The effective use of social media to increase sales has tremendous potential for companies of all sizes, but notice that I started by saying “effective use”. Many executives fear letting their sales people use social media, because they have concerns that nothing will get done. And they will be right, if the approach isn’t well thought out, there aren’t guidelines in place for what’s OK and what isn’t, training isn’t provided, use isn’t monitored and there is no tracking mechanism to measure results. Venturing down the social media sales path requires these 5 things: purpose, plan, participation, persistence and patience.

Purpose - if you don’t know what you want to accomplish using online tools, you might as well stop right now. You will only flounder around. One of Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is “begin with the end in mind”. That’s what you need to do when you start thinking about how to best integrate the use of social media/social networking into your sales activities. What do you want to achieve? What is the message you want to communicate? How will you represent your brand? Questions like these and more must be answered.

Plan - this is a topic covered in books and articles by writers more skilled than me, but bottom line – no plan is like deciding to drive from Atlanta to California with no map. You may eventually get there, but you are certain to waste time and get lost along the way. You need to chart a well thought out course and then follow it.

Participation - I hate to break the bad news to anyone naive enough to think that popping up a LinkedIn profile today results in an immediate sale. It doesn’t! The art of the sale has always been about building a relationship with someone who gets to know you and trust you..over time. When you actively participate in social communities by contributing to the conversation, you gain visibility and help people get to know you. For me, it’s a daily practice of weighing in on questions posed in LinkedIn groups, sharing information on Twitter, commenting on blogs or writing my own articles. The more active you are – the more you begin to stand out.

Persistance - in short, it is all about follow up, follow up, follow up. Over on the Hubspot Marketing Blog, Pete Caputa talked about the phenomenon of people attending networking events, collecting a lot of business cards and then doing nothing with them. The same is true of the online world. When you make connections on LinkedIn, as an example, stay in touch with people. Drop them notes, tell them about a question they may want to weigh in on because it fits their experience, make a connection for them, recommend their services to someone else. David Mason, author of Marketing Your Small Business for Big Profits, told me during a radio interview that it is all about persistence and consistency.

Patience - just because you have something to sell it doesn’t mean that your potential buyer is “ready” to buy. That’s what far too many people totally miss. You must be patient, but not invisible. That is why it is so important to participate often in appropriate online forums. I’ve also had people tell me that they thought sending a newsletter twice a month was too much of an intrusion on people. It isn’t if you provide information that is of value to your readers. Buyers are not buying on your sales cycle, so you have to be top of mind when they are ready to purchase what you offer. Everyone these days has a short attention span, so if you are not front and center in their minds – you lose. I have picked up speaking engagements, consulting opportunities, referrals and more, simply because I’m active online, I give to receive, and I am patient!

The effective use of social media to increase sales has tremendous potential for companies of all sizes, but notice that I started by saying “effective use”. Many executives fear letting their sales people use social media, because they have concerns that nothing will get done. And they will be right, if the approach isn’t well thought out, there aren’t guidelines in place for what’s OK and what isn’t, training isn’t provided, use isn’t monitored and there is no tracking mechanism to measure results. Venturing down the social media sales path requires these 5 things: purpose, plan, participation, persistence and patience.

Purpose - if you don’t know what you want to accomplish using online tools, you might as well stop right now. You will only flounder around. One of Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is “begin with the end in mind”. That’s what you need to do when you start thinking about how to best integrate the use of social media/social networking into your sales activities. What do you want to achieve? What is the message you want to communicate? How will you represent your brand? Questions like these and more must be answered.

Plan - this is a topic covered in books and articles by writers more skilled than me, but bottom line – no plan is like deciding to drive from Atlanta to California with no map. You may eventually get there, but you are certain to waste time and get lost along the way. You need to chart a well thought out course and then follow it.

Participation - I hate to break the bad news to anyone naive enough to think that popping up a LinkedIn profile today results in an immediate sale. It doesn’t! The art of the sale has always been about building a relationship with someone who gets to know you and trust you..over time. When you actively participate in social communities by contributing to the conversation, you gain visibility and help people get to know you. For me, it’s a daily practice of weighing in on questions posed in LinkedIn groups, sharing information on Twitter, commenting on blogs or writing my own articles. The more active you are – the more you begin to stand out.

Persistance - in short, it is all about follow up, follow up, follow up. Over on the Hubspot Marketing Blog, Pete Caputa talked about the phenomenon of people attending networking events, collecting a lot of business cards and then doing nothing with them. The same is true of the online world. When you make connections on LinkedIn, as an example, stay in touch with people. Drop them notes, tell them about a question they may want to weigh in on because it fits their experience, make a connection for them, recommend their services to someone else. David Mason, author of Marketing Your Small Business for Big Profits, told me during a radio interview that it is all about persistence and consistency.

