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THE CHANGING B2B SALES LANDSCAPE
WHAT IS SOCIAL SELLING?
If you’ve found your way to this guide, you probably know that social selling is one of the most important concepts in B2B marketing and sales today. The concept is a response
to a paradigm shift in which today’s corporate customers are becoming increasingly self-directed. Rather than relying on sales leaders for information and education, buyers are doing their own research — accessing public data, looking
up referrals and cross-comparing products and services from competing organizations.
IntroWHAT YOU’LL LEARN
1.
THE CHALLENGESOF SOCIAL SELLING
THE 6 STEP PROCESS
2.
3.
4.
72 PERCENT OF B2B BUYERS PLANNING TO PURCHASE A BUSINESS
PRODUCT BEGIN THEIR RESEARCH WITH A GOOGLE SEARCH. THAT WAS IN 2013
— IMAGINE HOW HIGH THAT STAT IS LIKELY TO BE TODAY.
(A recent study from Pardot)
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To stand out, your brand needs to be extremely trustworthy. Your marketing presence has to achieve the same outcome of a heartfelt handshake or warm hug — which can be extremely challenging to do in a digital environment when your sales reps are limitedto short emails, sales decks, and automated campaigns.
THAT’S WHERE SOCIAL SELLING COMES IN >>>
THE CHANGING B2B SALES LANDSCAPE
B2B BUYERS COMPLETE 57% OF THE BUYING DECISION BEFORE THEY ARE WILLING TO MAKE A PURCHASE DECISION.(According to research from CEB and analysis prepared by social selling evangelist Jill Rowley)
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Contrary to what the name suggests, social selling isn’t about using social media to blast your
company’s sales agenda. In fact, the concept is simply an updated look an age-old idea — that
relationships drive sales success.
SOCIAL SELLING ISN’T SELLING. IT’S RELATIONSHIP BUILDING THROUGH
SHARE-WORTHY CONTENT >>>
WHATIS SOCIAL
SELLING
SOCIAL SELLING LOOKS A LITTLE LIKE THIS
IT COULD BE TAKEN EVEN A STEP FURTHER
EXPLORE ONGOING
CONVERSATIONS
Jessica comes across an interesting conversation on Twitter or in a LinkedIn discussion forum.
Jessica has read a recent article that explores the topic that’s being discussed.
CONSIDERRELEVANT
INFORMATION
Jessica joins the conversation by sharing a relevant and thoughtful piece of content that has been personally valuable to her learning process and personal growth.
DISCOVER PERSONAL
CONNECTION &CONTRIBUTE
CONNECT & STAY IN
TOUCH
Jessica, an enterprise sales rep at a B2B SaaS company, uses LinkedIn and Twitter to connect and stay in touch with her clients and prospects.
SHARE CONTENT
ONLINE
Jessica shares this content on Facebook and Twitter, for fun.
GAIN THE ATTENTION
OF YOUR NETWORK
Jessica’s industry peers, prospective customers, and network come across the content that Jessica is sharing.
FOLLOW INDUSTRY
NEWS
On a daily basis, Jessica reads interesting content from her favorite industry blogs and news channels like AdAge, Digiday, Inc, & Fast Company.
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Let’s look at a real life example from Jill. EMC is a company that she wants to get to know and build a relationship with. She received a LinkedIn connection request from a sales leader and immediately, found that same rep on Twitter. After researching the sales rep, Jill sent her a tweet about a topic that the rep was likely to care about.
IT’S ALL ABOUT BEING WHERE YOUR BUYERS ARE AND BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM.
TO BE INTERESTING, YOU HAVE TO BE INTERESTED IN SOMETHING
OTHER THAN YOURSELF.
Jill Rowley
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SALES TEAMS NEED BETTER STORIES TO TELL SO THAT THEY AREN’T PITCHY PITCHY, SELLY SELLY.
THEY NEED PLAYBOOKS TO CENTER THEIR LIVES AROUND THEIR CUSTOMERS.
Jill Rowley
In a nutshell, social selling is the process of using tools like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to:
1. build relationships���GHȴQH�\RXU�UHSXWDWLRQ3. gain visibility among your target market4. deliver value to your target market5. build credibility
The more present a salesperson is, the more relationships that he or she will build.
THE LESS YOU SELL, AND THE MORE YOU FOCUS ON DELIVERING VALUE, THE MORE THAN YOUR BOOK OF BUSINESS WILL GROW. >>>
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At this point in the guide, you’re probably thinking “yes, social selling is awesome, and yes, my company needs to do this yesterday.”
Unfortunately, the general industry trend is such that companies, no matter how well-intentioned they might be, are having trouble launching successful social selling programs.
THECHALLENGES OF SOCIAL SELLING
CHANGE IS HARD. SHIFTING DIRECTIONS IS HARD. WE’VE BEEN DOING THINGS A CERTAIN WAY
FOR A REALLY LONG TIME, AND TRADITIONALLY, SALES TEAMS HAVE HAD MORE POWER IN THE
RELATIONSHIP THAN THE BUYER. AT THE END OF THE DAY, PEOPLE ARE FIRED FOR NOT MAKING A NUMBER.
