Is Social Media a Complete Waste of Time?

How many ACTUAL top sellers do you know that are always on social media. Think hard: the number one seller on your team now or you've ever met in your career. Did you notice them on social?

I am genuinely curious to conduct an empirical thought experiment because if you're really busy on social media, are you genuinely connecting?

One sales leader I corresponded with was doing 4 on-site meetings in FinTech at the height of his career. No joke! Suffice is to say, he wasn't tweeting - he was closing.

Do you feel personally reached out to when strangers ping you on social media?

I honestly think it's fairly controversial to say this but if you believe in science you shouldn't multitask at all. Efficient multi-tasking is a myth. The brain cannot. It's proven. I've never seen anyone do it effectively. You might as well do one thing correctly and move on to the next rather than try to do two things poorly and have to do them again.

Social media takes your brain off your failures as you're judging other people. Be willing to get uncomfortable and live in your own life. I bet you'll change it for the better really quickly once you embrace reality.

The ability to be checked out is a real detriment to work ethic. Your life isn't virtual. It is all happening right now all around you. Carpe diem even seize this moment.

If you're spending the entire day on social networks, you're just not selling. Develop normal, old fashioned social skills and interact with people. Remember, not everyone wants to be researched profusely as it can be off-putting and creepy.

If you absolutely have no need for a yacht, will getting a referral from your college buddy and realizing this seller researched your entire family tree, really sway you? No compelling event, no trigger, no need - zero latent pain to be developed.

Caveat emptor: To safely use the LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook platforms (which make a bazillion dollars serving ads to you) here are some tips for your mental health:

1. It's not necessarily helpful to be on social networks while at work. It's a panacea or way for your brain to check out. You're being paid to work, not socialize. If you were paying yourself, would you be happy with the lackadaisical way you're spending your billable hours. If your laptop screen was being broadcast in Times Square, what would you click on then? I would even argue some flagrant uses of social media at work are blatant time theft!
2. The argument for using these platforms during your day is a not-so-elaborate ruse and may not add value. The world functioned fine if not better before they existed. To frame how crazy this argument is, imagine if I encouraged you to watch 40 concurrent sports games while doing discovery calls.
3. Imagine how many successful, real-world touches you could be making to a list of high-value prospects if you turned everything off including your computer itself. You need to be focused on what you're doing. There's a rhythm to get in the zone, a positive inertia that builds with a single activity. It's called "flow" in positive psychology.
4. Effectively setting 1-3 qualified appointments with high-value prospects is more potent than a week of getting top executives to add you and like your content. Because it's actionable. (Typically, it's their executive assistant just powering their LinkedIn anyway, btw.) Why? CEOs are not on social media. They're doing business deals right now which is why you can't get a hold of them.
5. Think of this like working out. If you're lifting a ton of weights and then eat a piece of cake, you're going to stumble on the next rep. Social media is the Twinkie of life. You know you need to do the heavy lifting. If you delude yourself, you're not going to be successful.

After hours, go do whatever you want. What happens in Vegas, ironically now lives on forever in social media but I digress. It's probably healthier to allow your brain to relax. Are you allowing yourself to generally reset or are you half doing your life. Get some sleep. Practice self-care. Wouldn't it be better to go 100% and then have a hobby versus half do your life every waking hour of your day? I would personally rather interact with someone that is fully present.

In my book, the cornerstone in the center of my RSVP methodology is, "be fully there." I'll admit, as a bestselling author and international speaker, I fall prey to these truths as much as I make a violent exception.

If you are a rep reading this, maximize what Jeb Blount calls "The Golden Hours." Spend as much time possible proactively touching qualified prospects that you can during the actual business day. Prioritize the phone over any other channel because you're going to resist it the most. You're human and don't want to be rejected. It's more fun to click on the cats with snorkles. 

If you're a manager reading this, get out from behind the spreadsheet jockey saddle, and get out into the field doing deal reviews, get in the air to visit with clients and coach your people before and after key meetings so they can become better.

We live in strange days and times where multi-tasking has reached epidemic proportions. Sales floors have become as quiet as churches and public libraries.

So what should you do instead? Dead simple: Ask your boss, what you actually should be doing. Furiously protect your revenue generating activities and selling time. Then go and actually sell. Make lists in off hours. Hit those lists when you're in the field. Do what you fear the most and hate doing the most, first thing in the AM.

I'd be genuinely curious what people would discover if they took a moment to ask their boss what they actually want them to do.

By doing the "one thing" you'll hit double or triple outcomes. 25 calls turns to 50 turns to 75. Never reaching prospects turns into multiple appointments set.

You're going to call me a hypocrite for this post (if you even read this far into it) but when you go back and read all my work you'll notice I never talk about social selling. It's a misnomer. I coined a new term called "strategic social selling" which combines old world strategic selling paradigms with new world, new media investigation.

If you want the golden goose, turn all this stuff off during the actual business day.

Consistency, persistency (yes, this is a word in sales), and work ethic are not to be confused with massive amounts of social media. Those I coach want to eat candy all day, never brush their teeth and haven't the foggiest why their teeth keep falling out. Catch my drift?

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action." - Peter Drucker

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' button and also share via your Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook social media platforms. I encourage you to join the conversation or ask questions so feel free to add a comment on this post. Please follow my LinkedIn post page for all my articles and visit me at www.tonyhughes.com.au if you are looking for a keynote speaker go to www.RSVPselling.com for sales methodologies that generate pipeline and manage complex opportunities. Flickr Twinkies: Mike Mozart