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TheSmartGuidetoSuccessfulSocialSelling

Ahands-onguidetounderstandingsocial

sellingwithfivedetailedstepstogetting started.

OneManagement.frJanuary2016PhilippeYon

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TheSmartGuidetoSuccessfulSocialSelling

TABLE O F CONTENTS

WhatisSocialSelling?…………………………………………………………………………………………………3

FiveStepstoSocialSelling………………………………………………………………………………………..6

Step1:BuildYourListofTargets………………………………………………………………………………………7

Step2:MonitorYourTargetsforTriggerEvent……………………………………………………………..9

Step3:JumpingonaTriggerEvent…………………………………………………………………………….13

Step4:CreateaStrategyandStarttheEngagement...........................…………………………………………16

Step5:Work,Informed,toClosetheDeal........................................……………………………………………….…18

MaintainingYourSideoftheSocialSellingConversation.........................…………………………………..22

OneManagement………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..23

WHAT IS SOCIAL SELLING? Everyonesocial.comdefinessocialsellingas“theprocessofdevelopingrelationshipsaspartofthesalesprocess.”

That’strue,butsocialsellingissomuchmorethansimplydevelopingrelationships,andit’ssomuchmorethansendingcoldLinkedInorTwitterrequeststoleadsyou’venevermetbefore.

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Hubspot’sDefinitionofSocialSellingSocial selling is when salespeople use social media to interact directly with their prospects. Salespeople will provide value by answering prospect questions and offering thoughtful content until the prospect is ready to buy.

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Theessenceofsocialsellingisclosingmoredealsbyusingsocialmediaandsocial(andprofessional)networkstolearnasmuchasyoucanaboutyourleadsbeforeyoubegintheprocessofdevelopingarelationship.

Today,buyersusuallyknowmoreaboutyourcompanyandyourproductsthanyouknowaboutthem.Buyersarereadingyourcompany’sTwitterstreamtofindouthowyou’repositioned,scouringLinkedIntofindoutwhoisusingyour(andcompetitors’)products,andreadingblogstoseewhat’sbeingsaidbycustomers,competitors,andthoughtleaders.

Inotherwords,today’sbuyersarestartingthesalesprocesswithoutyou.Socialsellinghelpsyouregainyouredgewhilealsotakingadvantageofthemassiveamountofinsightsnowavailableonsocialnetworksandtheinternet.

« Nearly 61 percent of a typical purchasing decision is completed before even having

a conversation with a supplier. »- LK Consuting - 2016

INFORMATION IS EVERYWHERE

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Thisvastamountofavailableinformationletsbuyersdomostoftheirresearchbeforetheyeverneedorwanttoengagewithasalesperson.Thebuyingprocessischangingandsalespeoplearebeingforcedtoadapt.

SiriusDecisionsalsofoundthat67percentofthebuyer’sjourneyisnowcompleteddigitally.Combined,thatmeansthatthevendor—you—isn’teveninvolvedinasalesdealuntilmostofthedecisionshavealreadybeenmade.

FIVE STEPS TO SOCIAL SELLINGSocialsellingiseasy,youjustneedto

understandhowtobringitalltogether.There

arescoresoftoolsavailable,bothfreeand

paid,thatcanhelp.But,buildingyoursocial

sellingfoundationisstraightforwardandyou

candoitinafewdays.

Let’sdrilldownintoeachofthesestepsto

helpyougetstartedonyourpathtosocial

sellingsuccess.

TARGET

Identifyingtargetleads

TR I GGER

Findingtherightmoment

R E S E A R C H

Gatheringthebestinsights

ENGAGE

Rightperson,rightmessage

C LO S E

Successbuiltoninsights

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STEP 1: BUILD YOUR LIST OF TARGETS Oneofthekeyaspectsofsocialsellingistoknowyourterritoryortargetedaudience,andthenbeabletoreasonablymonitorit.Atypicalmethodforbuildingatargetlistisdemographicplusgeographicdata.Inotherwords,allofthecompaniesthatfityourtargetcustomerprofileandthatarelocatedinyourterritory.Thiscouldbeallmetalsmachiningcompanieswithover€500,000inrevenueslocatedinBerlin,orallhealthcarefacilitieswith200ormorebedslocatedwestofParis.Whateveritis,defineit.

