Social Selling: 5 Keys to Sales Success

If in-person meetings, networking events, conferences or trade shows were your go-to places to find new leads and develop relationships, don’t despair, experts agree those will be returning in the back half of the year. 

Meanwhile, there’s business to be earned and customers out there waiting to find you now. Virtual networking, educational speeches for marketing, referrals and social media work incredibly well to help you generate and nurture leads.

No matter what happens in the future, the new virtual world of communication is here to stay. Embrace it in your sales and marketing plans now, and you’re on your way to better serving customers and massively monetizing your business.

When it comes to social selling, there are so many media options to choose from that it can be confusing where to focus and how to determine the best strategy for making it work.

Here are the Five Keys to Sales Success using Social Media 

Key 1: Identify your Ideal Customer. Determine all the characteristics of your ideal customers (hint: your target market is not “everyone”). Ask yourself these questions: what are their challenges, what’s the outcome they’re looking for, and how can I help them achieve those results? Do they have money to invest in solving this problem? Do they have the interest and desire to change? What level of access and credibility do you have with decision makers and influencers? What’s your juice factor to work with this market?

Key 2: Send the right message. Focus on the sales and marketing activities that address the answers to these questions so you can make a bigger impact. Post valuable, meaningful, and educational information that helps your target market, and not automated memes or daily quotes just to post something to get views. Only invest your time doing things that make the biggest difference.

Key 3: Find the right platform. Don’t get caught in the trap of trying to maximize every hot social media platform on the planet. Research the demographics and culture of the biggest social media platforms and determine which one is the best fit for your business. Identify the strategies working for your industry and concentrate on learning all you can about that one platform (or maybe two).

If you want to have a presence on more than that, then hire a social media assistant to support you, but you still keep your attention on the main platforms. If your target market is business professionals or those working in the corporate market, then hands down, that means LinkedIn. It’s the only social media platform designed for businesses.

Key 4: Be persistent. There is plenty of business out there right now, your job is to reach enough of your ideal prospects with the right marketing message and the right amount of frequency. Don’t dip your toe in the water and then go find another swimming pool… that’s not going to work with anything you do. When you’ve done your homework and found where your people are spending their time, then keep with it. It takes time to reach people when they’re ready to buy, it takes time to close high-end deals. The selling cycle can be anywhere from 3 months to 18 months for big dollar deals, but it’s worth the effort when you close a 6-figure or 7-figure deal that keeps coming back every year.

Key 5: Develop a strategic game plan. If you don’t have a written game plan, then write one. It will be a game changer for your business. Review it every month, every quarter and at the end of the year. You’ll be amazing at how effectively you planned your future. It’s also a demonstration of how committed you are to growing your business. If you have no idea where to get started or how to create an annual sales strategy, connect with me. I’ll show you how to get my tools that you can implement immediately.

Things are changing very quickly. This could be a record-breaking year for you! Don’t let another minute go by without a solid plan and actions to work the plan. Reach the right people, with the right message, in the right platform with persistency and you’ll have sales success.

 Wishing you massive success!

Jennifer

If you’re ready to take your business to the next level of sales, marketing and leadership, click this link to schedule a discovery session. We’ll look at what challenges you’re facing and I’ll let you know if I see that you have a business you can grow virtually. I also let you know if I can help you do that (or not). Schedule now.

About the Author:

Jennifer Darling is a revenue-generating machine and in-demand keynote speaker, she led her teams to record-breaking results in sales. During the recession, her team posted a +40% swing in the national average in advertising sales and made more money than ever before (she even helped her boss earn his bonus to buy a new Audi, yay him).

Jennifer knows what works to turn frigid calls into smokin’ hot prospects. She is loaded with ideas that break through the traditional molds and create innovative solutions to stand out.

Jennifer is one of the world’s foremost LinkedIn experts, and the ONLY one who has 20+ years of advertising and sales experience. Jennifer has trained thousands of salespeople and business professionals to optimize and maximize their LinkedIn results. She is the author of Increase Your Sales Leads with LinkedIn: 52 Tips for Sales Success.