3 Ways Sales Should Be Leveraging Social Daily To Close More Deals

In this digital age of communication, it is not enough to rely on just cold calls and emails to lists. While these will generate a moderate amount of leads, for those looking to work smarter, rather than harder, communicating through social media channels is essential. To understand and really connect with your potential buyers, you have to communicate with them where they live. No, I am not suggesting you go to their house and ring their doorbell, I am talking about connecting to them where their attention and minds live- in the Social Media Sphere.

Conversations should be leveraged toward your target market, and they should be done daily to strengthen relationships. Look at the data around where your buyers live and put together strategies to engage them. These engagements should flow from online conversation to offline revenue, and each contact should be creating, strengthening, or influencing sales conversations.

Creating Conversations

To make sales through social media you must have the right conversations with the right people on a consistent basis. While you want to connect with your buyers, you want to be sure they are aligned with your products and services. You don’t want to fall into the friend zone with them, and so you need to be sure that you are developing the right conversation with the right people. Otherwise, you are just creating more friendships- not revenue.

Strengthening Conversations

It is not just enough to have a casual conversation with your prospects, you must strengthen those conversations. It’s imperative that you are focused on how you can get higher in an organization during the sales cycle leveraging social media. This is the time to figure out how to stand out and become value-focused around becoming an advocate for the buying committee during the sales process. Use social media to strengthen your sales touches with a “value” added focus versus the “ask” touch.

Influencing Conversations

It’s no secret that the easiest revenue you will ever create comes from existing customers. Social media is your vehicle to stay in front of your current customers and strengthen the relationship from the initial point of purchase to upsell. Your customer’s most valuable asset is time, so be mindful of the number of emails you are asking them to read or times you are requesting them to jump on a phone call with you.

Beginning those Conversations

In to identify the right people to begin your targeting your conversations to, here is a simple five-step process:

Step 1 — Identifying Decision Makers

If you understand the target accounts you are trying to attack, then this is an easy process to identify at least four people within an organization to start getting visible, valuable, and connected to.

The decision makers are the individuals that in most cases approve the budget for a new technology and service. In most cases, these are not the individuals that will get you to the finish line, but they are the ones who will get you across the finish line.

Step 2 — Identifying Influencers To Decision Makers

Most of the time, decision makers will not be using your products or services. They are buying your products or services to improve their employees' experience and efficiency, which will help the bottom line. If you don’t convince the users-You are dead upon arrival.

Now, the other influencers that play a heavy role are the advisors to decision makers. These are very smart people they depend on to help them make decisions based on their expertise. Avoid leaving them out, especially on big ticket deals. Often, they will have the most influence on a buying decision when it comes down to pulling the trigger.

Step 3 — Qualifying In/Qualifying Out Social vs Traditional

At this point you have identified four people within the organization you should be visible, valuable and connected with. Now, it is time to qualify in and out who we can use social channels with to start the engagement process leading with ‘value’ versus an ‘ask’.

Step 4 — Save As A Lead/Add To A Private Twitter List

Create segmented lists inside social media channels such as Twitter and LinkedIn so that you can effectively and efficiently start creating those strengthening and influencing conversations.

Step 5 — Create Engagement Strategy Using Personalization, Commonality, and Value

This step is the hardest part for most salespeople when it relates to social selling. You must spend time using insights, patience, and engagement. This is the only effective way you can get visible, valuable, and connected to your buyers. Always lead with ‘value’ rather than the ‘ask’.

Social media is your vehicle to influencing conversation with your current customers by staying in front of them with valuable content that will help them both personally and professionally. You have to look at them as an extension of you, and social media allows you to do that by helping advocate for them. Your customer should always know that you are their number one fan without hearing their phone ring or seeing their email light up. Let them know you are always paying attention- this is the key to long-term customers.