Patience - just because you have something to sell it doesn’t mean that your potential buyer is “ready” to buy. That’s what far too many people totally miss. You must be patient, but not invisible. That is why it is so important to participate often in appropriate online forums. I’ve also had people tell me that they thought sending a newsletter twice a month was too much of an intrusion on people. It isn’t if you provide information that is of value to your readers. Buyers are not buying on your sales cycle, so you have to be top of mind when they are ready to purchase what you offer. Everyone these days has a short attention span, so if you are not front and center in their minds – you lose. I have picked up speaking engagements, consulting opportunities, referrals and more, simply because I’m active online, I give to receive, and I am patient!

Lately, I feel like the Pied Piper of social media tooting my little netiquette horn as a reminder to offenders of what not to do online. Granted, it’s just my opinion, but heck, that’s why it’s my blog:). Given the discussions I’ve had with other colleagues, I am pretty sure I’m not the only one who asks “if you always plug yourself, what value are you really adding to the community discussion?”

I was prompted to ask the question after watching several people over the last few days add one LinkedIn status update after another that talked about how great they are. And lately, not a day goes by that I don’t receive some sort of network invitation that is a thinly disguised sales pitch that isn’t all that great anyway. What’s up with that?

Stop Pitching – Create Value!

If all you do is talk about you, you, you…no one will care and they will just tune you out. Frankly, that’s what gives sales a bad rap. It isn’t the profession though, it’s the people who can’t comprehend that it is the sharing of “relevant” information, making connections for others, touting the horns of your colleagues and adding value to the conversation is what ultimately benefits you.

Listen, I’m a business owner with products and services to sell, and I consult with companies about how to use social media effectively to augment their sales efforts. Obviously, I believe that social media tools like LinkedIn are a great way to increase visibility for what you have to offer. My point is that it is OK to mention your services, but that should not be the ONLY thing you talk about.

What about your brand?

This is all about perception – your brand. What message do you really think you are sending to prospective buyers when every post, group comment or newsletter you send out is all about you? I can’t think of a quicker way to turn people off. When it comes to sending LinkedIn invitations, please stop trying to sell me before you know a thing about me. Here is an example of an invitation I received over the weekend that illustrates what I’m saying. I’ve removed the names to protect the hapless.

On June 19, 2009 2:27 PM, XYZ Salespersonwrote:
——————–
I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. I have worked with XYZ Colleague in the past & she recommended you to me as far as someone who would probably benefit from XYZ company’s industry intelligence. Please call me as soon as possible at …, so I can help you grow & be THE most consultative person you know!!

- Sales person

So let me get this right? You don’t know me from Eve, but you are sure that you can help me be THE most consultative person you know? Now I don’t know about you, but this is both rude and presumptuous. What does this person know about my consultative sales skills? I’m kinda wondering if she might want to get some training in this area herself, but that’s just me. This is exactly why people are annoyed by vendors and their arrogant, untrained sales people who assume that what they have to offer is just what everyone on the planet needs. Not to mention that this individual was lazy. What if she had done her homework and then crafted a message that told Barb what was in it for her? Then I would have been paying attention. The problem with these types of emails is that the opportunity to sell what you offer is probably blown. Forever.

I was feeling charitable, because it pains me to see sales people do such dumb things, so I responded with…

XYZ Salesperson,

I am not including you in my network and have already passed along my feedback to XYZ Colleague. Your email is offensive in that you know nothing about me, yet assume you can make me a better consultant. Why would I call you? You have provided no value to me as a business owner at all. You may have a great product, but your sales approach and netiquette may lose you more sales than you gain.

To this person’s credit, they got the message loud and clear and responded with an email that apologized for their thoughtless words and asked for another chance. I haven’t decided if another chance is warranted or not, because at this point the product better be awfully damn compelling and something that I cannot purchase elsewhere.

As for the guy in one of my LinkedIn groups who complained about the arrogance of someone who wasn’t interested in his product and then kept justifying to everyone why he and his company were so great, I have two words for you…dumb ass.

Lately, I feel like the Pied Piper of social media tooting my little netiquette horn as a reminder to offenders of what not to do online. Granted, it’s just my opinion, but heck, that’s why it’s my blog:). Given the discussions I’ve had with other colleagues, I am pretty sure I’m not the only one who asks “if you always plug yourself, what value are you really adding to the community discussion?”

