Social selling is a new approach to selling that allows salespeople to laser-target their prospecting and establish rapport through existing connections. From the previous blog post, What is Social Selling we had already explained the definition of social selling. For those who are still new and need a heads-up about social selling, you may click the link above.
Now, let us move to another chapter of social selling which is the operation itself.
To get it started, you should first review some relevant social sales guidelines. Being fully comprehend what you're offering, and human and personalise will really helpful in the business. Plus you should assist management in developing their personal brands, recognize the people behind the company and also continually provide value. Do not forget to keep it optimistic, create quality content, provide encouragement, and be humble to all prospects which can turn from cold prospects to warm contacts in your business.
The key point for success here is when your employees use their personal social media accounts to exchange good news, stories, and insight about their business with their audiences. As we all know, social selling's main channels are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn so here are some specific ways for stating your social selling in these channels.
1. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the most obvious social network for engaging in social selling, particularly in the B2B space, as a professional social network. After all, according to LinkedIn Sales Solution, 50% of B2B customers use LinkedIn to help them make buying choices, and you need to be involved on the platform to be considered a player in those decisions. buying choices, and you need to be involved on the platform to be considered a player in those decisions.
Request recommendations and endorsements from people with whom you have a strong relationship. These are shown on your profile and will help establish your reputation with new connections right away. Furthermore, rather than an employer, make sure your profile highlights skills applicable to a prospective client. Showcase how you've assisted former clients in achieving their objectives.
b) Connect with potential customers on LinkedIn
When you start contributing to groups, you'll notice that more people are looking at your profile. Send a link invitation to someone who clicks at your profile.
But whatever you do, don't give them one of these, the traditional, impersonal invitation:
Instead, say something easy like, "Thank you for taking the time to look at my profile." “Would you like to communicate on LinkedIn?” says the narrator.
This is an excellent way to initiate a conversation with a prospective client who has shown an interest in your services. Reaching out to others in the same network is another way to communicate with new clients.
By exploiting current partnerships within the network, use LinkedIn advanced search to discover possible new links.
According to Fortune, a financial analyst at Guardian Life received 35 references from a single customer after using LinkedIn. Since he began prospecting on social media, the rep's company has more than doubled.
2) Twitter
Since you can build Twitter Lists and track content from specific groups of users, Twitter is an excellent platform for social listening. Here are three important Twitter lists to help you get started with social sales on Twitter.
Use this list to keep track of your current clients and look for ways to respond to or like their Tweets so you can stay in their minds.
Don't go overboard, just make sure your interactions with clients are meaningful—just "like" Tweets you really like, and just comment when you have something worthwhile to say. Unless you’re in a super-secretive industry, you may want to consider making this list public so that prospects can get a sense of what kind of businesses you’re already serving.
b) Prospecting Client
Add prospective clients to a secret list when you identify them—you don't want to share this detail with rivals, because you don't want users to know you've marked them as candidates before it's time to contact them. Keep an eye on this list as well, just don't treat it with the same level of familiarity as current clients. Keep a particular eye out for requests for help or statements of pain points where you can reply with a helpful comment.
c) Identifying competitors
This list, once again, should be kept confidential. You can keep track of competitors by adding them to a private list instead of following them. This strategic intelligence will help you come up with new strategies for your social selling campaigns.
Twitter chats are an important part of your social selling strategy because they help you to develop yourself as an industry expert and can be used as a prospecting tool. Participate in an ongoing chat about your business or launch your own.
3) Facebook
Since Facebook is the most personal of the three social networks discussed in this article, you need to be a bit more cautious while socializing on it. Sending friend requests to business contacts or opportunities might come off as creepy rather than helpful to certain people who don't want to combine business and pleasure on Facebook.You may want to create a Facebook Business Page instead, then use these strategies to start social selling.
A Facebook page is an online profile created exclusively for companies, brands, actors, causes, and other organisations on Facebook. Pages, unlike personal accounts, do not receive "friends," but rather "fans," or people who "want" a page. Pages may have an infinite number of followers, unlike personal accounts, which are restricted to 5,000 friends through Facebook.
a) Engage with followers
Frequently react to comments from your followers. To get your Facebook fans talking, ask a question—articles that ask questions get 100 percent more responses than daily text posts. This encourages you to participate in the dialogue and engage directly with your fans, establishing a rapport and demonstrating your skills.
You may even ask your followers about their most important issues, and then write a report, whitepaper, or even a Facebook post to discuss their questions, including how your product or service can benefit.
b) Tag along with other business
It's simple to connect with others through likes, comments, and shares. Your outreach is sure to be reciprocated if you leave insightful messages and post important material, placing your Facebook Page in front of a whole new audience as your professional network expands and other companies share and like your content.
Just in case you missed out the previous post regarding the overview and how social selling works : part one, you may click the button below.