The relationship you build with your prospect through social selling is just like any other relationship, in that it is a two way street. When you do your due diligence and provide research and insights regarding your prospect’s pain points, they, in turn, will likely want to work with you. However, as the seller, it’s up to you to begin building this relationship. What should you do to ensure that you set out on the right foot? Use the four tenants of the Social Selling Index to get started.
What you can do: Establish Your Professional Brand
Why your prospects appreciate it: When you take the time to build out your LinkedIn profile, thoughtfully and thoroughly, your prospective clients will take note. According to social selling expert Mario Martinez, in order to build credibility as a social seller, “You have to have social profiles that align with the customers’ buying journey.” When your prospective customer sees that you are addressing their needs, they will more likely trust you and view you as an ally in their buying journey.
What you can do: Find the right people
Why your prospects appreciate it: No one likes getting a cold call because, more often that not, they are not looking to buy whatever you happen to be selling. By failing to do the research behind who you’re targeting, you get in touch with the wrong people, and it often feels like a unwelcome interruption to their day. By investing the time and effort to use social selling tools, you will identify better prospects who are actually receptive to what you’re offering. And in turn, your prospects will want to continue the conversation because they value your thoughtfulness and attention to detail.
What you can do: Engage with insights
Why your prospects appreciate it: By liking and sharing content, and engaging with the debates going on in your prospect’s professions, it shows you are actively thinking about and involved in the relevant issues at hand. Your prospects will appreciate your vested interest in their company’s success, and, viewing you as a thought leader in the space, will be more likely to turn to you for help.
What you can do: Build relationships
Why your prospects appreciate it: In today’s sales landscape, there’s an average of 5.4 decision makers per company. Which means that in order to land a commission, you need to reach more people. By using social selling tools to facilitate your multithreaded sales approach, you will have all of the contacts you need to develop the necessary relationships so you won’t put all your eggs in one basket. Furthermore, you won’t need to directly follow up with each individual client as frequently, which they will surely appreciate!
By utilizing the four tenets of the Social Selling Index, you will build your improve your relationship with your prospects, and they, in turn, will be much more likely to want work with you. To gather more insights about using the SSI approach for all things social selling, download The Social Selling Index Kit.
Related articles