All about Social Selling

What is social selling?

What is it about?

Social selling is about taking advantage of social networks to seek and acquire new customers. It is an excellent alternative to cold calling, a concept that is becoming less and less effective. Social selling is especially suitable for salespeople in the B2B sector.

What is the point of social selling?

For commercial prospecting, social selling is a considerable asset. Indeed, more and more professionals are connected to social networks. It is therefore in the interest of sales representatives to be present on these platforms. Thanks to social networks, it is possible to retrieve several pieces of information about potential prospects. To access this essential data, all you need to do is to see the posts of the people (your target), their interests, the people they follow, etc. 

Once you have this information, all you have to do is sort it out. B2B customers are not interested in spam sent to several people. They are much more sensitive to messages that are sent to them personally. Messages sent during the contact process should be personalised. By humanising contacts, salespeople increase their chances of being accepted by prospects.

When the sales prospecting is over, you can use social selling as a sales tool. According to statistics, 54% of salespeople succeed in making a sale through social selling. 

What is social selling?

This concept has many objectives. It allows : 

• Set up your personal branding; 
• Identifying opportunities ; 
• Speed up the sales channel; 
• To develop its business; 
• Establish a relationship of trust; 
• Engage in conversation with your network; 

Social selling can be used at all stages of sales. It is an important ally in the prospecting phase. 78% of sales representatives who use social selling for professional purposes achieve interesting results. Their results are significantly better than those who do not use it.

How does social selling work?

Social selling is a concept based on three essential pillars.

The listening and research phase

Currently, social networks are one of the most popular B2B communication channels. These platforms allow salespeople to access information about prospects. Using LinkedIn for example, it will be more convenient to see companies according to their geographical area and sector of activity. It is easier to detect decision makers. 

Digital marketing experts use social networks to promote social listening. By having all the essential information about the prospects, the sales people will be able to intervene at the right moment and use the right arguments. It will be easier to convert a visitor or prospect into a customer. 

The engagement phase

Salespeople are required to share quality information on social networks. They need to take care of their profile. They should post relevant information that is useful for visitors and prospects. It is imperative to put : 

• A professional photo; 
• A catchy tagline; 
• An attractive summary of the activity. 

Through their profile, salespeople can demonstrate their speciality and performance. This will be an opportunity to attract the attention of visitors and establish a relationship of trust. It is a way to show that they are a reliable potential partner.

The collaboration phase

Successful social selling requires close collaboration between the sales and marketing teams. With inbound marketing, the marketing team can engage prospects. To do this, it is necessary to provide them with personalised content that has been adjusted to their position in their buying journey. 

With social selling, sales representatives must take into account the need of Internet users to obtain information. This is why they must be provided with relevant and well-selected information. 

The benefits of social selling

It is a way to create privileged relationships with customers

Due to the evolution of technology, it is increasingly necessary for brands to be present on social networks. These platforms should be used to maintain interactions with people. The latter can become potential customers. 

Social selling is a way of maintaining proximity with customers and getting their opinions on your products and services. It is a way to build customer loyalty.

It is a way to improve and boost sales

With the expansion of digital, salespeople can use the Internet to increase their sales performance. Internet users are used to doing pre-purchase research. Social networks will allow you to offer your services easily. With social selling, you can better target your customers.

It is a way to save time

With social selling, the sales team can save both time and money. It is a way of making the buying process more fluid, since the necessary information is available in real time. 

Social selling is a concept that can help you in the implementation of your digital marketing strategy. To ensure successful prospecting, you can also use marketing automation. If you need tools to automate parts of your marketing strategy, rely on My Name Is Bond.