When sales tasks are forced, they become a chore. Even though conventional wisdom would say we should do them, they’re still not approached with enthusiasm. On the contrary, when you realize the value of doing something, you’ll do it with pleasure.
That thinking very much applies to social selling. And this is a message I’d give equally to sales professionals but also the leaders deploying social selling programs.
In order to enable social selling for the long-term, here are some common steps you shouldn’t avoid. If you do, that’s when social selling isn’t worth your time.
1. Think Value & Relationships Before Revenue
Oh no, there’s that word again…value! Value is no joking matter. If you’re trying to engage in dialog with buyers the same exact way you’re doing it offline, expect a disconnect.
Social requires you to be different. Leading with sales pitches isn’t likely going to work. In fact, we’ve seen conversion rates with InMails and messages that are abysmally low as a result.
All of us intend to provide value, we intend to build relationships but making sure we meet quota in the near-term is a huge driving force that disables us to think about anything else.
This is why social selling should be about having fun. Connect, collaborate and share your thoughts.
2. Engage Buyers Early And Engage Often
Remember this is social media. Please, be social. Don’t wait for anyone to give you license to do this.
If you see prospects saying or doing something, feel free to like, comment and share your thoughts. Don’t sell. Just enter into a normal conversation. You’ll be amazed to see how differently prospects react to you when you focus on being human and turn down the sales pitch completely.
3. Educate Buyers Daily
I know, it’s crazy to share content on LinkedIn, right? Or is it?
Again, conventional wisdom fear drives our inability to take action. A very common fear is that if you share content a few times a day, you’re “spamming” your network. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, you may find this hard to believe but the average LinkedIn user is only on the platform a few times a month.
This means that sharing content regularly shouldn’t be considered “spam.” At best it’s your ability to express your ideas and thoughts with people regularly.
In addition, consider that in a LinkedIn survey, 92% of B2B buyers said that they look to work with salespeople that are considered “thought leaders.” Thus, sharing your thoughts and expressing your own unique voice is so critical.
The Bottom Line
Social selling isn’t worth it if you aren’t even interested in doing all of these things. But, the good news is, these activities take minutes a day and drive incredible results.
There’s also an immense out of data that reveals, for instance, that 75% of buyers use social media as a part of their purchasing decision. Then add to this that social sellers create 45% more opportunities.
So the only question that remains is, do you think social selling is worth your time?
Tweet me your thoughts @AmarSheth or connect with me on LinkedIn to collaborate.
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