top reasons companies invest in social selling

If you are working in sales, then you must have heard about social selling. Well, social selling is not a new concept.
Recent research by Hootsuite has revealed that B2B sellers who embrace social selling are 72% more likely to exceed quotas than their peers who don’t.

For many, social selling is only about using social media sites. But more precisely, it is the process of developing, nurturing, and leveraging relationships online to sell products and services.

Social selling encompasses a much broader strategy than only using LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

No matter what the industry is, social selling is one aspect of a digital marketing process that has the power to bring results. Whether it is information technology, telecommunications, manufacturing, or healthcare services, these industries are desperately adopting social selling. This is because more and more B2B buyers do online research, engage in social media, and conduct their due diligence on companies.

Reasons Why Social Selling Works

Let’s discuss a few major reasons why these sectors are investing in social selling.

Increase pipeline development

Pipeline development is a necessary step to sales success. Building a sales pipeline is vital to a business set up and must be done well to ensure guaranteed results and profit.

Here are 4 main stages of the sales pipeline:

•  Prospecting

•  Qualification

•  Proposal

•  Closing the deal

A sales pipeline involves every stage of the sales process and it differs from company to company. This is why a sales pipeline should be unique and reflect your typical buyer’s journey. Now the question is how long does it take to increase in a sales pipeline? Well, the answer depends on the product, prospect base, and marketing resources.

Generate leads

Generating new revenue opportunities is getting harder. Cold calling is not an effective use of salespeople’s time.
The greatest benefit of social selling is that it helps salespeople establish a social presence that continuously attracts leads. It allows them to continuously monitor, listen, and engage in conversations around their products and services.

Create a genuine connection with an audience

These days, it’s a mistake to neglect your online presence. It is a fact that 80-90% of buyers are influenced by online reviews.

Studies also show that buyers are not only researching your business, they are also researching your salespeople.
Creating a genuine connection at every level is necessary to connect with your audience in order to achieve the desired results.

Good branding begins with setting up a good connection with the audience.

Challenges of Social Selling

But do you know what can be the biggest challenge in integrating social selling into your daily routine? It’s unquestioning loyalty to old, traditional sales tactics.

To be successful with social selling, sales leaders and reps need to let go of sales practices that no longer work.
In today’s digital era, sales professionals need to adapt new methodology and tools. A sales training company with a complete approach to digital and social selling training can help you get started and ensure long-term success in social selling.

The training process begins with sales leaders. If sales leaders do not understand the value of social selling, then how will they teach their reps?

A sales training company will help you convince your sales professionals on the effectiveness and benefits of social selling. Leadership training is the key to ensure your company supports the right skills. Not all salespeople are born leaders. They need training too.

Effective training can cover everything from getting started to how to create a sales plan to staying motivated every day and more.

To get the desired results and to be successful in social selling, the training program requires accountability, measurement, and buy-in from leaders. A sales trainer will help you determine which activities your sales people are spending the majority of their time on.

No doubt, continuous sales training will help address the skills gaps and ensure your team members will keep improving, thus boosting your sales effectiveness results.

Now, what are you waiting for? Get started with social selling and if needed, work with a sales training company.
If your business has not adopted social selling yet, now is the right time.

George-Albert-200

Our guest author George Albert brings years of sales and marketing experience in helping the companies to adopt digital and social selling with an aim to increase pipeline and revenue.

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