Bymonitoringnewsandsocialmediasites,youcanfindoutwhenthesetargetsmightbeinneedofyoursolutionandwhomightbeinvolved.Thishelpsyousellmorebynarrowingyourfocustoonlythoseleadswithaneedforyouroffering.Italsosavesyoutime,whichyouprobablydon’thavemuchofanyway.Withafocusedtargetlist,you’reeliminatingasmuchwastedtimeaspossiblebeforeyouwasteit.

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KeepItManageableThenextstepistomonitoryourtargetlistfortriggerevents,soyourtargetlisthastobemanageable.Ifit’shundredsorthousandsofcompanies,you’retargetingtoowidelyforyourfirstsocialsellingendeavor.Selectafewdozentargetsasastartingpoint.Choosecompaniesthatyou’vebeenitchingtoengageorthosethatseemtohaveahighpotential.

Automate Everything Social networks are enormous and can be extremely overwhelming.

Twitter has 350millionactive users.

LinkedIn has over 440 millionglobal users.

Facebook has nearly 1.4billionusers.

And those are just three of the dozens and dozens of networks you need to monitor. That’s why it’s important to have a manageable list as you get started.

As you get started with social selling, you’ll quickly find that trying to manage it manually is going to limit your effectiveness.

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STEP 2: MONITOR YOUR TARGETS FOR TRIGGER EVENTS Triggereventsarerecent,present,orpendingactionstakenbyaprospectthatoftenraisetherelevanceandtimelinessofyourofferings.That’safancywayofsaying,“Newsthatyoucanusetowinadeal.”

Businessespurchasesomethingwhentheyhaveaneed,andthatneedisfrequentlyanidentifiableevent.Forexample,openinganewoffice(event)requiresdesksandchairs(need).Thishelpsyousellmorebyfocusingonlyonleadswhohaveacurrentneedforyoursolution.You’restartingtheconversationbyofferingasolutiontoachallengeyouknowthattheycurrentlyhave.

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SOME OTHER TRIGGER EVENTS…

…mightincludemergers,acquisitions,leadershipchanges,partnerships,financing,expansions,relocations,newproductofferings,speakingengagements,goodorbadfinancialnews,layoffs,recalls,legaltroubles,oranyothernewsthatcanhelpyousell.

Ifyou’renotgoingtobeusinganydedicatedtoolsforyourinitialsocialsellingtrial,you’llneedtorelyonservicessuchasGoogleAlertstotrackandmonitoryourtargetcompanies.It’sassimpleasenteringasearchphrase,andthenasummaryofrelatednewsisemailedtoyoueveryday.

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Asanexample,aGoogleAlertcanbecreatedtotrackeachcompanyandthekeyphrasesthatyouconsidertriggers,suchas,“Oracle,acquisition,”“Dell,newoffice,”andsoon.

You’llgetanupdateasnewsandwebcontentiscreatedthatisrelatedtothosekeywords.Itsavesyoufrommanuallyhavingtosearchallofthosecompaniesandkeywordseveryday.It’sstillabitofatimeinvestmenttoscoureachthealertseachday,butthat’swhyyoulimitedyourtargetlisttoamanageablesize.

Astimegoeson,youmayfindthatyouwanttodropsomecompaniesfromyourtargetlistandaddothersasyougetthehangofmonitoringthem.Tomonitorthetopsocialnetworks,you’llwanttoalsocreateTwitterandFacebooklists.

TocreateaTwitterlist,clickonyourprofileicon,click“Lists,”andthen“Createnewlist.”Afteryounamethelist,youcanaddtheTwitteraccountsforyour listsoftargets.BesuretocapturealloftheirmultipleTwitteraccounts,soifyou’retargetingCocacola’s@cocacola,youmightalsowanttoadd@cocacolafrand@worldofcocacola.Youshouldalsofollowkeyindividualsatyourtargets,liketheVPofmanufacturing,ifthatwouldbeyourkeydecisionmaker.

You’relookingtosavetimeaswellasfindtriggers,sinceyourTwitterlistconsolidatesthesocialfeedsofyourtargetssothatyoucanquicklyandeasilyscantheirupdatesfortriggers.

AcorporateFacebookPageisoneofthemostusedonlinesitesforpublicannouncements.Ifacompanyisactiveonsocialmedia,youwillnotfinda richersourceofinformationthantheirFacebookPage.

TocreateaFacebooklistisabitmoreconvoluted.You’llneedtosearchforand“like”thecompanypagesforeachofyourtargets,andthensavethemtoan“interestlist.”Onceyou’velikedapage,clickthe“Liked”button’sdropdowniconandselect“Newlist”tocreateyourfirstlist.Onceyoucreateanewlist,onsubsequent“likes,”youcanaddthecompanypagedirectlytothelist.

