Introduction to Modern Selling
Social media goes far beyond casual and personal socialization. These days, it’s an important and useful tool that can allow business relationships to form in productive and efficient ways. It also makes for more accurate prospecting. Sometimes referred to as the new cold call, Modern Selling allows salespeople to source prospects and connect with them on social media. Modern Selling is about developing relationships to funnel prospects down the sales pipeline and form business connections using networks like Twitter and LinkedIn. Keep in mind that different platforms are suitable for different types of people and behaviors. Social media allows salespeople to refine their contact lists and engage with potential leads that appear to be a good fit right away. Sourcing prospects online rather than the standard cold call provides the unique opportunity to filter and narrow down your prospect list down to those that explicitly match your user personas.
Join the Club: Modern Selling Is Becoming the Norm
Social media is taking a prominent stand in the world today. This is where most of your clients are, especially younger generations and innovative startups. Plus, 71% of all sales professionals are already using Modern Selling tools, because people are ready and willing to start business relationships and close deals on social media. In fact, 78% of businesses that use Modern Selling outsell businesses that don’t use social media, according to LinkedIn Sales Solutions data.
Tips for Leveraging Modern Selling to Boost Your Business Sales
1.Post Daily Status Updates on LinkedIn:You should aim to publish at least once a day on the platforms you plan to use for business to keep your connections and followers up-to-date with the latest industry content you’ve been reading and to keep your name synonymous with industry expertise and news. Remember to follow the 80/20 rule of social sharing. Eighty percent of the content you promote should be industry news or helpful content that doesn’t feature your product – at least not too heavily. This type of content includes news articles or blog posts that your connections would be helpful and/or offer insightful industry knowledge. Twenty percent of the content you promote should be about your business, like new product announcements, case studies, and customer success stories.
2.Develop a Daily Routine:Modern Selling can feel daunting without a structured approach. Dedicate time to create a plan for a daily routine lasting 15-30 minutes focused on your Modern Selling activities. For instance, you could allocate 15 minutes to catch up on the latest industry news and updates, 5 minutes to compose and post an article that caught your attention, and an additional 10 minutes to connect with potential clients by directing them to the content and explaining its relevance to their needs. Tailor the routine to best suit your style and your prospects' interests!
3.Don’t Forget About Your Brand on LinkedIn:It’s easy to forget that Modern Selling is about connecting your prospects to your company through you, not the other way around. Keep your brand’s tone in mind when conversing with leads to create a consistent brand experience from the first conversation.
4.Expert Highlight: Use ChatGPT in Your Social Media Prospecting Flows
Member Highlight: “AI has been around for quite some time. However, since the beginning of 2023, many use cases and tools have been built on top of ChatGPT. For the first time, we saw a widespread adoption from many different industries, and almost no one with an internet connection missed it.”
Here is a simple flow:
- Go to https://chat.openai.com/ Sign up or log in.
- Open a new conversation.
- Ask the ChatGPT to act like the prospect you plan to reach out to and to come up with three challenges faced by this prospect.
- You can add more information about the company, such as a short description of what it does, and more information about the prospect, such as their LinkedIn About Section
Here’s a prompt you can use: Example: “Act like {nameOfProspect}, the {jobTitle} at {company}. {company} is {companyDescription}. Here’s more details about {nameOfProspect}: {LinkedInAboutSection}. Now list your top 3 challenges for 2023. Bullet point answers only, no jargons, clear and concise sentences
5.Stay in Touch With Marketing:Your company’s marketing department should be making new content and collateral to help you earn trust with leads and close more deals. Regularly check in with marketing to establish a cadence for staying updated on their new content or campaigns, and inquire about the best way to position or frame the content in sales conversations.
6.Bridge the Gap Between Modern Selling and Cold Calling:In an era driven by authenticity and value, traditional selling techniques are becoming obsolete. The focus has shifted from 'selling' to empowering prospects to become the heroes of their own stories. Through my experience and the F.E.T.C.H Modern Selling method, I've learned that genuine engagement is the cornerstone of success. F.E.T.C.H an acronym standing for Follow, Engage, Track, Connect, and Help — provides a framework for effective Modern Selling. It's about building relationships through mutual value, capturing momentum from industry influencers, and starting meaningful conversations with target prospects on your list. This approach not only piques curiosity but also establishes trust and relevance. Combining F.E.T.C.H with the T.A.B Calling method revolutionizes cold calling, enabling us to have engaging conversations that inspire action. T.A.B — an abbreviation for Trust, Attitude, and Brevity — is a proven formula for crafting impactful cold calls. Start with an engaging opener that piques curiosity, earn the right to the conversation by demonstrating trustworthiness and knowledge, and then inspire action by leading the prospect to ask for the next steps. The synergy between F.E.T.C.H. and T.A.B. creates a holistic strategy that bridges the gap between Modern Selling and cold calling. It's about fostering meaningful connections, understanding unique roadblocks, and delivering relevant insights.
