Sales Leaders! Social selling is not "fun for millenials".

Which group of sales bosses do you belong to? Do you think that a presence in social media is a waste of time and you expect your salespeople to finally "start selling"? Or are you following the changes and see that the actions of online traders are the future and at the same time a path from which there is no turning back?

Find out what social selling really is and in what ways can your sales manager support the team on the way to achieving results. 

SOCIAL SELLING IN PRACTICE. WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?

Simply put, social selling is the skilful use of personal profiles (especially on LinkedIn) to support the sales process. These include building a consultant's brand, creating a network of contacts and (finally) establishing relationships with these contacts (by engaging in customer publications, for example).

At this point, I must emphasize that social selling does not replace the entire sales process, nor is it limited to processes responsible only for closing it. On the contrary, it is present at every stage — from initial online research through first contact and talks to making the final purchase decision.

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AS HEAD OF SALES IN SOCIAL SELLING?

The success of social selling and its impact on sales results depend on many factors — the issues related to the preparation of strategies and processes, the skills and commitment of the traders themselves, the support of the marketing department or the blessing of the Management Board.

However, the overriding factor that largely determines the rest of the puzzle is you — specifically, your belief in using social media as a trading tool. If you do not believe, you do not have trust and/or you have no conviction (select the appropriate one). You may forget that your salespeople can develop competences that lead to results.

HOW CAN YOU CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE AND APPRECIATE THE ADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL SELLING?

At this point, I refer you to another article that will show you why more and more companies include social selling in their sales strategies. You can find it here.

Meanwhile, let's assume a positive scenario in which you see the potential and change that occurs in the purchasing processes and the change that should occur in the sales process, and your only challenge is the appropriate involvement of salespeople.

HOW CAN YOU ENGAGE SALESPEOPLE AND MAKE SOCIAL SELLING A TOOL TO SUPPORT SALES?

A simple instruction that I have prepared especially for sales managers who care about developing modern competences of their teams will help you in this area.

• First — Motivate: Social Selling is not always smooth and spectacular (especially in its initial stages). Make sure your employees feel that they have your support. It is worth realizing that social selling is a long-term process of building trust. Mass messaging on LinkedIn is certainly not included. Your task is to support the team during the first sign of discouragement, which appears on average around 4 months from the start of activities.
• Second - Discussion at Meetings: for your joint efforts to have the desired effect, you should discuss them regularly at team meetings. Thanks to this, salespeople will see that for you it is one of the channels for reaching and building relationships with customers that is rooted in the sales strategy and not a temporary, one-time campaign.
• Third - Watch and Monitor Progress: Data collection is the next step in measuring success as well as failure. Thanks to them, you will draw the right conclusions and implement the right recommendations. By clicking below, you can download the material (Checklist) regarding what indicators you can measure in social selling.
• Fourth - Show That You Do It Too: the above points will be useless if your salespeople don't see that their boss is involved as well. Therefore, lead by example . Your actions will be the best motivator for them. I know it is not easy, especially at the beginning. Therefore, contact the marketing department, who will certainly be happy to help you with this action.

SOCIAL SELLING AND THE HEAD OF SALES - ENDING

I hope that the knowledge I have passed on to you will soon help you incorporate social selling into your team's work, which will translate into sales results in the long run. Remember that social selling is part of the digital transformation of the sales department. Transformation doesn't happen in just weeks. The initial team activities get you on the path to implementing new skills and new habits. But to talk about changes in habits, the first thing is to change your attitude, which is mainly up to you!

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