This document provides tips for how to be an effective social seller. It begins by highlighting statistics that show social media is important for business decisions. It then discusses the importance of having a complete LinkedIn profile and building a network. The document provides specific suggestions for how to engage on LinkedIn and Twitter, such as sharing content, interacting with others, and creating lists. It also discusses tools that can help with social selling and stresses the importance of building trust-based relationships through high-quality content and customer focus.
34. "The best reps are not just present in social
media, they position themselves as credible
nd influential sources in customer networks."
- Sales Executive Council
71. WHO YOU SHOULD CONNECT WITH:
1. People you went to school with
2. Your personal network (friends)
3. Colleagues and partners
4. Customers/partners you have met in person
5. Those in your professional contact list
6. Those in your phone’s contact list
7. People you may know
73. EVERY WEEK YOU SHOULD ADD:
1. Anyone you had a meeting with
2. People you met at social events
3. New colleagues you interacted with
4. People you interacted with in other networks
5. Significant email contact
6. Relevant contacts that have seen your profile
7. People you may know
77. BENEFITS OF USING TWITTER:
1. See what’s going on with your customers and
their competitors
2. Interact and connect with influencers in your
industry/segment
3. Discover content and learn
4. Become more influential in your area
78. REALITY CHECK:
1. Most c-level executives are not active on Twitter. But
people that influence them are.
2. There’s a whole lot of noise on Twitter, if you’re going
to add to it don’t bother.
3. If you don’t even have the basics down on
LinkedIn, focus on that before thinking about Twitter.
4. It takes work and time before you can see results on
Twitter. You’re not going to become influential
overnight.
95. WHAT TO SHARE:
1. Interesting articles and blog posts
2. Thought leadership content related to your area of
expertise
3. Videos (YouTube, Vimeo, TED)
4. Useful presentations and whitepapers (Slideshare)
5. Insights (people love stats) and quotes
6. General business and leadership tips and advice
7. Keep self-promotion and marketing to 20% or less
8. Infographics and images
96. WAYS TO INTERACT ON LINKEDIN:
1. Like someone’s activity
2. Share a post
3. Comment on a post
4. Endorse someone’s skill(s)
5. Recommend a colleague, partner or customer
6. Join a group
7. Start or engage in a discussion in a group
8. Send someone a direct message or share a link
9. Visit someone’s profile
10. Ask for an introduction or recommendation
97. WAYS TO INTERACT ON TWITTER:
1. Retweet
2. Favorite someone’s tweet
3. Respond to a tweet
4. Mention someone
5. Follow
6. Add to a list
7. Share your own thoughts
98. LISTS TO CREATE ON TWITTER:
1. Thought leaders and influencers for your area of
expertise (experts, analysts, etc)
2. News and official sources of information
3. Your customers’ official accounts
4. Your customer’s competitors
5. Your company’s competitors
6. Colleagues
7. Business partners
8. Customers
9. Prospects
99. What you can do with LinkedIn Premium
and some advanced features
102. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN PROFILES:
1. Recommendations they gave other people
2. Recommendations received
3. Recent activity
4. Experience
5. People also viewed
6. People like them
7. How you are connected to them
8. Things in common you have with them
9. Visit someone’s profile
10. Ask for an introduction or recommendation
142. And that’s how you become an effective
social seller.
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4
5
143.
144.
145. Thank you.
Connect with me
Linkedin:
http://linkedin.com/in/marcelsantill
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/santilli
To download this presentation:
http://ibm.co/socialselling
Editor's Notes
Tentative flow:Background - why they should care, why social selling mattersSocial selling basicsWorkshop activity (actually do the basics)Prospecting and gathering intelligence Be part of the conversations (how to find content, share and interact in social)LinkedIn Advanced Digital/social tools to help you (save time, be more effective)Get it on your schedule and next steps (workshop)
Source: BtoBonline.com
Consumers continue to spend more time on social networks than on any other category of sites—roughly 20 percent of their total time online via personal computer (PC), and 30 percent of total time online via mobile. (Nielsen)
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gyro/2013/01/07/the-disappearing-sales-process/ Given a choice, customers will generally engage a supplier as late as they possibly can.Because they believe the supplier has nothing unique or valuable to contribute to the conversation. If I reach out to a supplier, the thinking goes, all they’re going to do is ask me a bunch of questions, or drone on about their product or service. It’s biased information, and it’s never really about helping me with my business, so much as selling theirs. In a world of information accessibility, I simply don’t have to have that conversation – I can learn elsewhere.http://www.executiveboard.com/blogs/the-single-most-important-question-for-the-challenger-sale/
What are customers doing while they’re learning?
