Social selling, a real sales performance lever
By 2020, 92% of top salespeople were using a social selling strategy (La Poste Solution Business). This revealing figure shows the extent to which the rise of the Internet and social networks has transformed sales management.
Traditional tools are no longer relevant, and customers and sales reps alike are turning to social networks to build lasting business relationships. But there's more to this digital sales technique than simply creating profiles on social networks.
Social selling is a genuine process of research, selection and listening. When properly mastered, it represents a real lever for sales performance.
So what is social selling? What are the advantages and benefits for your company? And how can you succeed with your social selling strategy on LinkedIn? Find out in this article.
What is social selling?
Social selling: definition
Social selling is a sales technique that involves using social networks to initiate initial contact, with the aim of generating leads and converting them into customers.
👉 It's a strategy used mainly by B2B organizations, but can be applied to all business sectors and company structures.
Social selling is one of the many " digital selling" methods, based on digital technology to improve sales. And it works! 84% of B2B CEOs use social networks in their purchasing decisions (B2B marketers) .
💡 However, social selling does not replace traditional sales and marketing techniques:
- emailing,
- newsletter,
- telephone prospecting, etc.
It's an additional means of communication that enables you to :
- shorten your sales cycles and therefore accelerate conversion ;
- build a close relationship with your prospect;
- position yourself as an expert and enhance your brand image;
- access relevant information about your leads, etc.
Key figures for social selling
- In 2020, 19.8% of BtoB decision-makers made a purchase following a solicitation on social networks (La Poste Solution Business) ;
- 78% of companies using social selling outperform their competitors (Forbes);
- 64% of sales teams using social selling reach their quotas (La Poste Solution Business);
- Sales people who use social selling are 51% more likely to reach their sales targets (La Poste Solution Business).
Why use social selling?
Detecting opportunities
Social selling significantly improves the detection of sales opportunities. In fact, 37.4% of managers have purchased a product or service following the discovery of content published on social networks.
Social media become veritable product catalogs, where you can use relevant content to present your offer in an attractive and engaging way.
👉 In this way, you can position yourself as an expert in your field, establishing a relationship of trust with web users even before the first contact is made.
What's more, social networks give you access to a number of tools and indicators that help you improve your sales actions and thus encourage the detection of new opportunities. These include
- creating alerts
- monitoring your news feed,
- creating discussion groups,
- tracking who has seen your profile,
- the number of views on your content, etc.
Building trusting relationships
Business relations, and more specifically prospecting, are often impersonal and bland. The same speech is repeated, the same means of communication are used... customers get bored (and so do you!).
90% of senior decision-makers say they never answer impromptu calls
Copernic
Social media enhances your marketing strategy by allowing you to:
- create personalized, high-impact messages,
- build a more human sales relationship,
- position yourself as an advisor, not just a salesperson.
Align yourself with the competition
Social selling is a recognized sales technique used by many companies. If you don't use it, you run the risk of being overtaken by the competition and losing potential customers.
So, if you haven't yet adopted a social selling strategy, here are 4 essential tips for optimizing your social selling strategy on LinkedIn!
Build your personal branding
Many companies still think that personal branding is only for B2C businesses. But this is not the case. On the contrary, it can be a real competitive advantage.
In fact, personal branding represents all the marketing actions your company implements to arouse customer emotion. The aim is to build a genuine brand identity, including :
- logo,
- graphic charter,
- editorial line,
- values conveyed by the company, etc.
👉 This will help you stand out from the competition and create a link between your company and your customers. But that's not all. Your social selling strategy will become even more relevant, since your expertise and market positioning will be even more credible and stronger. This in turn tends to increase customer confidence.
4 tips for a successful LinkedIn social selling strategy
LinkedIn is the world's most widely used professional social network . It's an obvious choice for social selling, particularly in the B2B field.
50% of B2B buyers use LinkedIn as a resource to make purchasing decisions
LinkedIn is a must when it comes to social selling. Here are our 4 tips for starting your social selling strategy on LinkedIn!
Use strategic intelligence to identify leads
There are countless people and potential customers on LinkedIn. Obviously, you're not targeting the entire network, so it's essential to determine as precisely as possible which people are part of your core target.
👉 Tip: Creating a buyer persona will enable you to know precisely what your customers' needs, expectations, obstacles and buying motivations are.
By segmenting and knowing your target better, you'll be able to create content that's more adapted and therefore more impactful. As a result, your chances of reaching the right people and converting your leads will be maximized. It's a win-win situation.
Personalize your messages
This step is indispensable. It represents the very essence of social selling. Personalization and empathy are two essential elements of a successful sales strategy on LinkedIn.
Think about personalizing your messages and contacts according to the person's character trait (if you know enough), their sector of activity... If it's for an invitation, write one or two short sentences to encourage the person to accept.
Personalization and empathy should nevertheless be the two key elements of all your sales stages:
- BtoB sales prospecting (invitation and first contact),
- during the sale,
- follow-ups,
- after the sale (birthdays, surveys...)
Be active on LinkedIn
It's essential to be regular in your publications and communications on your LinkedIn social network. It's not enough to be regular with the customer, but more globally:
- share content regularly (at least once a week, whenever possible): this feeds your professional page and gives concrete expression to your expert status. This can include: white papers, articles, customer reviews, etc. ;
- " like" and/or "share" certain posts so that you're always visible on your prospects' and customers' news feeds;
- take care of the visual side of your profile : update your information if necessary, present good-quality photos, create attractive visuals in line with your graphic charter.
Integrate inbound marketing into your strategy
Inbound marketing is a marketing method that consists of attracting potential customers and prospects to you rather than going out to find them. Contrary to appearances, social selling and inbound marketing are quite complementary.
In 2019, 93% of companies that adopted inbound marketing had a real positive impact on their conversion rate
ideagency
Your LinkedIn profile and your publications are your showcase. They have to make interested users want to come to you or your site. What's more, both methods are based on empathy and personalization.
👉 This distinction allows you to avoid being overly intrusive and to give your prospects space (unlike traditional business practices based on repetition and ultra-replication).
Article translated from French