Social Selling for Sales Professionals – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest

We’re about to enter a new year, one where who knows what will happen in the world of sales –except that social selling will likely grow to be larger than ever. Social selling, in case you’re one of the few inside sales professionals out of the loop, is using social media to help find leads and close more sales.

Social media is becoming a force to be reckoned with as it continues to stretch and grow past expectations placed on it by naysayers. There is a lot of good that can come from mastering social media, but first you need to recognize the benefits of using it and then decide which of the plethora of social media out there would be your best medium to reach leads.

  • Extends Visibility for Leads – Social media is great for creating visibility. Often times when someone who starts following you (or friend requests/connects) there is a good chance someone they know will see this interaction. This is great news because it allows for someone else to see your brand, and if they’re curious, they might start following you, too. Top-of-funnel leads can be acquired through this method and grow your brand through the visibility social media provides.
  • Interactions – Keeping in touch with customers, happy or angry, is another way sales reps can interact with customers and get word out about their brand. Interactions are extremely important on social media. It shows there is a real person behind the screen name, and it shows the human side to the business. Additionally, interactions can provide more insight into leads and what they’re interested outside of work (depending on what they share on their social media platforms). This can be extremely useful when defining your target demographic.
  • Feed Tire Kickers – You know what I’m talking about. Those people who are curious about your brand, but want to get further educated before buying. Social media can be a way to continue tire kickers down the sales funnel to the point where they are ready to buy. Sharing good content and interacting with tire kickers is a way for them to control the pace of when they are ready to buy, making it easier for them to make the decision on their own.

Social selling has a lot benefits sales reps can use to their advantage as they try to expand their reach of potential leads and customers. Social selling isn’t just for sales reps either – companies can become extremely involved with the new platforms available too.

Have you used social media for social selling? To what extent and has it worked? Let us know in the comment box below and tell us what you think!

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