For most salespeople, ALL selling is social whether it’s lunches, events or just meeting face to face. Yes, some salespeople actually do still meet directly with clients. But the type of selling covered in this blog is social selling specific to Twitter. Many salespeople think that social selling does not work for b2b but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
According to Linkedin, 78% of salespeople that are using social selling are outselling their peers
Hubspot showed b2b buyers on social are more senior and make 61% more purchase decisions and are 26% more likely to use Twitter than those on other social platforms
The first and most important way to think about using Twitter is that you can’t sell someone before you engage them. That means that if you are looking for a quick sales cycle, this is not it. And to be honest, most sales are not quick. You need to build a real rapport with your audience. Follow the next five steps and you will be way more effective and way less annoying…
1. Search for relevant hashtags
Start by looking for relevant hashtags on Twitter that relate to your business.I am in marketing so #marketing, #marketing101, #marketingtips – you get the idea.
2. Research your prospects
Find out if your top prospects are even on Twitter – if so, what hashtags are they using, what conversations are they participating in and what seems of the most interest to them? Look for things that your prospects’ company is tweeting about as well and/or other groups they might have joined.
3. Research the competition
Find out who and what your competitors are engaged with on Twitter – they might have found contacts that you didn’t even know existed or they may have found topics that are of special interest to your prospects. Use that insight to your advantage.
4. Start a meaningful dialogue with your audience
Distribute content over Twitter that will help buyers solve a problem i.e., whitepapers, articles and videos. Give them something they can use to make their job easier. Engage with them further by responding or retweeting their tweets. You can also consider hosting a tweet chat on a pertinent topic and invite all your prospects to attend.
5. Be genuine and mindful of how you interact
This might be the most important point of all.Marketers are bombarded with people trying to sell them something. Stand out from those salespeople and use this opportunity to be seen as an expert in your field. Someone that genuinely is interested in helping their client solve a problem and someone that will continue to help them long after the sale is complete.
In summary, Twitter can be a very effective tool if you use it right. The steps outlined above are not revolutionary but most things that work are not. You have to lay the foundation first. Then you need to establish yourself as a thought leader and show real value. Once you can show your client that you can help them solve their problem, then you can sell.