Modern selling

3 Simple Ways Sales Managers Can Help Their Team Establish a Social Selling Routine

sales-managers-help-team

Here’s a weird question: Do you have to train your sales team to brush their teeth every morning?

Hopefully not. For most of us, teeth brushing is part of our morning ritual. It’s a deeply ingrained habit; if you somehow make it out of the house without brushing, you will feel a little strange all day.

For your sales team to really take off into the stratosphere, help them make social selling as ingrained as brushing those pearly whites. By consistently focusing on creating a professional brand, connecting with the right people, engaging with insights, and building strong relationships, sales professionals can increase their sales opportunities by up to 45%.

Here are three simple ways to get started:

  1. Add LinkedIn to Their Calendar

Researchers have found that people trying to start an easy-to-put-off habit, such as exercise, are more successful when they do it before diving into their workday. So if your team members are constantly moving tasks around during the day, ask them to open up LinkedIn before they boot up their email every morning.

It’s most effective to have your team set aside time on their calendar each morning for social selling activities. After a few weeks, the LinkedIn time will be second nature, reinforced by the increased opportunities they see from their dedicated efforts.

  1. Start Small

The top social sellers use LinkedIn one to two hours per day, but even a small investment of time can positively impact sales results. Make it easy to fit social selling into a busy schedule by easing your team into their new habit.

Ask team members to spend a few minutes per day on LinkedIn for, say, a month (whatever you are comfortable with, as long as you are consistent). They should use this time for the social selling activities proven to get results: reach out to a new prospect, renew a relationship with an existing connection, answer a question in a LinkedIn Group, or share a thought-provoking article, to name a few.

  1. Set a Series of Engagement Goals

The ultimate reason to make social selling on LinkedIn a habit is to increase sales opportunities and reach quota faster. Set goals that reinforce the reason behind the routine. It’s a good idea to start with a series of small goals, such as:

Using LinkedIn every day leads to more sales opportunities, more sales, and a more engaged professional network. When your team makes social selling as routine as brushing their teeth, they can crush quotas as easily as they avoid cavities.

Discover more proven tactics for leading a social selling transformation by checking out our eBook, The Sales Manager’s Guide to Driving Social Media Adoption and Revenue.

728x90-Social-Media-Adoption-#5

Join the Buyer First Movement. Right in your inbox