The Social Media Sales Revolution Authors Provide Insight On The Changing Landscape Of The BtoB Marketplace

The upcoming book, The Social Media Sales Revolution, hones in on the new age of marketing and how sales can optimize their time and efforts via social media.

DemandGen Report caught up with authors Landy Chase and Kevin Knebl, for more insights on the changing landscape of the BtoB marketplace, and six top rules marketing and sales teams are encouraged to follow to achieve social media success.

DemandGen Report: We’ve been talking about social media as it applies to BtoC marketing tactics, but why do you think so many BtoB companies struggle to formulate an efficient social media strategy that will help them increase sales?

Landy Chase: The vast majority of business people, and especially sales people, have a fundamental grasp of what social media is, but do not have a clue how to use it. This is due to a comprehensive lack of understanding of its implications in the BtoB marketplace. The key to an effective strategy is to first understand how each social media platform provides both value and opportunity to the vendor/customer relationship. The book provides a detailed overview of how to do just that.

DGR: In the first chapter of The Social Media Sales Revolution, you highlight six rules for sales professionals to remember. Can you give an overview of what these rules are and why they’re the building block to a sales team’s success in the social media stratosphere?

Chase: First and foremost, sales people need to face the fact that traditional prospecting methods don’t work anymore, and that social media is the new frontier in new business development. Second, in the online marketplace, marketing skills are primary, and selling skills are secondary, meaning that the key to success in selling is to generate opportunities through effective online marketing. Third, networking has always been an integral part of developing new clients; the powerhouse technology inherent in social media takes the ability to network efficiently to a level never seen before. Fourth, the role of the sales person in the future will be to provide value, not to push product. Provide value to your followers first. As we cover in the book, social media provides a highly efficient way to do this. Fifth, in the new economy, personal expertise is your calling card – people buy from people they know, like and trust. Building a personal brand is not only very easy to do in social media, it is also a critical component of gaining new customers. Sixth, recognize the role of timing in buying decisions. The need to make a purchase is a temporary state; the key to success is to be the first resource considered when timing kicks in for the buyer, and a need arises. Successful sales people of the future will recognize this point and work it to their advantage.

DGR: LinkedIn is a great resource for like-minded professionals to connect, but more specifically, it also allows companies to target prospects in relevant groups or discussions. What are the key areas sales people must work on to enhance site “reputation,” and what is the proper etiquette when attempting to connect with a prospect and build a relationship?

Kevin Knebl: LinkedIn is the 21st century Rolodex. People are busy and they’re looking to LinkedIn to quickly identify vendors and solutions providers who are credible and have evidence that others have experienced favorable outcomes with them. The first thing a salesperson needs to do is to ensure that their profile is robust and represents them and their company in the most favorable light. Having a 100% complete profile including applications and recommendations will separate professional salespeople from their competition.

Proper online etiquette or “netiquette” is very similar to offline etiquette. As in offline networking situations, seek to learn about others first by taking a sincere interest in them and what they do and how you may be able to help them in some way. All things being equal, people do business with and refer business to people they know, like and trust. Seek to build “Know-Like-Trust” relationships and then you are in a position to earn their business.

DGR: In chapter three, you discuss the ins and outs of Twitter, including Twellow, a more robust version of the Twitter profile. Some argue that Twitter’s 140-character-limit is the site’s downfall. What tactics and general content are most effective for companies looking to gain followers and peak interest?

Knebl: Actually, the 140-character limitation is a good thing because it forces people and organizations to be succinct and add value immediately. People are looking for information that can help them. The people and organizations that realize this and deliver content which buyers see value in will dominate. As Landy and I explain in the book, the winners in the social media selling space are those who position themselves as value generators. Use a simple 80/20 ratio where 80% of your tweets contain information, which adds value and helps your followers in some way. To that end, 20% of your tweets can be shameless self-promotions. People watch television and enjoy the show, but they know that sooner or later a commercial is coming. As long as the show is good, we can handle some commercials.

DGR: You explain that Facebook is a completely different social animal compared to other sites, and that majority of users are there to socialize, not to be sold something. How can a company leverage all of the areas Facebook provides (profile, photos, groups, status updates, ads, etc.) for brand exposure and connecting with prospects/customers?

Knebl: Companies that understand that Social Media is about sociology and not technology will be at a huge advantage to those companies that don’t realize this. social media platforms are databases that contain riches of information regarding your buyers interests and preferences. By leveraging this data and providing value companies can create mutually-beneficial relationships with their existing and potential customers. Imagine a database that holds personal information, demographic data, and any number of other marketing identifiers on over 750 million people. Welcome to Facebook. One way that companies can leverage this information is to identify the people that fit their ideal customer base and then ask them what information they would see the most value in. Then deliver that. So obvious, but many companies are banging their head against the wall when they should be communicating with their customers instead of to their customers. It’s all about communication with, not communication to.

DGR: Many BtoB organizations do not have the time or internal resources to properly measure, track and respond to a number of social media sites while blogging and communicating with prospects offline. How can companies correctly manage time and obligations to create a strong social media presence?

Chase: Perhaps the most important advantage of social media marketing is the efficiency with which a single person, or organization, can communicate with millions of people. The key to time management with social media is to be consistent — to leverage the principle of spaced repetition to make repeated, timely contact with one’s followers in the online community. We believe that a daily commitment of a half-hour or so, as outlined in the book, is fully sufficient to accomplish this objective.

Landy Chase, also known as “The Sales Revolutionist,” founded his sales training and consulting firm in 1993 and has clients in more than 60 industries worldwide. He has delivered more than 2,000 presentations as a professional speaker and is the author of Competitive Selling.

Kevin Knebl is the owner of Knebl Communications, Inc., which specializes in online and offline networking tactics and social media training. He is a professional speaker, trainer and coach with clients for business of all sizes and across industries.