What is Social Selling & Why is it Essential?

Understanding Social Selling

Social selling is the practice of using social media channels to identify, connect with, and build relationships with potential clients. This approach contrasts with traditional sales methods like cold calling and emailing by focusing on the creation of trust and value before making a sales pitch.

The Definition

Social selling is more than just connecting with prospects on social media. It involves providing valuable content, engaging in meaningful conversations, and positioning oneself as a thought leader in the industry. This method helps sales professionals build a network of prospects who view them as credible and trustworthy sources of information.

Why It Matters

The digital transformation has led to a significant shift in buyer behavior. Today’s customers are well-informed and conduct extensive research before making purchasing decisions. According to LinkedIn, 75% of B2B buyers use social media to make purchasing decisions. Social selling meets buyers where they are, providing the information and engagement they need to make informed choices.

If you don't believe us, heres a few stats:

• Leading social selling companies generate 45% more sales opportunities than brands with lower SSI scores. (LinkedIn)

• Companies that favor social selling are 51% more likely to reach their sales quotas.(LinkedIn)

• 78% of companies using social selling sell more than those not using social networks (LinkedOn)

• 90% of top-performing sales professionals use social selling (LinkedIn)

• 78% of sales reps who use social selling practices outsell their peers. (Forbes)

Old VS New Sales Model

The old sales model primarily involved three components: Cold Calls, Sales Demos, and Qualify Leads. In contrast, the new sales model has evolved to incorporate additional elements such as Social Networks, Engage, and Educate, alongside the traditional components.

Key Points:

1. Social Networks:

   • Platforms like LinkedIn are now pivotal in initiating contact with new prospects.

2. Engage & Educate:

   • Engaging and educating the audience involves posting updates, blogs, and participating in group discussions on social networks.

   • This process continues throughout the sales cycle, even after converting prospects into customers.

3. Cold Calls:

   • Cold calling has evolved to become more targeted, utilizing business intelligence and analytics tools like ZELIQ to make informed and productive calls, essentially warming them up before reaching out.

4. Qualify Leads:

   • Qualifying leads remains crucial but has been enhanced by new technologies and social networks, making it a two-way process where both the seller and the prospect assess each other’s suitability.

5. Sales Demos:

   • Demonstrations are essential for showing how a product meets business needs and are a critical step in building long-term relationships with customers.

Advantages of Social Selling

Social selling is the way of the future for sales teams looking to stay ahead of the game. By leveraging social media to connect with potential customers, sales reps can reap some serious benefits:

Build Genuine Relationships

There's no substitute for good old-fashioned relationship building. Social selling allows you to engage with prospects in a natural, authentic way by sharing valuable content and having real conversations. This helps establish trust, which is key when someone is considering buying from you.

Boost Brand Awareness

Consistently showing up and adding value on social platforms is a great way to get your brand out there. The more reps share insightful content and weigh in on industry discussions, the more recognizable your company becomes.

Generate Higher Quality Leads

Social insights let you get laser-focused on prospects who are a great fit for what you offer. That kind of targeting pays off in the form of more qualified, sales-ready leads.

Gain Crucial Customer Insights

Interacting online gives you a valuable window into what customers really want and need. Use those insights to shape products, marketing, and sales strategies that genuinely resonate.

Accelerate Sales Cycles

When prospects already know and trust your brand, they're way more inclined to move quickly through the buying process. Social selling nurtures those critical relationships from the get-go.

The writing is on the wall - social selling is a game-changer for boosting sales productivity and results. Reps who master it will have a clear competitive edge.

The Social Selling Process

Want to crush it at social selling? Follow these steps to turn cold leads into warm relationships primed for selling:

1. Pimp Your Profiles

   First impressions matter, so make sure your social presence is on point. Upload a friendly, professional profile pic. Write an engaging bio that showcases your expertise. And regularly share killer content that adds value.

2. Listen Up and Join In

   Use social listening tools to stay looped into convos happening in your industry and around your brand. Then get involved - like, comment, share posts to start building rapport with prospects.

3. Share Insanely Useful Content

   Speaking of sharing, do it early and often. Curate and create awesome, relevant content like news, tips, case studies, and more. Position yourself as the go-to thought leader they keep coming back to.

4. Nurture Those Relationships

   Social selling is all about fostering real relationships, not just racking up connections. Use personalized outreach and consistent engagement to keep the conversation going over time.

5. Bring In The Tool Assist
   There are tons of slick tools made for social sellers like LinkedIn's Sales Navigator and Hootsuite. Leverage them to streamline processes and easily track your performance.

It takes work, but winning at social selling puts you ahead of the pack. Embrace this modern approach and watch those relationships - and sales - flourish.

Best Practices for Social Selling

To truly crush it at social selling, keep these essential tips in mind:

• Stay Real, Get Personal

Nobody likes a robot or being treated like a number. Authentic, personalized interactions are where it's at for building real trust with prospects. Ditch the generic blast messages and put in the effort to tailor your communication to each person's specific needs and interests.

• Be Consistently Present

Out of sight, out of mind. If you disappear from social channels for weeks at a time, those burgeoning relationships will go stale fast. Make being an active, consistent presence on social media a priority. Keep liking, commenting, and sharing great content regularly. It's what keeps you top-of-mind and allows you to steadily nurture leads.

• Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

Different audiences live on different platforms, so go where your ideal prospects are hanging out. For B2B, you'll likely get the most traction on LinkedIn. But if you're selling consumer products or services, put more focus on visual-heavy channels like Instagram and Facebook instead. A multi-channel approach is key.

Social selling is a marathon, not a sprint. But stick to these best practices and you'll be well on your way to building robust relationships that translate into closed sales. It's a total game-changer when done right.

Track your efforts!

💫The great thing about social selling, you can track and measure your efforts. To access your social selling index, follow these steps:

1. Make sure you’re logged into your LinkedIn account!

2. Visit: www.linkedin.com/sales/ssi.

3. You'll see your score benchmarked against other influencers in your industry

Heres an example of what it'll look like! 👇🏼

To conclude...

Social selling represents a game-changing opportunity to infuse your sales strategy with the power of social media. By engaging prospects through valuable content and real conversations, you can nurture relationships, raise brand awareness, and drive real business results. But don't go all-in on social selling alone.

The most effective sales approach combines the strengths of social selling with traditional sales tactics.

An integrated strategy that leverages both social platforms and classic channels like email, phone, and in-person outreach is the ultimate sales force multiplier.

Master the art of social selling using resources like EngageBay, Hootsuite, LinkedIn Sales Navigator and more. Speaking of LinkedIn...check out our LinkedIn extension to find & connect with prospects HERE.

But also sharpen your conventional sales skills. That diverse, omni-channel approach puts you in the best position to connect with prospects from all angles and seal more deals.