When it comes to implementing social selling, what are some misconceptions and challenges that organizations commonly run into? How does social selling accelerate the buying process? How can we leverage social internally?
On this episode, I’m joined by social selling influencer and CEO of Digital Leadership Associates, Tim Hughes, who shares insights on how we can get a better grasp of the concept of social selling.
"The biggest mistake people make is thinking “social selling” is selling over social." -Tim Hughes
The buying process has changed because buyers want to actually avoid salespeople. What buyers are looking for is an expert, someone they trust who can guide them. As a result, what they look for on social and through the content they consume are people who can guide them on the buying journey.
Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer and think of what they are looking for. They are looking for someone with a personality that will jump out. They aren’t just looking for the words, but the human element. If you’re salesy on social you would turn people off. You have to be authentic, show that you have experience, and that you are human.
Salespeople are really good at action-oriented content, and we do it with our clients already because we guide them through the buying process. When it comes to writing our thoughts, we tend to struggle because it doesn’t feel like there’s an action. But blogging is something we can use to accelerate the buying process.
Social is not the whole buying and selling process, but it is an important enabler of us being able to gain the trust of our prospects to drive the sale to a close. In order to wrap yourself around social selling effectively, you need a personal brand, a network, and content. If you do this successfully, you actually accelerate the buying process. It will ensure that when the time comes for the client to make a decision, you are the first person that come to mind and you have that top seat in terms of mindshare. Ultimately, social selling makes it possible for us to have more meaningful conversations, shorten the sales cycle, and increase our win rate.
Guest Bio-
Tim is an author, social selling influencer and the CEO & Co-Founder of Digital Leadership Associates.
Go to https://www.social-experts.net/ for more information and connect with Tim on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyhughessocialselling/?originalSubdomain=uk
Get Tim’s second book Smarketing: How to Achieve Competitive Advantage Through Blended Sales and Marketing, here.