nudge social selling: the strength of weak ties

neednudge.com All Rights Reserved Nudge Software Inc. 2014

Social Selling:

The Strength of Weak

Ties

Paul Teshima

Co-founder and CEO

Nudge

@pteshima

neednudge.com


“THE CURRENCY OF

THE NEW

COLLABORATIVE

ECONOMY IS TRUST”- RACHEL BOTSMAN


How Social is B2B?

5

90% 53% 47% 33%

Percentage of B2B companies actively using social media

But what about lead generation?

41%

Report

200%

More

The

Best

67%

More

Source: InsideView


84% of Executives

Use Social Media in

Their Buying

Decisions

“You cannot

delegate trust”

- Kathleen Schuab, IDC

neednudge.com All Rights Reserved Nudge Software Inc. 20147neednudge.com

How Many People Have More

Than One Email Address?

How Many People Have More

Than One Linkedin Account?


SOCIAL NETWORKS

ARE EXPLODING


“Linkedin, a place

where people I don’t know,

endorse me for skills I do

not have”

- Max Valiquette


Linkedin is the Business Network

10

313 million

600 million


FACT: weak connections

offer the best

opportunities

You can't meet them

all, so you need to

replace coffee with

content

Most social

connections

are weak

The Strength of Weak Ties


Today Business Professionals Must Learn How

to Engage Their Weak Ties, To be Successful

neednudge.com All Rights Reserved Nudge Software Inc. 2014neednudge.com 13

Social Selling and


Why is Social Selling Important?

14


Social Selling is Growing (SSI)

Source: Linkedin


Establish a professional presence on

LinkedIn with a complete profileCreate a professional brand

Prospect efficiently with powerful

search and research capabilitiesFind the right people

Discover and share valuable information to

initiate or maintain a relationshipEngage with insights

Expand your network to reach prospects and

those who can introduce you to prospectsBuild strong relationships

What is the Social Selling Index?

Source: Linkedin


Showcase your skills

Create a Professional Brand

Use the right tone

What would prospects or customers want to know

about you? Be descriptive. Tell your story.

Complete your profile

Aim for 100% profile completeness

Add rich content

Slideshare deck, presentation video, etc.

Add skills and generate endorsements

Source: Linkedin


“ABCs –

Always Be

Connecting”

“Give-to-Give”

“A Fool with a

Tool, Is Still a

Fool”


Best Practice

Establish Consistent Personal Branding

19

Source: JillRowley.com


Best Practice

Timely, Well Written Content Works

20


Check who viewed you

Find the Right People

View prospects

View details of potential prospects in your 1st , 2nd ,

and 3rd degree networks

Expand your viewing

Use Lead Recommendations to find more prospects

at your accounts

Your activity drives views of your profile. Engage

with relevant people who look at you.

Proactively search

Use advanced search & Lead Builder to pinpoint

people more efficiently

Source: Linkedin


Best Practice

Leverage Your Past Experiences

22


Engage With Insights

Reach out to prospects

Share valuable information

Post relevant content that can help you become a

trusted source of insight

Stay in the know

Join groups and follow your prospects, customers,

and their competitors to keep up to date

Engage with your network

Share, like, and comment on content posted from

your network

Reach your prospects with InMails, connection

requests, and other messages

Source: Linkedin


Best Practice

Do Work and Be Authentic

24


Build Strong Relationships

Focus on decision makers

Focus on connecting to senior level people at your

prospects and customers

Connect with contacts

Connect with your network and with prospects after

introductions

Connect internally

Your colleagues will be able to provide you warm

introductions

Source: Linkedin


Best Practice

Building Business Intimacy is Key In

Building Trust

26

Source: TrustedAdvisor.com


What’s Are the

Challenges?

neednudge.com 27


Sales Still Has the Same Challenges

More content

More SEO

More demand gen

More sales training

More partners

More automation

More whitepapers

More case studies

More portals

Earlier Relationships Higher Relationships Active Relationships

Sales benchmark index Sales benchmark index IDC

60% of buyer journey

complete before ever

interacting with sales

58%of pipeline stalls

because value is not

presented

90%of selling content and

resources never used

Sales benchmark index Sales benchmark index IDC


You Need to Invest in Growing the Right

Relationships

Early relationships

position you as a

trusted advisor

Active relationships

mean people read

what you send

Higher relationships

help you position

business value


Even Top Social Sellers Struggle with

“Engaging with Insights”

30


Most People Are Not Posting

Their Lives in Social OR in the News

31

313 million

600 million

Posting Life in

Social OR in

the News


Using Content to Reach Out is Hard

32


Nudge is a simple way of growing

the right relationships from

your network of weak connections


What is a Nudge?

RIGHT PERSON

Who in your network

should you nurture

now?

A Nudge is a message to a person that combines

RIGHT TIME

What has happened to

make “now”

important?

RIGHT MESSAGE

What content aligns

with their interests?


In Summary

• Social Media is already being used effectively in B2B

• Social Selling is growing as a best practice for business

professionals

• Focus on these four elements

1. Create a professional brand

2. Find the right people

3. Engage with insights

4. Grow strong relationships

• Building relationships is hard, especially from weak ties,

but it can lead to the best opportunities

• Use content instead of coffee to reach out

36


Best Practice

“The best way to go fast is to go slow”

- Jill Konrath, best selling author and Top Sales Influencer


APPENDIX

neednudge.com 38

nudge social selling: the strength of weak ties

Sales

social networks

social mediabut

social selling index

com13 social selling

social selling important

successful neednudge

best practice

weak connections