What is social selling?
Social selling is when a salesperson uses social media platforms to promote their products and to engage with new prospects. Through social media platforms, salespersons ask questions, responding to comments, and share content throughout the buying process – from awareness to consideration, until a prospect is ready to buy.
The rise of digital has brought both negative and positive aspects for Sales Directors and their teams. Nowadays, most of the consumers buy products online and due to that e-commerce sales are predicted to reach $4.48 trillion by 2021.
Through social selling, sellers can meet various customers online with different taste and with the help of this, sellers can create valuable interactions that will lead conversions and sales. In short, it can make the sales process much easier and better.
As per reports and surveys, it shows that:
- 91% of B2B buyers are more active and involved in social media platforms.
- 84% of senior executives use social media to support and promote purchase decisions.
- 75% of B2B buyers are influenced by social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest.
Due to social selling, consumers find it easier to shop and it is time-saving. As time passes, trends change, decision changes, and also the method of shopping changes.
Here are some techniques that sales directors and their teams can adapt to drive their sales in social selling.
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Focus on personal branding
A personal brand is a method of crafting impressions that your sellers want from you to show to other business owners. You can use your name in a personal brand to attract more audience.
For instance, real-estate mogul Donald Trump uses his last name on his buildings and other products as a personal branding method such as Trump Tower, Trump Steaks, Trump Hotels.
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Adopt social listening
Every company knows the importance of social selling to drive sales. With the help of social media, you can generate and create new interactions. Social listening not only includes replying to comments and messages.
It is the process where sales teams can explore and understand what their customers want and what are the ongoing trends on social media that are attracting consumers.
Social listening offers lots of opportunities that are:
- Create a unique and customized customer experience
- See what products are resonating with a customer
- Hear the opinions of influencers in the product space
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Be active on social groups
The best way to get customers is to visit those places where they are conducting product research. Social media groups are just the location for that and groups are a place for prospects to ask questions, gather information, and take the next steps.
Through social media groups, your team can find out what questions your customers are asking, relay content to help them solve their problems, and to actively learn and resource the products and services they are specifically asking for.
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Align with marketing
Marketing departments work hard to create high-value marketing collateral that is meant to make it easier for salespeople to do their job. The problem is many organizations experience misalignment between marketing and sales. That is to say, your sellers may not be aware of the arsenal of content the marketing team has.
You can post your products on sites like:
- Blogs
- eBooks
- Infographics
- Custom imagery
- Social posts
Aligning sales and marketing is more than just an organizational change. It has a direct impact on top-line growth.
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Social Media for Lead Generation
Social media can be used to attract new leads, more deals, and generate extra revenue for the company. According to SproutSocial, revenue increased by 24% of businesses when they utilized social media for lead generation.
Examples of lead generation activities include:
- Facebook Ads
- Google Ads
- Social Media Contests
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Tracking Analytics
Marketers can also track the success of social media content using analytics sites like Google Analytics (GA). For example, conversion funnels can be set up to help measure how users are moving through your site. In this, you can know how people are. You can see how consumers entered your site.
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Regularly respond to customer complaints
Responding to both negative and positive reviews, is a proven way to improve sales. While having a presence on social may seem like an undertaking for the marketing department, and while there are marketing techniques involved, it’s becoming more important for sales representatives and teams to be fluent and active in the process.
Providing your team with a strong grasp of what’s necessary for social selling will help your business increase leads, prospects, and close more deals. More importantly, it will empower your sellers to be proactive and solution focused.