C R E A T I N G GOOGLE ALERTS

C R E A T I N G TWITTER L I STS

C R E A T I N G FACEBOOK L I STS

NOW THE MONITORING BEGINS

Onceyourlistshavebeencreated,it’smonitoringtime.Asyoureceivealertsforeventslikeleadershipchanges,mergersandacquisitions,funding,orproductlaunches,you’llstarttonoticethosethatarerelevanttoyourbusiness.RatherthanscouringtheInternetonadailybasislookingfornewsandupdates,theseservicesmakeiteasiertotrackyourtargets’activities.

Yes,itmaytakeseveralhourstosettheseup,anditmaketakeanhourormoreeachdaytomonitorallofthesefeeds,butit’stimewellspent.Andit’sfree.Andit’smuchfasterandmoreefficienttosetuptheseservicesonceandoccasionallytweakthemthanitistosearchGoogle allday,everyday,lookingforthatneedleinahaystackofinformation.

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STEP 3: JUMPING ON A TRIGGER EVENT Onceyounoticeatrigger,youshouldstartengagingsocially,butlightly.You’restillresearchingandplanningyourengagement,butdon’twastetime.Ontheotherhand,don’tpickupthephoneandsay,“Heyguesswhat?Iknowwhatyou’redoingrightnow!”Instead,sharetheinformationonTwitterorLinkedInandmentionthecompanyorcontact.Becomeablipontheirradar.Thisisthebeginningofyourengagementandit’sallbasedonthecontextofthetriggerevent.

Yourjobnowistofindaccurate,uptodate,relevantinformationonthecompany,theirmarket,andthekeycontacts.Therearebusinessinformationservicesavailablethatcangiveyoucompanynewsandinformation,butthat’sjustscratchingthesurface.Thishelpsyousellmorebecauseyou’rediggingintothesocialandprofessionalnetworksofcompaniesandcontacts,andthenfindingoutwhat’simportantandwhatisn’tgoingtowastethebuyer’s time.

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Asingleattemptatengagementisnotgoingtoamounttoanything99percentofthetime.Thetrickistobeconstantlyengagedandbuildarelationship.IfyoureceivearesponsefromacongratulatorytweetorconnectiononLinkedIn,continuetofostertherelationshipinsteadofjumpingrighttoyoursales pitch.

Asyoucontinuetoengageandbuildrelationships,you’llstarttogainanincredibleamountofknowledgeabouttheircompany,industry,structure,andculture.Youalsobegintogaintrustandrapportwiththecompanyandyourprospects.Therelationshipsandknowledgeyougainwillbecomeextremelyvaluablewhensettingupinitialmeetings.

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Whateveryourtriggerevent,you’llneedtostarthoninginonthekeyplayers.Sure,thevicepresidentofmarketingmightbetheonementionedinthenews,butabetterengagementpointmightbeoneofher directreports,ormaybeyoumighthaveawarmconnectionwithanotherexecutive.You’reinscanningmodenow,lookingforyourentrypoints.

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Onceyoufindthepotentialdecisionmakers,youreffortsdon’tendthere.Socialsellingallowsyoutoidentifytherightprospectrole.Noteveryexecutiveisadecisionmaker,andnoteverydecisionmakercontrolsthebudget.Untilyouunderstandtheorganizationalfactorsthatdriveyourprospect’spurchasedecision,youcanspendalotoftimejustfindingtherightear.

Payattentiontowhatemployeesofthetargetaresayingonsocialmedia.FollowthemonTwitter,lookattheir

LinkedInandFacebookprofiles,andgooglethemtoseeifthey’vewrittenarticlesorblogposts.Trytostayfocused,butcastyournetwideenoughtocaptureanyindividualswhomightinfluencethebuyingdecision.Whenpracticingsocialsellingandidentifyingcontacts,itisbesttonarrowdownyoursearchresultstothosethathavesocialnetworkaccounts.Whenyoueventuallystarttoengage,you’llwanttohavechannelsoutsideofphoneandemail.

Whylookatsomanypotentialcontacts?AccordingtoaresearchstudypresentedbytheauthorsofSelling totheC-Suite,arecommendationfromsomeoneinsideanorganizationwill“usually-to-always”secureameeting,whileevenacrediblereferralfromoutsidethecompanyonlyworks42percentofthetime.Aninternalreferralistwiceaseffective!

