7 Questions To Assess Your Social Selling Effectiveness

Why Social Selling?

Generating new clients is a continuous journey – you require an engaging message, shared with the right audience, using their preferred method of communication.

With up to 97% of buyers engaging with business services, on-web and social media sites, it is vital that you have a plan to meet them there and encourage them to use your services.

Social Selling is the process of developing relationships, as part of the sales process, using social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook and includes email marketing, text messaging and your website too.

The following questions have been created to help you gain a realistic perspective on how effective your current Social Selling process is.

Steve https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevephillip Linked2Success Limited / Successful Social Selling

A MESSAGE TO BUSINESS COACHES, CONSULTANTS, ADVISERS

Question 1Do you have a 1-3 year plan to build a consistent pipeline of new business?

Imagine if your audience was an asset, like a piece of equipment in your business – what if you could take that asset to the bank tomorrow and exchange its value for cash – what would it be worth?

There are very few assets that mature overnight and your audience is no different. Do you have a plan to build and nurture your list of;• *Seekers – those who need & are looking for your services?• *Amplifiers – those who will share who you are & what you say?• *Joiners – those who connect & subscribe to your services?

Do you have a plan in place, for the next 1-3 years to grow these 3 audiences?

* Terminology borrowed from the book Audience; Marketing in the Age of Subscribers, Fans & Followers by Jeffrey K Rohrs

01 Successful Social Selling – 7 Questions

Question 2If someone searches for you on-line, how

easily will they find you?If someone searched for you on Google today, where would you appear – Page 1, 2, 3 or further down the list?

Social Media sites play an important role in enhancing the search engine optimisation (SEO) value of your website and raising your visibility on-line. Whenever you post and share timely, relevant and topical content, with your audience, your visibility and reach, online, increases. In turn, you attract seekers – those looking for the kind of services you provide.

What if you were always top of mind when your audience was ready to buy the services you provide?

People buy services when they need them, rarely before.

Do you have a plan in place to ensure your expertise and value is being positioned in front of your audience every week? 02 Successful Social Selling – 7 Questions

Question 3How easy is it for someone to be

able to buy from you?

When someone discovers you on-line how quickly and clearly do they understand what it is you do and how and why you do it? How well do you articulate the value you provide to your customers of what you do? 9 out of 10 LinkedIn profiles fail to articulate this message when people find them on-line.

Does your profile and your relationship building strategy clearly demonstrate that you understand the problems and challenges faced by your customers and the solutions you can provide?

How do I contact you and for what purpose - do your profiles and messages include clear calls to action, so I understand what I have to do next and how I do it?

03 Successful Social Selling – 7 Questions

Question 4Are you building know, like and trust

with your audience?People buy from people they know, like and have a trusting relationship with.

No matter how good your product or service, customers are 71% more likely to buy from someone they know, like and trust.

What is your plan to maintain and nurture relationships with your audience?

• Seekers – are you positioning yourself, on-line, as the go-to trusted expert so they are drawn to you?

• Amplifiers – are you engaging, via Linked and Twitter, so they spread the word about who you are and remain loyal?

• Joiners – are you regularly sharing topical and relevant content that adds value to their businesses or their lives?

Are you planning for the future by building lists and nurturing relationships with your biggest asset – your audience?

04 Successful Social Selling – 7 Questions

Question 5How are you managing your

social lists for the future?The definition of a ‘proprietary audience’ is one that you own. However, we know that no audience is wholly owned – just because you are connected or they exist on your email database, it is likely that this relationship is also shared with your competitors.

Building a proprietary audience or list, so that you can market your services directly to different, relevant audiences, is absolutely critical if your business is to grow and avoid the peaks and troughs of new client acquisition.

Despite news headlines, proclaiming ‘the death of email’, it remains one of the most productive and profitable channels to engage with your audience and provides you much more direct access and engagement than most Social Media channels. Most of us still check our emails and text messages, automatically, where we can overlook a Social Media post/message much more easily.

What is your plan to engage with your Social Media lists using email?

05 Successful Social Selling – 7 Questions

Question 6How will you remain top of mind with your

audience now and in the future?

Content is the foundation of any effective Social Selling strategy. Your audience will engage with you and remain loyal, as long as you continue to serve their needs.

The more you inspire your audience to like, comment and share your social content and talk about your business, the more people will discover you and your reach and visibility, on-line, will increase.

People buy from people they know, like and trust, when they’re ready to purchase and if they perceive that the seller will add value or solve a challenge they face in their business or in their lives

Do you have a content plan that looks ahead a week, a month, a quarter, for the rest of this year?

06 Successful Social Selling – 7 Questions

Question 7If someone wants to learn more

how do they do this?

When someone reads your profile, receives an email from you, visits your website and they are interested, is it clear what to do next?

Do you have a lead magnet, something I can subscribe to, so I become a ‘joiner’? Are you running a webinar or a physical event I can sign up to? Can I download a book, a white paper or subscribe to your newsletter – how easy is it for me to do this?

Do you fear the telephone? Using the phone to make warm calls, when you’ve already built some know, like and trust, has a much higher success rate than making a cold call. Social Selling will help you increase your telephone success rate.

Do you have clear calls to action and a process for following up with those who engage with you on LinkedIn and social media?

07 Successful Social Selling – 7 Questions

Since 2009, through my business Linked2Success, I have been recognised as one of the UK’s leading authorities on Social Selling. 92% of my clients come from my Social Selling lists.

Learn with Successful Social Selling how to achieve a consistent pipeline of new clients by applying the skills I have coached others at companies such as FedEx, The British Red Cross, Harley Davidson, Oxford Brookes University, Investors in People and many others large and small to medium sized business in the UK, Europe and the United States.

I provide individual and team training workshops as well as my Successful Social Selling, 4 week, intensive courses. Follow this link to find out more.

Check out the next slide to connect with me on LinkedIn and other social media.

Contact Me

Steve https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevephillip Websites Linked2Success Limited / Successful Social Selling

Phone +44 (0)1423 223400

Mobile 07879 628708

Twitter https://twitter.com/DontFearSocial @DontFearSocial

Steve Phillip Managing Director Successful Social Selling and Linked2Success Limited.