Social Selling - Cultivating Real Customer Relationships

We understand social media. We know how sales work. We all appreciate the importance of networking. But what exactly is “Social Selling”? This article explores precisely that question and shows how to effectively integrate this marketing and sales measure into your own business.

We understand social media. We know how sales work. We all appreciate the importance of networking. But what exactly is “Social Selling”? This article explores precisely that question and shows how to effectively integrate this marketing and sales measure into your own business.

What is Social Selling – and what is it not?

Let's start from the beginning. What is the concept of Social Selling all about? In simple terms, it's about building business relationships that lead to a sale, using social networks. It is a customer acquisition concept that differs from cold calling and social advertising in that a sale only occurs after a relationship has been established – networking, but re-imagined.

Social Selling is therefore

• not cold calling
• not social media marketing
• not social media advertising

Social Selling is also not about sending unsolicited private messages with offers to unknown people or recently made contacts. Ideally, you should never do that anyway.

This customer acquisition concept is indeed about fostering interaction and dialogue, and providing helpful support to build trust. Insights and data from this exchange are then actively used for sales and distribution.

Experienced marketers should find this familiar. It sounds a bit like content marketing, but social, doesn't it? And in fact, it's not too far removed in its approach – yet also a little different.

To sum it up: Social Selling is about

• generating leads
• acquiring new customers
• creating long-term, trustworthy customer relationships
• and primarily: offering assistance

How does Social Selling work?

Just like content marketing, social selling is about building quality business relationships. In contrast to content marketing, however, the desired outcome of social selling is less about publishing and sharing high-quality, informative and helpful content, and more about the personalised development and expansion of the right contacts.

Those who practice Social Selling identify suitable individuals, make targeted contact, and cultivate these relationships sustainably, often with the help of good content.

Social Selling works best through the personal profiles of brand ambassadors and employees. Therefore, from our perspective, the following prerequisites must be met for Social Selling to succeed:

• the right mindset: both the sales representative themselves and the company with its corporate philosophy must have the right attitude (towards sales and people)
• a meaningful, personal profile: people need other people to build relationships and trust
• authentic relationships: genuine and sincere interest in others, this is the basis for successful relationships
• expertise: those who present themselves as experts in their field will find it significantly easier when it comes to offering helpful support
• a multi-stage sales process: it takes more than an initial contact to make business relationships successful – keyword: customer journey

In addition, there are several other points that make Social Selling more successful:

• Choosing the right channel for the target audience. This should already be defined in the communication strategy.
• Finding the right people: Which industry is particularly important? How are decisions made? Network with the person who ultimately makes the purchasing decision in the company.
• Providing interesting content and messages. Often these are the same topics covered by content marketing.
• Choosing the right time! By this, we don't mean looking at the clock, but looking at the annual plan. When are budgets approved? What important dates occur throughout the year?

What are the benefits of Social Selling?

Anyone who has tried to boost their business success with cold calling or spent a lot of (learning) money on social ads knows that acquiring new customers is hard work. In our socially connected and digitalised society, Social Selling offers a more effective and simpler way to connect with potential customers. Benefits arise on both sides of the sales process:

• Sales representatives can identify potential customers and connect with them online.
• A company's sales and marketing teams better understand the needs and requirements of existing and new customers. This allows the company to continuously develop.
• Prospects use social networks to make their purchasing decisions and to build trust with individuals and brands during the buying process.
• The opportunity for dialogue and feedback is actively used to make appropriate purchasing decisions.

Are there any disadvantages to Social Selling?

Essentially, there aren't many disadvantages if Social Selling is done correctly, except for one: it's a lot of work. Building relationships and creating trust doesn't happen overnight, and it can only be successful if you present yourself personally and authentically. If you cannot or will not work with these basic prerequisites, you should seek a different path for yourself and your sales development.

In the next article about Social Selling, we will look in detail at which networks are suitable for Social Selling in the B2B or B2C sector, and what challenges arise during implementation.