Social selling doesn't have to be awkward

It's not just marketers that should be on social media; but it's time sales people get on it too, said Tom Skotidas(pictured), managing director of B2B agency Skotidas.

Marketing spoke to Skotidas to find out why and how B2B salespeople need to be utilising social media to target prospects.

[More from Skotidas and other senior marketers at B2B Marketing this Friday. Join us on 28 November for a day packed with presentations, case studies and sharing on the future of B2B marketing.] 

Marketing: Tell us, without the jargon, what social selling actually is.

Skotidas: It's the process of using social networks or online communities to connect with your B2B buyers; educate and influence them with content relevant to your product/services; and then convert these relationships into meetings and sales.

Marketing: For most users, social platforms aren’t a place to make business decisions. Other than on LinkedIn, using social platforms to sell can seem like a really awkward fit for B2B organisations. What’s your take on that?

Skotidas: It’s not awkward - if you don’t sell. To explain: Social selling is a misnomer. We don’t use the phrase “social selling” in our agency as much as use the terms “social marketing”, or “social marketing” for sales enablement. The true definition of social selling is to enable your salesforce to connect better, meet prospects/clients more, and accelerate sales. We see it as a marketing programme using sales people as a distribution channel for relevant content. It’s about sharing insights. If on average, 57% of the B2B buyer’s decision has been made before they reach out to a sales rep, the role of the salesperson as a key information source has been reduced. To be relevant and stand out, salespeople need to deliver insights and thought leadership, effectively becoming micro-marketers.

Marketing: How does a B2B salesperson utilise some of the more informal social media channels to establish a relationship with potential clients?

Skotidas: We use Twitter a lot - it's very similar to LinkedIn in that you can run searches to identify your prospectors and your clients, follow them, and prompt them to follow you back. Channels like Pinterest and Facebook we don’t use because they haven’t been adopted yet by B2B organizations. Facebook is for personal interactions, which is why it doesn’t work on an enterprise level.

Marketing: How do you stop social selling from being intrusive?

Skotidas: You have to be relevant. You don’t connect with everybody - you connect only with those who would be interested in your products - And you connect using techniques that mimic real life. If you approach people, you need a complete profile, proper messaging, a personalised invitation explaining to the person you’re approaching why you’re approaching them. This means that there’s no intrusion.

Marketing: What are the biggest misconceptions about social selling?

Skotidas: The big one is that it’s easy. A lot of companies think that they can just turn on a LinkedIn company page and just start. There’s no easy button - it’s one of the hardest channels I’ve ever worked on. Creating a profile is free, but the price of entry is very high. The payoff, however, is enormous.

Another one is that you’re actually selling. It’s not a hard sell through social networks - it’s a social-friendly approach to networking.

Finally, people often feel LinkedIn is the only usable network. In fact, Twitter is just as effective, as is Google+. Even niche networks as SlideShare, a social network for presentations and videos (incidentally owned by LinkedIn) are useful.

Marketing: Tell us about social selling done badly – what do you avoid?

Skotidas: You have to avoid inviting people to connect without personalizing scripts. Sharing only company content is another big mistake because you’re seen as only flogging your company. You should be sharing reputable third-party content as well – four to five pieces of third-party content for every one piece of their own.

The other mistake is joining a network and expecting leads/sales within a day or two. There’s a high price to pay to enter, and getting people willing to meet you.