Ionut Constantinescu

Social SellingCrazy little thing called...

Create Direct | Romania

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A preview of the journey

Social... what?, Please, tell me more!

What’s the big fuss?Well, I’m not buying it!

Start

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Okay, you had my curiosity...Now you have my attention

Ask yourself this...Some questions you need to ask yourself ...

Bring it on!!!Okay, NOW we are ready!

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The process, simplifiedFollow the social brick road to the magical land of closed deals!

The holistic aproach Sales + Marketing = LOVE!

Setting things upTransform the sales and marketing teams!

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Case studies! Well, if it’s working for these guys...

ConclusionRemind me again, why are we doing this?,

Finish

What is social selling?

Social selling is the new norm. But it’s a tool,

not a magic wand.

Jamie Shanks: Meeting the buyer where the buyer is and arming themselves with information, to make informed decisions – ONLINE. Social Selling is also about leveraging these online tools to help a sales professional have a more pertinent and effective conversation with their buyers

John Byrne: Socially selling like any sales skill it is a discipline. By using social media, with particular emphasis on LinkedIn to connect, inform, educate and influence your prospective buyers and existing clients. It does not eliminate the need for traditional professional sales skills, rather it can enhance them helping to elevate the salesperson to a Trusted Advisor.

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Why is it important?

64%

Source: Hubspot64% of sales teams

that use inbound social selling reach their

quotas

81%

Source: LinkedInYour social media presence is your

introduction to these buyers. In fact, 81% are more likely to

engagewith a strong, professional

brand.

72%

Source: DemandGen72% of buyers use social media to

research before making a purchase. They’re looking up product and

brand information. They’re checking references. They’re asking the

opinionof their connections and

your customers. Half of the buying process is completed before a sales

person even reaches them. 77%

Source: Hubspot77% of B2B purchasers said that they would not even speak to a sales person until they had done

their own research

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Employees are (already) social

Employees interact on social networks on a daily basis.Facebook: 63% at least once/day (40%, multiple)Instagram: 57% at least once/day (35%, multiple)Twitter: 46% at least once/day (29%, multiple)56% of employees are either content curators or creators.46% like to share original content (photos/video)41% share content they find elsewhere online

Employees average 200+ connections per social network.Facebook: 285 friendsTwitter: 208 followersLinkedIn: 190 connections

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The marketing funnel is dead!

Action

Desire

Interest

Awareness

The new customer path to purchase is much more winding and sophisticated, and smart companies have begun to adapt to the new approach by implementing a social selling strategy.

One that takes into consideration that prospects engage with companies at various points in the process, and each comes to the interaction with a different level of knowledge, interest, and sophistication. What was once a linear, guided process is now a complex, non-linear journey.

The rise of social media gave consumers more options than ever before. Even more importantly, prospects now have the ability to perform many of the funnel tasks on their own. From researching features to talking to current product owners, consumer education has largely become a do-it-yourself effort.

Oh no, what happened?

Sorry to let you know, but...

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There’s a new model in town

ExploreThis phase encompasses all the

complex tasks that today’s sophisticated consumers perform

when shopping for an item. Extensive Internet searches,

hands-on experimentation, such as test-driving a car, reading

reviews etc.

DiscoverSimilar to the Awareness step, .this

point stresses the importance of marketing strategies that let

prospects know about your company.

BuyAt this point, prospects are ready to complete a transaction. Yet they may go through a few more iterations before making the purchase. Looking for coupons or promo codes or searching for sales are typical behaviours.

EngageThe actual interaction with the brand. Such as using the product or service, visiting the website for usage ideas, and engaging with other customers.

The New Path to PurchaseStarts with aligning the sales and marketing strategy with the consumer decision journey

What resources will

I need?.Do I trully need it?

What will I do with all the

money, fame and success?Is my client ./

company prepared for

this?

Ask yourself this

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“Easy” as 1, 2, 3 It’s not simple but it does worth it!

Step 1

Research

Step 2

Set-upStep 3

Build

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Research

01 Social ListeningIdentify the relevant conversations in order to capture relevant buying signals.

02 Social SearchingIdentify sale opportunities and refine your social listening keywords.

Research can easily become overwhelming or paralyzing. It is therefore essential to have purpose and pragmatism in the research efforts. Focus on key people, keywords and conversations.

