Four Simple Steps to Sell on Social Media
Social media sales often get a bad rap, mainly because many people don’t know exactly what it entails and how to do it effectively and efficiently. But this Social Media Breakfast, Kami Huyse demystifies the process of selling on social media with social media and sales expert Phil Gerbyshak. You can find the full video here.
The process consists of four steps:
- Intake,
- Discover,
- Demonstrate, and
- Close.
The basic idea behind it is to build relationships, communicate, listen, and connect. Here, we break it all down for you.
Intake
First, identify the category that the person you want to speak with falls into. There are four primary ones: peers, competitors, customers, and prospects.
Peers are people that work in your industry who you could consider part of your network of friendlies, or people you regularly check in with, while competitors are those who are, as the term suggests, in competition with you in some way. Customers are those you are already providing services to, while prospects are possible future customers.
Each category entails a different presentation and approach — the way you communicate with a current customer will vastly differ from the way you communicate with a peer of yours.
It’s crucial to know how to facilitate these conversations and know who to talk to and what to talk about.
Discover
This step is about discovering the problem and how you can benefit each other in this situation. Think about sales as a service and try to lead to the problem, not with the problem. Take the time to actually listen to what the person is saying and what is important to them, and then decide on how to accurately respond to what they need, not what you do.
The focus should be on their priorities and values, not just yours. You don’t necessarily need to be the one to solve their problem — simply listening to them and then providing advice or referring them to someone else who can help them is still a wonderful way to build rapport with people you’re trying to help.
Demonstrate
Now that you know what the problem is and have established what you can do to solve it, it’s important to establish your credibility and expertise in the area. The best way to do this is through sharing stories and experiences. Did you help someone in a similar situation? Share an anecdote about that experience and how it went for you. How was that situation similar to this one? How is this problem unique, and how does your expertise enable you to solve it?
Don’t just dump information on them, but emphasize the connection between problems you’ve solved in the past and this one. Why are you the right person for this job?
Close
Finally, be sure to end with a proposal. Outline what exactly you will be doing and follow through on your promises. If you set a deadline for yourself, meet it. If you mess up and forget or need more time, let them know and make it up to them.
How you do one thing reflects your character and how you do everything else — constantly missing deadlines and breaking promises is a poor representation of your character, commitment, and work ethic. Be sure to consistently reach out and check in, not nag them, in order to ensure that you close the deal.
Overall, be sure that you’re branding yourself accurately and are attracting the right kinds of people to facilitate conversations and initiate relationships with. Your profile should look like a resource, not a resume.
Humanize yourself and take the time to celebrate with people, sympathize with them, and connect with them in unique, creative ways that will set you apart from the rest.