With ever-increasing knowledgeable buyers waiting longer to engage, sales has to transition from being a “product pusher” following a process, to an insight “provider” adding value to the buyers business. As the study states, sales must deliver “pointed insights and evidence that seek to challenge an entrenched point of view among potential customers.”
From TheChallenger Sales:While most reps focus on building customer relationships, the best focus on pushing customers' thinking, introducing new solutions to their problems and illuminating problems customers overlook.Specifically, they:Teach, Tailor, Take ControlWhile most reps are trying to master solutions selling, the best evaluate which accounts to prioritize and which specific buyers within those accounts to target.Specifically, they target:Accounts where their needs are still undefined; Individual buyers who are skeptical change agents -- called "Mobilizers" -- over friendly "Talkers"
The challenger:Offers the customer unique perspectivesHas strong two-way communication skillsKnows the individual customer’s value driversCan identify economic drivers of the customer’s businessIs comfortable discussing moneyCan pressure the customer.
Ultimately, social selling is about establishing your personal brand which perpetuates to establishing trust.
Name - First, last, and former names.Headline – This information will default to your current job title. You can change it to express your personal brand, or how you want to be known (e.g., Outstanding Client Service Professional). Please note that if your headline is the same as your current position, the current position will not display in the top section of your profile.Location and Industry- You can add your postal code to display your geographic region or city.Photo- You can add a professional photo of yourself. A professional photo makes your profile more memorable and 7 times more likely to be viewed.Contact Info - Your email, phone, IM, and address (only visible to connections), as well as your Twitter handle and web sites.
Summary - Information about your mission, accomplishments, and goals.We all know that first impressions count. As a matter of fact, when you meet somebody for the first time, your first impression is formed within 20 seconds maximum and that first impression is incredibly difficult to change at a subconscious level. But what about online interactions? It is absolutely crucial for you to think about the first impression your profile is sending off. When it come to your LinkedIn profile, your summary is one of the most important things that shape people's first impression of you. So here are the top ten essential tips for writing a KILLER LinkedIn summary: Tip #1 - Never leave your summary blankYou LinkedIn profile summary, is like your introduction. It's your elevator pitch. It's your chance to briefly tell your "story" right away. You don't want to leave it to your audience to guess who you are. Take the time to write a summary, it is just as important as any other introduction. Tip #2 - Make it personalThe last thing you want to do is sound like a boring cover letter. Tell stories. Share your accomplishments. Everyone likes a good story. Make it personal but not too personal. You want people to connect with your story while reading your summary. Tip #3 - Keep it professionalThis is important. Keep it professional (not boring). You want your summary to sound like yourself, but your professional self. Make sure anything you include is appropriate and that you are not sharing any sensitive information you're not supposed to share. Tip #4 - Use conversational toneOne way to keep it conversational is to record yourself talking, then transcribing that. After you are done writing your summary, read it out loud and make sure it sounds like something you would actually say in person. You want your summary to sound human and for some of your personality to shine through. Tip #5 - Showcase your expertise and backgroundYou want your audience to perceive you as someone credible that they would trust as an adviser to their business. That's why it is so important to highlight your background and expertise. Make sure you emphasize your expertise that is relevant to your current role. If you are someone with not as much experience, emphasize your qualities and your passion (see next tip). Tip #6 - Convey your passionWhat makes you get up in the mornings? Why did you choose the industry you are in? Communicate your passion and what makes you tick. Also, focus on your passion as it relates to helping customers with their business challenges and needs. Tip #7 - Use the right keywordsDon't forget to include keywords that others would search for when trying to find professionals like yourself. For instance, instead of just saying "security" you might want to include different variations in different sentences like "information security" or "IT security". Tip #8 - Communicate the value you (and your company) provide to customersHow is it that you are helping other companies? What is the value you (and IBM) bring to your clients? Talk about some of the business challenges and how you can help the customer. If it helps, think about it as why should a customer even meet with you in the first place. If you can't answer these questions, you might be in trouble as far as communicating your and IBM's value to customers. Tip #9 - Include a "call to action"Make it enticing for people to contact you or connect with you. You want to make it very clear that you are open to connecting with people. In your call to action make sure you address common business challenges you want to help customers solve. Tip #10 - Proofread and check for grammarThis one is probably common sense but you'd be amazed at how many people make spelling mistakes that go unfixed for a long time. So please, please, please make sure that no spelling or grammatical errors appear in your profile Summary – or ANYWHERE in your LinkedIn profile.
