Did you know that 98 percent of sales people with more than 5,000 LinkedIn Connections meet or beat their sales quota? Join the social selling movement and build your own network of potential clients in just a few hours each week.
For most buyers (69 percent) the path to a purchase starts before ever contacting a seller. If you already have a connection to a potential buyer, you increase your chances of closing the deal, and social media offers you the best way to make that connection. Building a large social network doesn't just help you go after sales, it also drives passive revenue when buyers come to you. Selling today is social. You don't just wait for customers to find you; you go out and engage them.
With new communication avenues, you can be proactive about selling. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and dozens of other social media platforms make it possible for you to connect with customers without the pressure to close a deal. See how it works below.
Sander Biehn
A B2B blog can generate $47 million in new business. Sander Biehn proved it while working for AT&T. With a focused niche in mind (Atlanta Fortune 100 companies), he researched and wrote content designed to add value for his audience. Then, he went out and grabbed that audience using social media. He started with Twitter as one of the fastest ways to grow a network. LinkedIn Sales Navigator was another invaluable resource for finding the right people to connect with. After 18 months, the money was rolling in from social selling. His story clearly illustrates the need for market awareness and a targeted niche.
Jack Kosakowski
Regional sales manager for Act-On software and writer, Jack Kosakowski, says a lot about the social-selling experience. In a recent interview posted on Forbes.com, he offered a behind-the-scenes look at where social selling fits in his day. Essentially, it means at least 30 minutes every day using social platforms to build relationships. That last part is critical. Social helps build the relationship, not sell the product. Sales are an organic outgrowth of social media development.
Kevin Thomas Tully
VP of Marketing Enablement at Markistry, Tully reminds you that social selling is measurable. The goal of using social to drive selling is revenue. Track, quantify and use predictable data points to measure your success. When you do, you create a social-selling machine that has no trouble demonstrating ROI. Tully puts LinkedIn at the top of his social selling list. Its an ideal B2B platform designed to help build a large network. Once you have the network, sales grow organically.
To build a larger network, he recommends a few simple tricks:
• Use niche-specific keywords to find new connections.
• Maintain a dialogue with existing connections.
• Join groups and be active.
• Endorse people you've worked with in the past.
• Provide recommendations.
• Share excellent content.
These six tips may not seem like much, and they don't take a lot of time, but they can help build your network, quickly. Soar With Social Networking on line is really a ton of fun. Once you get started, you won’t stop and will wonder why you didn’t do this earlier. And social selling has proven success and combined with social listening helps you understand your potential customers and build relationships and more importantly trust, without even a spoken word.
