How to use Social Selling to take your B2B sales to a higher level | Whitepaper - As more and more Customers take to the virtual world to source suppliers, sales people have to cope. So, what are the secrets of success in selling through Social Media?

1. Do you think social media influences B2B buying decisions?

2. When Customers reach out to a salesperson, how much help do they need in reaching a purchase decision? Has dependence on the salesperson increased or decreased over last 10 years?

3. Is it possible to find and nurture Customers on social media platforms?

Can you Solve the following three problems?

1. Rishab is a sales veteran with 25 years in heavy engineering solutions. He has built a portfolio of fiercely loyal OEM Customers whose relationships he has been managing with great aplomb. His Sales Director is concerned that Rishab’s new acquisitions have been coming down. He is encouraging Rishab to take to LinkedIn and Twitter to connect with Customers. “With your deep understanding of heavy engineering, Rishab, you can add a lot of value to Customers. It will also add power to your sales efforts” But Rishab is sceptical. “Nothing like face to face contacts. This social media thing is just a fad, it can’t help in real-life selling” he says. Who do you think is right?

2. Aman is a 27-year-old relationship manager in a leading bank, handling transaction banking relationships. He is active both personally and professionally on the social media. He is present on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. He spends close to 2 hours every day following discussion threads and posting responses. His team lead is of the view that Aman is not optimizing use of his professional time. 2 hours a day, according to Aman’s team lead, is on the higher side and 30 – 40 minutes should be sufficient. Moreover, he also feels that Aman is not getting enough leads to justify the time he spends on social media. “There is something not quite right with the way you are looking for people to connect and nurture. Aman, you should make more effective use of search engines, search tools and social channels” is his advice. How can Aman improve?

3. “I know what Social Selling is all about” says Dominic, Manager Institutional Relationships with Epsilon Autoparts. “Get active on all social media platforms and when people connect with you, pitch to them. That’s all there is to it” Do you agree with Dominic? What would be your advice to Dominic?

Social Media is a powerful new sales tool

It is now official. As companies, world over, rushed to embrace social media, sceptics have wondered if all that posting, tweeting and retweeting, was worth anything in sales. Though marketers in companies had a hunch all along that social media could emerge as an effective tool to aid sales, in the end it was a guess. But published research supports what media selling enthusiasts have always promised

An Oxford Review Briefings, going over the body of past research on The Outcomes of Using Social Media as a Tool for B2B Sales and Marketing lists among other findings the following:

83% of organisations involved in B2B sales globally, actively use social media for the purpose of marketing and sales

Social media helps employees enhance the sales process by leveraging digital channels to connect with customers during significant points in their purchase journey and can be used to create deep business relationships.

Organisations selling B2B can improve their product development capabilities by using social media

Citing newer research by Indian Institute of Management – Indore and the University of Miami in USA, Oxford Review’s post further cites the undermentioned trends and themes in B2B marketing and sales using social media and how it can increase sales:

Social media use is often a precursor to value creation in the sales process.
Many salespeople are comfortable with using social media and integrating it into ales processes to build relationships with potential customers, but tend not to be consistent with its use.
Using social media tends to enhance customers’ trust in salespeople and their belief in the products and services when they display integrity and benevolent intentions. This in turn reduces the customers’ perceptions of purchasing risks

And then there are the now famous statistics, the staple of sales conference presentations:

A distinct shift towards self-directed buyer research with 75% of B2B buyers preferring a rep-free sales experience (Source: Gartner Research)
74% of business buyers carry out more than half of their research online before making an offline purchase. (Source: Forrester)
50 percent of deals are won by the sales rep who identifies FIRST the buying signal (Source: SalesInsight)

All that should be enough to convert salespeople into social media acolytes. If it isn’t, there are dramatic shifts happening in the purchase landscape that make a compelling case for adoption of social media in sales.

A Forrester post of April 2023 highlights that 64 percent of today’s business buyers were born after 1980 according to the Buyers’ Journey Survey done by them. What could this mean to B2B sales professionals? “First and foremost,”, says the Forrester post, “they’re digital natives, comfortable seeking information online and on their own before they talk with a vendor”. They are also more likely to turn to information sources not controlled by vendors, such as technology websites and industry forums. So, it pays to understand their information and search preferences and provide content on sites. by them. Also, if this younger cohort is seen to visit certain forums, trying to be part of those conversations might be a good idea

Since the future belongs to this demographic of B2B buyers, selling to them without in some way using social media is no more an option for salespeople

Digitization drives dramatic changes in buying behaviour

In the not-too-distant past, the best way to get some product information was to chat up a sales person.

