Has Social Selling Jumped the Shark?

It is no big news that most social platforms are a mess and, by default, the same holds true for social selling initiatives. Social selling was a shiny new toy and, like a lot of new things, you just can’t use it enough even if you can’t figure out how to use it right. If that is true, what now or is it just too late to fix it?

While I’m inclined to believe that people can learn, correct, and engage authentically, I also have to wonder whether or not the ecosystem is so damaged that nothing short of a total system reboot would be needed to allow any quality effort to survive let alone to flourish. Since that ain’t gonna’ happen …

How to get, and keep, the stink off? Consider …

It’s already crowded and few will stand out. Will you be one of them?
People have already been conditioned to expect bad behavior. This is good and bad. While folks are cautious, the bar to exceed the status quo has been set extremely low.
If not “bad behavior”, what they have been exposed to is, at the very least, lame. See above.
Social news feeds are overflowing and most of it is pure crap. How will you clean that up?
Messaging, on all channels, is rarely personalized or relevant.

It’s just … b.a.d. However, when things look this abysmal, that does create opportunities for those who are willing and able to work for them and let’s just say that you won’t have a lot of competition. So … whatcha’ gonna’ do?

Let’s start with this. You are going to have to rebel at every attempt your brain is going to make to hijack your process. Our natural inclination is to take the path of least resistance and that means to take the easy way out …

Technology = Automation = Lazy = Ineffective

I saw this coming back in 2016 when I wrote my eBook … “Focused Social Selling – less really is more”. Click the title of the eBook for a free direct download (no email address or anything else is required). I think that it is, if anything, more valid than when I published it. Things have only gotten worse.

In a nutshell … quality stills trumps quantity. Improve your ratios instead of increasing your volumes. This is your new/old mantra. Repeat it until you believe it.

Slow down and take a breath. This really will be quite simple. Start by determining what your best customers look like, find out where they are most likely to reside socially, and then optimize your presence on those platforms only. Effective targeting is critical!

Learn to contribute to those social networks while establishing your expertise. Become an educator. You will have plenty of chances to sell later. Learn to engage progressively. Formally connecting with others will come, but only at the appropriate time and only with the appropriate people.

Social selling excels in a few key areas but not all areas. It is great for discovering opportunities and initiating relationships but not necessarily for building them unless you take these relationships to real life. It’s great for research and for turning a cold call into a warm call.

While social selling is very much attraction marketing or “inbound sales”, it can assist in outbound selling efforts if you are willing to take the time to personalize your efforts and ensure that they are relevant to your targeted audience.

However, nothing will undermine your efforts, and your progress, quicker than will you trying to rush the selling process. The social networks are teaming with reports of salespeople who connect and then immediately pitch their goods or services.

Are there folks out there who are already doing it right? Absolutely! You are going to want to find them, watch them, and learn from them. Do as they do. If they work in your industry or a similar industry … bonus points!

If you are a social networker, you know that this happens because it has happened to you. More than once. The right to ask for an opportunity to do business must be earned. This rule is no different on the social networks than it is in real life. Good luck!

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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!