Encouraging your salespeople to create an account on LinkedIn or Twitter doesn’t mean that the leads will start pouring in and the sales will close themselves. Social selling isn’t a magic bullet, but another tool for sellers to engage with prospects and customers.
In fact, your salespeople can get hundreds of followers, thousands of likes, and even make valuable connections, but if you don’t employ a system that capitalizes on these interactions, you’ll never see the kind of return that drives bottom-line impact.
Sales organizations that use social platforms to demonstrate value and differentiation, while aligning social messages with their sales process, understand that social selling is more than just a fad. It’s an important tool within their customer engagement process. Here’s why:
It allows your salespeople access to the digital buying process
Social selling allows you to engage with customers and prospects in real-time and outside of the walls of your organization. It enables you to answer questions and provide valuable insights while meeting buyers where they are.
Social selling allows communication to go beyond the sale. By remaining in conversation with your customers after the initial point-of-sale, you provide ongoing value to them, increasing loyalty and assuring the opportunity to upsell down the road. It’s much more difficult for your customers to “go dark” if you’re connected to them socially.
It paves the way for an informed and effective sales conversation
Social selling gives you the ability to listen in on the conversations your prospects are having before they even reach out to you. By following groups or topics, you can keep your finger on the pulse of your network. Whether it’s news about company acquisitions, new hires or new initiatives, staying informed allows you to be more in touch with your customers and prospects.
Social selling provides you a mechanism to easily join in on conversations, in an unassuming way. Whether it’s simply mentioning a client company or responding to something a prospect posted, you can engage in a way that helps you transform from being just a salesperson to a real person.
The best salespeople have never been those who merely know the product inside and out or how to deliver a great sales presentation. Instead, great salespeople have always connected with prospects.
Discover how else Social Media can help drive your sales process forward in our FREE eBook “Social Media in Your Sales Process.” No other information needed to download!
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