It’s that time of year when we take a step back and appreciate what has made a big difference in our lives and our business for the year. At the top of both lists this time around is Social Selling, which has enriched relationships and brought success in the marketplace for many.
Here’s a review of Social Selling success stories over the year. Our list includes some of the top accomplishments at the corporate level, including expanding the pipeline and higher revenue overall. It also includes personal testimonies of sales reps who attracted warmer leads, and closed more deals thanks to Social Selling.
1. Achieving the 5X Pipeline
Would you be grateful for more business in your pipeline? Steven Jackson of Liquid Planner saw his sales funnel multiply by five times using social media sales. If deals take time to close, he’s no longer worried because there is much more business on the way. Jackson explains how he made it all real for his company and how reaching 200 percent of his goals has become business as usual.
Steve has deliberately and meticulously built his pipeline to such an extent that he doesn’t feel 100% of plan cuts it anymore. He’s now focused, at a minimum of hitting 200%! These are some big, hairy and audacious numbers which Steven is proud to associate with Social Selling.
2. Landing the Big Clients
No matter what your industry, Social Selling brings you in closer contact with the prospects that matter. Wendy Chung of Culturelicious found success with Social Selling in the specialized world of event-based experience marketing for world cuisine. In her video interview, she details how she boosted revenue by landing a very serious corporate client in Samsung Canada.
Wendy isn’t a pushy sales person and her goal on social media was to be helpful and provide value, insights and expertise to those that may need it. That’s how good sales opportunities are created.
3. Increasing Engagement With Qualified Customers
We kicked off spring this year with a one-to-one video interview with Marcus Garcia of inContact. As an old-school salesman, he needed some convincing to give Social Selling a shot. Incorporating Social Selling into his daily routine streamlined his process in guiding buyers along an online journey. From adding one out of every 100 to his funnel using traditional sales methods, Garcia found Social Selling amped up his efficiency to 2-3 productive leads out of every 10.
4. Earning $200,000 in Three Weeks
John Livett carried the entire weight of Signifyd on his shoulders as the young startup’s sole sales manager. Through expertise in social media channels, he was able to land 15 appointments in less than a month and convert one into a solid $150 – 200k customer. He couldn’t have done it without a dedication to Social Selling.
5. Achieving 1st Place Ranking With LinkedIn
Copper-State Communications sent sales expert Keith Gill to our Social Selling program with a module on creating a buyer-centric LinkedIn profile. Within one month, his company ranked No. 1 for search terms including “Arizona telecom” and “Arizona cloud storage”. Staking out a powerful place in search put Gill on the map in a big way.
6. Achieving 1st Place Ranking With LinkedIn
On average – for every $1 a company puts into a sales rep for Social Selling training, that sales rep will make the company $5 within 180 days! That has been the overall experience of brands like ADP, Oracle, and SAS.
With numbers like this, the real risk for companies to NOT do Social Selling. If you don’t your competition probably will. They would gain these market share opportunities on LinkedIn as you sit on the sideline.
Thinking like a Micromarketer
Most of all, we are all thankful for learning how to do Social Selling the right way. Social Selling evangelist and speaker Jill Rowley explained this year how targeted training is a leading indicator of Social Selling success. Without an effective learning program that creates effective routines and processes for teams, companies will have greater difficulty in achieving the Social Selling results that they want. Training sales reps to think like micromarketers is the key to reach new goals in Social Selling ROI for many years to come.
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