I’m Az Burman and I head up Community and Sales Enablement at Reachdesk. Part of my role is to really help our BDRs get the most from their social selling efforts.
Social selling isn’t completely new but it surprises me how many companies and sales professionals still don’t utilise every channel at their disposal. If you’re still relying on getting results with just a phone and emails alone you’re missing out on opportunities to help people right under your nose.
During my time as an SDR, we were 1) called lead generation executives, and 2) social selling wasn’t a thing. This is back in 2013 and a lot has changed in those 7 years and ensuring social selling is part of your strategy is one of them.
If you’re picking up what I’m throwing down but still unsure about how you can begin here are 5 easy to start tips on how to start your journey as a social selling superstar!
- People Buy From People- social media is a great place to show your network who you are as a person. Start posting about your experiences in your role; things you have learnt from others and even ask for help/ tips from your network. Putting yourself out there will give people an insight into you and make you memorable so that when you do pick up the phone to your prospect, your name will be one they recognise.
- Use Video- just made a connection with a prospect on LinkedIn? Well, rather than being the person who sends an inMail or even worse- connects and says nada- you can send your connections a video directly through inMail on your phone. Nothing says personalisation more than a custom filmed video intro!
- Get Involved in The Conversation- imagine going to a networking event, spending the whole time in the corner of the room, and not getting involved in the conversation. Then when it all ends you realise you didn’t make any new connections. Well, being silent on social is the online equivalent. If you see an interesting conversation or post, go beyond the like and leave a comment, engage in conversation.
- Become an Expert Through Curation- I love compilation videos on YouTube, usually of goals by my beloved Liverpool FC. The players that scored the goals didn’t create the compilations. The compiler didn’t score the goals. But thanks to them both I have content I love. In the same way, you’ll have your own mix of ideas, tips, and other content that others won’t. Be the person who curates content from different people and sources for your audience to not have to go hunting them. In the process, you become an expert and a go-to source for knowledge.
- Make it a Habit- often, I hear people tell me that they do post on social when inspiration hits them. Waiting for inspiration, however, is a fool’s game. Set yourself a date that you’ll commit to social and take inspiration from everything around you- even if it seems mundane. The more you do, the easier it becomes and the key to social is to be relatable not, necessarily, remarkable.
Hopefully, these 5 tips will get you started on social and help you down the path of even more successful prospecting.