90% of buyers ignore cold calling outreach?
55% of decisions have been made before someone has spoken to a seller from an organization?
So… what do you think has to be done to effectively reach your customer that will eventually convert it into sales? Well folks, this is where Social Selling comes into play. And we have the right guy for that in this episode.
Gabe Villamizar is the Director of Social Selling at HireVue, a video technology company engaged in the HR & recruiting space and now tapping into the vertical selling space using the same technology for self-coaching and self-training.
Gabe coaches his company’s inside sales on how to utilize social media, specifically LinkedIn and Twitter, to generate the pipeline to identify their buyers and enable them to listen, engage, and close the buyers online.
Here are the highlights of my conversation with Gabe:
What is Social Selling?
- Generating pipelines through your own social media networks
- Building relationships through those networks
- Educating your buyer through social media so you become a thought leader
- Using social media to influence the buyer, identify the buyer, and close deals
Social Selling Strategies You Can Apply:
- Optimization
- Be where your buyer is.
- Optimize your social selling/social media profile with the right keyword and credibility triggers.
- Listening for keywords
- Listen for specific keywords that your buyer says.
- Who does your buyer follow or engage with?
- What hashtags do they use?
- What companies do they follow?
- What kind of content do they share?
- Engagement
- Do a 3 x 3 research. (Finding 3 common things between you and the buyer in 3 mins.)
- Follow them on Twitter.
- Engage on Twitter or LinkedIn
- Create your message and go in for the kill.
- Identify their pain points.
- Engage if it’s the appropriate opportunity.
Other strategies you can apply:
- Have management involved in it.
Higher management must understand the value of social selling.
- Integrate social selling with traditional prospecting.
Test to see your percentages for social selling and traditional prospecting
Content Strategies You Can Apply:
- Have a content-sharing library.
- This enables sales reps to identify which stage of the funnel the buyer is at and tailor the content to each specific stage.
- Sales and marketing content must be aligned with each other.
- Develop a content sales funnel.
- Social selling content needs to educate the buyer and NOT sell the buyer. The buyer will come to you when they’re ready to buy.
How to Create Your Own Content:
LinkedIn publishing platform (they also do the marketing for you)
Gabe’s Major Takeaway:
Your LinkedIn profile is not just your resume, but your online reputation. Regardless of what social media platform you use, don’t think of it as your identity. It’s really who you are online.
Current projects Gabe is working on:
- Check out HireVue’s technology that analyzes body language and voice through video
- Learn more about Gabe’s social selling course www.embedsocialselling.com (first module is for free!)
Connect with Gabe Villamizar on LinkedIn and Twitter @gabevillamizar
Episode Resources:
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