Social Selling mastery starts with understanding what it is. Social selling is targeting and building relationships with prospects, customers, and centers of influence who matter to us. In short, my three, simple steps for mastering my Social Selling system makes prospecting easy, even if you loathe selling.
I have tested and use on a daily basis this system for identifying, connecting with, and building relationships through Social Selling using tools that are free to us. While most of the social media and other helpful technologies we use today make it easier than ever before to build relationships with people who become customers, centers of influence, advocates or just new friends, we all need a simple system we will use every day. I've found that simple is good.
The other reason I love this system is it works. I test it all the time. It definitely shortens the sales cycle. Heck, I've tested two variations of the same campaign with a "one touch" close in building new relationships.
Plus, have you tried cold calling lately? It works. It just doesn't work well. But when you analyze all sales and marketing campaigns you learn that this is a contact sport and a game of massive failure: most ad campaigns, landing pages, sales calls and other attempts to develop new business, attract capital and customers fail more than 90% of the time. (Funny how the guys in most C-Suites forget this when they start pounding the table for ROI.)
This System Works If You Work It
My system for Social Selling is not the only one of it's kind in the world. But my three steps are my three steps because I use them every day. This system works. Proof is you reading this article now and the 13 years of track record doing this myself within the context of CME. Social Selling is how I started my business and continue to build my reach, network and revenue every day I show up for work. And even on days when I don't. (I am sure you know the temptation of our Smart Phones being accessible 24/7.)
In case you don't watch the video, here are the three steps I outline for my Social Selling system.
1. Optimize your positioning online. Craft your personal brand and your story to attract people. Write thought leadership articles, share expert interviews, and reach out as a leader in your field.
2. Connect with new people. Engage in the proper way and build new REALationships. Offer to give before you get. Be a giver!
3. Align with people who share goals, ambitions. Get to know people through your conversations and meetings, online and off. Follow up like crazy! Send personal notes to people who count the most! Use the telephone when appropriate. Email when appropriate. Leverage easy-to-use CRM systems to track your activities, calls, notes, tasks and relationship management. (Remember, your Network of people becomes your Net Worth.)
There you have it. My three simple steps for Social Selling, even if you loathe selling. The reason I share this with you is because I have made hundreds of thousands of cold calls and managed sales teams for three decades. (That's 30 years. It's 60,000 hours.) I never liked it any more than walking into a room full of network marketing salespeople at the local Chamber of Commerce meeting. My loathing for cold calling and lame networks where I felt lost and clueless drove me to create this system. It has evolved from the days when I first used 3 x 5 Index Cards, the phone book and only the phone to do "Social Selling" as in, "Hi, my name is Cliff. Want to buy what I am selling today?" That gets old, quick. But again, it works, just not very well. And it's painful which is why so few people actually do it.
If you're interested in learning about my coaching and training workshops for social selling just reach out to me personally and I will walk you through our three options.
I always appreciate your comments and questions here on the Conversion Marketing Experts blog.
To your continued success and happiness.
P.S. Here's a well-done article related to social selling.