If you’re a sales rep, you are familiar with what has become a buzzword over the last year: social selling. We’ve talked about social selling on this blog before, particularly using LinkedIn. But if you’ve been hesitant to test the social selling waters, you might be wondering where to start and if it’ll be worth the effort.
The time and energy you invest in social selling could have a significant return: For example, the Social Media and Sales Quota Survey from A Sales Guy found that 72% of salespeople using social media as part of their sales process outperformed their peers.
These tips will help you get started:
1. Update and optimize your social media profiles.
Because social selling relies heavily on use of social media, it makes sense that before you push anyone to your profiles, you’ll want to make sure they are up to date.
Check for the following:
Remember that both the image and the bio on your social media profile may give a prospective client their first impression of you. Make sure it is a professional representation of both you and your company.
2. Set up alerts and notifications.
You’ll need to have a plan for knowing when a prospect is talking to you. Different social channels will offer notifications and alerts to let you know if someone has messaged you or commented on a post. There are also a variety of social monitoring tools available. For example, Hootsuite allows you to set up a feed just for your mentions across multiple channels. Find a tool that works for you and stick with it.
3. Find your prospects.
Who are the people that you want to engage on social media? Spend some time building your “Following” list on Twitter. Follow users as well as companies so that you can keep up with their posts and look for opportunities to share their content or reply to a post. On LinkedIn, look for groups and forums relevant to your industry and topics of interest, and plan to post in those forums on a regular basis. Be consistent in your activity, as it will likely attract more users to view your profile.
4. Be active.
This involves engaging with others on each social platform. For example, if someone shares a post of yours with their followers, you can like the post as a way of saying “thank you.” But don’t limit your activity solely to likes. Take the time to leave thoughtful comments on others’ posts. This takes more effort than leaving a “like” but it shows your interest and willingness to engage in a dialogue.
5. Begin to add value for others.
Share helpful, relevant content that your target prospects will find valuable. This can serve as a starting point for a discussion.
Make your social activities have a daily or weekly goals, like any other prospecting behavior, for how much time to spend, how many introductions to make, how many posts to make–any metrics you choose. Good luck as you get started with your social selling efforts!
