Go Social in 30 Minutes a Day

What’s holding you back from diving into social selling to rock your sales? Do you think it’s too costly?

Right now, 79 percent of sales people who use social media outsell their peers according to Forbes. Emailing marketing alone has two-times higher ROI than cold calling, networking or even trade shows. Plus, cold calling is 60 percent more expensive per lead than any other method.

Do you worry that putting social selling in place will take too much time? Think again. The traditional- sales process takes 22 percent longer than five years ago. Social selling cuts that time down and can provide an avenue to scale your sales efforts more effectively.

Let’s face it. Cold calling doesn’t work. It’s time to be part of that 79 percent crew.

You can create more business opportunities by investing just 15 to 30 minutes a day in your social selling . Yes, you read that right: 30 minutes a day is all you’ll need, if you work smart and make it part of your daily routine.

You probably already make a daily commitment to making appointments, why not schedule your social selling time? It is easy and simple to make social selling part of your daily sales and marketing efforts without taking up too much time. Use the following outline for an effective and easy approach in 30 minutes or less a day:

Review your upcoming meetings to make sure you’re connected with your clients or prospects on LinkedIn. Beyond these contacts, consider connecting with other company decision makers and appropriate department managers.

Do a little research (or cyber sleuthing as I like to call it) on those connections. Read their summary statements, work histories and interests. Also, check out the people and companies they follow, and look at their connections for people you might know.

Look at the month’s events and meetings you’ll be attending. Research possible connections, and look for ways to start interacting now to help elevate your presence and start conversations. Many event organizers create Twitter hashtags or LinkedIn Groups to get people talking in advance. (They realize the power of social media as well!)

Follow your clients’ and prospects’ companies on LinkedIn and set up Newsle notifications so you receive a daily email notification when your connections are mentioned. Use this knowledge to acknowledge good press, promotions, etc.

Look for thought leaders in your industry, region and local community. These influential people can help you make and build connections.

See who is commenting and sharing your updates and posts. Consider connecting with them. Even better, did you know you can search posts for specific terms? This provides a proactive way for you to contribute to relevant discussions.

Use Advanced People Search to find possible connections using the various filters available to narrow your efforts.

This may sound like a lot of work, but honestly it will only take you 30 minutes or less.

If it helps, break the time down into two 15-minutes sessions — one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Believe me, you’ll start to see the benefits in no time.