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Is It Possible To Create 50% of Pipeline With Social Selling?

Amar Sheth
Amar Sheth

In March of this year, Jorge Ober contacted me to see if I’d be interested in learning more about his story. He told me how he’s been an avid reader of our blogs and eBooks and how it’s helped him professionally. Naturally, I was more than curious to learn about his story.

Check out this video to see why. Jorge is CRUSHING it with Social Selling.

From Commodities to Value

Jorge has sold a lot of commodity-based products in the market, from energy to printers to IT security software and more.

What he has seen is a shift in buyer responsiveness. No longer are prospects interested in starting the conversation by phone. Instead, they started ignoring him. Jorge has never been a cheesy salesman, he really believes in injecting significant value in every conversation and in every opportunity. But, how does one do that if buyers aren’t even picking up the phone or responding to emails?

(As a side note, are you facing the same dilemma? Tweet me @AmarSheth and share your thoughts!)

What’s worse is that potential clients used their buying power to put vendor against vendor. Jorge just kept on getting requests for quotes. Guess what happened? Prospects told him “someone has a better price” and he was forced to lower the price. This is the WORST position to be put in as a sales pro!

The Transition To Social Media

Instead of giving up, Jorge just incorporated social media into his daily sales process. He read a ton of articles and resources and put a few things into practice. In the last company he worked for, he saw the results take shape very nicely.

Jorge saw that 40%-50% of his pipeline was coming from social media. Let that sink in for a minute. What would this number mean for you and your pipeline?

Now, Jorge is on the path of becoming an entrepreneur and is finding that Social Selling is going to be an extremely central and important component of his success. And after all, why wouldn’t it? Buyers, in some form or another, are heading online to research products and services of all types. They’re being influenced by what they read and see. Quite simply, if you’re not there, you’re missing the opportunity to help them.

Adding Value Standing Out

Let’s call it the way it is, we all want to add value in some form or fashion. It’s one of the best ways to stand out.

Our friend Jorge used publicly available information about a prospect to start a conversation and proposed an idea that has catapulted him to the head of the class. He’s no longer considered “just another vendor.”

This example is not only real, it’s happening every day. If you’re not learning how to do this, you’re missing out.

The Bottom Line

Jorge leaves us with some great advice. All of us use social media in some capacity today. But, that’s not enough. You’ve got to use it as a means of engagement.

In fact, buyers may not be candid on the phone with you but are happily sharing information on social media that can help you formulate your next precise sales move. In short, use social media. Clever sales professionals today are jumping in, having fun and seeing results.

One of the greatest sports heroes of all time said it best:

Arthurashe Quote

Did you enjoy this story or disagree with anything being said? Tweet me your thoughts @AmarSheth and connect with me on LinkedIn too.

Remember, Social Selling isn’t difficult. It’s just different.

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The Ultimate Guide to Social Selling