Employees who master Social Selling play a crucial role in the transition towards a more modern selling strategy. They are the best ambassadors, setting a standard for their company and encouraging them to adopt social selling techniques actively.
In our recent Meet the Masters of Social Selling webinar, we discussed how thought leaders implement Social Selling, and how you can embrace it too. In this edition, we counted on Deborah Schlegel — Associate Manager of Marketing & Communications at Accenture — as a guest speaker. She shared the virtual floor with Eric Haar — Digital Business Coach at Tricycle Europe. Deborah shared her view on how Accenture is embracing social selling and how her team is adopting LinkedIn to build their personal brand and add value to their organization.
Why is it important to leverage social?
Having a presence on social media is no longer optional – it’s an essential way to reach your customers, gain valuable insights, and grow your personal brand. Now, it’s more about how well you’re doing it.
Social media plays a huge role in influencing buying decisions. “In business, people believe in people. People don’t believe in companies”, explained Deborah. This boils down to trust and credibility, and the opportunity to humanize the sales process.
“In today’s time, it doesn’t matter if you have an upcoming speaker slot, an interview, or a business meeting, people Google your name to try and find out more information about you before they’ve even met you. It’s a fact that if you are not on social media, you are simply not visible. Everyone is fighting for attention in the online space, so it’s absolutely crucial that your online presence is authentic”, said Deborah.
Keeping it real
There is a great deal of importance placed on authenticity, and in a world where everyone is only showing highlights with carefully curated content, it can feel like walking a tight rope. Being genuine is a vital part of connecting with your network, and can help forge deeper connections with customers and take the bond past sales.
“LinkedIn is like the dating site for business. When you’re going on a date, you’re going to be on your best behaviour, you’re going to be listening a lot more than you are talking, and when you do talk, you’re going to be having a relevant conversation to really get to know one another to try and come off as somewhat likeable and trustworthy. So in social, there is a tremendous opportunity to be authentic, and that starts with a change in broadcasting content, where you post content that is relevant, authentic and valuable for your network”, explained Eric.
Quick tips from the experts
Here are some quick tips based on the conversation that Deborah and Eric had around building your personal brand, nurturing prospects, and driving sales through social selling:
- Remember that social media is like a sport – you need discipline. It takes time, effort, and practice.
- Share engaging content you believe in and is valuable for your community. This increases engagement, and starts to become fun. As we all know, once something becomes fun, you naturally do it more often and become better at it.
- When it comes to the type of content you share, Deborah recommends 20% be about your company and 80% be industry-related content, which is where your personal branding comes in. Spend some time determining the topics that you feel most comfortable with and align with your values.
- Instead of simply sharing a valuable piece of content, add your own point of view alongside it. This can be scary and daunting at first, but this is where credibility comes into play, and starts separating you from the people who are simply broadcasting content, and will position you as a thought leader in your industry.
Key takeaways and last words
Social selling can seem like an overwhelming task in the beginning, but once you get the basics down, you’re on your way to creating meaningful relationships, growing your personal brand, and increasing sales. At the end of the day, it all comes down to being real – be true to yourself and your brand by posting content that’s honest and thoughtful, and represents what you stand for in an authentic and truthful way.
Watch here the full webinar with Deborah Schlegel, Eric Haar, and the rest of the Tricycle Team.
