Never before have marketing and sales been in such a radical state of change. The playing field is moving rapidly to the social sites. We know that 72% of buyers use social media to conduct research (Demand Gen Report), but how do you connect with them, influence them, and yes, sell them something?
Here is why you should read this. The experts weighed in this week in a Google Hangout and the reality is that effective social selling requires a completely different mindset, skill set and cadence than what sales success has previously required.
Three social selling leaders connected this week to discuss the keys to social selling success. Koka Sexton, Brian Franz and Jim Keenan (if you don't follow these guys, you need to) delivered a blueprint for ringing the cash register with social media. In addition, I checked in on social media guru, Dave Kerpen. Here are the keys to making it work for you:
1) Give way more than you take-Koka Sexton of LinkedIn may be the father of social selling and his words were clear. Social selling success is built on a foundation of social capital. The more you give, the more you share, the more you help, the more you care--results in more deposits in your social account. You will expand your reach, become a known thought leader and subject matter expert. People will seek you out. Conversely, the more you ask, take, push, interrupt, and bother leads to withdrawals from that social account. The givers will be flush with social capital and the takers will be heading toward bankruptcy. Give free advice, answer questions, share content. Brian Fanzo (@isocialfanzo) tirelessly shares great content along with tips and tricks for navigating the social selling arena. As I am writing this post, Fanzo is Meerkat-ing the live stream of Jay Baer's keynote from the Social Media Marketing World Summit in San Diego. He is a classic giver!
2) Listen more than you talk- Dave Kerpen of Likeable Local (and Meerkat-er extraordinaire) this week said the biggest mistake marketers and sellers make on social media is that they do too much talking and not enough listening. Social media is a '24/7/365 focus group.' Pay attention to what your prospects are asking about, the issues they are wrestling with, the help they need. The more knowledge you have, the more credible you will be in solving your clients' challenges and the better chance you have of landing a new client. It's not about broadcasting, but asking questions and starting conversations.
4) What is Your Personal Brand? - Buyers are on social sites looking for solutions, and people who can help them achieve their goals. Just as organizations are busy changing their marketing language to focus on the issues they solve and away from themselves, and their products, so too must social sellers do with their personal brands. Too many social profiles are created with recruiters in mind as the audience, but the reality is that your social profiles need to focus on your buyers and prospects. How can you help them? What skills can you bring to the table? How have you helped similar clients? Are you a subject matter expert? What business challenges do you solve? What were the results? What have you written on these subjects? "You are the CEO of Me, Inc.," says Sexton. Personal brand matters more than ever. What does a prospect see when they come to your social profiles? How authentic are you?
5) Always Add Value- Whenever you are about to act on social media, you must first ask yourself if you are adding value. Sharing relevant articles, case studies, writing a blog, podcasting, meerkat-ing, liking, congratulating, cheerleading, connecting, recommending, and helping. As Kerpen says, its not about asking people to 'like us on Facebook’, its about answering questions, giving free advice, delivering an environment for learning. Give them a reason to 'like' you.
6) Be Creative/Lead the Way- The social selling space is evolving and changing at such a rapid clip that Sexton is hesitant to write a book on the subject for fear that by the time the book hits the shelves it will be out of date. Thus there is a huge opportunity here to be creative and to lead the way in social selling. Learn from the experts or become an expert. Innovate, experiment, get noticed. Create a new category.
Social selling is not a technology, it's not a tool, but an ecosystem, a methodology, a new way of doing business--which helps you identify the right targets, build insights, develop relationships, create a personal brand, solve problems, and of course, ultimately create revenue for you and your organization. Happy selling!
[Shout out to Jim Keenan (@keenan) for hosting and leading this provocative social selling rap session.]
Thanks to @Dave Kerpen for the SCALE acronym!
Dan Sixsmith is a VP at Alinean, Inc./Founder and CMO at Trammel Marketing Group /Chief Content Officer at "The Digital Advantage by Dan Sixsmith." Twitter:@DigitalAdvantg/ Meerkat: http://meerkatapp.co/digitaladvantg
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