In the ever-changing world of sales, you’ve probably seen the term ‘social selling’ floating around. Why should you do it? Here are seven statistics that should engage even the most casual of social media users.

1. 7 SHOCKING
SOCIAL SELLING
STATISTICS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY

2. Social Selling
In the ever-changing world of sales, you’ve probably seen the term
‘social selling’ floating around. You may have ignored the trend because,
as is the way with sales, it seems that as soon as one method starts to
work, it stops working.
“Cold calling is dead” is a hot phrase in sales right now, and everyone
is hanging up the humble telephone and taking to the internet. So if no
one else is doing it, then is now the time to start dialing? Maybe, but let’s
instead talk about a more human alternative that never goes out of
fashion – building rapport.
The reason for this is because prospects are just as savvy as
salespeople tend to think they are, and they’re very in tune with sales
tactics. ‘But how did they know it was an automated message?’ well,
because it’s probably not the first one they’ve received.

3. Social Selling & Social Listening
Social Selling – Harnessing the power of social media to
listen to, engage with, and build rapport with prospective
clients. This is the most effective way to ensure that you are
the first person/company that comes to mind when a
prospect is ready to buy.
So, now you know what social selling is, why should
you do it? Here are seven statistics that should
engage even the most casual of social media users.
Social Listening – Taking to social media and the internet
to get an idea of what people are saying about your
industry. LinkedIn and Twitter are excellent tools for this as
they’ve adopted the use of the hashtag to categorize topics.

4. 1. 78% OF SOCIAL SELLERS
OUTSELL PEERS WHO DON’T
USE SOCIAL MEDIA (LINKEDIN)

5. 1. 78% of social sellers outsell peers who
don’t use social media
We all know at least one person, salesperson or not, who
refuses to get involved with social media, even though 91%
of B2B buyers are now active and involved in social media.
It’s never been more essential to have a social media
presence and to have your say. Throw your hat in the ring!
Social media can also be a great way to develop your
personal brand. Find a medium that allows you to display
your knowledge and expertise in the field outside of the
office. What better place to do that than on say, LinkedIn,
or Twitter?

6. 2. SOCIAL SELLERS ENJOY
45% MORE SALES
OPPORTUNITIES (LINKEDIN)

7. 2. 45% more sales opportunities
This should come as no surprise as LinkedIn’s userbase
continues to grow, as of 2019, the networking site has
over 575 million users, with more than 260 million active
monthly users.
A common set back facing salespeople today is that they
are always running out of good/hot leads. No doubt, as a
company, you have identified your ideal client profile, but
there are only so many lead generation tools you can run
to before you start eating away at your budget.
Lead generation tools may well give you more than you
need, and at times you might find just the person’s email
that you were looking for. However, at the end of the day,
without prior engagement, a first email will always be a
cold email.

8. 3. 90% OF C-SUITE
EXECUTIVES NEVER RESPOND
TO COLD CALLS/EMAILS
(HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW)

9. 3. 90% of C-Suite executives never respond to
cold calls/emails
The success rate of cold calls to meetings booked is 0.3%.
Based on the average closing rate of 20%, it equates to a
little under four sales from 6,264 cold calls.
Okay, so perhaps this says more about what you are doing
as opposed to what you could be doing. This is a worrying
and likely disheartening statistic for most salespeople who
spend the majority of their day sending emails and making
calls.
It’s hard to deny that the practice of either can work, and
perhaps your biggest ever deal came from a cold email
pitch, but with the tools of social at your disposal, it makes
sense to work smart and not hard.

10. 4. 31% OF B2B SALESPEOPLE
SAY THAT SOCIAL SELLING
TOOLS HELPED THEM BUILD
DEEPER RELATIONSHIPS WITH
CLIENTS (EMARKETER)

11. 4. Social selling tools help build deeper
relationships
If you’re a company that offers more than one product or
solution, this should be a real incentive to start social selling.
Platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter can be a great way to
continue to engage with existing clients long after they’ve
bought from you.
By connecting with them on LinkedIn, you’re opening the
door for further conversation. If you’re posting or sharing
about another service that your company offers, your
connections will see this and learn more about your
products without you having to engage them directly.

12. 5. 92% OF B2B BUYERS ARE
WILLING TO ENGAGE WITH A
SALES PROFESSIONAL WHO IS
A KNOWN INDUSTRY THOUGHT
LEADER (LINKEDIN)

13. 5. 92% of B2B buyers are willing to engage with a sales professional who is a
known industry thought leader (LinkedIn)
Advocating for your company can be a
great way to build your brand online and
increase your reputation as a thought leader.
If people want to know something about a
company, they’re likely going straight to the
person that’s always talking about it.
Don’t stop with company content; social
listening is a great way to learn more about
your industry. TweetDeck and searching
hashtags and keywords on LinkedIn are two
fantastic tools to find out what other people
are saying about your topic of interest.
Google Alerts are another fantastic way to
keep up-to-date if you have a few keywords
that you’re constantly searching for. Set up a
Google Alert to be notified whenever this
topic is mentioned in articles online.
By sharing this onto your social media
channels, you are showing that you’re
proactive and knowledgeable in your field. Go
the extra mile and comment when you share,
let people know what your thoughts are, good
or bad.