Jill Rowley
ACCORDING TO A REPORT PREPARED BY TRIBLIO AND ANALYSIS PREPARED BY SALES STRATEGIST JILL ROWLEY, 93% OF SALES EXECUTIVES HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY FORMAL TRAINING ON SOCIAL SELLING, AND 2/3 OF COMPANIES HAVE NO SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY FOR THEIR SALES ORGANIZATIONS.
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At this point in the guide, you’re probably thinking “yes, social selling is awesome, and yes, my company needs to do this yesterday.”
Unfortunately, the general industry trend is such that companies, no matter how well-intentioned they might be, are having trouble launching successful social selling programs.
THE MEDIUM IS CONTENT, WHICH IS BEST OWNED BY MARKETING.
Jill RowleyCold-pitching and outbound prospecting, naturally, feels like the ‘right’ way to do things because the path from pitch to sale is extremely direct. Social media, on the other hand, has traditionally been thought of as a waste of time.
The biggest challenge of social selling is that it requires cross-functional collaboration. To navigate the shift, you need support from marketing and technology teams to make sure that sales teams have the right infrastructure LQ�SODFH�WR�ȴQG�JUHDW�FRQWHQW�DQG�WUDFN�KRZ�WKDW�FRQWHQW�performs. Even more importantly, teams need a clear set of tools and processes to get up and running.
For this reason, organizational change needs to happen at the management and executive levels, with company leaders revisiting the metrics, processes, and goals that they set for their teams. It’s not enough to tell your sales teams to ‘tweet more.’ Team members need a support system to:
1. discover great content2. share content easily3. follow up on conversations4. measure the results of their social media activity
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THE 6 STEPPROCESS
UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE TWO PARTS TO SOCIAL SELLING
USE NEED TO REFINE YOURSALES ORGANIZATION’S GOALS
1.
INVEST INTEAM EDUCATION
APPOINT TEAM MEMBERS TO BETA YOUR PROGRAMAND HELP YOU DEFINE YOUR PROCESS
2.
3.
4.CHOOSE TOOLS
TO HELP YOU GROW5.
ALLOW AMPLE TIME FOR RESULTSTRACKING FEEDBACK ALONG THE WAY
6.
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Step 1
UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE TWO PARTS TO SOCIAL SELLING
OUTBOUNDPROSPECTING
Kurt Shaver, sales training strategist and founder at The Sales Foundry, points out that there are two sides to every social VHOOLQJ�VWRU\��7KH�ȴUVW�part involves gathering intelligence and learning as much as possible about your customer base -- a process known as ‘outbound prospecting.’
INBOUNDMARKETING
The second half is what the technology community calls ‘inbound marketing,’ that is, the process of building a pipeline of leads through content.
Most sales teams are already using tools like LinkedIn and Twitter to learn about their customer bases. It’s the process of building an inbound marketing system, however, that’s the hard part.
That’s because the process of discovering, curating, DQG�VKDULQJ�FRQWHQW�FDQ�WDNH�VLJQLȴFDQW�WLPH�RXW�RI�someone’s day. Quota-driven sales leaders will likely ȴQG�LW�FKDOOHQJLQJ�WR�EDODQFH�WKHLU�LPPHGLDWH�WHUP�DQG�long-term opportunities.
Social selling needs both parts to be
successful for an organization.
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Step 2
YOU NEED TO REDEFINE YOUR SALES ORGANIZATION’S GOALS
There are four marketing metrics that a social selling SURJUDP�VKRXOG�LQȵXHQFH�
THE SALES FORCE CAN BE A COMPANY’S MOST VALUABLE CONTENT DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL
BECAUSE OF THEIR COLLECTIVE NETWORK SIZE AND CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS. ACHIEVING
MAXIMUM MESSAGING AMPLIFICATION REQUIRES SOCIAL SELLING SKILLS PLUS
SUPPORT FROM MARKETING.
Kurt Shaver
���5HIHUUDO�WUDɝF� Web visitors who come to your website through social media. This metric tells you that your content is generating awareness on social media.
���'LUHFW�WUDɝF��Audiences who visit your website by typing your URL into your browser. This metric tells you that your brand is memorable.
3. Net promoter score: This metric measures loyalty between brands and their customers. This metric is based on the direct question – “How likely is it that you would recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague?”
4. Exposure to new audiences: Content will quickly become your brand’s engine for growth. An advocacy marketing program can help your business uncover new customer acquisition and conversation channels. 1. Sales revenue
2. Appointments3. Social network metrics���6RFLDO�LQȵXHQFHU�VFRUHV�(i.e. Klout and Kred)
Kurt Shaver elaborates that a successful social selling program ZLOO�LQȵXHQFH�WKH�following sales
metrics >>>
Social selling means more than
closing deals. That’s why Kurt
Shaver encourages executives and
managers to take a step back to
re-evaluate their team-level goals.
