the 6 secrets to social selling sucess

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Page 1: The 6 Secrets to Social Selling Sucess

1. IT’S NOT “SELLING”

Social selling isn’t about broadcasng sales messages to all your LinkedIn contacts, Twier followers and facebook friends. But it is about achieving a sale. And that’s done by building and nurturing relaonships. As Tim Hughes points out: “Decision makers who would be unlikely to take your call or open your email will respond to you on social media isocial media if you do it right. It’s about community and influence, about informaon exchange and recommendaon”. It’s about being able to bring back that personal, 1-to-1 relaonship between seller and buyer.

“Decision makers who would be unlikely to take your call or open your email will respond to you on social media if

you do it right.” TIM HUGHES

2. IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE

“The really good sales people are, and always have been, experts in their field”, comments Shane Redding. Because they are the ones who listen, and who take the me and trouble to understand their clients’ problems and the environment in which they operate. So it’s not rocket science. It’s not even reinvenng the wheel: Shane connues, “the bestbest social sellers work in exactly the same way – by listening to what their clients are saying, developing an understanding of their problems, and then solving them through relevance.”

5. IT’S A CHANGE PROGRAMME

For Tim, social selling is a change programme – a process, not a tool. “Like any change programme, it needs to take the workforce with it. You need a social champion within the organisaon, someone who understands social selling, can teach it and can champion it as a strategy”. Somemes, educaon is simply showing what social selling can do, says Shane:Shane: “I had one client who dismissed social altogether – thought it was all about kids on facebook and Instagram. Eventually he sent the right message to a selecon of 10 LinkedIn contacts and secured three meengs. A er that he was a convert.”

6 SECRETS OF SOCIAL SELLINGYou know the benefits, you know how to get started, you’ve opmised your LinkedIn profile… you’re ready to launch your social selling programme. Now, to help you get the very best from your acvies, here are six insider secrets, direct from the mouths, and the hard-won experience, of two top UK social selling experts speaking at the MOI Disrupt Forum on 19 May.

3. THE EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE SALE

Even though buying cycles today are longer, sales cycles are considerably shorter. In some instances, up to 70% of the journey can be complete before a buyer will even think of contacng a sales person – and by that me, says Tim, “they’ve done their research, they’ve got all their facts, and they’ve drawn up their shortlist. If you’re lucky, you’re on it – but so are all your competors”. What’s worse is that the bubuyer has probably already made up their mind about who they’ll ulmately buy from. So on the face of it, there’s a shorter me than ever to build up a relaonship. But not if you get in early. The key, according to Tim, is that if you’ve done your research and you know your prospects, “you can be developing that relaonship before a buyer even knows they need what you’re selling.”

...up to 70% of the journey can be complete before a buyer will even think of contacng a

sales person...

4. RESEARCH PAYS

Do that research. That means researching not only the final decision-maker, but also those who influence them. As Shane observed: “One of the things I do for my clients is help them find the markeng technology they need. I don’t buy directly, but I do influence the buying decisions of others. The really good sales people pick this up, butbut many don’t. I’ve been known to be overlooked when I’ve sent an RFP direct to the sales director, simply because I don’t fit their tradional model”. A bit more research and social selling will idenfy influencers and could pay off at the consideraon stage.

“Social selling is a change programme – a process,not a tool”

For a social selling programme to be a success, it needs dialogue and alignment between the sales and markeng funcons. And for sales and markeng alignment expert, Shane, “alignment is about using each other’s strengths”. Effecve social selling brings the strengths of the sales and markeng funcons together to form one formidable force. Both our experts admit that there are some sales people “just don’t get it”. In Tim’s words: “they simply don’t know how to use social for conversaon”. Marketers can help sales teams by creang the content that will start the conversaon. They are also there to do a lot of the inial legwork – researching their sales team’s audience, ideidenfying where they are acve, what they are talking about.

6. SOCIAL SELLING ALIGNS SALES AND MARKETING

BROUGHT TO YOU BY MOIGLOBAL.COM

Bear these six things in mind when you embark on your social selling programme and you’ll give it every chance of success.

Want to talk through the social selling process and discover how it could work for your business? Give Ma Stevens a call on 01932 826600 or email

[email protected]