“Two roads diverged in the social media wood, and I, I took the one less traveled,” said 21.7% of salespeople.
In a recent survey of 511 predominantly B2B sales reps and executives published on A Sales Guy Consulting, approximately 22% o...
“Two roads diverged in the social media wood, and I, I took the one less traveled,” said 21.7% of salespeople.
In a recent survey of 511 predominantly B2B sales reps and executives published on A Sales Guy Consulting, approximately 22% of salespeople claimed they didn’t use social media to close deals, while an overwhelming 78.3% said they had used social media to sell.
Are you, or someone you know, part of the 22%? If so, it could be impacting your career, your business, and your paycheck. But there's good news -- there's still time to join the 78%! Allow me to try to make the case for you (and feel free to co-opt any of this if you'd like to make this case for a 22%-er yourself.)
Why Social Media’s Value Is on the Upswing
We live in a world where open communication and transparency are not just options, but near addictions. When it comes to social media, many people have fallen victim to digital exhibitionism. We post how we feel about our meals, our friends, the services we use, and our views on just about anything. With this kind of unfiltered, raw personal insight flowing constantly through the arteries of social media, now is the time for salespeople to keep their fingers, quite literally, on the pulse of the marketplace through social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
It wasn’t always like this. In the beginning of the social media era, this kind of personal data simply wasn’t around. There were less people talking, sharing, and establishing relationships over social media. It’s taken some time for the B2B market to join the social media conversation, but there’s no denying that the data overwhelmingly suggests that industries have evolved and adopted these practices. In 2013, 43% of surveyed marketers said they had found a customer through LinkedIn. Similarly, 56% of B2B marketers plan to increase their social media spend in 2013.
Now that adoption has ramped up, it’s time to respond. Not just in Marketing, but in Sales, too.
Why Should Sales Adopt a Social Media Strategy?
Because your future customers are on social media!
Remember back when businesses would advertise in the Yellow Pages? Someone might look up “Law Firm,” call for a quote for their services, and the firm would answer when people called. In the digital age, it's not so different. People "call" us in a lot of different ways -- on the phone, via our website, on email, even in search engines. And when they do, we do our best to "call" them back, whether through nurturing materials, an email, or an actual phone call.
Now answer me this. If you got a "call" through social media ... would you return it?
If your answer is anything other than of course, you might be in the 22%. For some time now, social media has been the voicemail box we just haven’t been checking. With growing adoption of social media, there are more and more messages being sent over social that you should be doing your darndest to pick up on. And if you’re not checking the messages, someone else will. 72.6% of salespeople using social media actually outperformed their colleagues not on social media. Don’t let the salesperson outperforming you be from your competitor.
(Tip: The value of social media in the sales process extends beyond just being present where leads are communicating. It has to do with the soft skills many sales professionals have already honed in-person and on the phone. Any sales professional knows it’s extremely important to develop a sense of comfort and trust early on in a relationship. Social media can be the perfect medium for engaging in those conversations that will help you better understand your lead's pain points, interests, and personality. In a world where we text before we call, the domain of sales conversations is expanding from the headset into the Twitter stream.)
What Sales Reps Could Be Doing TODAY to Leverage Social Media
So how exactly does a salesperson get involved in an effective social media strategy? The first steps are knowing