Today on The Sales Evangelist, we’ll discuss techniques for using Twitter to build connections and create an army for yourself.
Genuine connections
If you reach out to someone and express interest in what they’re doing, it will almost always be received well. When you’re willing to have a dialogue, people respond.
On the other hand, think about your own reaction when someone tries to cram something down your throat.
Connections that only involve an attempt to sell or self-promote will almost always be ignored.
The issue isn’t automation, because automation can be done well. The issue is a stack of posts queued in your account that only promote a sales opportunity or a link to sign up for something.
The good news is that Twitter has become proactive in its efforts to clean up some of the mass automation and is policing that kind of behavior. Furthermore, those kinds of interactions won’t benefit you on Twitter.
What will benefit you on Twitter is a genuine connection; a willingness to concern yourself more with the other person than with yourself.
One-to-one
Some people mistakenly believe that one-to-one contact doesn’t work on Twitter. We tend to get so caught up in numbers that we miss the chance to start small and measure whether our message will resonate with just a few people.
The truth is that those who genuinely connect with other people will find that their message compounds, and ultimately they reach more people because they were willing to invest in one-to-one connections.
Jared recently put Twitter to use during a trip to Las Vegas. He started with a keyword search and narrowed those results down to the people in Las Vegas. Then, through a campaign of @ mentions, rather than direct messages, he reached out to podcasters in the area and invited them to a free meet up.
The outreach worked because he wasn’t asking them to buy anything or come see what he was doing. He simply invited them to meet other podcasters. As a by-product, Jared had the opportunity to interview a few of them for his own podcast.
Although there’s no guarantee that any of those relationships will ever result in a sale, you will have created rapport. You used one-to-one messaging in a way that wasn’t spammy.
As a result of the positive experience you created, the prospect will be more likely to think of you in a positive way.
Grab prospects’ attention
You can also use Twitter to find targeted lists of people.
The Google Chrome extension TWLETS allows you to find a public Twitter list, download it as a CSV file or spreadsheet, and then use that data to connect with people.
You can ask relevant questions of the people on the list, such as “What inspired you to begin podcasting?” or “What microphone do you recommend for podcasters who are just starting out?” Rather than bulk messaging, you can come up with a short list of questions that you spread out among the people on the list.
If you’re operating alone, you’ll likely be ignored. The people who don’t get ignored are the ones who create an army of supporters by building genuine connections.
Once you have demonstrated your interest in what your prospects are doing, reciprocity will kick in and they’ll develop an interest in what you’re doing.
We challenge you to adopt one principle and apply it today. Look for opportunities to notice your prospects. Watch and “notice” them in order to figure it out.
Episode resources
Connect with Jared at podcastmovement.com or on Twitter @jaredeasley. Pick up a copy of Jared’s book, Podcasting Good to Great: How to Grow Your Audience Through Collaboration.
Our friends at Wiley have provided a free excerpt of the book Stop Selling & Start Leading. Based upon research and interviews with buyers, the book provides a blueprint sales professionals. Read an excerpt of the book here.
Once you’ve applied the concepts you heard here today, message me or email me and let me know what your results were.
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