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Step 3
INVEST IN TEAM EDUCATION
6RFLDO�VHOOLQJ�LV�D�EUDQG�QHZ�ȴHOG��(YHQ�WKH�PRVW�DGYDQFHG�GHPDQG�generation teams and forward-thinking organizations are wondering how to pave a path forward within this new ecosystem. There aren’t FOHDU�DQVZHUV�DQG�HYHQ�WKH�PRGHO�ȆFDVH�VWXGLHVȇ�DUH�ȴJXULQJ�LW�RXW�IRU�themselves.
Marketing and sales leaders know, however, that new ecosystems -- as challenging or confusing as they are -- introduce untapped opportunity to set your company apart.
That’s why, before investing in a social selling program, you should develop the core infrastructure to educate your team through guides, internal blog posts, webinars, and even training sessions. A trusted social selling partner or consultant can help you create your blueprint for team education.
SOCIAL SELLING IS AN ENTIRELY NEW CATEGORY. IT NEEDS SIGNIFICANT EVANGELISM, ESPECIALLY
AMONG LEADERS AND MANAGERS WHO ARE INTRODUCING THIS CONCEPT TO THEIR
TEAMS FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Jill Rowley
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Step 4
APPOINT TEAM MEMBERS TO BETA YOUR PROGRAM AND HELP YOU DEFINE YOUR PROCESS
APPOINTING ALPHA AND
BETA TESTERS
Social media will be second-nature to a many SHRSOH�RQ�\RXU�WHDP��%XW�WKHUHȇV�D�GLHUHQFH�between sharing updates with your friends and family and building a lead-generating advocacy platform.
There’s no blueprint, and it’s inevitable that sales team members are going to feel confused and potentially lost along the way. That’s why you should start by appointing a very small group within your organization to start as alpha and then beta testers. You can learn as your team learns and collect as much feedback as possible, smoothing out kinks along the way.
BUILDING PERSONAL
BRANDS
As part of your process, to get buy-in from team PHPEHUV��\RX�VKRXOG�HPSKDVL]H�WKH�GLUHFW�EHQHȴWV�to them. In addition to helping build your company’s brand, your team members can use social selling to build their own personal brands and business relationships -- assets that will increase their professional value. Employees love the idea of being positioned as subject matter experts -- and having the company support to successfully do it.
Your test should span a time period that’s long enough to identify roadblocks and collect meaningful feedback. In other words, you’ll learn as you go along.
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Your employees are incredibly pressed for time. As much as they would like to build their personal brands and reputations DV�WKRXJKW�OHDGHUV��WKH\�GRQȇW�KDYH�WLPH�WR�ȴOWHU�WKURXJK�email distribution lists and share everything that your team is publishing. Your team members do; however, want to be closely involved.
This is a pain point that social media and community managers face over and over. It’s also the reason why we built EveryoneSocial -- software that’s designed to complement natural sharing activity.
Step 5
CHOOSE TOOLS TO HELP YOU GROW
EMPLOYEES ARE 38X MORE LIKE TO SHARE CONTENT VIA THE EVERYONESOCIAL APP. VS TRADITIONAL EMAIL REQUEST.
Did you know?
EveryoneSocial App
WITH OUR APP YOU ARE ABLE TO
CONNECT TO SOCIAL NETWORKS TO SHARE THE CONTENT YOU’RE DISCOVERING
MAKE IT EASY FOR EMPLOYEES TO DISCOVER GREAT CONTENT
POST TO MULTIPLE SOCIAL NETWORKS IN A FEW CLICKS
TIME THE FREQUENCY OF YOUR POSTS AT YOUR OWN SCHEDULE
With just a few clicks, your team
members will discovering,
curating, and sharing posts that they love.
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Successful employee advocacy programs are structured without EHLQJ�WRR�ULJRURXV��<RX�ZDQW�WR�PDNH�VXUH�WKDW�\RX�WLH�\RXU�HRUWV�into your company’s long-term branding goals with a framework for measuring results.
What you don’t want to do is micro-manage the day to day sharing activity of your team. Give employees the space that they need to share what they want, when they want, and how often they want.
Step 6
ALLOW AMPLE TIME FOR RESULTS TRACKING FEEDBACK ALONG THE WAY
JUST MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW WHAT GOALS TO MEASURE AND KEEP YOUR
FELLOW EMPLOYEES LOOPED IN. EXAMPLE KPIS TO MONITOR INCLUDE LEADS, BRAND
VISIBILITY, BRAND SENTIMENT LIFT, REFERRALS AND EVEN SEO.
EveryoneSocial Team
SEE WHY EVERYONESOCIAL IS THE PREFERRED EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY PLATFORM
WE UNDERSTAND THAT EVERY ORGANIZATION IS DIFFERENT, AND WE’RE EXCITED TO HELP YOU NAVIGATE THIS NEW, EXCITING CHALLENGE.
To learn how EveryoneSocial can
provide you with the tools and technology needed to develop DQ�HHFWLYH�HPSOR\HH�DGYRFDF\�
strategy, visit EveryoneSocial.com or email us at
