Barbara Giamanco & Jim Keenan just finished an intensive survey of sales professionals – seeking to understand their ROI with Social Selling.
The ROI is so conclusive, that there’s no reason to flush up this blog with anything but empirical evidence. Here you go!
Statistic #1 Nearly 80% of sales reps are using social, and are winning more deals
I was surprised at this finding, but you realize that using LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook & Google+ are no longer options for sales reps in 2013. Those other 20%+ that aren’t using these tools, are as Koka Sexton says “at a complete disadvantage”. While nearly 80% of sales reps are using some kind of Social Selling, the best part of this statistic comes from the 3 of the 4 are outperforming their peers that aren’t using Social. These numbers alone make it pretty compelling to leverage tools like LinkedIn more effectively.
Statistic #2 54% of sales reps can isolate a particular deal won from Social Selling
I can tell you that we know that statistic down cold. Simply using an “Opportunity Source” button in Salesforce, we know that 7 of our last deals in Q1 were directly attributed to activity via LinkedIn! That’s not including other social platforms like Twitter, nor Marketing Automation. That’s 7 deals worth 5-figures, all from post articles, listening to conversations and actively starting conversations (the ROI is fantastic). From the statistic above, sales reps are able to pin-point the LinkedIn message, or the article they sent to a prospect that kick-started their deal.
Statistic #3 40% of sales reps have closed at least 2-5 deals with Social Selling in past year
Social Selling is obviously not a one-hit wonder. There are companies all over North America jumping ahead of the curve to drive business socially. Not just a deal here-or-there, but integrating this into their sales process. Sales reps will be as accountable to social activity as they have been with phone & email activity. The only counter-intuitive part of this survey came during training questions. Only 1 of 4 sales reps have ever been given formal training on Social Selling, yet this new sales process is clearly going to be a huge part of their success? This is food for thought to all you sales managers out there.
Statistic #4 What is 30-60 minutes a day worth to you to win 1 – 5 more deals this year?
The math for us is dead simple. I personally have the LinkedIn Professional addition @ $100 + Hootsuite Pro for $20 – per month. By spending 30-60 minutes a day in these tools, I will generate multiple five-figures every month. Like clockwork. Think about this, $120 + 20 hours of your sales life, can make sure you hit quota every month…
Our business, and our client’s – have perpetual lead generation machines, all from constant social activity.
For a complete download of their eBook, click here
The Bottom Line
If you don’t want to be left behind the 8 ball – you really need to start to take action. The following blog posts on utilizing Social Selling strategies using LinkedIn can help you start. If you are really looking for some hidden gems on how you can attract a very specific prospect, I recommend you check out 42 LinkedIn Tips
