Firstly, happy new year! I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year period with your family and friends but now, its time to get back to business. When it comes to Social Media, reputation is everything. The more likely people are to trust you, the more easily it is for you to sell something. In most cases, this will work however, it is time to start thinking out of the box. As a former Sales Director of a global company, I know first hand how hard it is to make sales so here are some of my tips to help you start 2013 off on the right foot.
For you to be successful in selling your products or services in 2013 via the internet, you first need to understand Digital Marketing. We originally saw this term around 5 years ago where its primary meaning was the use of internet related mediums to market to customers. We are seeing more and more marketing companies use Digital Marketing as huge part of their sales cycle, and you should too. This includes email marketing, social media, search engine marketing, mobile and content marketing.
A lot of companies will have a dedicated salesperson. Regardless of whether YOU do, you should learn how to properly engage with consumers in social media. There are a lot of great Social Media eLearning courses out there along with tutorials that will help you do your job more effectively. With some positive examples to follow and a ready toolkit, a salesperson will soon see the positive impact social media has on their selling.
Two things which will be important factors for 2013 when it comes to sales is content creation and branding changes. You should be creating content to answer important customer questions and to grow engagement. You can do this by setting up streams in HootSuite and simply asking your audience questions. Secondly, branding. It’s more than just a logo and a story behind a brand, you need to create an experience. Brand visualisation in the digital world will grow rapidly. You need to create a brand that people can trust with a sector influence and with actions that speak louder than words.
Something which is overlooked by most businesses is a positive atmosphere. If you have a team, you should be working together. This doesn’t just mean on a product or service, you should be encouraging your work colleagues to WANT to speak highly of your business to everyone they come across. Something I always say is a happy team = a happy life.
I repeatedly mention the word “strategy” in all of my blogs because it is so important. To sell successfully on Social Media, you need a best practice or strategy for you and your employees to follow. This should include how you approach your customers and how you keep them. 2013 will see lead generation play a huge part in sales as well as listening to your customers. If they want something that you aren’t offering, call a meeting straight away to fix this. You won’t be able to please everyone but if you can please more people than your biggest competitor, you are on the right track.
Finally, start building relationships. I work with 5 of the same trade shows every year because I have build a good relationship with them and now, I am in a great position to market my business to their audience. 4 years ago, I wouldn’t have seen this coming. You need to plan ahead and start building relationships with those in your industry because one day, there will be something they can do for you and vice versa.
Are you ready to start your sales process for 2013?