Comments on: Three Tips to Align Your Sales Efforts with Social Media

By: Doug Davidoff

Doug Davidoff — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:27:40 +0000

Great points Christina. Thanks for the comments.

By: Christina Pappas

Christina Pappas — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:57:12 +0000

This blog is spot on. The only way to really use social media effectively regardless of channel, is to help. Whether that is by participating in a discussion, passing on useful articles and tips or answering questions, the key is to help. I think social media and lead nurturing are very similar in that they build up credentials for your business as a thought-leader and someone who wants to provide useful information to help people do a better job.

I like the idea of letting prospects know they have a problem. Often times people (and I do it myself) have a way of doing things that isn’t necessarily ‘broken’ but we don’t know that it could be better. This is where your customers are going to stand out.

One thing that sales or account management could help with is pointing prospects to the company’s social media sites. Prospect not ready? Check out our blog, you might find the information useful to your job. Then get customer’s to interact with you and talk about you. Vendors should not self-promote, but there is no harm in a happy customer saying ‘check out xyz’.

By: Doug Davidoff

Doug Davidoff — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:26:46 +0000

Great comments – thanks.

Listening is absolutely critical – in both social media and selling. A key point, especially in sales situations, is to make sure you are listening for what isn’t being said, as that is often where the real opportunity lies.

Remember that the really valuable knowledge comes after asking the 3rd, 4th, or even 5th follow up question on a point.

By: Les

Les — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 02:44:28 +0000

Gini you’re exactly right. The shortest course on selling is Ask Questions and listen. Listen with the intent to understand!

By: Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:58:53 +0000

I’d add one thing: Listen! It’s amazing what you learn when you ask a lot of questions and really listen. People love to talk and you never know when that gem comes out that is going to help you figure out where their pain is and how you can help.

By: Brad Farris

Brad Farris — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:05:40 +0000

If you demonstrate that you understand someone’s problem the assume that you can fix it. It’s much easier to empathize and connect with a customer, and let them ask you, “What can we do to solve that problem?” than it is to “sell them your solution”.

Great post Doug, social media gives us lots of chances to demonstrate that before we even meet the prospect!

Brad