As a HubSpot marketer, I'm a firm believer in the use of social media as a powerful tool for not only driving traffic to a company's website but also generating leads for your business.
That said, the applications of social media don't stop in marketing. Social media can also be a very helpful tool in the sales process when Sales is following up with leads and opportunities, especially considering the fact that, SiriusDecisions projects that by 2015, 71% of initial BtoB inquiries will be web-driven, and "a sound social media strategy is key to driving this inbound interest."
So how can you use social media intelligence to help you make a sale? I recently sat down with Chad Levitt, a member of HubSpot's own sales team and the author of the New Sales Economy Blog, to discover how he uses social media intel to prep for his sales calls. This is what I learned...
Using Social Media Intelligence in Sales
1. Conduct Research: First and foremost, you'll have to do some sleuth-work. Do a little social media digging to investigate where your prospect is spending time online. Does he/she have accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or another social network or community popular for your industry? If you're a HubSpot customer, you can easily find this data in the Lead Intelligence tool for any lead whose social media information is available.
2. Do Your Homework: Scan your prospect's presence on these social media sites. Learn about their interests. Do you have something in common (e.g. a shared passion for cooking, watching college football, or scuba-diving) that could be used as a good ice-breaker on your sales call? If you've already connected with the prospect before the call by another means such as email, consider following them on Twitter or connecting them with on that particular social network.
3. Strategize: Have you learned anything about the prospect that might be helpful fodder for your sales call? Maybe you noticed they've been discussing something in social media that your product or service addresses or solves. Perhaps accessing their company's website URL you found on their LinkedIn profile reveals something about why they became interested in your company in the first place. Put on your best detective hat, and think creatively.
4. Follow Up: Continue the conversation. Use social media as a way to keep in touch with and nurture your prospects after your sales calls. Send them links to appropriate, remarkable content, and look for opportunities to answer their questions.
The beauty of using social media for sales is in its potential to make the sales process a lot more personal. Building relationships is an important part of sales, and social media offers a valuable platform for relationship-building. And -- BONUS! -- if you're using a system such as HubSpot, closed loop reporting will also enable you to track leads from their initial referral channel through their first conversion all the way to becoming a customer. This allows your marketing team to track which social media channels are most efficient and provides actionable insight to make smarter marketing investments.
And don't worry about seeming creepy (unlike the man in the photo above). If the prospect has made themselves available in social media, they probably won't be weirded out by the fact that you did some detective work. Chances are, they'll be impressed that you've spent the time to do some extra thinking about how what you have to offer specifically relates to their problems, needs, or wants.
Chime in! How else have you used intelligence from social media to prepare for a sales call?
Photo Credit: Okko Pyykkö
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kenny 11:12 AM on January 19, 2011
Great stuff. Another reason to finally bury the how many calls did you make metric :)
Get yourself into the TOP 1% of sales people in the USA in the same time it takes to make a cup of coffee. ( or tea for me)
1. Go to the website of the company your calling before picking up the phone
you are now in the TOP 10% of sales/marketing people in the US
2. Go to the website and actually read something about the business your calling.
congrats you just made the TOP 5% of sales/marketing people in the US
3. Go to the companies, website, read something , tailor a specific message that fits their business OR tell them something they never knew. (Read: Exceptional credibility. )
Welcome to the TOP 1% of sales/marketing people in the US. ( Even though you do not have much competition, don’t let your standards slip.
John White 11:59 AM on January 19, 2011
>And don't worry about seeming creepy. If the prospect has made themselves available in social media, they probably won't be weirded out by the fact that you did some detective work.
I disagree with that.
If you walked into my office and said, "So I understand you're into scuba diving," I would spend most of the interview worrying about what else I had put out in social media, or what other people had put out about me.
No matter what the current thinking is on self-disclosure in social media, there's an element of vulnerability that doesn't always occur to us at the moment of posting. I wouldn't want a complete stranger to bring it up in an interview or a sales call.
Doing this kind of research in social media is a good strategy, but dropping that information in the hope that it will make you look smarter is a bad tactic.
kenny 12:10 PM on January 19, 2011
John,
Has a great point. Some common sense is needed. Keep it professional and be yourself but don't go over the top.
I can't remember the book I read it in but it spoke of a CIO who had a massive picture of a Yacht in his office. Of course all the sales reps came in and tried to develop " rapport" " Hey that's a great picture I love boating" The CIO responds" I have that their to remind me of my hatred of boating, Now what do you want? :) :)
kenny 12:10 PM on January 19, 2011
John,
Has a great point. Some common sense is needed. Keep it professional and be yourself but don't go over the top.
I can't remember the book I read it in but it spoke of a CIO who had a massive picture of a Yacht in his office. Of course all the sales reps came in and tried to develop " rapport" " Hey that's a great picture I love boating" The CIO responds" I have that their to remind me of my hatred of boating, Now what do you want? :) :)
Michelle 1:55 PM on January 19, 2011
I have to agree. I'd use information found through social media to break the ice but not to open the door.
Koleen 5:46 PM on January 19, 2011
I don't go on a sales call without checking out the company and the person I'm visiting with on Linkedin.
If they are in a group with me, I invite them to Link. I have gotten orders from Linkedin.
CK Wilde 6:33 PM on January 19, 2011
Thanks Pamela for this thoughtful post. It is helpful to know something about the person you are contacting. But I agree with Kenny that too few sales people know anything about the company or it's challenges before picking up the phone. Understanding the issues and offering tailored solutions is more important than loving sailing or scuba diving.
Tim Haan 8:14 PM on January 19, 2011
I think researching your prospect is a great idea. It definitely leads to ice-breakers and a closer connection.
Ralph Vugts 8:39 PM on January 19, 2011
Research is essential! If your struggling with making sales calls have a look at some of our sales performance whitepapers an excellent one we have is "Prospecting for the Major Sale".
Peter L Masters 5:47 AM on January 20, 2011
Great stuff and some good comments too! I totally believe that knowledge is power and you need to use it and not just give it lip service. How many people do I see in interviews with no idea about the company they're looking to work for. It's the same principle! I wouldn't tell the guy that I know he had duck instead of turkey Christmas day and that his wife looked better before she dyed her her blonde but I would 'casually' mention a few bits of relevant information, especially about the company's Social Media profile or the lack of! (Depending on what you do, the lack of's a great topic of conversation and so are 1990's websites!)
Scott Bornstein 9:44 PM on January 26, 2011
One of the best books I read on this topic is called "Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling" by Sam Richter. So, when I read about the article in Hubspot, I realized just how important finding information about your prospect is an advantage to help close more sales - calling or even using social media to find information that will help you gain the right information.