finally, thank the person who added you to the list.

USING TWITTER LISTS

To search for lists use a Google x-ray search: site:twitter.com inurl:lists <insert search term>

USING TWITTER LISTS

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SALES BEST PRACTICE: LET’S GET VISUAL

The use of images in your tweets results in:• 18% more click throughs

• 89% more favourites

• 150% more retweets

(Source: Digital Information World)

GVS SOCIAL SELLING BEST PRACTISES

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“I use LinkedIn and Sales Navigator as my ‘idea baskets.’ Then I follow up via phone or email.

”Federica IngraoVirtual Sales Account Manager

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By now, you’ll see that social selling is not mysterious, complex, or daunting. Social selling provides an incredible opportunity to raise awareness for your products and services, engage earlier in the buyer cycle, and establish thought leadership. To sharpen and hone your social selling skills, follow “The 4 Ps:”

The 4 Ps

• Pay attention – When social media started, people used it like a giant digital megaphone. But the real value lies in listening and paying attention to trends. By monitoring the conversations surrounding your topics of interest, you’ll know what your audience is buzzing about. Armed with this insight, you can support decision-making, keep your finger on the pulse of customer needs, or capitalise on market shifts.

• Presence – To grow your social selling relationships, you can’t treat them like one-night stands. It’s important to be visible and signal an openness to communicate.

• Persistence – Participate regularly, don’t just connect and disappear. It may take time, but ongoing engagement will lead to deeper connections.

• Point of view – The social world tends to be flat. Everyone, regardless of rank or seniority, has the ability to share ideas and start conversations. So have a point of view and be a thought leader.

GVS SOCIAL SELLING BEST PRACTISES

GVS SOCIAL SELLING BEST PRACTISES GVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE

WHERE TO FROM HERE?


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You know your market. You’ve got great ideas. Now it’s time to put these social selling tips and tricks in motion. Here are two paths you can follow:

1. If you are just getting started with social selling: o Read, review and sign the Cisco Social Media Policy

o Take the Social Selling Mini Certification

o Open a Twitter account if you don’t have one and follow influencers, Cisco, and people who you know.

o Review your LinkedIn profile to ensure it is “customer facing”

o Leave endorsements for others and ask for them from peers and clients on LinkedIn

o Bookmark the Cisco Social Ambassador Hub

2. If you want to take social selling to the next level:o Share your thought leadership on Pulse and the Cisco blog platform (if possible)

o Look for questions in the LinkedIn groups and profile updates and answer them thoughtfully

o Follow up with people and see if your answer was helpful

o Guest blog on relevant blogs

o When you speak at conferences or on webinars, be sure to include your social handles on the slides

o Mentor a GVS peer on social selling best practises

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

The highlights of this social selling guide are also available as a PowerPoint presentation.

https://cisco.jiveon.com/groups/joinsocialambassadors

https://cisco.jiveon.com/docs/DOC-83934

https://cisco-emea.voicestorm.com/

https://cisco.jiveon.com/groups/emear-virtual-sales/pages/social-selling

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GVS SOCIAL SELLING SALES GUIDE WHERE TO FROM HERE?

Editorial and design acknowledgements

Christine Bailey, Director, Marketing, EMEAR

Carola van der Linden, EMEAR Marketing Social Selling

Kristen Strauss, Digital Marketing, US Partners & Commercial Sales / Channels

Leader Networks

“ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL PEOPLE WILL DO BUSINESS WITH, AND REFER BUSINESS TO, THOSE PEOPLETHEY KNOW, LIKE, AND TRUST.”

— Bob Burg Author of “The Go-Giver”

Documents

e-Book Social Selling GVS-4