Social Selling: Increase sales using blogs and social networks

Buyers habits have changed.

Cold Calling is time-consuming, costly, and ineffective.

Therefore, the way we sell must also change.

Social Selling is the new way to prospect.

Overview

• What are social networks?• And why should you be using them?

• An introduction to Social Selling

• Building your networks – • LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+

• Tools, tips and tricks

What are social networks?

Social networks are dedicated websites that enable users to communicate with each other by posting information, comments, messages, images, etc.

And why should you be using them?

Social networks help extend the reach of your content, network, and prospect lists.

As a sales tool, social networks allow you to find and engage prospects by sharing valuable information and thought leadership to establish your credibility.

Social Networks keep you top of mind.

What Social Selling IS…

According to HubSpot, Social Selling is best defined as the use of social media by sales people to interact directly with their prospects.

Salespeople nurture top-of-funnel leads through engagement. By establishing thought leadership, answering prospect questions, and offering thoughtful content, sales people move the prospect through the funnel until they are ready to begin the purchase process.

What Social Selling Is NOT

1. Social Selling is NOT outsourcing to marketing.

2. Social Selling is NOT duplicating content.

3. Social Selling is NOT a one and done thing.

4. Social Selling is NOT about selling.

5. Social Selling is NOT all about you.

The Art of Social Selling

Survey says…

A study done by social selling expert, John Keenan, found that 78.6% of sales people using social media to sell out performed those who weren’t using social media.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/markfidelman/2013/05/19/study-78-of-salespeople-using-social-media-outsell-their-peers/

Additionally, 23% exceeded their quotas more often than non-social media users.

How to be a Super Social Salesperson!

A few important points to remember when Social Selling:

1. Be social! People buy from people they like and trust.

2. Build rapport. Establish trust by listening, sharing, and educating the prospect.

3. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HARD SELL! These prospects are generally in the top of the funnel and are still in the discovery phase of the Buyer’s Journey.

4. Be a trusted advisor. Focus on building your brand as a thought leader in your space.

The Buyer’s Journey

As mentioned earlier, most Social Selling prospects are at the top of the funnel. This means they need to be nurtured until they are sales-ready.

Remember the 70/20/10 rule.

Spend 70% of your time educating, 20% socializing and 10% selling.

Ed-ucat

e70%

Social-ize

20%

Sell10%

Content Mapping

Different types of content work better at different stages of the Buyers Journey.

Awareness(10,000 ft. view)

Consideration(Aspects of a problem)

Decision(Specific Solution)

Educate on the NATURE of a problem

• Analyst Reports

• Whitepapers

• Educational Content

Educate on the SPECIFICS of a problem

• Guides and How-tos

• Videos

• Comparisons

Educate on the SOLUTION of a problem

• Case Studies

• Trials/Demos

• Product literature

Joining the conversation

To communicate with prospects, you need to know what they are talking about.

Identify topics

a. Research keywords (Google Trends, KW Finder)

b. Search internet forums (User Groups, Quora)

c. Read industry news and reports (Photizo Group, IDC, Gartner, Forrester)

d. Prospect’s goals and challenges (streamline operations, reduce costs, cloud computing)

Let’s get Social!

Social Selling for LinkedIn

LinkedIn allows users to build their professional identities and discover professional opportunities, business deals and new ventures - as well as get news, inspiration, and insights.

1. Ways to find prospects (If you can’t find a decision maker, then connect with someone who can provide you with insight to the company and pains)

1. Advanced Search2. Connections of Connections3. User Groups4. Company Pages

2. List Segmentation1. Tagging, notes and reminders

3. Ways to Connect1. Directly (send them a connection request or inmail)2. Indirectly (join a group or follow the company page they belong to

4. Ways to engage1. Directly (send them a message)2. Indirectly (post in a group – ask a question, share a blog, respond to a

question

Social Selling for Facebook

Facebook allows users to create profiles, upload photos and video, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues.

1. Ways to find prospects1. Friend Finder2. Friends of Friends3. Groups4. Company Pages

2. Create Interest Lists

3. Ways to Connect1. Directly (send them a message - will go into “other” mailbox

unless you are friends)2. Indirectly (join a group or follow a page they follow)

4. Ways to engage1. Directly (send them a message - will go into “other” mailbox

unless you are friends)2. Indirectly (post in a group/page – ask a question, share a post,

respond to a question)

Social Selling for Twitter

Twitter enables users to share thoughts, news, and information in 140-characters or less. Tweets can be viewed by anyone and users “follow” each other to keep tabs on their posts.

1. Ways to find prospects1. #Trends2. Search3. Company Pages

2. Create Segmented Lists

3. Ways to Connect and engage1. DM – Direct message (generally not suggested

for Twitter)2. On their Twitter feed with strategic hashtags for

all the Twitterverse to see.

Rules of Engagement

Before actively engaging prospects, do your homework so you know the best way to connect with the company or individual.

Research the business to learn:• Company size, revenue• What they sell• Who they sell to• Company news• Are they hiring?• Upcoming events

Research the prospect to learn:• Shared contacts• Shared groups• Shared interests• What social networks are they on?

Extend your reach

Sharing content is one of the best ways to extend your reach.

• Share content to user groups, forums, communities, pages, discussion boards, etc. to extend your online visibility and build your personal brand. • Be careful that what you are sharing is relevant and

valuable to the group you are sharing with. • Include a personal message when you share your post. • Always link back to the original article• Never duplicate content

#Winning with Content

The more shares, link-backs and touches

generated for each piece of content

you’ve shared - the further you extend

your reach, build your online web

presence, and establish yourself as an

industry expert.

Posting Frequency

According to Buffer, these are the ideal posting frequencies per social

network:

• LinkedIn: 20 posts per month (no weekends)

• Facebook: 5-10 posts per week

• Google+: 2 times per day (no weekends)• Twitter: 14 times per day (never more than once per hour)

It only takes 18 minutes for a tweet to be “over the hill”. The most engagement will be within the first 5 minutes.

Handy tools to help you!

• Scoop.it: Discover, curate and publish content to gain visibility.• Tweetdeck or HootSuite: Social media dashboard application for

managing Twitter accounts.• Bit.ly: Link shortening service that allows you to easily save and share

your links, as well as track link engagement.

More tools to help!

Horizons > Departments > Marketing > Social Selling

• 42 LinkedIn Inside Sales Tips

• Cold Calling is Dead Thanks to LinkedIn

• How to get 1000+ Followers on Twitter (See handout!)

• How to Increase LinkedIn Profile Views by Optimizing your Profile

• Social Selling 2015 – Infographic

Happy Selling!

Questions?