Businesses that want to sell products or services online should understand the value of having a social selling process.
The term "social selling' gets confused with some sales and marketing industry terms so I'll start by telling you what social selling is NOT.
Social Selling is NOT:
Direct selling (Amway, Tupperware, Partylite, and other MLM companies)
Direct mail (coupons, catalogs, and discounts you get in the mailbox)
High-pressure sales tactics
Manipulating people into buying
Social Selling: "Sales Without Selling"
Social selling is a fancy way of saying what most of you are already doing if you're content marketers. But if you're a salesperson or a business owner, you might not be.
Social selling is using content marketing and engagement to connect with and build relationships with your audience. That's it.
It's creating content that helps your audience in some way. It entertains them, inspires them, or teaches them something. It helps them shorten their workday or lighten their workload.
Social selling is building a community through talking to your audience and supporting them.
It's creating a community of people who'll buy your stuff, refer their friends, binge on your content, and help you with any project you're working on. They will actually help you accomplish your goals!
And they will do this because they trust you.
Social selling is proving that you're trustworthy.
And it's showing your expertise through your stories of experience.
Check out these statistics:
78%: Of businesses that master social selling, 78% make their revenue goals. I like those odds.
38%: Of the businesses that don't master it, only 38% make their revenue goals. This means that 62% will not make sales goals.
ROI: For every $1 spent on social selling, the return is $5.
Social selling is the future of sales. And let's face it-everyone needs to sell something, whether it's convincing your husband why going out to dinner is a good idea, or selling the idea of buying your product or service. We all sell something.
Become a master of social selling and make sales easily without selling because you'll attract customers by providing value.
Read more about social selling by checking out these posts:
Antonia (Toni) Semanskee has a Master of science degree in global business administration and is an associate professor of Marketing and business.
She also helps business owners be seen as experts and build online communities of social proof through content, data and engagement strategies.
Check out her FREE Masterclass: How to Make More Sales by Fixing Three Content Mistakes.
Sources of Research:
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