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I think that most sales people are totally missing the boat on the concept of social selling. While it’s completely understandable- it’s unfortunate that some very good sales people will be left behind.
Social selling, which encompasses but is not limited to social media, is a way to learn about and in some cases find your prospects, and just as important – its a place where they can learn about you.
Sure, they can learn a lot about you by picking up the phone when you call, but realistically that isn’t always going to happen and ironically, part of the reason they didn’t pick up your call is because they don’t know who you are, what you can do for them and why they should trust you.
Social selling is a tool to help you climb off the great Sales Hamster Wheel and get more traction from your own prospecting efforts, because to a sales person, that’s what social selling is really all about – its just another prospecting tool.
I’m not going to go into detail about using sites like Linkedin to learn more about your potential customers – that’s the easy part, but I’d like to say a little bit about the idea of Branding Yourself (painlessly)
WHO ARE YOU?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Your name, title and the company you work for might fill in a little information – but what do you stand for? What do you bring to the table that will make you an asset to your prospects?…..and how will you communicate that?
If you don’t think its necessary to craft your Linkedin profile, then at least take a look at it and ask yourself, “What reason I am giving prospects to want to work with me?”
If you don’t participate in group discussions where you have something useful to say, you have wasted a rare and valuable opportunity to brand yourself and promote your business.
Social selling is not restricted to your online activity. Your online activity and social profiles are more like a central hub, where just about anyone with a little bit of internet savvy can instantly read your file.
So, how can you integrate your on and off line activities
to improve your own social selling results?
Here’s one idea, the next time you’re setting up a prospect or customer calling campaign, focus your calling on a particular audience or problem. As Jill Konrath has so succinctly pointed out, “the more focused you are, the stronger the message. ” Now, take the core of your general value proposition and add it as an update on one of your social profiles.
It says that your message wasn’t just a momentary breath of hot air, it says your message is what you believe. Try it!