I was prompted to ask the question after watching several people over the last few days add one LinkedIn status update after another that talked about how great they are. And lately, not a day goes by that I don’t receive some sort of network invitation that is a thinly disguised sales pitch that isn’t all that great anyway. What’s up with that?

Stop Pitching – Create Value!

If all you do is talk about you, you, you…no one will care and they will just tune you out. Frankly, that’s what gives sales a bad rap. It isn’t the profession though, it’s the people who can’t comprehend that it is the sharing of “relevant” information, making connections for others, touting the horns of your colleagues and adding value to the conversation is what ultimately benefits you.

Listen, I’m a business owner with products and services to sell, and I consult with companies about how to use social media effectively to augment their sales efforts. Obviously, I believe that social media tools like LinkedIn are a great way to increase visibility for what you have to offer. My point is that it is OK to mention your services, but that should not be the ONLY thing you talk about.

What about your brand?

This is all about perception – your brand. What message do you really think you are sending to prospective buyers when every post, group comment or newsletter you send out is all about you? I can’t think of a quicker way to turn people off. When it comes to sending LinkedIn invitations, please stop trying to sell me before you know a thing about me. Here is an example of an invitation I received over the weekend that illustrates what I’m saying. I’ve removed the names to protect the hapless.

On June 19, 2009 2:27 PM, XYZ Salespersonwrote:
——————–
I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. I have worked with XYZ Colleague in the past & she recommended you to me as far as someone who would probably benefit from XYZ company’s industry intelligence. Please call me as soon as possible at …, so I can help you grow & be THE most consultative person you know!!

- Sales person

So let me get this right? You don’t know me from Eve, but you are sure that you can help me be THE most consultative person you know? Now I don’t know about you, but this is both rude and presumptuous. What does this person know about my consultative sales skills? I’m kinda wondering if she might want to get some training in this area herself, but that’s just me. This is exactly why people are annoyed by vendors and their arrogant, untrained sales people who assume that what they have to offer is just what everyone on the planet needs. Not to mention that this individual was lazy. What if she had done her homework and then crafted a message that told Barb what was in it for her? Then I would have been paying attention. The problem with these types of emails is that the opportunity to sell what you offer is probably blown. Forever.

I was feeling charitable, because it pains me to see sales people do such dumb things, so I responded with…

XYZ Salesperson,

I am not including you in my network and have already passed along my feedback to XYZ Colleague. Your email is offensive in that you know nothing about me, yet assume you can make me a better consultant. Why would I call you? You have provided no value to me as a business owner at all. You may have a great product, but your sales approach and netiquette may lose you more sales than you gain.

To this person’s credit, they got the message loud and clear and responded with an email that apologized for their thoughtless words and asked for another chance. I haven’t decided if another chance is warranted or not, because at this point the product better be awfully damn compelling and something that I cannot purchase elsewhere.

As for the guy in one of my LinkedIn groups who complained about the arrogance of someone who wasn’t interested in his product and then kept justifying to everyone why he and his company were so great, I have two words for you…dumb ass.

During these challenging economic times, I’ve more than once heard a business owner or sales person tell me that they didn’t connect with their current customers, because “they probably weren’t going to buy anyway.” Not only might their assumption be wrong, since when did the customer relationship become only about today’s sale?

The social web has changed the way that your customers purchase products and services! If you aren’t visible to them, you put yourself at significant risk of losing sales opportunities. Buyers these days are proactive. They educate themselves about what is available, which means that the sales process has been transformed into a “buying process.” Unfortunately, many sales people fail to realize that things have changed. Smart sales people will take advantage of the opportunities that the social web offers by being visible, staying on top of trends, looking into the future and finding ways to position themselves as a well-educated navigator who is an open influencer instead of a convincer. Become a “trusted adviser” who stays connected regardless of the economic situation.

Three 3 Tips for Reconnecting

1. Evaluate your communication process with your current customers. When is the last time you talked to them? Are they aware of all that you have to offer? Don’t assume they know. Ask yourself what you can do for them…can you make a connection for them or share a valuable piece of business information that helps them seal a deal?
2. Use tools like LinkedIn to expand your reach in an account. Who else in the company has a LinkedIn profile that you can get to know? If your current contact has moved on to other things, you can use the LinkedIn “Companies” feature to search out new connections within the account.
3. Create newsletters using email marketing products like Constant Contact. Share relevant business content to keep your customers informed about industry trends, market opportunities and the newest in what you have to offer.

Remember that your existing customer base is a gold mine of opportunity; a competitive advantage that is often overlooked. Stop randomly chasing new opportunities when “acres of diamonds” are sitting right in front of you!