Social-Selling
Social Selling is a methodology that allows you to put an end to the cold door since it makes it possible to reach contacts that, previously and with the traditional search, were not possible.
Today you can be more effective through social networks. “It is not just a method to sell,” according to Esmeralda Diaz-Aroca, a specialist in Social Selling and Personal Branding.
“Carrying out a good Social Selling methodology will help you enhance your personal brand, have greater visibility and reach, more contact opportunities, more leads and, ultimately, better results. He notes that “Social Selling is the methodology that allows contacts to become leads.”
How To Implement A Social Selling Plan
- Make a list of sales objectives: Social Selling is a long-distance race, do not expect results and large profits in the short term. You must be patient, constant and be well-focused on what you are looking for. The results are long-term, but your radius of possibilities is greater as well.
- Grow your network of contacts: Building and maintaining relationships of trust will help you increase your sales. Design a useful content strategy that reflects your expertise and generate content that interests your contacts. It is important that you are clear about what you want to talk about and also who you want to recommend through your publications. It’s not just content curation. It is important that you create information of interest that is related to the interests of your potential customers.
- Use active listening tools: It is essential that your clients feel that there is empathy, that there is active communication in response to the requests or questions that they ask you. It is not sending unidirectional messages. You must listen to your potential client, prioritizing the information that will generate value. If you want them to follow you and be interested in you, you must anticipate their interests and this can only be achieved through the information that you collect from each one as well as the monitoring of the activity they carry out.
- Offer customer service on your social networks: Today, there are more users who contact through social networks to request something clarify doubts and it is essential that you are aware of their needs and can respond in time. It is useless to have built a platform and an effective content strategy if, when contacted by your potential clients, you are slow to respond. The intention cools; they lose interest and will end up looking for another provider that offers something similar. And this is not only for sale, but where you should pay close attention is to the after-sales service. An unattended and dissatisfied customer can create a bad reputation for you. Do not forget that he can also have many contacts on his social networks and if he speaks badly about you, he can close doors on you.
- Transform your existing customers into brand prescribers: This is achieving customer loyalty with the service or product you offer. It consists of getting that client to consume it again; that every time they need that product or service, they come back to you convinced that you are the best option. This in turn, will make them recommend you to their contacts, generating greater sales possibilities for you. The process to achieve this is slow and can be complex, but, like everything else, if you achieve it, it will bring benefits to your brand/company in the long term.
- It adds value: It is useless for you to be on LinkedIn or any other network if you are not present or your comment does not generate interest in your contacts. Your value consists of “falling in love, attracting” your clients by offering them valuable information.
- Personalize the message: You must take advantage of the communication platforms properly and personalize the message through the segmentation you have of each user. None of us like to feel that we receive information about something that we have not requested, that is not related to our interests, and that it seems that the content that reaches you is spam. As clients, we like to feel that the experience is unique. That is why it is important that you define a clear and adequate message. They are small details that weigh a lot in the mind of your client.
- Identify which platform or social media your client is on: To achieve positive results with your potential clients, you must be aware of the social networks they occupy and the comments they post. Remember that I commented that it is very important to create empathy between you.
- Properly occupy LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram: Among the RRSS, these are very effective because you can communicate your brand very well, your professional profile. If you want to follow the activities that your prospects do, you must activate the notifications to find out when they publish them. Your own target client will show you the path you should follow to approach at the right time and build a relationship. It requires time and dedication. You will be able to generate a better relationship and open doors for yourself. To achieve positive results with your potential customers, you must be aware of the social networks they occupy and the comments they post.
- Start creating a process of trust with customers: To achieve positive results with your potential customers, you must be aware of the social networks they use and the comments they post.
- Build a positive image and perception of your brand: Personal branding is the first pillar of Social Selling. The same thing happens in the real world: imagine that you have an interview with a lawyer and you meet someone with a scruffy appearance, disorganized with a poor, unstructured speech, that you do not know very well what legal specialty he really has. Would it give you confidence? I’m sure not. This is the same in the digital world. If your digital presence is not adequate, rest assured that what you will broadcast will not be good. Díaz-Aroca has a maxim: “The force perceived is the force transmitted.”
- Exchange information with your customers, generate interaction but do not invade: To connect with other people in your industry, it is very important that you take this as a daily activity so that you can be aware of what your contacts share and thus be able to get closer to them. Interaction is the way to take advantage of contacts, and it is worth nothing to have a great list if you do not take advantage of social networks to generate closeness.
- Make yourself known as an expert in your sector: To do this, you must clearly indicate in your RRSS and/or website profiles exactly what you do and what benefits you will bring to the people or companies that hire you. The ideal way to transfer your expertise is to generate content through a good blog, where you publish weekly articles always related to your professional expertise. You can also make use of Video and podcasts.
- Put technology to work for you; use tools for the automatic dissemination of content: Through different platforms, you can automate many tasks as part of the Social Selling strategy. Learning how to use these tools will save you time and money.
The Social Selling methodology is becoming more important every day in the strategies and actions carried out by sales professionals in their prospecting actions.