We are delegated down to people we sound like. This is an immutable law of selling and if we are to sell at the highest levels we must talk the language of leaders and business owners: financial outcomes and managing risk. But B2B sellers in today's Social Selling 3.0 world, are often delegated or blocked before they can even utter a single word to their prospect. This is because buyers research just as sellers do.
Imagine you've reached-out to a senior executive, you've got your value insight all ready to go... rehearsed, punchy, compelling. You call and reach the Executive Assistant or voicemail or you actually get through but it really was a bad time so you've scheduled a follow-up call for later. What happens when your potential customer or their gatekeeper checks you out on LinkedIn? Hmm... salesperson. All quiet on the eastern front or if you do get a response: "She doesn't have time to meet you but you can contact Seymour in the basement who will be happy to evaluate whatever it is you're trying to sell us." The problem gets worse if you approach prospects through social, even using 'warm introductions' from your LinkedIn network. Click, click... salesperson, no thanks.
Websites can present attractive facades but LinkedIn creates transparency. Forget trying to project a persona because Social Selling 3.0 means transparency at every level. You're selling naked, not just in your network but in your ability to deliver insights and business value. You must be the real deal. You must be the person worthy of the success you seek... no gimmicks, no pretending, no shortcuts. How will you build your personal brand through what Koka Sexton calls Social Proximity? How will you become a thought leader? What is your publishing strategy?
*************
Tony Hughes is ranked as the #1 influencer on professional selling in Asia-Pacific and is a keynote speaker and best selling author. This article was originally published in LinkedIn where you can also follow Tony's award winning blog. Also visit Tony's keynote speaker website at www.TonyHughes.com.au or his sales methodology website at http://www.rsvpselling.com/.
Main image post by Flickr: JD Hancock
*************
Please Share: If you valued this article, please share via your Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook social media platforms. We encourage you to join the conversation or ask questions. So feel free to add a comment on this post below.
Your Invitation: We invite you to subscribe to this blog. Subscription is free and it allows you to get access to all our subscriber only content and our periodic newsletter.
.