Social selling is a new approach that allows salespeople to laser-target their prospecting and find rapport through existing connections. Social selling — maybe you’ve listened to it, but you aren’t entirely sure what it represents.
Think it’s identical to social media marketing? No, it’s not. Or maybe you think it’s just social media advertising? Also no.
That’s something else altogether. Social selling permits your business to zero in on business opportunities on social media and creates rapport with a network of potential tips. Done right, social selling can return the dreaded practice of cold calling. If you have not integrated social selling into your funnel, you’re presumably failing business to more social media intelligent competitors.
Defining Social Selling
Social selling is the technique of utilizing a brand’s social media channels to link with prospects, create a connection with them, and employ potential leads. The tactic can support businesses in reaching their sales targets.
Consider social selling as contemporary relationship-building. Vigorously connecting with potential clients on social media can support you be the first brand a prospect considers when they’re ready to create a purchase. And it can replace obsolete relationship-building and sales techniques!
Social Selling is Not?
Social selling is undoubtedly not about bombarding strangers with unsolicited Tweets and DMs. That’s spam. Please don’t do it. Social selling is not just about counting new contacts to your list. It’s about creating meaningful interactions and delivering your brand as a solution to a problem. You’re more likely to generate trust and loyalty when you do that.
Pre-engaged in Social Selling?
Presumably! Suppose your brand includes a Facebook Business Page, a LinkedIn page, a Twitter profile, or is active on any other platform. In that matter, you’re already immersed in the basics of social selling.
Social Selling Index
The social selling index is a metric utilized to measure the influence of a brand’s social selling efforts.
LinkedIn first presented the concept of the SSI back in 2014. The LinkedIn SSI integrates four components to set a score. First, it looks at whether you are:
- Selecting a professional brand with a well-managed LinkedIn profile. Finding the right people on the platform.
- Sharing relevant, conversation-inspiring content.
- Building and strengthening relationships.
Reasons Business Should Care About Social Selling
1. Social Selling Works
Businesses headed in the social selling space build 45% more sales opportunities than brands with a low social selling index. Companies that prioritize social selling are 51% more likely to achieve sales quotas. 78% of businesses that utilize social selling outsell businesses that don’t employ social media.
2. Social Selling Helps Sales Team Build Real Relationships
Networking and relationship-building have redirected online due to the pandemic — and now is the ideal time to prioritize social selling. Social selling builds opportunities to attach to new potential clients on social media, where they’re already active and engaged in conversations. Using social listening tools permits your sales reps to go a step further and recognize leads who are already talking about your company, your competitors, or your industry.
3. Customers are Already Engaged in Social Buying
Considering the volume of people nowadays using social media, the possibility for brands to make social sales is massive:
- 4.2 billion people globally are engaged on social media.
- Social media platforms acquired 490 million users in 2020 solitarily.
- That’s a 13.2% increase — 2019 witnessed a transition rate of 7.2%.
- A lot of those users are employing social platforms for brand research. Merely speaking, these users are acquiring ready to buy.
4. Top Competitors Are Already Social Selling
Using social selling implies staying competitive. Other trademarks are active on social media interacting with conceivable clients on popular social platforms. For instance, 200 million Instagram users see a profile at least once a day, and 81% of Instagram users research products and services. US adults who have purchased via select social media platforms
Best Social Selling Networks
In short, it depends. Your choice should rely on your target audience and your strategy for social selling. Twitter and Instagram are great venues for interacting with customers. Simply speaking, they’re great for building relationships. LinkedIn is a more standard business platform ideal for B2B companies to recognize and reach business decision-makers. Businesses can link with potential customers directly to test and build a professional relationship
Social Selling Best Practices
1. Establish your brand by supplying value
When interacting with opportunities and customers through social networks, it’s essential not to bring them too salesy. So before you leap to sales pitches:
- Establish the assignment as an expert in your industry.
- Creating your brand on social media for social selling involves communicating interesting, valuable, and shareable content.
- Display your prospects that you’re not just out to obtain something.
2. Listen strategically and build the right relationships
Effective social selling means paying attention. Ensure you’re social listening. Use social lists and Hootsuite streams to observe what people are saying about you, your company, industry, and competitors. Scrutinize for pain points and requests, both of which furnish natural possibilities for you to deliver solutions. It would help if you also leveraged your current network whenever possible.
3. Keep it real
Instead of reporting one note and mailing it to countless potential buyers, take the time to personalize your social selling messaging by;
- Recognize your mutual professional references.
- Direct to a piece of content you both communicated or reacted to.
- Emphasize a shared curiosity or some interest you have in common.
Be yourself. Form a relationship by creating a real, genuine conversation! Sure, you could use automated appreciation and commenting tools, but these do nothing to build rapport.
4. Be consistent
Finally, don’t expect immediate results. Don’t give up if your relationship-building efforts don’t yield immediate results. Keep in touch—follow-up with new leads. Go out to contacts you’ve formerly connected with but haven’t attended from in a while. Sustain meaningful relationships by delivering congratulations when they advance to new positions or companies or entertaining with the content they convey over social media. Be ready to provide suggestions or help, even if it directly promotes your product.
Wrap Up
Sales have always been about constructing relationships, confirming credibility, and delivering the right solutions to real prospects at the right time. Social selling is like that too. It merely leverages social media to support you build relationships, grow your network, streamline lead generation and satisfy your sales objectives!
