People often think that social selling is all about prospecting but in fact social selling is a methodology that is used throughout the sales process.
In the old days you had different sales methods for the different sales stages you were in, it was all very confusing. For example, cold calling (often known as telemarketing) was used for prospecting and prospecting alone. You did something else for closing and sat and hoped for that bit in the middle. And as we know, hope isn't a strategy.
Where as, in the modern world, we are able to use the same techniques regardless of what stage we are in, prospecting, moving through the funnel or closing. But we are here to talk about making your deals move quicker, often called deal velocity.
Deal velocity
Let's assume we have created an opportunity and it's currently "inflight".
I'm not going to deal where somebody is "ghosting you" I've done that before and you can read those blogs here
Can I unblock deals with social selling? and
Can social selling stop prospects from ghosting me?
This is where there is a pursuit, and you want it to go faster, maybe there is a certain quarter you want this deal to land in.
The basics
Buyer centric profile
I've written before about the fact that you are not taken seriously as a salesperson today, unless you have a buyer centric profile. I look at so many people online, that look just like other salespeople, or their LinkedIn profile is a CV, this isn't good enough today.
We train and coach people on getting a buyer centric profile as part of our social selling and influence course.
Accelerating your deal with connections, conversations and content
The second thing you need to do is build a network in the account(s) you want to influence, if you are not connected to the buyers, then how are you expecting to influence them. Social selling is good but it isn't magic. LinkedIn now lets you connect with 100 people a week.
Word to the wise, if you connect and pitch or connect or say "I'm your local sales person" you won't get far. This is a social network. As part of our social selling and influence course we train and coach your team to connect and win. By enabling your team to connect to people, but also have conversations at the same time.
Let's not forget that conversations create sales. The 100 connections that LinkedIn give you each week is your chance to have 100 conversations. These conversations could be deal accelerators.
The "why" we are on social
There are two reasons people come to social, the first is to be social and have conversations. We are social animals, which is why lockdowns have been so hard for people, we thrive on social interactions.
The second reason why we are on social is to find insight, to be educated, to be entertained.
You want to accelerate deals, talk about the issues that mean something to your prospects and your clients. Write blogs, create videos, create all types of content and everything lead back to the business issues.
I've just got off a call from a prospect who a SaaS business whose big issue right now is retention. So they should write articles and make videos about how your solution helps businesses, the business case .... just keeping writing more and more articles and creating more and more videos. Their customers will then see these and realise the importance of maintaining the contact with them.
With all of this, don't sell and don't be an "advert" and don't post brochures. Nobody cares.
Brochures and corporate content do not create meaningful relationships, regardless of marketing tell you.
With a buyer centric profile, being connected to the people you need to be connected to, with insightful content you will actually find prospects will walk towards you.
Why? As Adam Gray recently said in a video here
Your prospects and clients "will realise you are the solution to their problem, because my problem is front of mind when I see you"
In other words, with a plan and a great methodology, you will be seen as the ONLY answer to your clients problems. So flex your digital muscles! This is what we call digital dominance.