7.Turn Modern Selling into Video Selling:In the fast-paced world of outbound prospecting, leveraging the power of personalized videos can be a game-changer. However, the journey to success is paved with trial and error.
Here's a rundown of key insights I gained along the way:
- Brevity is Key: Keeping videos under 60 seconds is paramount. In a fast-paced digital landscape, capturing attention swiftly is essential.
- Focus on a Single Problem: Addressing one core issue per video ensures clarity and resonates better with the recipient.
- Confidence and Presentation: Be confident by standing up, smiling, and utilizing good lighting. This not only exudes professionalism but also establishes a connection.
- Thumbnail Appeal: Crafting an intriguing thumbnail compels prospects to click on the video, driving higher engagement rates.
- Avoid Rewatching: Overanalyzing videos can hinder the natural flow and authenticity of your message. Trust your preparation and delivery
8.Develop Talk Tracks for Each Role and Trigger Event:Different buyers in different positions have different needs. Do you have a talk track for each role you sell to, from an SVP, to a CEO, to an individual contributor? You can also develop tracks for when people have a role change, join a new company, or have asked you to reach back out and revisit after a few months. This creates consistency in your messaging and allows you to tweak your approach based on your success over time.
9.Connect With Anyone Who Engages With Your Content:People who engage with a LinkedIn post demonstrate a proactive interest in the topic discussed within the post.They may already have a problem you can solve, and they are knowledgeable about what you do. Additionally, you have the context to better personalize your cold outreach messages.This makes it easier to convert these people into customers. Using tools like lemlist, you can export all the likes, filter leads that fit your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), then add the relevant leads to a multichannel campaign. Campaigns like this can aid a 3.6% meetings booked rate.
10.Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile:Leads who see your profile on LinkedIn should be impressed with what you’ve put on there, and thus, you should convey your understanding of this social networking platform with an optimized profile. Make sure to check out this course on Sales Navigator to optimize your profile.
11.Build a Welcoming Community on LinkedIn:There's a beautiful synergy between Modern Selling and community building. When they’re working hand in hand, they set you up for success. Why? Well, both sales and communities are all about authenticity, relationships, mutual trust, and delivering real value.
Here is the simplest advice to build community:
- Comment on others' social posts
- Offer to help somebody in DMs
- Help your teammates win by assisting where needed
- Help someone get a job
- Be active in communities
- Offer to connect people
- Post daily on LinkedIn
- Respond to comments
- Mentor someone
When you’re helping others, magical things happen and people open up, making it easier to establish long-lasting relationships.
12.Know Your Social Selling Index (SSI) Score in LinkedIn:Your Modern Selling Index Score is determined by how well you meet four different criteria
- Establishing your professional brand.
- Finding the right people.
- Engaging with insights.
- Building relationships
Knowing and working to improve your score directly lends to stronger results for salespeople. To raise your SSI, the goal is not necessarily to be on LinkedIn every day, but to strongly establish your personal brand and business with meaningful content, engagement, and growth. The SSI is a useful indicator that shows us what is needed for good communication and networking. Act like a social seller. LinkedIn is for building long-term business relationships.
13.Save Leads in Sales Navigator:Interested in a lead who’s not quite ready to buy? Save your leads and follow them for updates and to see when they’re in the best position for you to reach out – like changing companies or positions. You can save leads from a company’s Account Details page, from search results, from your Sales Navigator homepage, and from the lead’s own page
14.Modern Selling by Collaborating with Influencers:It’s no secret that influencer marketing is an effective strategy for social media marketing, but what if it can be leveraged for Modern Selling, too? The key here is to partner with micro, and even nano, influencers. They’re proven to have greater engagement rates than most macro influencers, which means their communities are animated and are likely to have deeper trust in the content they put out. Hence by partnering with micro influencers on a few posts, you’re unlocking a new audience that may not be huge, but that has more potential to become quality prospects. Consider building personal connections with these influencers organically, engage in the comments, and then collaborate for thought leadership
15.Add Hashtags to Your Posts:Create hashtags and challenges to drive user-generated content and engagement, bringing more awareness to your brand
Conclusion
Modern Selling offers a dynamic and effective strategy for enhancing your sales performance. By engaging directly with prospects on social platforms, you not only build meaningful relationships but also establish trust and credibility. This personalized approach allows you to understand and respond to the specific needs and interests of your audience, making it easier to tailor your offerings accordingly.Ultimately, by integrating Modern Selling into your sales strategy, you can increase your outreach, strengthen customer relationships, and drive higher sales conversions
