Posts tagged “social media”

Every good sales person has lots of tricks up his or her sleeve, using different selling tools to meet different sales situations. As sales people hone their skills, they learn more and more ways to bring the right customers to the door. One of the most successful current selling trends is social selling. This technique is not only a great way to bring in new customers, but, because of the relationships it builds, it is also a great way to ensure that you retain the customers you sell.

 Social selling is all about building a relationship with a customer through social avenues. Social selling brings customers who want to buy from you,

regardless of the product you’re selling. This type of selling helps set you apart from your competition when you’re selling a product that most people need or want. It also helps to increase sales of products that are not necessities. People will choose to buy these products because of their relationship with you.

 Avenues for Social Selling

 There are many avenues for social selling. The first, and most important, is through your personal life. As a sales person, your personal life and work life are completely intertwined, particularly if you sell something that the general public needs or wants. As you go about your personal life, you should look at everyone as a potential customer, and be sure all of your friends and acquaintances know what you do for a living.

 There is a technique for in person social selling that is very important to learn, if you want to be successful. You don’t want to be the sales person that everyone wants to avoid at the cocktail party because they don’t want to be sold something. Good social selling requires you to let people know what you do, and make sure that people enjoy being around you. If you can accomplish these things, the people in your life will think of you automatically when they need or want your product. Strive for nothing more than to be the “expert” in your field for them, whether or not they are buying. Not all of your friends will buy from you at first, but if you manage your sales persona successfully, all of them will buy from you eventually, assuming you sell something they need or want.

 Social media is also a great avenue for social selling. Use LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter accounts to send out helpful advice or snippets of info, but do not use it to solicit sales directly. Use these tools as a way to keep your name fresh in people’s minds, not as a way to close the deal.

 Finally, remember professional networking. These events are great ways to make connections with other people. Again, this avenue is not necessarily about selling directly to the people you meet at these events. The goal is for you to pop up in their mind when someone they know needs your products. Professional networking is more about referrals than about selling directly to your network. You can probably only sell those in your network once, but if you manage the relationship correctly, you can sell to people they know indefinitely.

 Social selling is not only one of the best skills a salesperson can have, it’s also one of the most fun. When you begin to take advantage of this avenue, you’ll find that you make great friends and have a renewed fervor for your career.

What Difference Does it Make Anyway?

by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC

Experts tell us that when we meet someone new they assess us in the first seven seconds.  Not a lot of time to make a great first impression.  First impression blunders can be avoided with preparation.  Although it only takes seven seconds to make a great first impression, that impression can be undone just as quickly if who you are after the meeting is not congruent with who you present yourself to be.

Savvy business people can usually detect when something doesn’t quite fit.  You may impress a client, boss or potential employer with a dazzling presentation, but if you are not able to deliver after the initial meeting, the positive first impression will be lost. In fact it can have a very negative impact on future interactions. Integrity and authenticity are your biggest assets.  The ten minutes following the initial meeting can deepen the connection significantly.

Be professional in all business situations. Your reputation is very important to creating long term trusted relationships.  Here are six tips on creating and maintaining a positive first impression:

1. Have a friend or colleague provide a personal introduction whenever possible.  This will help build credibility even before the meeting.  A personal introduction can greatly increase your chances of a successful connection, no matter the reason for the introduction in the first place.

    

2. Take the time to learn about the person/people/organization you are going to meet with.  With the easy access to information on people and organizations through the internet and social media, do your homework and find out as much as you can about them before the meeting.

    

3. Be sure you have a clear objective for the meeting.  Let the other person know the purpose of the meeting.  This will help guide the conversation and keep the questions in line with your objective.  No surprises.

    

4. Be confident and knowledgeable without appearing a braggart.   Professionals expect other professionals to be knowledgeable without being a know it all. Asking questions and sharing will build rapport more quickly than a long dissertation about what you know.

    

5. Do your homework and dress appropriately for the occasion. This might seem obvious but often it is ignored.  Your normal business casual attire may not fit in all environments.  Check first.

    

6. Be punctual, use good manners and smile.  Being on time says a lot about who you are and how you live your live. It is absolutely imperative if you are to make a great first impression.  Always say please and thank you, sounds obvious and again not always done.  A smiling face is more appealing and easier for a new person to connect with.  Show your pearly whites!

Timeless in Sales

by Cindy Stradling

For many decades sales people were taught to create and deliver persuasive presentations that were often called “pitches.”  Sales training programs taught many closing techniques and would repeat the mantra – the ABC’s of selling = Always Be Closing.  Those days are gone and effective sales people of the 21^st century involve a much more collaborative approach.  This approach includes focusing on the customer’s needs versus the old days of using manipulative tactics to close the sale so the sales person could meet their sales targets, regardless if it was a good fit for the customer.  I never sold like this, it simply didn’t fit with my personal values.

Like everything else in our society today, sales is evolving and changing.  Clients want to work with suppliers who are aligned with their values.  They want trusted advisors and organizations who are interested in win-win partnerships.

I have been in sales for 20+ years and I have noticed many differences and yet there are some things that have never changed.  People buy from people they trust and like, that has been my reality since my first cold call.  People want to know they can count on their salespeople to keep them informed and provide them with the best solutions possible.  I am pleasantly persistent when it comes to follow up and staying touch with both clients and prospective clients.  I think this is one of the keys to success in the long run.  Customers have told me the reason I won their business because I never went away when things got delayed or they were not ready to buy.  Often sales people will give up too soon. 

Good salespeople will always qualify a prospective client before starting to prospect them as a possible customer.  Effective selling involves asking great questions versus the “gift of the gab” approach of the sales people of the past.  Another thing that is never changed, in my opinion, is customers expect salespeople to be professional in their approach to business.  Although the business attire in some industries is more business casual than in the past, the sales person still needs to be professional.  They need to be punctual, respectful, articulate themselves well and listen intently to the needs of their customers. 

There are many new and different ways to meet and connect with potential clients today.   Social media has opened up many doors that would not have been accessible in the past.  A few of the younger salespeople I have spoken with do not use any other method than social media.  Seasoned sales people like myself need to incorporate social media as part of our business development strategy.  I still do cold calls and prospecting like I have since the beginning and for me it still works.  I have also started to work with LinkedIn as part of my business development strategies.  I challenged one of my students who didn’t believe in cold calling to give it a try, since she had never done it before.  We talked about what she would say and who she would call.  She reported back to me that it was easier than she thought and that the few people she did speak to her, didn’t yell at her (like she thought they would) and they were all very professional and one person asked her to call back in a few weeks that she was interested in speaking with her when she got back from her vacation.  She now incorporates cold calling as part of her business development strategy.

So what is my point to all this?  It is simply to say that some things are timeless in sales no matter what method(s) you use for prospecting and business development.

• Professionalism
• Persistent
• Great listening skills
• Collaboration for a win-win
• Authenticity and honesty