I have to admit to some major annoyance lately by people trying to sell to me using social media.  Normally I’m a big proponent of social media as a business tool. Recently though, it seems like the sales pitch is in my inbox before I’ve finished clicking the “Accept” button to connect. It’s part of a bigger communication issue in our society often described like this: We don’t listen with the intent to understand; we listen with the intent to reply.  I mean, how can someone send me a sales pitch when they don’t even know what my pain point is?

This is not to say sales teams shouldn’t use social. Many teams do use it with great success: According to a study by Forbes, 78.6% of salespeople practicing social selling outperformed those who didn’t have a social selling strategy in place. What’s different is the way they use it. Unlike the bozos described above, successful social sellers focus their social media strategy on building relationships and expanding networks.  

LinkedIn’s Koka Sexton describes social selling as “Leveraging your professional brand to fill your pipeline with the right people, insights and relationships.” This may not sound like your tried-and-true approach to sales, but the core concept is the same – build relationships with people who are likely to want your widget, partnership or job opportunity.

Make Social Selling Work for You

If you’re ready to try social selling, or perhaps evolve your strategy, here are three key points you should review. Over the course of my career I’ve learned these are the essential elements for making a social selling strategy work:  

• Walk Before You Run – One of the biggest mistakes people make with social media is lumping it all together. As with any new skill or habit, it helps to break the learning into smaller steps. Step 1 of social selling is the basics, like creating your accounts on Facebook, Twitter, etc., completing your profile consistently across the media, and learning the lingo. Step 2 is getting into the habit of regular social media interaction by liking, sharing and commenting in your network. Step 3 is taking engagement with your network further to the point of a sales interaction. Become proficient with each step before moving to the next.
• Be an Expert, not a Generalist – As you work through the first two steps, you will be building your professional brand. Give serious thought as to what you want to be known for. For example, if you sell software, you could focus on being known as an expert in implementation challenges in your industry. Your theme can drive ideas for posts to your network, and what you’d like to comment on. Become known as a master of your area, and you’ll start to build the kind of credibility that opens doors to new connections and a wider, larger network.
• Take Selling Offline – This is Critical! Use LinkedIn and Twitter to put your professional brand in front of potential clients, and connect with them to expand your network. However, when you’re ready to make your pitch, take the discussion offline. It’s ok to ask for a brief conversation by phone.  People enjoy connecting via social media, but the moment it becomes a hard sales tool is the moment people disengage.

A Few Additional Insights….

View the success of your social selling efforts and your future direction in terms of your pipeline. Could your network be larger? Should it be filled with more contacts with a specific corporate role or from target industries? Set realistic expectations for what your network can do for you now, and goals for how you want to grow it.

The answer to “Should sales teams use social?” is a definite YES. Just remember that like all relationship-building activities, social selling takes time. You must build up a level of trust before you can sell successfully.