3 Ways to Be a More Sociable Social Seller

Having a social sales presence is merely the first step – one that anyone must take to expand their social selling credentials. However, you won't be able to expand your sales prospects with middling engagement on social media. Whether you are an introvert ox extrovert in the real world, you must learn to be more comfortable with your own social skin.

Becoming a more sociable person in general takes several steps, and these can be translated to social selling as a practice. Here are 4 ways to be more sociable as you pursue prospects online:

1. Don’t over-analyze

We all have moments of over-analysis, where we deem a situation worse than normal. Sociable people are able to fight this feeling through increased perspective, and by recognizing that they aren’t the only people in a social situation who think that way.

The tendency to over-analyze is heightened online, where words are constantly misinterpreted and context misaligned. Placing so much faith in the first impression can render you ineffective if that outreach doesn’t immediately lead to the desired outcome.

This can lead to over-interaction, where social sellers wrongly take the approach of flooding prospect InMail boxes. This is never effective and worse, can cause the prospect to block them entirely. Top social sellers use strategic, timely InMails to reach valuable 2^nd and 3^rd tier connections.

2. Practice, practice, practice

Social selling requires you to leave the comfort of your own profile and venture out to find relevant discussions.

Here are 3 things to start practicing today:

1. Sharing Content in LinkedIn
Compelling, relevant content draws people to you – it’s the ammunition of social selling. Don’t be overly self-promotional with your content – you’re first looking to provide helpful information.

2. Liking, Sharing and Commenting on others’ content
These initial engagement actions increase your visibility outside of personal networks, and help build a reputation for thought leadership.

It also helps build a stronger relationship with those whose content you are interacting with.

3. Join Groups
Join those that are topically-relevant and cater to your prospect’s needs and desires. First, to observe and then to participate.

Much like sociable people combine the “social” part of their lives with everything else, so must you engage with the audience as part of your social selling strategy.

3. Be fully engaged

In for a penny, in for a pound. There is no halfway point with social selling and engagement - -you either commit to it fully, or you don’t.

Just like you need to practice certain activities (see #2), social selling needs to become a part of your daily routine. Leaving it as an afterthought or to be done in ‘your free time’ is likely to yield weak results, if any.

Once we feel comfortable initiating interaction, this is when you can take the lead. Ask follow-up questions, and listen for key terms that you can incorporate into the sales strategy. Just remember to frame the discussion on the prospect’s terms – not your own.

Becoming a more sociable person takes dedication and practice, and becoming a sociable social seller is no different.