Media links can be added to the Summary, Education and Experience sections:Move your cursor over Profile at the top of your homepage and select Edit.Scroll down to the section you want to add content to and click the add media icon. The icon is a square with a plus sign. Note: You must use a compatible content provider for best results.Type or paste the link to your content into the Add a link field that appears. A picture of your content will then display with pre-filled Title and Description fields. Note: This may take several seconds. You can edit the content in these fields if you wish.Click Save.
Experience - Professional positions and experience, including jobs, volunteer posts, military, board of directors, nonprofit, or pro sports.Job hunting vs. networking mode. You can now add media to your experience as well.
Additional Information - Interests, personal details like your birthday or marital status, and advice for people who want to contact you.More things to have in common with people.
Make your profile public and customize privacy settings.
Recommendations - You can request professional recommendations and display them on your profile.Give to receive. Focus on those that really matter (quality over quantity). Make it easy for people to recommend you by telling them exactly for what you are asking them to recommend you for. Give them pointers and notes as if you were asking for a recommendation letter. Do the homework for them and give them enough info to work with.
Education - School and educational information.Alum network is a great resource and something you could have in common with prospects. Keep in mind that the more items you list, the greater the opportunity that your past schoolmates can locate and contact you.You can add media to education as well now.
Courses - Adding your body of coursework can help your education to stand out.
Skills & Expertise - A relevant list of skills on your profile will help others to understand your strengths and improve your ability to be found when opportunities present themselves. Your connections can endorse these skills.
Projects - Showcase the projects you've worked on, along with team members.Great way to tag colleagues and customers as “team members” and show people success stories.
Languages - Languages you understand or speak.
Honors & Awards - Show off your hard-earned awards.
Organizations - List the organizations or associations you've been a part of along with your role.Improve your ‘connectability’. Show all your affiliations in your profile - your past companies, educational institutions, and activities.
Volunteering & Causes – Organizations you support, and causes you care about.Something you can have in common with other people.
Certifications - Certifications, licensures, or clearances you've attained.
Publications - Publications that have featured your work.
Test Scores - List your scores on tests to highlight high achievement.
Patents - Any patents you've applied for or received.
Improve your LinkedIn Profile’s searchability.
Make your profile public and customize privacy settings.
Make your profile public and customize privacy settings.
Make your profile public and customize privacy settings.
Make your profile public and customize privacy settings.
Integrate with your Twitter account
Make sure you display your Twitter account on your LinkedIn profile. There are some great new features coming to LinkedIn.
Activity– What are you posting? How are you interacting with others on LinkedIn? Are you just spamming people? Are you adding value to the conversation or is it just self-promotion?
Increase your visibility. Add connections to increase probability of being seen.
Benefits for sellers in using Twitter
Benefits for sellers in using Twitter
Content can turn prospects into customers. You have to be strategic about it. Think of content and what you share as a seed and interactions as water.
You have to get to work.
Benefits for sellers in using Twitter
It’s about the meaningful interactions
It’s about the meaningful interactions
Make sure to take notes on their profile if you have LinkedIn premium. You can save them to a specific folder.
You must break through the clutter in order to be effective in social media. And there’s only one way to do that…
Just keep it simple. Dumb it down. Don’t complicate things. Don’t try to make it more complex than it already is.
Think of posts as storytelling, make them want to 'turn the page’
Look like you are giving, not selling
Be accessible and responsiveHelp others for the sake of helping othersBe a connector (it’s not just who you’re connected to but who you connect)Say ‘thank you’ and ‘congrats’
When responding/interacting, add value to the conversation and an unique POV
Ask questions and provide answers
You want to become their trusted advisorInteresting articlesInsightful videos from YouTubeInformation about upcoming eventsFunny/fun stuff to make your followers smileThings that reflect you and your personalityThings you enjoy and do (make it personal, but not too personal)Presentations, white papers and reports (not behind registration)Blog posts (yours and from people you follow)Pictures and infographicsQuotes, thoughts and insights (no links)Keep self-promotion to 20% or less
Think about them, not about youAlways have a clear audience in mind. What are they interested in? What do they care about?Share what your target audience might find interesting.