Summary describing Social Selling
Social selling gives salespeople the opportunity to accurately collect new leads. It gives salespeople the opportunity to use social media to find, connect, understand and process sales prospects. Social selling gives both the sales person and the company stronger brands. It is the modern way to expand your network and build lasting relationships that ultimately lead to business.
How does Social Selling work?
According to Linkedin (Linkedin Social Selling) there are 4 pillars of Social Selling, we at Digital partner added a 5th pillar that we consider very important!
5 different methods for Social Selling
- Build your personal brand
- Focus on the right prospects
- Engage with insights
- Build sustainable relationships
- Networking online and offline
1. build your personal brand
Today, buyers are very selective and generally prefer to do business with people they trust. Therefore, a strong personal brand is at least as important as a strong corporate brand, as people do business with people.
2. Focus on the right prospects
The advantage of Social Selling is that it is a more efficient way to identify quality leads than traditional sales. According to Linkedin (Linkedin Social Selling), around 76% of buyers are ready to have a conversation via social media, which is a very good statistic compared to other methods such as knocking on doors or calling. Linkedin allows you to find prospects and see their role in the company directly, which means that you are more likely to contact the right person in the company and thus save time by not having to go out of your way to talk to the right person.
3. Engage with insights
By sharing your knowledge in the field you work in, you have the opportunity to appear as an expert in the eyes of others. Examples include sharing and commenting on industry news, sharing tips & tricks, offering guides & tutorials, commenting on others' posts, etc. According to Linkedin (Linkedin Social Selling), over 62 % of B2B buyers are ready to do business with people who share insights and opportunities.
4. build sustainable relationships
Broaden your network and build your credibility by sharing your opinions and offering relevant content. Have relevant conversations and always focus on customer needs first and sales second.
5. Networking online & offline
Online - There are more places than Linkedin to digitally work with Social Selling. Like on Facebook, by interacting with your followers on the company page and by joining different groups as an individual. Twitter is another social network where you can comment on industry news, share relevant content and interact with other people.
Offline Networking meetings and events are a perfect opportunity to practice Social Selling, broaden your network and build strong relationships.
