Every time a new and exciting type of technology is discovered, society adopts it as quickly as possible.
Think about one of the biggest shifts, mobile technology. Can’t your life be defined as pre-smartphone and post-smartphone?
Social media is no different. Whether you’re buying a TV or hundreds of servers, there are ways to research virtually everything online. This is why the modern-day hunt for buyers starts online.
“Catch Me If You Can”
That’s what today’s buyers are saying to you. So while you’re going left, they’re going right. While you try to use email and phone for getting in front of them, they’re going on social.
Why is the B2B buyer on social media, of all places? The same reason you are when you look up answers for which restaurant to check out, movie to watch or car to buy. The reasons are exactly the same. Plus, they want to learn and discover on their own without being interrupted by sales reps who claim to have all the answers.
The same way you enjoy researching online while not getting telemarketing cold calls, your buyer likes learning at her/his own pace. Now add the social element to the mix: sharing information about something you know, learning guides, tools, reviews, and all in digital and digestible chunks of information.
Yep, your buyer is a modern-day genius!
Catch the Buyer on Their Home Turf
Sure, you’re a social media pro. You’re on LinkedIn (congrats, so are 300 million others). You dabble in Twitter. You’ve got a Google Plus page. These are all great things. However, this doesn’t mean you’ve got a system to help you figure out how to translate all of these wickedly amazing assets into more pipeline growth.
Just as you cracked the code on cold calling and other forms of prospecting, you’ve now got to crack the code on social selling. You’ve got to catch the buyer on their home turf in a way that’s:
- Appealing
- Not too pushy
- Helpful and valuable
- Respectful
By the way, did I mention that you’ve got to do all this without expecting anything in return? That’s one thing that social sellers do really well: they help and assist and don’t push.
The Bottom Line
Every sales coach, marketer, advertising executive, psychologist, and great door-to-door salesman knows this reality: buyers want to BUY your solution. They just don’t know it yet. Our job as sales professionals is to convince them that we are the ones they should spend their cash on.
Consider that the medium you’re using may be the thing turning off your buyers today. I’m willing to go out on a limb and predict that cold calling is not helping you.
This is precisely why you should be on social media. Your buyer is waiting there for you.
Need help in catching some of your buyers? I can help. Let’s set up some time to see how you can drive more pipeline growth.
