Lecture given for my course in digital strategy in May 2017

1. SOCIAL SELLING
Jacques Folon
www.folon.com
Partner Edge Consulting
Maître de conférences
Université de Liège
Professeur
ICHEC Brussels Management
School
Professeur invité
Université Saint Louis (BXL)
Université de Lorraine
ESC Rennes School of Business

12. Social media is an efficient way for buyers to access resources
and inform complex, high-risk purchase decisions
“It made the process much faster
and easier and ultimately helped with
a better end product."

13. What am I doing
WRONG?

14. Are you that guy?

15. …or this guy?

16. Maybe
this guy…

17. You get the point right?

18. I’m too busy.

19. I just don’t have time.

20. I don’t know where to start.

21. Cold
calling?

22. No one is paying attention.

23. I just don’t see the value.

24. Here are some stats that
will blow your mind.

25. 1 in 5 minutes online is spent on
social networks.

26. 3 in 5
IT decision makers use social media to learn
about new products and technologies.

27. More confident we had the right information
Easier to gain consensus within our team
More comfortable with the expertise and credibility of our vendor
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n = 573
Business buyers reported the greatest benefit of social media as
gaining greater confidence and comfort in their decisions

28. Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n = 760
of C-Level and VP-level buyers use social
media for B2B purchase decisions
Social buying is widely practiced among B2B decision
makers, especially C-level and VP-level executives
of all buyers use social media for
B2B purchase decisions

29. And social buyers have a higher level of company influence than
purchasers who do not use social media
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n = 760
of non-social buyers make
purchases for their entire
company, business unit, or
multiple departments
of social buyers make purchases for
their entire company, business unit, or
multiple departments

30. 86%
Business technology
decision-makers that
use social media for
professional reasons.

31. Average spend of
non-social buyers
Average spend of
social buyers
Compared with other B2B buyers, buyers who use social media
for purchasing spend 84% more per purchase
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n = 760

32. Social buyers also make 61% more purchases on average than
buyers who don’t use social
# of purchases made
by non-social buyers
# of purchases made
by social buyers
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n = 760

33. They value social media as a way to access their trusted personal
and professional networks
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n = 760
Prefer to work with vendors who have been recommended
Prefer to work with sales professionals who have been referred
Consider friends and colleagues as critical for reference checking

34. 91% of mobile users keep their devices
within arm's reach 100% of the time.

35. 57% of sales process is complete
by the time sales is engaged.

36. What does that really mean?

37. Decision-makers are
more knowledgeable.

38. Customers are googling your name
before you walk in the door…

39. When they get a voicemail or before
a conference call…

40. Even when they get an
email from you.

41. But here’s the good news…

42. Technologies
have changed.

43. But human nature has NOT.

44. Most of what you know
offline applies online.

45. Social selling is not hard but it’s not easy.

46. What type of
seller are you?

47. Bartender…

48. …or personal trainer?

50. "The best reps are not just present in social
media, they position themselves as credible and
influential sources in customer networks."
- Sales Executive Council

51. It all comes down to trust.

52. Let’s start with
the basics.

53. It’s starts with
first impressions.

54. Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n = 422
LinkedIn helps buyers build confidence in the credibility of
potential business partners
Researched vendors via their LinkedIn profiles
Searched for potential vendors on LinkedIn
Found vendors through common LinkedIn connections

55. LinkedIn Facts and Statistics

56. LinkedIn Facts & Statistics
119 Million LinkedIn Member
Worldwide
Credit: Amodiovalerio Verde

57. IS
With a Tie

58. Be visible and
professional on
LinkedIn
Save the privacy
settings for Facebook

59. LinkedIn Checklist
Upload a pictureCreate an executive
summaryAdd in your education
Add 3 recent positions
Add 3
Recommendations

60. It should go without saying, but NEVER misrepresent your
employment history on your profile.
LinkedIn allows legitimate employees to flag your profile, and
if you’ve lied, LinkedIn may suspend you or take you out of
the
system for good.

