Are you struggling to figure out what is this new buzz word – “Social Selling” among Sales and Marketing folks ? and Does it work for B2B?, Is yes then how start with social selling?
Old-school selling is on the edge of extinction. Sales professionals must harness virtual and social tools to survive in today’s new sales world.
Today’s B2B customers are technology-savvy and socially empowered. No longer do buyers depend on sellers for education and information. Information is only a click — or a network connection — away.
As a term, ‘social selling’ is relatively new but there is a growing amount of buzz about a concept called “social selling”. Many experienced people defined it in many ways.
In my opinion – “Social selling is using social platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to create a brand awareness & impact, build relationship with prospects and engage with them and create the sale pipeline impact. ”
The focus of social media marketing has shifted from promotional objectives and brand awareness to lead generation.Corporate Twitter handle are no longer being used as company broadcasting channel. We can say social media marketing is becoming Social selling.
Top Sales World and PGi reported that 75% of B2B purchases are influenced bysocial media, while 79% of those who use social media to sell outperform those who don’t. Social selling is the name of the new sales game
Does social selling work for B2B?
Social selling is not a fad, there are many research and survey reports to support the social selling hype. such as Forbes and Salesforce statistics shows:
Let’s take a look at how social selling can impact on sales pipeline and create brand differentiation:
- Lead Generation and Prospecting
Generating new leads and prospecting is all about discovering new prospects, decision makers who really can make a difference in buying cycle and make informed sales system. Social intelligence provides a ability to find out the influencers, right time, with the right message to the right person. What more could your sales people ask for? - Qualified Leads
You need to have much more insight into the prospect. Name, title, and email address does not make a qualified lead. Social intelligence provides much more intelligence such as- what challenges your prospect and/or their company are going through, your sales people can get straight to the prospect’s pain, or also identify those that are maybe not worth calling. These opportunities greatly improve efficiency and profitability. - Opportunity/Client Management
Social intelligence helps sales folks to understand- what is going on with their prospects, customers, and competitors, so that you can be on top of any changes and be proactive, before potentially unknowingly lose a deal.
Ultimately, the success of social selling requires not only what you know about your prospects, but also how you use that information.
Here are the three ways we can start with Social selling:
Conclusion:
Social selling is an effective way to engage with your prospects, to position yourself as an expert in your industry, to outperform your competitors and to increase your profitability. When comparing the results of social selling to traditional marketing methods such as cold calling, it is becoming more and more obvious that social selling is the clear winner.