Social Selling

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Social Selling 1/26/2018 Social Selling The Changing B2B Landscape To stand out, your brand needs to be extremely trustworthy. Your marketing presence has to achieve the same outcome as a warm hug or heartfelt handshake—which can be extremely challenging to do in a digital environment B2B BUYERS COMPLETE THEIR BUYING DECISION BEFORE THEY ARE WILLING TO MAKE A PURCHASE DECISION 72 PERCENT OF B2B BUYERS PLANNING TO PURCHASE A PRODUCT OR SERVICE, BEGIN THEIR RESEARCH WITH A GOOGLE SEARCH. THAT WAS IN 2013 –IMAGINE HOW HIGH THAT STAT WOULD LIKELY BE This is where social selling comes in TODAY? Objectives • Definition of Social Selling • Definition of Social Media Marketing • Creating an online professional brand • Utilizing LinkedIn • Building a strong sales profile • Building your connections • Utilizing Advanced Search • Posting Updates • The Power of Social Selling • 8 Ways To Get Started With Social Selling 1 1/26/2018 What is Social Selling Social Selling A modern approach to sales that uses information from social networks to grow your business. SOCIAL SELLING ISN’T SELLING. IT IS BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH SHARE-WORTHY CONTENT Social Selling = Sales 2.0 In a nutshell, Social Selling is the process of using tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to: 1. Build relationships 2. Define your reputation 3. Gain visibility amongst your target market 4. Deliver value to your target market 5. Build credibility The more present a salesperson is, the more relationships he or she will build 2 1/26/2018 What is Social Media Marketing Social Media Marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or a service. Creating an online professional brand Tips to building your professional brand Your personal brand must be built by design or it will be created by default. u Address your online reputation u Google yourself to see what information is out there u Set a Google Alert on yourself so you can track what is being said about you u Personal executive presence u Identify what your purpose, mission and values are and how you can exemplify those in your daily life u What gets you out of bed in the morning? What drives you to pursue this field? u Having a clear vision and being able to communicate that vision and inspire others toward that same vision u Content Management u Decide what medium to use to best get your thoughts out there (LinkedIn, Facebook, write a blog, speak at industry conferences, etc.) u Make sure your content is searchable, accessible and discoverable or you won’t get the same impact u Thought Leadership u Establish yourself as a thought leader in whatever media you choose. u Decide what space you want to “own” and how to best to reach others in that space u Make sure you are actively participating in social media forums, groups, etc. u Personal branding isn’t about exaggerating or showing off. It is about making sure that your best and most professional self is accurately reflective in the public sphere 3 1/26/2018 How to create professional online profiles u When creating your personal brand, it is important to have an online presence where you can showcase your skills, vision and mission. u Your online professional profiles will help you connect with contacts and prospects. u Be sure to actively manage your profile so that it is up to date u Keep your professional life separate from your personal one. u Think twice before you post to make sure it is being posted to the right place LinkedIn Profiles LinkedIn is “the” site for professional networking. As of April 2017, there are 467 Million active users on LinkedIn. Professional Facebook Page Creating a Facebook page is a way to differentiate the professional from the personal you. 4 1/26/2018 Twitter & Pinterest u Twitter is a terrific way to establish yourself as an expert in the industry. Tweet about what’s happening in your industry—news, events, advice. Also, be sure to retweet advice from industry leaders. Take the time to follow and retweet companies you are interested in. u Pinterest is a great way to impress your connections and prospective customers. Pinterest shows potential customers that you are on top of and engaged in what is happening online and you can highlight your professional work. Once you have set up Pinterest, you can add the link to your page on your LinkedIn, email address, or other professional websites. Utilizing LinkedIn What it is and why are 467 million professional users using it? u A social networking website that allows businesspeople to network and keep in touch u Used in 200+ countries, w/ half members in United States u Averages 2 new members every second u A tool to find a new job or new employee u A valuable source to find and connect to sales prospects u An easy way to stay informed about your contacts, target companies and industries u Channel to build your credibility as a professional and as a salesperson u Forum to answer and ask questions Taking Six Degrees of Separation to a whole new level! 5 1/26/2018 Key activities for a salesperson u The Big Three § Bring old school networking and referrals online § Increase your virtual connections § Digitize your Rolodex § Turn cold calling into warm introductions § Research companies § Find an inside track to your decision maker or company “hit list” § Advertise yourself § Make your network aware of you, your company, and what you do § Use available tools to your advantage Building a strong sales profile TIP 1 Upload a professional photo Include a professional headshot of yourself that would be worthy of a business card. Profiles with photos receive a 40% higher InMail response rate because people like to see who they are speaking to. TIP 2 Change your background image Make your profile stand out even more with a custom background image. TIP 3 Write a compelling headline The text underneath your name is your headline. It’s the first thing people look at after your photo and follows your name in search reports. Instead of simply entering your job title underneath your name, think about how you can creatively explain what you do or how you help clients (e.g., “helping sales teams grow their business through social selling”). TIP 4 Add Rich Media Make your LinkedIn profile one more place where prospects and customers can access and download important files and presentations such as data sheets, white papers, and presentations. Upload files from your computer or add links to videos to display your own presentations, and check out presentations from your colleagues. Look for the Add Media button in the Summary, Education, and Experience sections of your profile. Building a strong sales profile TIP 5 Customize your public profile URL Located at the bottom of the top block on your profile containing your name and headline, your public profile URL (web address) is a great addition to signatures and business cards and will make you more easily found in search engine results. Create a URL that closely matches your name (e.g., www.linkedin.com/in/emmagalvez). TIP 6 Customize links to websites Take advantage of the websites section under the Contact Info section of your profile by adding relevant links and websites that relate to what you are selling, your point of view, or your background. Instead of using the default link title, choose Other and customize your text to include a call to action such as “Download our White Papers.” TIP 7 Add your contact information Once you’ve connected with a prospect or colleague, you’ll want to make it easy for them to contact you. Add your company email address and phone number at a minimum. Your contact information is only visible to your direct connections. 6 1/26/2018 Building a strong sales profile TIP 8 Tell your story in your summary After your photo and headline, the most commonly read portion of your profile is the summary. Use this area to tell your story. Think about it from the perspective of someone trying to determine if they want to do business with you or respond to your InMail. How can you add value? What unique insights can you bring to their business? What value have you brought to organizations that have already done business with you? Likewise, your summary of experiences should read less like a resume and support the story that you are trying to tell. TIP 9 Add your education Show your potential clients that they’ll be working with an educated professional by showcasing your education. This will also allow you to tap into your alumni connections to help grow your network, leading to better chances for future opportunities. This also makes it easier for your former classmates to find you as well. Building a strong sales profile TIP 10 Ask for recommendations Ask for recommendations from colleagues, employers and, even better, customers who can speak credibly about your abilities and contributions. Ask them to focus on a specific skill or personality trait that drives their opinion of you. Make meaningful comments when you recommend others (how you describe others and your experience with them says as much about you as who you are recommending). Think quality, not quantity, and be authentic. To ask for a recommendation, move your cursor over your profile photo thumbnail at the top-right corner of any page on LinkedIn.com and select Review next to Privacy & Settings. In the Profile tab, click Manage your recommendations, and then select the Ask for recommendations tab.
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