Stay focused!

03 Social prospectingFind professionals within your target market and build segmented lists.

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Set-up: The foundation

TrainingTrain your employees on how, what and when to communicate with their contacts. Set-up a crisis management response plan.

MeasurementDecide on the KPI’s that will allow you to measure your social selling success. Choose the right tools for the job!

Social profilesCreate professional social

profiles for both of your employees, your products

and your company.

ContentSet-up a monthly content

calendar. Start a blog, create white-papers, case

studies, research and publish them on your social

channels

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Set-up: the sales team

TrustTrust is the basis by which every B2B buyer makes their decision. Trust is the key to every business opportunity online and is typically the last barrier in the purchase decision.ConsiderationOnce you have the buyer’s trust, they’ll reach out when they see that you can help them.Use SSIThe Social Selling Index (SSI) measures progress acrossthe four pillars of social selling. See it here

AuthorityBuyers don’t want to close with a

salesperson, they want to find an expert and partner who can help their business

succeed.Credibility

Curating content, answering questions, and providing assistance to buyers

(even outside your products and services) will help you build credibility.

PresenceBe present where the buyer is –

LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Groups, and other industry sites are all great

networking sites where sales professionals can find buyers or build a

great reputation.

Start transforming your sales-team’s online brand and provide the tools and training needed so they can stay authentic online. Concentrate less on the sales angle and more about sharing quality content

and building connections.

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The MarketerEmpower your sales force to have intelligent conversations.

Set-up: the marketing teamGive Sales visibility into their prospect’s digital behaviour

Use SM tools to track the conversations that peopleare having around your brand and your industry and the content they use

Make your sales organization a partner on all programs

and campaigns

Help Sales understand the best use for all content you

offer

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Case study: PayPal

ChallengesIdentify key decision makers

Manage multiple stakeholders across the prospect company

Maintain momentum through a lengthy sales process

ResultsSocial networking has become one

of the strongest lead sources for marketing

More relevant points of contact keep momentum through the sales

process

20-30 of the deals being worked on at any time are sourced through

LinkedIn

Social Selling Solutions:Find connected decision makers through LinkedIn profiles and Advanced Search Use social networking and research to map the buying committee of prospective

client organizations

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Case study: ADP

ChallengesDeliver better qualified leads to sales

Improve salesperson productivity

Generate net new sales revenue

ResultsLeads worked by sales increased

21%

Win rate of leads increased 103%

Total amount of won deals increased 26%

Revenue increased 48% year-over-year

Social Selling Solutions:ADP aligned marketing and sales to adopt a common definition of a good lead

ADP’s marketing team targeted content to stakeholders at various levels

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Case study: Oracle

ChallengesQuickly connect with buying committees

Generating lead lists was inefficient and time-consuming

Long sales cycles

ResultsEstablishing relationships through

shared connections on LinkedIn led to a 30% increase in engagement

withkey connections.

Sales cycles shortened by 20% due to relationship building

through social networking.

Social Selling Solutions:Used LinkedIn’s tools to empower marketing to quickly generate lead listsCreate warm introductions and better relationship building through social

networking

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Case study: IBM

ChallengesMake social a prominent—rather than marginalized—part of the sale process.

Resistance from the staff who complained that they didn’t have the time to engage in social.

Results400% Increase in Sales During B2B

Pilot Program

3,000 new LinkedIn followers which therefore expanded their

reach from 54,000 to 1.3 million.

Social Selling Solutions:A training into social selling of the seven B2B sales reps in IBM’s Cloud Computing product

division Deploying social listening to help discover conversations that were occurring about cloud

computing.Inside and outsode content provided to the teams to be used during social conversations.

Social media and social selling can accelerate finding, managing and closing business. While traditional selling

involves reaching out to customers where you think they are or want them to be, if you get social selling right, you’re

reaching people where they actually are, and you have them reaching out to you as well.

- Simon Porter, Vice President of IBM

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Thank You!