Social selling is a process and it is a means to an end. Social selling in and of itself is not the end.
It’s important to remember this.
Never think for a moment you will be able to achieve 100% of your success solely due to embracing social selling.
Below are 5 secrets you can use right not to make social selling be a means to help you get to the end:
1. Only participate in social media platforms where your customers are and where you can generate sufficient presence to be noticed.
Don’t try to be on every platform, there is simply not enough time in the day to think you can master every platform.
2. Own your own real estate!
When you rely solely on social media platforms, whether it be Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc., you are dependent on their rules. Anyone who has been around for more than a year or two knows the owners of these sites will — without letting you know — change the rules! This means the best social media platform is your own website.
3. Be consistent in a manner that search engines will value.
Thinking you can post something once a month and believe it’s all you need to do is simply not realistic.
If you’re going to be on Facebook, this means posting 5 times a week. If you’re going to be on LinkedIn, it means posting something 2-3 times per week. Your own website needs at least 2 updates per week and preferably 4. Twitter is a different animal all together and needs at least 3 – 5 tweets per day.
4. Be engaged with your audience.
Your communication must go both ways. Engage your audience, engage people who reach out to you. This is where your time is going to be spent and you need to allow anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes per day to do it.
5. Never forget your timetables are not the same as your audience.
You may want to shut things down on a weekend or during the holidays, but these periods could be when your audience is the most active. If you want social selling to be effective, you need to be there when they are.
Finally, don’t think for a moment the only thing you need is an awesome social selling process.
No, social selling is just one step in the selling process. Never forget that truth!
Social selling is a great tool to create awareness, build relationships and gain insights. All of these will in turn help you create prospects you can then turn into customers and that is the way you make your sales quota!
Copyright 2015, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
