In Part I of “Social Sales Simplified” we discussed how, if you could master just two selling disciplines, and then if you leveraged those with social tools, you would be able to substantially increase your sales and your revenues. The first discipline was prospecting. Today we will talk about relationship-building.
All good things, including sales, are derived from relationships. As in real life, social networking relationships move and grow through time-tested stages. When we first meet we will generally make a very quick decision as to whether or not this encounter has the potential of being something more. First impressions do count and typically we will find ourselves gravitating toward those who we perceive to be most like ourselves. Keep this in mind as who we choose to associate with, and who we will ultimately buy from, are those who we feel that we know, like, trust, and respect.
Social Sales strategies, tactics, and techniques present us with unique opportunities at every stage of the relationship-building process. We can …
- Establish rapport with new prospects
- Get more referrals
- Gain more business from existing accounts
- Revive stale accounts
- Discover new opportunities and connections
Unlike the adversarial battles of the past between seller and buyer, today’s selling model has shifted to conversation, engagement, and quality relationships. Recommended associated activities would include:
- Discussions
- Education
- Placing other’s needs before our own
- Providing value
- Being responsive
- Consistently exceeding customer expectations
- Assisting our customers in moving more of their product and to become better at what they do
With the help of social sales we shift from a position of being seen as a vendor to that of a trusted advisor, a team member, and a connector. Building such relationships takes both time and patience. If we approach this process as … “Here I am. Am I not wonderful! I am your new best friend. Buy from me!” … we are doomed to failure. Relationships are earned, not awarded, and they are the ABSOLUTE foundation for securing new business! The relationship process might flow like this …
Step 1 – Having identified our prospect we will want to learn as much about them as we can. Among other things, we are looking for similarities between themselves and us and this includes things that we may share in common: interests, sports, schools, and connections as examples. I would start with a simple Google search which should uncover links to their various social profiles as well as to articles in which they are mentioned. Follow each link, make notes, and then place these items in your memory storehouse.
Step 2 – Begin the engagement process. Learn to listen first and then make the determination (if appropriate) of when and how to engage. In real life we might make eye contact, flash a smile, or perhaps ask to be introduced. In social sales we comment on articles, like or share them and, where possible, we ask to be introduced. We demonstrate our expertise and we provide value by helping others. We attract others much the way we do in real-life because we appear to be someone that others would like to be associated with.
Step 3 – Your engagement becomes more direct. You connect on social networks. You exchange emails, texts, private messages, and maybe join in a video meeting on Skype or via Google Hangouts. Finally, you move the relationship to real-life and that means face-to-face whenever possible.
Step 4 – Send gifts. You’re connected, right? How about using your network to connect your prospect to others and to find opportunities for their product or service? Good social dashboards for monitoring your network for these kinds of things would be HootSuite or SproutSocial. Create custom keyword searches to filter out updates per your specific needs.
Email them an article that you know they will find to be of interest. Feedly is a very good app for this purpose. You can even create folders (categories) to gather specific article topics for your individual clients. If appropriate, endorse their skills on LinkedIn or perhaps even send them a recommendation. Share the news of their services with others in your network. I call all of these activities “digital donuts” and each Is far more effective, and less fattening, than are their bakery counterparts!
Step 5 – Do business. Have you earned the right to ask for that privilege? If you have completed steps 1-4, and done so with sincerity and honesty, I think that you have. In fact, doing business is the natural culmination of the process itself.
Step 6 – Repeat steps 1-5 and do so continuously! If for one minute you think that you can perform this process once and maintain, let alone grow, any relationship … my guess is that you are likely divorced. This assumes that you were ever even able to find somebody to marry you in the first place. Everybody, and I mean everybody constantly asks themselves the same question about any “relationship” and that is … “So, what have you done for me lately?” Furthermore, no relationship will ever make up for an inability to perform.
The really good news is that, as your relationship grows, you will …
- Get more referrals
- Get more business from existing accounts
- Revive stale accounts
- Discover new opportunities and connections
Without a relationship, you are a vendor. Vendors are …
- Invited to bid for work along with others
- Part of a list. Nothing more and nothing less
- Perceived to be a necessary evil if they are even perceived at all
- Constantly looking over their shoulders to see who may be gaining on them
- Mushrooms in the dark waiting to be fed and you are probably aware of what they say about that 🙂
On the other hand, a trusted advisor is just the opposite. They are not the ones who are waiting and hoping for the next deal to present itself. They are creating, and being asked by their customers to help to create, these opportunities day in and day out. They operate proactively rather than pining for a chance to respond.
Social Sales is, at least in my mind, the most powerful vehicle that we have ever had to increase our chances to find and build relationships. Furthermore, it is the one truly innovative selling strategy that I have encountered in my 36 years of studying, and practicing, B2B selling. That’s pretty exciting and if you have not taken the steps to get started, I encourage you to do so today. If you would like any assistance in this area, please reach out to us and we would be very pleased to discuss how we might best help you in your efforts!
This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.
Craig M. Jamieson
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