Why You Should Care About Social Selling

Social selling is becoming one of the top ways for salespeople that sell in the new normal to attract the right prospects and sell more. While not every sales team has social selling in its sales playbook today, that may change tomorrow, especially with the proper guidance.

If you’re not familiar with social selling, you’re not alone. Social selling is all about leveraging the connections you have on your social networks to build sales opportunities. Simply put, it’s a sales approach where salespeople use social media platforms to search for and engage with prospects.

When used correctly, social selling is a practical sales approach. Nearly 80 percent of social sellers outsell peers who don’t use social media. Unlike typical salespeople, social sellers proactively engage with their communities on an ongoing basis.

But not all engagement is constructive, and successful social sellers understand that and more.

Are you spamming your connections or presenting solutions to them?

At the end of the day, nobody likes to be sold to. While many of us use social networks to review products and services we’re considering, we don’t necessarily want an intrusive experience, even when we have questions.

Instead of spamming your connections with sales pitches, deliver content that provides value. Are you providing your thoughts on trending industry topics? Are you sharing insightful posts? When you give value to your connections, you better position yourself as a thought leader in your industry — and thought leadership is powerful.

If you give more than you take, it is a lot easier for you to connect with prospects.

There’s no cold calling in social selling

Social selling removes cold calling from the equation. Before reaching out to prospects, ensure they’re familiar with you. Do they follow you and connections close to you? Do they frequently comment on what you say? Have you had conversations with them? After establishing yourself as a thought leader in your space, relationship building often becomes second nature.

Don’t expect immediate results

If you’re looking for immediate results with social selling, you’re going to be disappointed. It takes time to implement a social selling strategy properly. Social selling is an approach for salespeople to use as long as they’re committed to the long game. When applying social selling tactics correctly, salespeople nurture their social network connections over time, not overnight.

Social selling isn’t only about selling. In fact, forget the selling component. You know how to sell. Ultimately, unlike traditional sales tactics, social selling enables you to connect with prospects on a deeper level.