Why Social Selling is Neither "Social" Nor "Selling" to Most People

What's your definition of social selling? Ask 100 people and you'll get 100 different answers.

When I hear people say "social selling," I want to choke because of how I see people defining and then doing "social selling."

Too many salespeople are trying to turn social selling into something it's not as a way to practice "pseudo selling." People are embracing it because it's a shiny object they feel won't require them to talk to anyone. They believe all they have to do is spend all day on social media and presto, business will appear.

Are you choking yet?

I've seen way too many stupid postings on social media sites. I've also received far too many lame messages about how they want to sell me something I would have zero interest in.

Social selling is not posting some stupid article about how wonderful your company is and the great accolades you've received and then thinking I'm going to be impressed.  I also don't want to receive one more message saying how you've discovered the secret sauce to solve the world's problems and you want to sell it to me at a great introductory price.  That's not social selling; it's social stupidity!

Let's quit thinking the game is to see how many followers you can have or the number of views your past post got. Last time I noticed, my bank does not allow me to deposit clicks, likes, re-tweets and other assorted social media measurements. My bank only takes money! I can't eat "clicks" or "likes."

If you showed up at a party and were meeting people for the first time, would you suddenly start selling them? Would you burst into a 5-minute rant about how wonderful you are?  If you did, it would be the last party you'd be invited to.  This is exactly what far too many people are doing under the disguise of "social selling."

#SocialSelling without social interaction is social stupidity - Go ahead and tweet that, but more importantly, think about what it means.  If you tweeted it, you just fell victim to throwing out "stuff," thinking a winning lottery ticket will fall from the sky.  OK, I'm getting on a tangent, but it's time to clear the air.

Social selling is about creating one-to-one conversations. That's it. No expectations of world peace or puppy dogs for everyone.

Social selling is about doing one thing: allowing you to build your network in an intelligent manner to allow you to have one-to-one conversations.  We need to see social media sites as nothing more than the telephone in a different format.

Yes, I put content out on social media sites. This article is a good example. I share content, comment on other content and interact with people to help create awareness and build my knowledge base.

Through this process, I develop one-to-one relationships preferably on the telephone.   There is no magic about the process, but the number of people I've met via social media sites and with whom I have developed quality relationships and done business is huge.  The key is one-to-one and understanding. It's not about you, but rather it's about helping the other person.

If you're in sales and your social media strategy is not built around creating one-to-one conversations, then you're not in sales. You're in advertising.

Sales is not about chasing shiny objects and following fads.  Sales is about creating one-to-one relationships that allow you to help customers see and achieve an outcome they didn't think was possible.

Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.

Mark Hunter, your next keynote speaker: 

Mark Hunter, CSP, “The Sales Hunter” is recognized globally as one of the top sales speakers, known for his challenging insights, high-energy, and passion to create change that he delivers each time he speaks, whether it be a sales kick-off meeting, corporate function or association event. Mark Hunter is the author of the best selling book, High-Profit Prospecting. Here’s what others are saying:

Mark presented "Accelerate Your Sales Prospecting" at the February 2015 Institute for Excellence in Sales program in Northern Virginia. He nailed it and gave the 150 selling professionals and business owners in attendance amazing tips, strategies and tactics they could implement that day. The sales leaders at our program universally acknowledged Mark as one of the top speakers we've ever had.

• Fred Diamond, Executive Director, IES Washington DC

At our annual company sales meeting we' ve never seen a speaker work so hard, with advance preparation, with such genuine style of delivery, and with such hunger for results. If you weren't on the edge of your seat....you were in a coma. Period! 

• Mark Allen, Regional Manager, Marlin Companies

Mark’s strategies are innovative, easy to follow and easy to use in the "real world." He customized his strategies to directly speak to the issues and challenges facing our unique business, and he helped us encompass specific selling examples. This training was very applicable to our sales staff, both at a senior and junior level, as it reinforced important sales techniques.”

• Danielle Pakradooni, Blue Man Group

Copyright 2017, Mark Hunter "The Sales Hunter." Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.

Just announced... I'm joining best-selling authors, Jeb Blount, Mike Weinberg, Anthony Iannarino, in an on-line fast-paced discussion on how to build your sales pipeline effectively at the Virtual Sales Kickoff 2017