Intro to social media for sales people

Social Media for Sales People

Mark Kelly Digital - 2012

An quick intro to Social Media for Sales People.

http://markkellynet.com

Why we're looking at social media.What social media ISN'T.The different channels and what they're for.A seven point guide to using social media.

Mark Kelly Digital http://markkellynet.com

What we'll cover ..

Why we're looking at social media

Because prospects and customers are looking online first to find new suppliers to then specify or direct-purchase products from.

Which is why your competitors are online / using social media.

We too need to gain attention, listen to needs, engage interest and convert to sales.


What social media isn't..


Social Media isn't about telling people you are in a cafe / on a train / drinking a cappuccino*

Mark Kelly Digital

It's a set of tools used by businesses, globally, not just 'the kids' or 'geeks'.

*unless you want it to be.(I've got free coffees that way and also reminded people I was around and to have a catch up about new work.. which then resulted in projects for me)


Social Media isn't a substitute for your skills

Mark Kelly Digital

..well, if you were new to sales then maybe it could help develop skills via things like slideshare or youtube or a helpful LinkedIn group


Social Media isn't a replacement for you

Mark Kelly Digital

.. and your years of experience and sales / negotiation skills

But it can support your networking and also bring leads to you instead of you having to go find them


Social Media isn't the end face-to-face relationships

Mark Kelly Digital

It just enables you to be online where your prospects are and to see what's interesting / challenging them.

It let's you get useful (and friendly) conversations going before you meet up in person.

Combine social media activity into your sales approach and you'll build on your success.


There are (or should be) 2 strands of social media activity around you

Mark Kelly Digital

What your business is doing:BlogFacebook pageTwitter, LinkedIn, Google+ pages etc

What you can do:Get involvedWork with your biz on sharing content, networking and more


Okay enough of the rallying cry

Mark Kelly Digital

What actual channels should you use?

And how?


What actual channels should YOU use?Focus on your short and mid term goals..

You / Your marketing team / Your Organisation

Image from Buddy Media Inc 2012 http://markkellynet.com

Pick from theseSo from all of these (!)

Each platform is good for related but different things

http://markkellynet.comMark Kelly Digital

So depending on your goals, time, preference (to be realistic).. you want a mix of these guys on your team..

Audience participation time: What could you use these channels for in your working day?

http://markkellynet.comMark Kelly Digital

What you could you use these channels for

Mark Kelly Digital

Listening and Learning: By being active in social media you can build a real understanding of your market and competitors, as well as understand external perceptions of the business.

Contributing: By educating and interacting with others.By promoting your company's products and services. By building reputation (yours / the co.) through added value* to clients and to the industry.

Building Relationships: with prospects, clients, colleagues, peers

*e.g doing what you probably do offline - share, assist, be helpful


Social Media in Seven Simple Steps ..

Mark Kelly Digital

1. Listen2. Create profiles3. Get involved4. Be human5. Be professional6. Add more value7. Think sales

(and 8. Test and learn ..but that doesn't alliterate as well)


Your guide today..

1. Listen

Mark Kelly Digital

Just listen initially (2 ears etc). Work out what your peers / competitors / prospects and clients are saying and thinking.

Try tools like socialmention and Google reader, or Twitter search to look at who is saying what about your brand, industry terms, issues and themes etc. Review LinkedIn groups before you jump in and contribute.

Or try out a dashboard like Hootsuite, there are a lot of free ones out there to get started with (and paid e.g Radian6for corporate usage).

This will give you some great conversation starters..


http://socialmention.com/

https://twitter.com/#!/search-advanced

http://hootsuite.com/plans

http://www.radian6.com/about-us/

2. Create profiles

Mark Kelly Digital

Set up some key profiles (LinkedIn is a must).Or complete them if you started, then got distracted way back when.

Trying out different platforms gives you a better appreciation of what they might be able to do for your networking endeavours than just reading about them.

FB: chances are you are on Facebook already. If you are then keep it clean, particularly if you are linked in any way to your company (e.g you tell everyone that in your profile). See what industry groups or brands you could like/follow. Although some people keep Facebook friends and family-only. Whatever works for you. If you are a dead-set Facebook hater, don't create a profile.


2. Create profiles

Mark Kelly Digital

Let's talk through some of the tips for each platform..


3. Get involved


Choose some LinkedIn groups that are relevant to your industry

and which also look lively. Answer questions for people,

add your view to active debates.

On Twitter, retweet any interesting links you've seen, update your status about a great trade show you attended etc.

Tweet about articles you've read (on your co. blog too) or issues you think affect your industry.

Make sure there are clear ways to connect with you, so if someone wants to continue a conversation with you, they can.

Don't forget the communication skills you have offline:Show there's a person not 'a corporate' behind the tweet. Add a comment to, rather than just post a link - but don’t try to hard-sell to / talk at people.

Use the listening skills and empathy you clearly have if you have a successful career in sales - and apply that to online. e.g don’t hector, spam, hard-sell.

Offer advice, insight and ‘thought leadership'.

It's ok to share some out of work stuff..

4. Be human


5. Be professional

Mark Kelly Digital

Being online and a brand ambassador (overtly or not) for your business has responsibilities.

So to protect you and the business, most organisations will have a social media policy. In essence it's about being active, helpful, professional - not bringing the business into disrepute or litigation..

Make sure you have seen this, understand it and stick to it.


6. Add more value (get blogging)

Mark Kelly Digital

'Adding value' is a shorthand term to mean being helpful, sharing your knowledge, not expecting anything back e.g not trading some advice on the proviso of a sale etc.

For your company:They may have or may be setting up a blog. Contributors should be welcome so talk to your marcomms guys and see where you can support.

For yourself:You can add value in tweets or on LinkedIn groups but if you want to spread your wings and you enjoy writing; you could extend your shares and contributions to longer form thoughts and set up a blog There are lots of platforms about, having used a few over the years,I prefer WordPress.Just let the biz know what you are doing or plan to do in any case.

(I’m skipping 'richer' blog channels here : podcasts, videos)


http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/getting-started/

http://wordpress.com/

7. Look for sales opportunities


Being involved in social media and providing thought leadership and great content should:

- arm you with conversation starters- help you see where you can fix a problem for a prospect - get you noticed - will mean more ‘inbound marketing’ for you / your company.

But you don’t need to get shy about looking for a sales opportunity.

Follow up any conversations/ help you've offered (you can direct message someone away from group chat).Have a look at some of the great guides to using LinkedIn and spotting biz growth opportunities.

8. Keep going and learn

Mark Kelly Digital

Keep going and learn from what’s working, experiment with content, types of interactions, groups you are active in etc.. it’s all about testing and learning..

And there's bound to be a discussion in a LinkedIn group for your industry that shares advice and insight around using social media


Thanks!

Mark Kelly Digital

Get activeAnd any questions - please just shout

Images I used : attribution

Flag = http://www.flickr.com/photos/tharrin/Cafe = http://www.flickr.com/people/avlxyz/Robots = meLego Knight : http://www.flickr.com/people/mithril/


@markkelly333

Intro to social media for sales people

Business

Transcript of Intro to social media for sales people