There are still many of us who believe sales are made through direct communication. This holds true for the B2B space especially. But the word on the street is that “content is king” and the more content you put out there the better brand rapport you build. Consumers and businesses buy based on rapport and the “perception” of a brand online. The actual sales process is strengthened through the use of social media.
Social selling is all about the brand-building process, which converts into trust. The more familiar prospects are with the brand, the more potential buyers you have. As a result, you will be able to convert the sale. Once this groundwork has been laid out, then it is much easier to ask for the sale. The hardest part of all this is asking for the sale, but if your product or service really solves a problem, then the sale should be easy. Here are some tips:
A. Serendipity is Powerful
There are two types of guys that most women stay away from. The first one is the “Too-Serious-Too-Soon” and the other one is the “Narcissist.” In sales and social selling we embark upon the same journey. Most people want to understand everything about what you are selling inside and out before they decide to buy. Which emotional triggers are you using to help them understand your product or service?
Best Practice: Use Talker Walker to send your free alerts around your dream client’s content. This is the fastest way to get back to them. Otherwise, create a recipe using IFTTT to trigger alerts related to your dream client. Use keywords, which are used by your target customer and then add a question mark so they automatically send you the inquiry. This is the fastest way to respond to your dream clients in real time.
B. The Problem
Everyone you serve has one problem or another and how you solve the problem using your social channels is everything. This is the best way to build rapport with your prospects and your clients. The prospects will see how you are building rapport with your clients in real time. This gives your company a chance to build the brand and show how it serves others without even selling. It is important for business owners to take every opportunity they can when it comes to learning more about their customer’s problem.
Best Practice: The best way to reach out to your dream client or customer is through forums and question-and-answer sites. Look at the types of questions they are asking and see what their biggest struggle is. Once you find out what the biggest struggle is, then transform it into the perfect solution. Your business is essentially “the lifesaver” for the prospect. I always use FoundersDating.com to search for different issues my clients are having and I solve them right there in real time.
C. The Learning Curve
Who is your dream client? Have you followed them on Twitter, Facebook, and all the other platforms? By following your dream client, you can then create content based on what they prefer reading and your insights. If they have any questions then answer them in a blog post stating the question as a headline. Then share it with them and show them that you have a lot of value to bring. Most of the time business owners will not speak to you unless you can bring value to the table. What will you do to help your dream client navigate the buying journey? Map it out using Lucid Chart.
Best Practice: I always map out a strategy using my tools to create solutions for my dream clients. What are the tools used for? How will you integrate them into the current sales process? The most important question you should be asking yourself is, which metric will you use? Focus on the metric that brings in the dollars. Forget about all the other metrics; they are not relevant. What is the point of having a lot of clicks to your site, if no one is reading your articles or buying your product?
D. The Touch
You are a real person representing your brand on all these different social networks. How will you display this to your dream client? It is important to create, curate and share content that builds rapport and trust. I am not saying to share content that is all about you, but I am saying to establish rapport with the client through establishing your brand and exposing your target to your style. What is your style? On a side note, if you hide behind your tweets and your posts then you are not social selling.
Best Practice: Use the combination of virtual and offline meetings to prove to the client that you are human. The more real-time you are with your activity the faster you will build your rapport. For example, if someone tweets you and you tweet them back two weeks later, they won’t return.
Social selling is used to nurture, listen and build a personal brand with your products or services. Most of the time these strategies do not work because people are not prospecting enough, they are barely selling, or the opportunities are just not emerging. Don’t give up — it is all about the value you deliver!
About Your Columnist
Sweta Patel is a featured columnist for Women Taking Charge, the official blog of Connected Women of Influence, where she covers everything about social media and lead generation online. Sweta is a San Diego-based marketing entrepreneur whose company is Global Marketing Tactics.