IDENTIFY THE DECISION MAKERS AND ENGAGEMENT POINTS

STEP 4: CREATE A STRATEGY AND START THE ENGAGEMENT Nowit’stimetostartengaging.Putyourselfontheirradarviathecontextthey’vecreated.Imaginehoweasyaphonecalloremailwillbeiftherecipientisabletoputanameandafacetogether.EngagingwithaprospectonTwitterisagreatwaytobuildarelationshipandwarmupthosecoldcalls.

You’retakingstepstobuildarelationshipbeforeyoustartpitchingtothem.Thishelpsyousellmorebecauseyou’reconnectingwithrelevanceandopeningwithasolutiontotheirspecificproblem.You’reimmediatelydrillingdownintothedetailsoftheirchallengeandaskingthequestionsthattheyneverthoughtoforthequestionsthathelpyouclosethedeal.

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Agoodpracticeistoignoreallofthedirect(andusual)linesofcontact(phone,email),andtryengagingwithsomeofthecontactsviasocialmedia.Didyouknowthat92percentofexecutivesdon’trespondtogenericemailblastsandcoldcalls?That’snearlyallofthem.Usesocialsellingtobethesalespersonwhogetsaresponsemostofthetime.

Starttweeting,commentingontheirblogpostsorarticles,congratulatingthemforrecentsuccesses,oraskingquestions.Thisishowsocialsellingworks.Itinvolvestime,effort,andmostofall,agreatdealofpractice.Herearesomeotherwaysyoumightwanttoengagewithacontactoversocialmedia:

• Doyouadmiretheircompany?Peoplelovepraise!

• AreyouconnectedonFacebookorLinkedIn,ordoyoufollowthesamepeopleonTwitter?

• Congratulatethemonrecentcorporatesuccesses.

• Askanindustryquestion.Peoplelovetofeelsmart!

• Aretheyspeakingatorattendinganupcomingevent?Askthemaboutit.

• Didyougotothesamecollege?

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STEP 5: WORK, GET IN TOUCH, CLOSE THE DEAL Nowthatyou’veengaged,it’stimetoturntoselling.Sofar,however,you’rejustsomeoneonasocialnetwork.Youneedtobuildcredibilityandalignyoursalespitchtotheirneeds.

Socialsellingletsyoustartadeal,daysorweeks,aheadofwhereyou’restartingtoday.Italsoempowersyouwithpreviouslyuntappedinformation,news,andbackgroundsonthecompaniesandcontactswhomyou’reengagingwith,andthathelpsyoufindwaystoup-sell,cross-sell,orexpanddeals.

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Creatingcredibilitymeansdoingyourresearchandintelligencegatheringonthetargetsandcontacts,andthendemonstratingyou’vedoneyourhomeworkwhenyoumeetwiththem.Relevanceiscrucial.ApastsurveybyInternationalDataGroupfoundthatthechanceofclosingasalewasreducedby45percentwhenthepitchwasn’trelevanttothebuyer.

Youalreadyhaveaccesstothetriggersandfeeds,andyou’vealreadystartedengagingwiththecontacts,sousewhatyou’velearnedtobuildaninformedpitch.FurtherbuildyourknowledgebyaskingquestionsthroughLinkedInGroups.ThereareoveronemillionLinkedInGroupssoitshouldn’tbedifficulttofindacoupleofgroupswithinyourtarget’sindustryniche.

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FIND A PATH TO A WARM INTRODUCTION

Lookforrelationshipstoyourkeycontactsthroughyourcolleagues,previousemployers,andyourexistingcustomers.Lookatthecompletesocial,professional,andpersonalprofilesforeachcontactsoyoucanlearnabouttheirworkhistory,professionalaffiliations,preferences,andwhatthey’resayingontheirsocialchannels.

Whenpreparingamessageoroffertoaprospect,manypeoplewilladviseyoutolookatthelead’swebsiteandlearnabouttheproductorservice.Theproblemis,manyfailtorealizehowstaticandpotentiallystalethewebsitemaybe,andhowcrucialitistoalsolookatthecompany’sandcontact’ssocialmediaaccounts.

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Socialmediaisanextensionoftheirvoice.Foracompany,theirsocialmarketersworkhardtomakesuretheyareinteractingwiththeirowncustomersandprospects,announcingproductreleasesanddrivingthoughtleadershipthroughtheirsocialmediafeeds.Manysalesprofessionalsmisstheenormousamountoffreshinformationonblogs,FacebookPages,Twitteraccounts,andothersites.

