Adapt or die.
The days of picking up the phone and “dialing for dollars” are clearly on their way out, and fading fast. In the old days you could “increase your failure rate” by simply making more calls – and the results were usually positive. Now ask yourself, how many unsolicited calls does it take?
Consider this…78% of salespeople using social media outsell their peers, and those social media users are 23% more likely to exceed there quota by at least 10 percent. (The Impact of Social Media on Sales Quota and Corporate Revenue – Social Centered Selling)
That’s great, but what does that mean for me?
You need to get active – or at least get started. Here are a few tips to get you going today:
- Have a plan. Why are you using social media? This may seem like an obvious question, but don’t underestimate the value of having an answer. Your answer will directly impact your approach and success.
- Fish where the fish are – start on LinkedIn. Unless you are selling to the secret service there’s a great chance your prospects are on LinkedIn. Get involved in a few appropriate groups, or start your own.
- Do you use Twitter? Why not? Twitter has become one of the best sources of news dissemination, which means you can use it too to get your message out.
- Facebook is not just for teenagers and moms. Facebook is a fantastic place to demonstrate your value proposition via contests, games or other engaging tactics.
- Listen, listen, listen. Are you using social media to stay abreast of changes in your industry? Your competition? If you aren’t you should be.
- Content is actually king. Have something to say, but say it intelligently. Have an opinion, and be engaging. Most of all, be genuine.
So that’s it – jump into the social scene and see if your business development efforts are rewarded. Just remember – this is supposed to be fun – so enjoy it!
