Understanding The Social Sales Problem

There is a problem with social sales. Actually, there are a lot of problems. Some are based on misconceptions and flawed expectations of what social sales will and will not do and I have contributed to this confusion as have many others. In our zeal to embrace and share the good news about these fabulous new tools, perhaps we have neglected to emphasize that … you still need to know how to sell.

The simple fact is that social selling augments, rather than replaces, our traditional selling methodologies. Therefore, any valid and meaningful discussion of social sales must address the necessary marriage between the two. If we can’t or won’t do that, chaos will inevitably ensue and very few sales have ever been realized in this type of atmosphere. Social media has created problems, and opportunities, for both salespeople and for our customers. Let’s begin with the latter …[Tweet “There are problems with social sales. We forgot to tell you that you have to sell!”]

While buyers today, with the advent of the internet and a simple Google search, are more informed than they have ever been before, they are also becoming increasingly more inundated with our media messages. Their inboxes overflow with our email offers and newsletters. Their phones are constantly ringing with our incoming calls and their cell phones beep with our text messages. If that were not bad enough, they are being consistently engaged (maybe even stalked) by you and me on their social networks. It is little wonder that they retreat to their castles behind their wide moats. In Florida, they are installing alligators as a further defense.

How do I know all of this to be true? It’s simple. While I like to think of myself as being the hunter, others look at me as being their prey. In other words, to other salespeople, I look a lot like barbecue. My inbox and social messages are overflowing hence, my customers are seeing the same.

Salespeople are also being inundated as they desperately try to understand, and perhaps implement, social sales tools and strategies into their own selling practices. If you have “shiny bauble syndrome”, the need to look at everything new in hopes of finding the BBD (bigger better deal), as I do … you’ve got troubles. The offerings, many of them good, become a convoluted mess resulting in either paralysis or failed initiatives. Either way, time’s a wastin’.

As salespeople, this means that we can’t focus and eventually we do, or we will, shut down. We attempt to process too much. Too much data and … too many customers. We have been sold on the need to expand our connections (extend our reach) while giving little to no thought on who we actually need to connect to. Once we connect, it is on to the next connection before even attempting to develop any type of relationship or to discover common ground with who we just secured. When you think about it, it really is madness. We have become hamsters on a wheel that leads to … nowhere.

I can’t speak for you but, I simply cannot build relationships with the 7,500 or so social connections that I currently have. If the 80/20 rule is true, only 1,500 have the potential of doing business with me and 300 of those would be the contributors to 80% of my income. I need to determine who those 300 are and keep the other 7,200 in reserve.

Think of your 300 (your number may be different) as as being the elite of professional athletes. The other 7,200 are still playing at the college level but may be added to my team on draft day or when my older players are “retiring” (no longer buying or providing value through some other means such as referrals). Many of our customers will naturally follow an ebb and flow of moving up or down in value. Mind you, if they are going down, I would be looking in the mirror as the first place in my quest for reasons.

The really great news is that, via social sales, we do have access to all of these potential “A” players (even those not presently identified) and we have the tools available to assist us in our search. Additionally we can nurture future all-stars well continuing to ensure that the needs of our current starting lineup are being met.

I believe that there is a solution …

We must systemize our approach, our strategy, and our tactics. Only by doing this will we be able to ensure our success and track our results toward reaching our goals and objectives.

We must understand what our best customers and prospects look like and then we must cull the herd to only focus on these select few. This will be as painful starting out but, the pain will disappear and will then convert to profitable and comfortable as we progress. Ultimately, your sanity will be returned to you and that has to feel good!

We can only gain the attention of our customers and our potential customers if we personalize our engagement to meet their needs and we do so with consistency.

A word of caution. This is my solution and, as such, is geared to address my needs. It is a B2B outbound selling solution and not a marketing one. Honestly, none of it is even what I would call earth-shattering. Still, your needs may be completely different. Your system may be delivering measurable results beyond your wildest expectations. Excellent and congratulations! However, if that is not the case and you find yourself open to some new ideas, please keep track of this site and perhaps subscribe to our articles because we are going to explore this process step-by-step over the coming weeks and months.

Please note – All posts in this series will be tagged FocusedSelling. You will be able to click on that tag at the bottom of any post in the series and all posts in the series, most recent first, will be listed for you. So, if jump in the middle and you want to get started, work from the bottom up. Cutting in line and skipping steps would definitely be ill-advised. #FocusedSelling

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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!