Now web supplies you most of it. Customers get their information early on and via social media. A Google CEB Study uncovered a statistic that has almost become passe, being cited endlessly. It found that 56 percent of the buying journey (From Need Identification to Purchase Evaluation in the picture below) passes by without the Customer engaging in a serious conversation with any Sales Rep.

Clearly, all of this points to 3 mega trends:

More and more Customers are on social media
A bigger share of purchase decisions is being made earlier in the sales process
Salespeople should become available to Customers early in the buying journey

So, it is now imperative that salespeople master the use of social media in selling

Mercuri View of Social Selling

Social Selling is about building relationships, about using technologies and social platforms to facilitate real human interaction before the Buyer and Seller meet face to face, and also later. The mantra is to ‘Give’. Giving builds trust. When you use social platforms to offer value - something that enriches lives, Customers will find you when they are ready. Your job is to locate the customer on his/her journey and become a part of that journey.

In other words, social selling can be seen as leveraging your own professional brand and social network to gather insights, make connections, then use that intelligence to discover new opportunities, sell, and do business

Mercuri’s 4S Model for Social Selling Success

The Mercuri model for Social Selling Success is made up of 4 steps:

1. SHOWCASE your expertise
Define and create your social brand persona. To do this you would need to choose appropriate social platforms, review your social image, craft a compelling summary, use multiple media, become searchable and create a valuable social network

2. SEARCH out key people
Where can you find Customers? The answer to this is in a 3S social equipment kit – (i) Search Engines, (ii) Social Channels and (iii) Search Tools. Use the 3S social equipment kit to figure out where your Customers are and whether you are on the right platform to find them. Steps will include

Map Customers by their social media preferences, using a Search Engine Results Chart
Master elements of the search syntax and Boolean search
Incorporate the insights from your search exercise into a final Social Selling Selection Matrix. This will serve as a guide post for your social selling initiatives

Within a social media platform, people can be hard to find. So, it would be a good idea to spend time in the groups where your customers are. Otherwise, you could risk missing your Customers. Following companies which are reported to be evaluating your product line, posting content likely to helpful in procurement decisions and staying active in exchanges with key decision makers and influencers are other action points that could be helpful.

3. SHARE engaging insights
This should include posting own and original articles and content which are helpful and of value to the target groups. People want to communicate with ‘people’, rather than a ‘company’. No surprise that postings of real people get more response than company / brand accounts in social media. But it is good to remember that “Social Selling” is not the same as “Selling on Social”. Attempts to sell on social turns off Customers. Before posting content or offering your views in an online thread, it might be good to check where your content belongs in the Content Matrix. You can test it against two important criteria - Social Shareability and Brand Alignment

That would help you decide if the shareable content or view is a piece of

Sweet spot
Hard work
Waste of time or
Spam

4.SUSTAIN relationships
What does it mean to build a relationship on social media? Share of mind, driven by a desire to add value, is all it takes. However, some caveats:

Remember social relationships are not conventional or casual
Keep in mind the purpose which should be to help the Customer achieve her/his goal
Recognise the thin line between being supportive and coming across as intrusive
Support the Customer on the buying journey
Engage in active Social Listening to spot Customer concerns

The 3 golden rules for sustaining social relationships are:

a) Share consistently

b) Recover quickly when there are slip ups. Learn the art of social recovery

c) Switch to off-line at the earliest

Social Selling can turbo charge your B2B Sales

Mercuri International’s Whitepaper on Social Selling sums it up this way: “Only by maintaining your network and remaining in regular contact is it possible to stick in the customer’s memory and be remembered as an expert in the ‘relevant set’. Of course, not every post or comment will tap into a customer requirement and generate business. Patience is required in social selling and perseverance pays off”

And the good news is that with the right training and effort Social Selling can be easily mastered!

Key words / Tags:

Sales Training	Social Selling
Purchase journey	Mercuri Insights
Mercuri Goldmann India	Social media platforms
Search and social	Content sharing

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Tell us about yourself

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Tell us about yourself

1. Do you think social media influences B2B buying decisions?

2. When Customers reach out to a salesperson, how much help do they need in reaching a purchase decision? Has dependence on the salesperson increased or decreased over last 10 years?

3. Is it possible to find and nurture Customers on social media platforms?

Can you Solve the following three problems?

Social Media is a powerful new sales tool

Digitization drives dramatic changes in buying behaviour

Mercuri View of Social Selling

Mercuri’s 4S Model for Social Selling Success

Social Selling can turbo charge your B2B Sales

More Insights