Social selling has quickly become a successful strategy for generating new business, and it’s easy to see why. For salespeople, platforms like LinkedIn have become critical to making new connections, building relationships, and differentiating themselves from their competitors. With thousands of prospects actively using social media, any smart salesperson will engage in social selling.
The unfortunate news is some sales reps still haven’t gotten the memo on how to target prospects effectively. Are you sending messages like this?
If you answered yes, your cold outreach messaging needs some work. Not to worry, we’ve got you covered on the do’s and don’t of social selling that will help you improve your strategy and start generating new business!
Here are the DON’Ts of Social Selling
1. Don’t assume every connection is a prospect.
Connecting with everyone and anyone who seems like they’d be a good fit for your business won’t yield effective results. It doesn’t make sense to spend time messaging just anyone. Instead, work on identifying a clear target audience and building relationships with qualified leads you can nurture.
2. Don’t send the same message to multiple prospects.
The beauty of social selling is that there is an opportunity to create meaningful conversations one-on-one. Don’t miss out on this opportunity by sending the same templated spiel to everyone. Add personalized elements to your message and customize it to reflect the interests of the person you are speaking with.
3. Don’t flood prospects with pushy sales pitches.
The process of social selling is subtle and not meant to be pushy. The best strategies show concern for prospects and take an interest in understanding their needs. Focus on building relationships with prospects before pitching them on your service.
These are the top three social selling tactics to stop using if you want to start generating qualified leads for your business. We spoke to the sales team here at Candybox about best practices for cold outreach messages, and we’d like to share our insights with you!
Here are the DO’s of Social Selling
1. Do read your prospect’s entire profile.
Rule #1 of social selling is to understand who you are reaching out to and what they are interested in. There is nothing worse than not doing your homework and sending a message to a prospect that just is not aligned with your product or service.
2. Do ask your prospects questions about their goals.
If you want to send a compelling outreach message that will garner a response, focus on your prospects’ goals instead of your product offering. No one cares about what you offer; they care about their own objectives. Connect with prospects by showing them you care about their goals too, and have solutions to their pain points.
3. Do be personable
Use a conversational tone in your outreach messages! Drop the corporate-speak and connect with your prospects on a personal level. If you don’t want your message to sound like spam, talk like a real person having a conversation.
Social selling is a powerful tool when used effectively. Focus on adjusting your approach to avoid common mistakes when it comes to cold outreach tactics. Follow our DO’s to social selling and start seeing responses to your cold outreach messages.
If you’re looking for further insights to improve your selling strategy or social media marketing, reach out to us! We have some great offers to help your business grow and reach its full potential. Take the first steps towards growing your business today and join our social media workshop!
