10 Ways B2B Salespeople Should Be Leveraging Social CRM

I have been a CRM user since the late 80’s having started with a DOS based product called TeleMagic. Back then they were called Contact Managers so let’s call them CM’s for short. I’m really not sure when somebody came up with the brilliant idea to change that moniker to CRM or, Customer Relationship Management. That’s all fine and dandy but, the only problem is … there is no “R” in CRM. Traditional CRM applications are still decidedly CM. Now along comes social media and my customers are no longer wanting to just talk to me on the phone or send me emails. They’re on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and they expect me to be there too. I’m jumping from platform to platform and still … I have no way of tracking these activities and the process of engaging with them on social media is cumbersome and inefficient at best.

Social CRM (SCRM) has the potential to radically change all of this because social media is first and foremost about relationships. It puts the “R” back into CRM. The promise of SCRM is to integrate our social networking activities, and relationships, into the traditional CRM model. While this is still a relatively new field, many of those promises are available today. As a b2b sales professional, you can leverage these advantages and, if you are not doing so already, the ship’s about to leave the port and you ain’t gonna’ be on it.

Let’s talk about 10 ways that b2b salespeople can, and should be, leveraging Social CRM …

Learn more about your customers – As a salesperson, knowing as much as I can about my customers is a key element in controlling my ultimate success. No longer do I need to travel to look at the plaques on somebody’s office in an attempt to discover common ground which is a very useful tool in establishing rapport. Today, I can go to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ and discover all of these tidbits of information and oh so much more! Relationships begin and end on common interests and goals. As an added bonus, you will learn more about this person than you would have ever been able to do by utilizing traditional methods. Relationships take two. Read on at Maximize Social Business.

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Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services

Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!