Social Selling!
Social Selling is a word that is trending all throughout the internet. Believe it or not, there are A LOT of people out there not doing it… and there are A LOT of people out there doing it wrong.
“Incorporating social selling into your day-to-day prospecting approach consistently can make a big difference on your total performance. A recent survey revealed that ‘72.6% of salespeople who in corporate social media into their process outperformed their colleagues.’ These tech-savvy sellers make contact where the ‘smile and dial’ crowd continues to get voice mail.”[note]Page 159[/note]
Social selling is here… NOW. You need to incorporate this into your daily routine before you get left in the dust. There are multiple things that play into social selling, so I can’t exactly tell you what you need to do. However, send me an email, and we can talk about how to get you started. My favorite guys to follow are @JackKosakowski1 and @gabevillamizar. There are about 15 people I follow and like in terms of social selling… but I like these guys messaging the best.
The HARDEST part about social selling is seeing the ROI right away. It’s like going to the gym. You have to go more than once to see result. You need to put time in each day to make it happen. If you’re not social selling, chances are you’re not maximizing your potential. Social Selling gets you in the door, but once you’re there, you have to provide value!
“During our next dealstorm, it hit me: “Show them, don’t tell them.” We collectively came up with a way to powerfully illustrate our total value proposition to the ad agency account planners, using a graphic we called ‘The Iceberg.’ It combined an image with the numbers.”[note]Page 170[/note]
Yea… This is an Ah-Ha Moment! Give your prospect a visualization of what you’re offering and what goes on ‘underwater’ and they will fall in love with you. I am definitely borrowing this image so I can share it with my prospects and team. In the SaaS world, prospects often get ‘vendor blur’. It when the prospect doesn’t remember what the vendor does because they all kinda do the same thing. Then, they end up picking the vendor with the cheapest product. If you give them a visual that resonates with them like ‘The Iceberg’, it’ll separate you from the competition.
Ideally, when showing someone a visual of what you have to offer and how it’s going to fix their problem, they provide you feedback. Try imagining your sales pitch from the prospects view. Does everything make sense? Do you see the value in what you have to offer?
“Too often we see the world through our day-to-day experiences or based on our role at work. By adopting a new point of view, you open up possibilities for creativity in everyone on the dealstorm team.”[note]Page 178[/note]
Whether you look at this quote from the dealstorming perspective or from the prospect perspective… it can provide you with a lot of insight. In a dealstorm, you can get the view point from a lot of team members. From the prospect’s perspective, it can help you win a deal. Maybe you can relate more with a prospect when you’re learning about their pain points. The more you connect with a prospect, the better chance you have at them becoming a champion for you. Having a champion within an organization can make or break your deal.
“They get you and your offer in front of influencers and decision makers by vouching for you and opening doors. Later in the process, they marshal support for your company and drive others to action.”[note]Page 185[/note]
A lot of times, these champions will give you information that you don’t already have. While working at Cornerstone, one of my reps told me that their champion was in a meeting with the decision makers and they were narrowing the vendors down to three. The champion texted the rep and told them that they needed to drop the price or else we won’t be considered. The price was dropped and Cornerstone stayed in the picture. Obviously, we never want to lose a deal based on price… but that was the driving factor in narrowing down the vendors. Without that champion, we would have been gone.
“When people perceive you as a giver, they are usually ready to reciprocate by telling you what they know.”[note]Page 196[/note]
I’ve written about this many time! Once you can get off of your agenda and onto the prospects, you’re improving your chances of earning business. Help fix someone’s problem and they’ll return the favor. There aren’t a lot of sales people that take this approach. The ones that do… are rockstart sales people.
“With the dealstorming process, you now have a tool that not only produces measurable results, but by its collaborative nature created influence, power, and transparency for those who lead or participate in one.”[note]Page 222[/note]
Leaving you with this quote should encourage you to purchase this book and read it! There is so much incredible information throughout the book! Sander’s digs into his past to share stories from himself and other success people. I look forward to reading about his future success!
Connect with me on Twitter @Barta57
Connect with Tim on Twitter @sanderssays
Dealstorming | Tim Sanders
Get “Dealstorming” on Amazon.