DRILL DOWN TO DEVELOP YOUR MESSAGE

HereAreaFewMoreTips

• UseTwittertogetaglimpseintoanindividual’sday-to-dayactivities,preferences,interests,andwhereabouts.

• UseLinkedIntopeerintotheindividual’sprofessionalbrand,seetheirpastsuccesses,maybefindpatentsthey’vefiledorbooksthey’veread(orwritten)thatcangiveyouanopening.

• UseFacebooktogetamorepersonalglimpseintothelifeofthecontacts.Youcanseewhichrestaurantstheymightlikeorwheretheywentontheirlastvacation.

• Don’tlimityourselftothesethreesocialnetworks.Getamoregranularlookatyourcontactswithothersocialprofiles,likeGoogle+,Instagram,Pinterestandmore.

OPEN A C C OUN T S Foreachnetwork,ittakesabout10minutestoregister,addaprofileandaphotograph,andenterafewupdates.It’simportanttohaveafewpassablephotographsofyourselfonthesesites,especiallyLinkedIn.Why?Becausethat’sagreatwayforpeopletoknowwhatyoulooklikebeforeameeting.Italsohelpsthemrememberwhoyouarewhenyousendoutaconnectionrequestafteraninitialmeeting.

BU I LD YOUR P RO F I L E S Asyouopenaccountsaddafewstatusupdates.Therearedifferingopinionsonhowmuchpersonalvsprofessionalinformationshouldbeincluded,butthat’suptoyou.AgoodruleofthumbisthatLinkedInisforprofessionalcontentonly,whileTwitterandFacebookareamixturebutaremorepersonal.

BE AC T I V E Afewstatusupdatesaregreattogetyoustarted,butbesuretokeepitcurrent.Therearemanyautomatedservicesoutthere,freeandpaid,thatcanhelpyoueasethispartofsocial selling.Forexample,youcanconnectyourTwitterandFacebookaccountssothateverytweetisautomaticallyrepostedtoyourFacebookstream.

DON ’ T B E C R E E P Y Here’sanotherimportantsocialsellingtip:socialsellingisbestusedtobuildarelationshipratherthanassneakywaytogetaprospect’sattention.Thekeyistobegenuine,nottobecreepyortoimplythatyou’restalkingyourleads.Thisisbusinessandyouareaprofessional,sokeepthatinmindifyouwanttobesuccessfulatsocialselling.

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Whatyou’redoing ispreparingforyourfinalexam.You’rescouringeverythingyoucanfindforeverynuggetofinformation.Ittakestime,butit’sworthit.This iswhereallofyoursocialsellingresearchandtimecomestogethertohelpyoucreateaperfectlyalignedpitchthathitsyourcontactwithrelevanceandtimeliness.You’renotmakingacoldcalloracoldpresentation.Atthispoint,you’resolvingaproblemforsomeoneyouknowquiteabitabout.

NOWTHATYOU’RECOMPLETELY INFORMED.IT ’S UPTOYOUTOC LOSE THE DEAL.

MAINTAININGYOURSIDEOFTHESOCIALSELLINGCONVERSATION

Socialsellingrequiresthatyou’reactuallyonthesesocialnetworks.Thesedays,youreallyhavenoexcusefornothavingatleastLinkedInandFacebookaccounts.Ifyoudon’t,wellthenhowhaveyoubeenkeepingupwithyourfriendsfromhighschool?

Seriouslythough,inordertodonearlyallofyourresearch,you’llneedtohaveaccountsonthenetworksthatyouwanttousetofindinsights.Facebook,Twitter,andLinkedInarethebaserequirements.Withoutatleastthosethree,you’renevergoingtorealizemuchbenefitfromsocialselling.

Evenmore,yourtargetsaregoingtoberesearchingyouonceyouengagewiththem.You’llwanttobesureyouhaveapresenceandareatleastsomewhatactiveonthetopnetworks.

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TheSmartGuidetoSuccessfulSocialSelling

OneManagement.fr

At OneManagement, we are a team of passionate and experienced professionals that practice Mastery Level training and coaching in Management, Communication, Sales and Social Selling, all to create total transformation in our clients, their teams, their communities and the world. We have a genuine desire is to improve your life, your work, and the world as a whole, by producing total transformation that you can apply within your work, at home, in your community and across borders.

Contact us for any question or help at p.yon@onemanagement.fr