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OK this is probably nothing new.
I have no idea what the average salesperson is up to these days. Cold-calling? Doubtful. Networking meetings? Perhaps.
If your salesperson aren’t spending a least half their time social networking (Linkedin, twitter, plaxo, facebook), they should be slapped upside the head. Granted, most Social Networking is most effective if you can sell your product or service on a nationwide or worldwide basis. But no matter, there are infinite opportunities awaiting your salesforce in the social sphere. All it takes is a little initiative.
Here are the three big reasons Social Networking should be on your agenda:
- Sales is a numbers game — the more contacts, the larger your sphere, the greater number of relationships a salesperson creates, the odds of success improve dramatically. Creating relationships through Social Networks is the easiest, fastest, cheapest way to get this accomplished. Period.
- Social Networking is king during an economic downturn — When times are tough and budgets are tight, businesses tend to look online more for solutions. And most of the outlets for information are social networks (LinkedIn, facebook, twitter, etc). This is an opportunity for salespeople to easily make meaningful connections. Forget the buzz phrases of web 2.0, social media is simply people talking, sharing and collaborating on popular online channels. And if you’ve looked at the numbers lately, it’s a significant critical mass of people.
- What part of FREE, FREE, FREE don’t you understand? — I hear it all too often, ‘we don’t have the time or budget’ for social media. Well, Social offer so many Free resources I can’t possibly name them all here. Free research (guestions on LinkedIn), Free advertising (commenting on blogs, posting videos on YouTube), Free access to every contact you will ever need (“get introduced” feature on LinkedIn), Free presentation tools (Slideshare), Free document posting (Scribd), Free worldwide long distance (Skype), Free enhanced search engine visibility (blogging, profiling, or commenting with your links to your site). And much, much more.
If you’re a sales manager, general manager, or small business owner and are wondering why your sales people aren’t producing, and what these people are doing with their time, perhaps you should ask them about their social networking activities.
Just a suggestion.
