Get Started with Social Selling

Social Selling

What's the one number you need to know about social media and social networking? 25.

25% of time spent on the internet today is spent on social media.

Nearly 25% of Americans use social networking sites several times per day.

And more than 25% of the people in the world have a social media account. THE WORLD.

So why aren't you trying to use social media to generate leads and nurture prospects? Because, obviously, you should be. Businesses everywhere, from small firms to multinational corporations are using social media for marketing, advertising and brand awareness. But some salespeople have been slow to adopt for direct sales purposes. Understandably, it can be a bit overwhelming. Especially for someone unfamiliar with social media. But it's really just another way to communicate -- just like email (and the telephone before that). So here are some tips to help you get started with social selling:

Get Started with Social Selling by:

1. Create (and use) professional social media profiles on Twitter and LinkedIn.
2. Optimize social media profiles.
3. Seek referrals on LinkedIn by giving recommendations & endorsing others.
4. Follow at least 100 new people (20x per day) on Twitter including:
• Industry Thought Leaders
• Prospects
• Customers 
• Sales Gurus
5. Set up Google Alerts for competitors/prospects/customers/industry terms.
6. Post at least 3x per week about:
• Industry News
• Prospects/Customers
• Competitors
• Thought Leaders
• Photos when Travelling
• Sales Best Practices
• Personal Interests (20% of time is okay)
7. Join industry-specific groups on LinkedIn.
8. Add LinkedIn connector to Outlook on laptop.
9. Download LinkedIn Connected app for mobile phone.
10. Connect Salesforce account to Twitter.
11. Subscribe to industry and thought leadership blogs.
12. Subscribe to LinkedIn Sales Navigator (optional).
13. Blog (optional).

New Business Sales Daily Social Selling Routine Checklist:

1. Open LinkedIn and Twitter in browser tab (don’t close – just like email).
2. Find content to share.
3. Share general content on social networks.
4. Share specific content with prospects & customers on Twitter & LinkedIn (just like you would via email).
5. Look at who liked, retweeted, favorited or commented on your posts on LinkedIn & Twitter.
6. Review LinkedIn alerts.
7. Check on who’s viewed your LinkedIn profile.
8. Send personalized connection request to any prospects who looked at your LinkedIn profile.
9. Send personalized connection requests to any prospects you emailed thru Outlook yesterday.
10. Send personalized connection requests to people who engaged with your LinkedIn posts.
11. Follow people who engaged with your tweets.
12. Follow people who followed you on Twitter.
13. Respond to messages (just like you would email).

Top Prospect Weekly Social Selling Routine Checklist:

1. Open LinkedIn and Twitter in browser tab (don’t close – just like email).
2. Find content specifically for/about top prospects.
3. Share content specifically with top prospect (via email and social media).
4. Like and Retweet posts from top prospects.

Social Retention/Growth Weekly Routine Checklist:

1. Open LinkedIn and Twitter in browser tab (don’t close – just like email).
2. Find content specifically for/about current customers.
3. Share content specifically with current customers (via email and social media).
4. Like and Retweet posts from current customers.

Have other tips for salespeople looking to use social media to start selling? Leave them in the comments below:

25 Twitter Do's and Dont's

Unlike Facebook and many other closely monitored social media outlets, Twitter is a lawless community where anyone can post anything. And while some people take advantage of that wild-west-ish world for spam and other unruly or exotic calls-to-action, many of you are just looking for some general guidelines to tweet by and/or tips for growing your network. For those of you that fall into the latter category, here are twenty-five do's and don't for Twitter:

DON'T...

1. DON'T Complain about work. 
2. DON'T Tweet about religion.
3. DON'T Tweet about politics.
4. DON'T Be afraid to express your opinions.
5. DON'T Be too personal or negative.
6. DON'T Repeatedly post the same link or tweet. 
7. DON'T Abuse trending topics or hashtags. 
8. DON'T Over sell your own stuff.
9. DON'T Over share your own stuff.
10. DON'T Post more than one #FF per Friday.
11. DON'T Use corporate rhetoric and jargon.
12. DON'T Exceed five tweets per day. 
13. DON'T Post a picture you wouldn't want to see on the front page of the newspaper.
14. DON'T Post similar messages over multiple accounts.
15. DON'T Say anything you wouldn’t say to someone’s face or to a TV camera.
16. DON'T Publicly mention and thank everyone who follows you.
17. DON'T Follow someone today and unfollow them tomorrow.
18. DON'T Send automated/scheduled tweets and replies. 
19. DON'T Just post a URL with no supporting text.
20. DON'T Follow more than 25 new people at once.
21. DON'T Follow hundreds of people at once and remove all who don’t follow you back.
22. DON'T Send a canned direct message whenever someone new follows you or your company.
23. DON'T Make your account settings private.
24. DON'T Be guilty of the self-congratulatory retweet.
25. DON'T Forget to reply to mentions.

DO...

1. DO Complete your profile.
2. DO Add a picture of your face or logo.
3. DO Have a sense of humor and be funny.
4. DO Follow hashtags (#) when attending events/webinars.
5. DO Collect people’s Twitter names just like you do phone numbers and email addresses.
6. DO Create hashtags (#) for your own events.
7. DO Promote new tools/resources.
8. DO Establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
9. DO Follow thought leaders and bloggers in your industry.
10. DO Follow people your followers are following.
11. DO Follow people suggested in #FF (Follow Friday) tweets. 
12. DO Make your Twitter usernames easy to find.
13. DO Make your tweets useful resources so people need you.
14. DO Interact with those people you follow who don’t follow you back yet.
15. DO Use the “Favorites” feature as a list of testimonials.
16. DO Link to your own resources/articles as well as others.
17. DO Direct Message people instead of sending them an email.
18. DO Develop relationships with reporters, bloggers and other media people through Twitter.
19. DO Respond to concerns people tweet about you, your company or products.
20. DO Use your company account to update customers as well as prospects.
21. DO Be sure to follow back everyone who follows your Company Account.
22. DO Integrate your Twitter efforts with your other marketing initiatives.
23. DO Follow the celebrities you’d want to be friends with, the newspapers you read, the products you use, the restaurants you eat at, the designers you wear, and the athletes you root for.
24. DO Tweet at your favorite celebs and people you don't personally know.
25. DO Follow @RyanPratt ;)

Mention or direct message me if you have any questions, comments, additions, or concerns.

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