Social selling – a big buzzword of 2015 – is the process of developing relationships as part of the sales process. Taking place mainly on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, it’s a technique largely used in B2B selling. The difference between social selling and traditional selling techniques of days gone by, is that social selling aims to cultivate one-on-one relationships, rather than broadcasting a message to many.
Social selling is gaining more and more traction, largely due to five trends:
- Changing buyer behaviours
Buyers have more control than they ever did before, now turning online for more product information, rather than relying on salespeople. This has extended the period between initial interest and the purchase. Many companies are using social media platforms to influence their buying decisions, from reviews to personal opinions.
- Evolving marketing departments
Marketing teams have had to adapt to the modern buyer, producing relevant content across digital channels – social, email and mobile. Targeted messages are reaching buyers through automation. Salespeople are having to change their game, working at new ways of manipulating social networks for lead generation, as well as nurturing their existing customers.
- The rise of sales enablement
Sales enablement staff play a crucial role in educating sales reps to have the right conversations with the right people at the right time. Social selling is a skill that must be learned, so having support resources on hand makes social selling less frightening for sales reps and leaders.
- The need for personalisation
Sales reps still need to have one-on-one conversations with buyers and social media is ideal for this. By empowering your sales reps on social media, you offer your customers a human-to-human interaction
- Social platforms have become more user-friendly
Until recently, many social selling platforms were complicated, feature-laden social media management tools that were baffling to most. Today, with simpler yet more consumer-centric options, the social seller is able to master the platform fairly quickly.
Social selling has become an integral part of enterprise sales organisation, with business owners realising that this is the future of selling. If you would like to find out more about social selling, contact us.