Many of us have certainly heard of social selling, but it’s frequently confused with social media marketing – both are aimed at increasing revenue, but they’re actually two different approaches.
So…what exactly is social selling and what does it mean for you? Let’s explore!
What is Social Selling?
Social selling consists of using social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter to find, understand, connect with, and nurture sales prospects. In B2B sales models, LinkedIn remains the dominant social channel of choice for business professionals.
“49% of B2B buyers will review the seller’s profile as part of their buying process.” Source: LinkedIn (Click to Tweet)
As millennials continue to earn decision making positions, the use of social tools to engage and build relationships will become increasingly important to keep your brand top of mind. Listening for the right moment to engage potential customers will also become a new form of opportunity by presenting your solution to a specific business problem at the right time.
TIP: When engaging with prospects on social media be sure to practice proper business “etiquette”- don’t bombard strangers with unsolicited Tweets or private messages just because it’s easy to do. That’s spam – not social selling!
Why You Should Care About Social Selling
“78% of salespeople who use social selling techniques are outselling their peers who are not.” Source: Jim Keenan, Social Media Specialist (Click to Tweet)
It works, here’s why:
- It helps you foster meaningful relationships. Using social tools to identify key contacts and listen to relevant conversations allows your team to identify relationships that are worth building.
- Your clients are already using social buying. What’s social buying? The flip side of social selling. Potential clients are already researching you, looking for potential vendors, and they are developing opinions based on your engagement online. According to LinkedIn 92% of B2B buyers are willing to engage with a salesperson who is considered a thought leader. This is why your social profiles need to be up to date and customer friendly.
- Your top competitors are already using it! The LinkedIn study also reports that 71% of all sales professionals are leveraging social channels for business gain. In fact, 90% of the top salespeople in larger sales organizations are using social selling tools.
This technique provides an exciting new dimension for the modern sales professional and it’s here to stay with 75% of the US workforce predicted to be millennials by the year 2025.
If you’re looking to take your sales results from good to great, maybe now is the time to find out what an effective social selling strategy might be able to achieve within your company. Want to learn more? We’d love to discuss how this technique can take your business to a new level. Contact In2communications today to learn more!
