Would you meet with you?

Peady’s Selling Engagement sponsored by IRD Prospector

The other day I discovered a couple of interesting pieces of research on B2B selling –

  • 75% of B2B customers use social media to check on sales people
  • 74% of buyers choose the first sales person to add value and insight

Sources: IDC and Corporate Visions

Would you meet with you?

So what’s your LinkedIn, Facebook, You Tube, Twitter presence look like? Would you meet with you based on what potential customers can see? By the way an article in Forbes magazine stated that nearly 80% of sales people who are active on social media outsell those who aren’t!

If you need some help, grab a copy of “Social Media for Salespeople” by Alice Myerhoff or “The Art of Social Selling” by Shannon Belew. They are both available online.

Credibility and social media

There’s no doubt that the starting point for a sales person’s social media strategy is a strong LinkedIn and Twitter profile as they tweak your reputation in the marketplace and give you a level of credibility. Once they are in place move onto some of the others.

You can also use social media as a direct conduit to stay on top of your industry and other key areas by setting up Google alerts to generate the latest results in targeted searches.

Real value added

And how about your client interactions? Are they only about you and your company or do you ask great questions, provide feedback and then demonstrate the true value you can add?
First, let me clarify “value add” – I don’t mean the free stuff you give away to clients to make a sale! I mean the real deal a customer-based value proposition. Something that the client or potential client sees as a value to them.

Delivering WIIFM?

I define it this way: It’s a “value” that your customer will benefit from or profit from – the key to open the door to the sale because it’s the only thing that your prospective customer is really interested in and will create the greatest engagement.

To use an old phrase WIIFM? They are asking themselves “what’s in it for me?” What do I get from using this product or service? Your job is to explain, demonstrate and then deliver that to them. Then and only then you can position yourself as the trusted adviser not the local media rep.
 

About the author 

Stephen Pead is a media industry veteran of 30 years with significant experience in direct sales, sales management and general management. He is based in Sydney and specialises in helping SME’s market their businesses more effectively and providing training for salespeople and sales managers.
He can be contacted at [email protected]

 

 

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