61. What does your profile say about you?

62. Do you have the basics right?

63. Use summary as your elevator pitch.

64. You can now add media.

65. Show your experience to add credibility.

66. Include additional info about yourself.

67. Manage your recommendations.

68. Ask for recommendations.

69. Include your education.

70. Courses help your education stand out.

71. Include skills for people to endorse you.

72. Talk about important projects.

73. Let people know you speak other languages.

74. Show off your hard-earned awards.

75. Use organizations to show your affiliations.

76. Volunteering shows what you care about.

77. Certifications add even more credibility.

78. Let people know what you have published.

79. Highlight important test scores.

80. Display any patents you have.

81. Improve searchability.

82. Edit your public profile.

83. Customize what people can see.

84. Customize your public profile URL.

85. ADD LINKEDIN PROFILE TO:
1. Business card
2. Email signature
3. Other public profiles

86. Make sure others can see your activity.

87. What people see when you visit their profile.

88. What people see when you visit their profile.

89. Integrate with your Twitter account.

90. Adding your Twitter account.

91. What are you posting on LinkedIn?

92. Get mobile! Download the app

93. How to build your network

94. WHO YOU SHOULD CONNECT WITH:
1. People you went to school with
2. Your personal network (friends)
3. Colleagues and partners
4. Customers/partners you have met in person
5. Those in your professional contact list
6. Those in your phone’s contact list
7. People you may know
8. Your professors

95. 1
2
3
3 ways to quickly add connections.

96. EVERY WEEK YOU SHOULD ADD:
1. Anyone you had a meeting with
2. People you met at social events
3. New colleagues you interacted with
4. People you interacted with in other networks
5. Significant email contact
6. Relevant contacts that have seen your profile
7. People you may know

97. Be
Proactive!

98. 1) Gain more visibility by adding
connections
Being Proactive

99. 2) Increase your rank with search engines by making your profile public
and customizing your public profile’s URL to include your actual name
(LinkedIn is ranked very high by search engines)
Being Proactive

100. 3) Get business advice by finding answers to
your most pressing questions
Being Proactive

101. 4) Conduct market research by asking your
potential clients or customers what their
greatest needs are
Being Proactive

102. USE
LINKEDIN GROUPS
TO
BUILD CONNECTIONS

103. 1. Identify groups that are in your industry
2. Join them
3. LISTEN and ENGAGE

104. Post your blog or articles in groups to
catch members of your industry’s attention

105. IMAGINE LinkedIn Groups as a
coffee shop

106. IMAGINE standing in line waiting for your
coffee and someone in front of you starts
talking about a problem they have YOU can
solve with your business

107. TAP them on the
shoulder and ask to
have coffee with
them, explaining
your product or
service

108. When a
discussion
arises in a
LinkedIn Group,
reach out and
tell people how
YOUR business
can fulfill their
needs

110. Let’s talk about Twitter!

111. What’s the real value in Twitter for sellers?

112. BENEFITS OF USING TWITTER:
1. See what’s going on with your customers and
their competitors
2. Interact and connect with influencers in your
industry/segment
3. Discover content and learn
4. Become more influential in your area

113. REALITY CHECK:
1. Most c-level executives are not active on Twitter. But
people that influence them are.
2. There’s a whole lot of noise on Twitter, if you’re going to
add to it don’t bother.
3. If you don’t even have the basics down on LinkedIn,
focus on that before thinking about Twitter.
4. It takes work and time before you can see results on
Twitter. You’re not going to become influential overnight.

