Social selling has become a buzzword in the arena of marketing in recent times.
The reason for this can be attributed to the evolving buyer’s journey in the digital era.
The impact of social selling can be understood from the fact that social sellers attract 45 percent more opportunities than their peers. (Source: LinkedIn).
It comes as no surprise that more and more marketers are adopting social selling in their organizations so as to achieve success.
Innovation in marketing strategies is the key to success in this highly competitive marketplace. It is imperative that an organization adopts new tactics to stay ahead. It is vital that your sales teams are updated with the latest technology and are digitally savvy. They should be trained to use the latest tools and techniques so as to connect with buyers and delight them.
Social selling is essentially connecting with prospects through social channels that they are active on and marketing your product/service. The reason that social selling has become relevant in recent times is that the buyers undertake online research about a product/service prior to making a buying decision. They do not prefer the advice of pushy salesmen. They take efforts to get an understanding of the product/service and compare it with various providers before they take a decision.
This does not mean that sales personnel do not have a role to play. The role of salespersons comes in when the buyer is at the research stage. He or she will look at his peers and the companies providing the product to resolve his queries.
It is here that social selling steps in.
The seller needs to connect with the buyers through the social channels to resolve their queries and establish a connection with him.
Social selling simplifies prospecting
One of the toughest jobs for sales personnel is prospecting. In a survey, more than 40 percent of sales personnel identified prospecting as the toughest part of selling.
Social selling helps enhance your success in this area.
When you use a method such as cold calling for prospecting, you try to connect with a large number of prospects with the hope that some of them will be qualified leads.
But, when you use social selling, the buyer reveals so much data on the social network that you can easily identify the qualified leads and connect with them. This not only saves your time and efforts but also helps you delight the prospect as you can connect with him at the time of his need.
Identify sales opportunities
People share a lot of information on social channels these days. An adept marketer will be able to identify the specific data that can be used to tap potential buyers. The seller needs to be a keen listener. He or she needs to be alert to the needs of his buyers on social channels and connect with them at the right time.
These skills can be developed in the sales personnel with the help of a social selling training program.
Strike relevant conversation with buyers
The conversation that most sellers have with their buyers usually revolves around promoting and trying to sell their products/services.
However, these techniques fail to delight the buyers in the present times because buyers would prefer to take decisions on their own without any influencing factors.
So what should sellers do?
We are living in the information-age where data-based decisions are taken. So the role of marketers is to provide relevant data to the buyers.
A social selling training program equips sellers to strike an interesting conversation with prospects by providing them all the information they need. This helps engage the prospect and could lead to conversions. Sellers can provide data through content they publish on social channels.
Equipping the team with technology
Social selling is done using certain tools. It is necessary to train the team regarding the effective usage of tools and relevant technologies. This will enable them to implement social selling tactics effectively.
Social selling training is an ongoing process
In a dynamic marketplace, social selling is an ongoing process whereby the teams need to be updated with new skills as the market evolves alongside consumer behavior.
Therefore, an organization needs to ensure that the teams are aware of the market conditions in which they are operating and leverage the appropriate strategies for maximum returns.
Social selling maximizes revenues
In the current market scenario, social selling is of the most effective ways of prospecting, marketing, and closing deals. It enables the sales team to delight the potential buyers in the minimal time while minimizing efforts. This focused marketing approach increases revenues.
“Half of the revenue is influenced by social selling in 14 common industries such as computer software, healthcare, and many more.”
LinkedIn
In conclusion
In an era where social media is a predominant factor, it is essential for sales teams to leverage social media channels effectively and implement social selling effectively in order to surge ahead of the competition.
Social selling empowers you to find leads, educate and nurture them, and build long-term relationships with them.
This guest blog article was written by George Albert from Sales for Life. He is passionate about presenting articles on latest trends in sales in marketing. His experience of more than 20 years in the field helps him present articles that provide the necessary information to marketers to help them grow. He is associated with numerous organizations globally in guiding them on how to build their business strategies. Sales for Life is an organization that focuses on the latest trends in marketing and helps organizations implement them.