14. 6. 63.4% OF SOCIAL SELLERS
REPORTED AN INCREASE IN
COMPANY SALES
REVENUE (SALESFORLIFE)

15. 6. 63.4% of Social sellers reported an increase
in company sales revenue
This one’s for you, employers. A lot of companies in 2019 still don’t
allow employees to use social media while they’re at work, believing it
results in a loss of time and a lack of productivity.
In doing so, employers are taking away what is quickly becoming the
salesperson’s most valuable asset – access to a social network.
The same study showed companies that use social sellers reported a
41.2% increase in revenue, comparatively.
A similar report from CSO Insights found that companies with
consistent social selling processes are 40% more likely to hit revenue
goals than non-social sellers. While LinkedIn reports that over half of
the total revenue in 14 common industries (including computer
software, healthcare, and marketing) is influenced by social selling.

16. 7. 39% OF SALESPEOPLE SAID
SOCIAL SELLING REDUCED THE
AMOUNT OF TIME THEY SPENT
RESEARCHING LEADS (EMARKETER)

17. 7. 39% of salespeople said social selling reduced
time spent researching leads (eMarketer)
You’re not going to find out a great deal about a prospect from their email
address, and lead generation tools typically only afford you their job titles
and company. LinkedIn will allow you to gain more insight into their role,
and potentially determine whether or not they’re the person you should be
speaking with.
Typically lead research will fall within the remit of an SDR, but not every
salesperson is afforded the luxury of having an extra body on the more
time-consuming tasks. Time is money, and precious in sales, so it’s vital to
be proactive on the tasks that matter so that you can spend more time
meeting with prospects and closing deals.
The same report from eMarketer showed that a third of salespeople said
they earned more leads with the strategy, and 31% reported better
relationships with clients because of it.

18. YOU’VE GOT THE
NUMBERS, HERE’S HOW TO
(AND HOW NOT TO) DO IT!

19. The Dos & Don'ts
Don’t automate messages: Social selling is a sales
tactic that requires an innate human touch, which is
near impossible to achieve with automated
messages. Custom fields within emails/LinkedIn
messages are a nice way to personalize, but success
in social selling comes from a real human
perspective.
Don’t rush interactions: Social selling is much
more than just liking or “celebrating” posts. Put
some thought into your engagement, ask questions,
share your thoughts, appear knowledgeable.
Don’t instantly pitch: There’s nothing more
transparent than someone dropping you a message
5 minutes after connecting. It’s likely they still don’t
know about you or what you do, so give them time
to learn about you before you interact.
Don’t be negative: It sounds obvious, but don’t
take the above point too literally. If a prospect says
something that you strongly disagree with, construct
this into a comment that offers value and open up a
conversation.

20. AVOID SENSITIVE MATTERS: CERTAIN TOPICS CAN
BE POORLY RECEIVED BY PROFESSIONAL
NETWORKS. POLITICS, FOR EXAMPLE, IS FOREVER
DIVISIVE, AND YOU’RE LIKELY GOING TO RUFFLE
SOME FEATHERS, WHATEVER YOUR VIEWS ARE. KEEP
IT PROFESSIONAL AND RELEVANT TO YOUR ROLE.
FOCUS ON THE DO'S TO OWN SOCIAL SELLING!

21. The Dos & Don'ts
Do Advocate: Sharing industry knowledge is the
first step. Get people to engage with your company
content by sharing the latest company news.
Perhaps you’ve just rolled out a campaign that you
want to shout about, or maybe another department
within the company is doing something exciting. Use
these moments to advocate for your company and
prove why you’re leading that industry.
Do create: Creating content is a fantastic way to
display thought leadership to your network. Be
proactive by writing blogs, taking photos at events,
and creating videos, among other things.
Do Nurture: Give it time. One interaction isn’t going
to do it, make sure you check-in with prospects and
continuously offer value to them. Turning on Tweet
notifications is an excellent way to do this on
Twitter. Social selling can feel like a long-winded
process, but the numbers say that the pay off is
worth it.
Do join groups: Groups on LinkedIn are a great
way to both learn more about a topic and to
exercise your knowledge. Use them as an
opportunity to grow your network by engaging with
people in your industry.

22. PROVIDE VALUE: THOUGHTFUL INTERACTIONS
AREN’T JUST SAYING HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND
CONGRATULATING PEOPLE FOR PROMOTIONS WHEN
PROMPTED.
YOU MAY BE PUTTING THOUGHT INTO POSTS, BUT
MAKE SURE IN DOING SO YOU ARE ALSO PROVIDING
A UNIQUE TAKE ON THE TOPIC IN QUESTION.

23. It’s hard to show immediate pay off with social selling, and as
with all things sales, there’s every chance that it won’t work.
However, we like numbers, and the statistics say it’s time to get
active on social media!
Click here to learn more about to employee influence can
maximize your company's social selling abilities.