114. What does your profile say about you?

115. You have to walk
before you can fly.

116. Setting up your profile.

117. Pick a username that’s easy to remember.

118. Use an email that most people know you by.

119. Language and time zone.

120. Try to use the similar picture across profiles.

121. Use a header that’s meaningful.

122. Include full name so people can find you.

123. Location… it’s about searchability.

124. Link to LinkedIn profile for more info.

125. Make it count! Elevator pitch in 160 characters.

126. Customize your profile’s design.

127. It’s about what you share and
how you interact.

128. Content can turn prospects into
customers.

129. But it takes
work.

130. WHAT TO SHARE:
1. Interesting articles and blog posts
2. Thought leadership content related to your area of
expertise
3. Videos (YouTube, Vimeo, TED)
4. Useful presentations and whitepapers (Slideshare)
5. Insights (people love stats) and quotes
6. General business and leadership tips and advice
7. Keep self-promotion and marketing to 20% or less
8. Infographics and images

131. WAYS TO INTERACT ON LINKEDIN:
1. Like someone’s activity
2. Share a post
3. Comment on a post
4. Endorse someone’s skill(s)
5. Recommend a colleague, partner or customer
6. Join a group
7. Start or engage in a discussion in a group
8. Send someone a direct message or share a link
9. Visit someone’s profile
10. Ask for an introduction or recommendation

132. WAYS TO INTERACT ON TWITTER:
1. Retweet
2. Favorite someone’s tweet
3. Respond to a tweet
4. Mention someone
5. Follow
6. Add to a list
7. Share your own thoughts

133. LISTS TO CREATE ON TWITTER:
1. Thought leaders and influencers for your area of
expertise (experts, analysts, etc)
2. News and official sources of information
3. Your customers’ official accounts
4. Your customer’s competitors
5. Your company’s competitors
6. Colleagues
7. Business partners
8. Customers
9. Prospects

134. What you can do with LinkedIn Premium
and some advanced features

135. Advanced search features

136. Advanced search features

137. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN PROFILES:
1. Recommendations they gave other people
2. Recommendations received
3. Recent activity
4. Experience
5. People also viewed
6. People like them
7. How you are connected to them
8. Things in common you have with them
9. Visit someone’s profile
10. Ask for an introduction or recommendation

138. Make it part of your routine!

139. It’s still about trust-based
relationships.

140. Challenge their thinking.

142. 142
You have to break
through the clutter.

143. Your content has to be
AWESOME.

144. and NOT…
BORING.

145. 145
Keep it simple.

146. 146

147. 147
Be unexpected.

148. 148
Tell a story.

149. 149
Appeal to emotion.

150. 150
Be factual and concrete…

151. 151
and credible.

152. 152
Provide practical solutions.

153. 153 Selflessly help others.

154. Connect people.

155. 155
Share ideas…

156. 156
…and insights.

157. 157

158. Ask the right questions.

159. 159
Just be yourself.

160. 160
…and don’t forget to build relationships.
Make
customers
LOVE you.

161. 161
Got it?

162. 162
how do people search for information?
Think about…

163. 163
You want to be part of their trusted network.

164. 164
Be strategic but always
add value.

165. 165
Always look at things through customer’s eyes.

166. 166
It’s all about finding just
the right…
balance.

167. 167
And that’s how you become an effective
social seller.

175. Sources & references
◆https://www.slideshare.net/insideview/how-to-use-linkedin-for-
social-selling?qid=8683bb24-5866-407f-b5e6-
cdd5b2768926&v=&b=&from_search=7
◆https://www.slideshare.net/linkedin-sales-solutions/idc-research-
social-buying-meets-social-selling?qid=b96b87ca-f280-4286-
a5ec-1d5e7b45c0e4&v=&b=&from_search=9
◆https://www.slideshare.net/CraigShipley1/digital-enterprise-
festival-birmingham-130417-paul-lewis-b2b-social-selling-lead-
pitney-bowes-transforming-your-sales-organisation-with-effective-
social-selling?qid=34a0519a-15fe-4f93-993f-
b1d420e545cf&v=&b=&from_search=21
◆DRIFT: 3 Things Every Sales Team Needs to Be Thinking About in
2017