Feature:
You Do Have Time for Social Media!

We are living in fascinating times. The power of the internet continues to change how business is conducted and gives today’s buyers an infinite number of choices. The competitive pressure to provide value at low cost is proof that a flattened world has changed how the transfer of goods is transacted. If your business strategy doesn’t reflect an attunement with this changing world, and subsequent alignment to it, you may find that your sales people are locked out.

When is the last time you stopped to consider what prompts your prospects to purchase a product or service? It could be from you or from another provider. Do your sales people really understand what drives the close (or the loss) of a sale? And when potential buyers visit your company’s website, do you know what they were thinking in the moments leading to their decision to buy or not?

Buying Behavior Has Changed
Sales in particular must understand that the way that people buy products and services has fundamentally changed. Up till now, the producers of the products and services we needed to buy told us why they were the best. Obviously their perspective was biased. These days, it is the vendor who is “last in the chain” according to Axel Schultze, CEO at Xeequa social media software provider. The buyer is fairly well educated before they decide to talk to you or meet with you, so sales people not only need to understand this but they must prepare for it.

Create Relationship – Increase Revenue
Scripts and canned speeches about features and benefits fall on deaf ears. Buyers are on social sites asking about which products and services to purchase, because they put more credence in recommendations and references from colleagues than hype on company websites. When they are ready to engage, you need to be the one that is top of their mind.

In this new world of social selling, it is important for sales to be visible, proactively engaged and patient. The benefit to the right sales and social media strategy is that you can shrink the sales cycle. Quality of contacts coupled with network size will lead to greater access to ideal buyers. Regular participation in network groups and/or blogs will build credibility as a service provider and demonstrate capability to potential buyers. Active use of social media is an opportunity to reinforce your brand message, so that your buyer thinks of YOU when they are ready to buy the products and services you offer.

Social media is becoming ingrained in current business practices and therefore progressive organizations embrace the use of this technology to propel their sales forward. More than a passing fad, social media is a worldwide revolution. The intersection of sales and social media is here.

Barb Giamanco is CEO of Talent Builders, Inc., a sales and social media consultancy that specializes in helping sales professionals and business executives integrate the RIGHT social media strategy into a sound sales strategy and process.

Barb is a well known sales professional, keynote speaker, author and certified sales coach with more than 25 years of business experience. She capped a corporate career at Microsoft, where she led sales teams and coached executives. Throughout her sales career, she has sold close to $1B in products and services and received numerous awards for leadership and sales. For more information, visit www.talentbuildersinc.com or contact Barb at 404-459-4030.