3 Levels for Sales and Social Networking
March 23, 2009 at 9:41 pm | Posted in Blogging, Branding, Entrepreneurs, Facebook, Networking, Personal Brand, Sales Tips, Social Media | 10 CommentsTags: Facebook, Linkedin, Networking, Personal Brand, Sales, Social Media, Twitter
There are 3 stages that sellers need to go through in order to use the tools of social networks to their fullest. It doesn’t matter if you are starting out, or are already on the path – social media networks are vital in sales today:
- Begin with a Profile
- Leverage your Presence
- Work as a Hub
Begin with a Profile
There are countless people who build a profile and then let it sit… this passive approach won’t work. Just like your phone doesn’t ring, you won’t get much out of building a profile and leaving it alone. A few thoughts on profile building:
- Use a good picture - pics are standard now, and not having one reads as absence – especially in sales.
- Be in the Right Networks - Consider your use of Linkedin (no brainer), Facebook, Twitter… you need to be where your market already is. Do some searching around to find your spot(s).
- Be Active – Update, post, use, build and change your profile; make yourself visible and interesting (and professional).
- Keep it 1st Person – Avoid the 3rd person narrative of “Carson is a dedicated…”, Use ‘I’ and ‘my’.
Leverage Your Presence
Now that you have a profile, you need to actively build out your network. As I have said before, with Sales2.0, there is no prospecting – it is simply networking:
- Search for and connect with all your customers on social media platforms
- Search for and connect with your top prospects
- Business Development: Seek new contacts by profile searching for your ideal contact, reach out with a simple message – not a pitch
- Join appropriate groups to expand your network and connect with target industry professionals
- Use RSS feeds to share information with your network
Work as a Hub
Once you have been actively operating on social media platforms, the next level is to operate as a hub or central node of your network. What it means to be a “hub” depends on your business and your role as a seller within it.
- For a sales force rep- operating as a hub is more of a central network node – someone who is well connected, someone with information to share and is considered a source or a conduit.
- For a business owner or solo entrepreneur – working as a hub means to build a core – like a blog, or a group or a specific network, a virtual place or destination for people when they are online to access what you know and share what they have.
These are the 3 main concepts behind sales and social networking – which level are you currently operating from?
Facebook as a Marketing Tool for Local Businesses
March 10, 2009 at 12:57 am | Posted in Business Tips, Entrepreneurs, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media | 3 CommentsTags: Entrepreneurs, Facebook, Marketing, Small Business, Social Media
I’m going to take a look at two very different businesses and how they use Facebook as a marketing tool.
One is a well known brand/multi-million $ business in a major U.S. city and the other is a small hair salon in the interior of British Columbia.
Two reasons: Contrast and Compare. While these businesses are very different entities – they both leverage Facebook for the same purpose and strategy. People have a lot of questions about how to use Facebook to promote their business. There is no doubt that Facebook provides huge potential – but many people are unsure how to best make use of it.
Facebook benefits B2C companies with immediate and collaborative communication. Their audiences are already there on Facebook – Here’s an example of one…
Click here to see Natasha’s Hairdooz on Facebook.
There are a number of things that I think Natasha is doing very well with Facebook:
- Leveraging Her Network: With almost 300 Friends (50% are customers), there are frequent posts on Natasha’s profile about her customer’s satisfaction and requests for appointments.
- Customer Testimonials: Natasha posts photos from in the salon and hair styles of her customers for all to view.
- Profile and Page Integration: By building a Page about her business with location and contact info, she also drives a lot of discussi0n back to her profile as well.
Some Key Points…
Natasha targets younger clients through Facebook and her salon offers free wireless internet access. Her friends and customers are already on Facebook and by allowing them to connect with, participate in and access her business on Facebook, she gains immediacy, convenience and promotion that is unachievable by any other means. Having a camera on hand at her work allows Natasha to photograph clients and then post the pictures on the spot.
One of the greatest features of Facebook is the visibility it provides – when anyone in her network makes a comment, all the other Friends see that comment too – this results in exponential exposure for conversations surrounding the hair salon.
Facebook leverages the network that people already have in a very effective manner and can be an excellent marketing tool for solo entrepreneurs in the B2C field. On the flip side, my next post will break down how a much larger business in the sports industry uses Facebook as a part of their marketing strategy…
Marketing = Applied Art, Selling = Fine Art
March 7, 2009 at 1:31 pm | Posted in Branding, Business Tips, Entrepreneurs, Sales Tips | 4 CommentsTags: Brand, Entrepreneurs, Marketing, Sales
It’s always different working with entrepreneurs vs. sales people.
Teaching at Microskills
I recently taught a class here in Toronto focused on social media at MicroSkills. For a lot of “new” entrepreneurs, selling is the last thing they want to do. Many of them see sales as a necessary evil – as if it is only a matter of time until the market finds out about them and the phone begins to ring. They have the vision, but are not prepared to put in the time to find customers/clients (and the skills to pull it off). They focus their skills gap on the brand… i.e. “if only the brand were stronger…” vs. “I’d like to be better at selling.”
On the other hand, sales people often miss/overlook the vision of the business – both their own and their prospect’s businesses. They have the skills and can pound out calls and presentations, but have trouble with the big picture.
Now – these are generalizations, and there are some great sellers with vision and some entrepreneurs who can work it on the streets. Ultimately, I think it is rare for individuals to be strong in both areas. Success doesn’t come easy.
Bottom line = $. The efforts of any business – your own or selling within someone’s business needs to result in sales. Sales continues to be stigmatized while functioning as the life blood of any organization. I see both entrepreneurs and sellers alike continue to wish that their brand could help them sell, or better yet, sell for them.
Selling is a fine art – marketing is an applied art.
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Carson McKee,
Digital wing man and social media consultant. -
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