Practice Makes Profit: The 6 P’s of Social Selling
Social Selling is a new buzzword that’s being tossed around a lot but many aren’t really sure what it is. At its core, Social Selling is your ability to network successfully by leveraging Social Media channels to connect and develop referrals and leads.
It’s a fact that word-of-mouth sales are highly profitable, close faster and have the highest win rate when it comes to customer experience. Building and maintaining a network using Social Media is your best chance to leverage word-of-mouth.
Some sales professionals already got the memo and are launching their own network with their personal brand. Many however, are being held back by either their own fear and apprehension or their bosses’.
Some businesses have even gone so far as to limit salespeople’s time on Social Media, mistakenly perceiving it as a playground.
Restricting access to Social Media for salespeople is like unplugging the phone and turning off email. This is how we communicate today. It’s how consumers prefer to communicate. If your customer is online and your products are online, why aren’t your salespeople online?
If you’re ready to jump into Social selling but don’t really know where to start, I’ve compiled a list of 6 Social Selling tips that lay the ground work for you. It’s not easy but anything worthwhile never is. Start here to build strong relationships with those in your sphere of influence.
Passion (is contagious)
“If you don’t live it, it won’t come out your horn.” ~Charlie Parker
What are you passionate about? Make a list of at least 5 things that make you excited to jump out of bed in the morning. It might be your job. If so, break down what it is about your job that you love. It might be parenting, or golfing, or running, animal causes or 80′s music. Clearly define what you’re passionate about because you’ll need it for inspired Social Selling. Your passions are what connect you with others. When you’re passionate about what you do, it’s contagious.
People
Connect with people who share your passions. If you golf, you may have a group at the club. If you’re into food, you may have reviews on Yelp that get liked and commented on. If you’re already building your network, you probably belong to groups on Facebook or Linkedin that share your passions. Your network is your net worth and networks are people. If you’re starting from scratch, start building your network. Seek out those you want to know and meet. Who in your network knows them? Leverage your real-life relationships too. When you can get them to connect with you on Social Media, you’re constructing a valuable asset from which to cultivate referrals.
Provide Value
“The right kind of leverage in a relationship allows you to extract value over time. How does one acquire that kind of leverage? Be the first person in the relationship to provide value.” ~ Gary Vaynerchuk
Provide value by being the first person to answer your prospects’ questions. Become even more of a Social Selling rockstar by answering those questions people don’t know they don’t know. You can first start with Facebook posts or tweets or Google+. Then graduate to a full-blown blog where you’ll get noticed by search engines, thereby building even more credibility and value around your personal brand.
Perseverance
I won’t sugar coat this: building relationships online takes hard work and perseverance. You’re going to have a lot of false starts and that’s a good thing! Every move you make will take you to where you want to go.
Patience
The old days of having someone buy from you without any prior research are over. The time is now to start building and leveraging your network. Sure there are those that have gone before you but there are many who are lagging. Take action now. Commit to the work, have patience, be diligent and you’ll succeed.
Progress
Once you jump into Social Selling, you’ll want to set some goals for yourself. When you track your progress it helps keep you motivated to move forward. Use these metrics:
- Growth of your network. Make a plan and set objectives to consistently grow your network.
- Number of Social channels you can handle in your daily routine. You’ll want to start with the one you’re most comfortable with and make it the one where your network and prospects frequent. Once you’ve mastered that channel, move onto the next one.
- Personal Branding. Constantly reassess what your personal brand says to your network and prospects. Redefine your unique promise of value on a regular basis.
Use these 6 P’s of Social Selling to launch or enhance your own referral network. Make connections, build a valued network and enjoy a steady stream of referrals and leads. Are you ready to get started?
Author information
The post Practice Makes Profit: The 6 P’s of Social Selling appeared first on Kruse Control Inc.
