What is social selling?

 With the rise of the internet and social media, the notion of social selling has gradually taken over the sales jargon. In fact, the buyer now has 24/7 access to information about the products or services that interest them. 

We can also talk about the investment of powers: the client already knows a lot about the offers that are offered, the classic sales pitch is no longer so powerful. 60% of the purchase decision will be made even before the buyer meets the seller. 

This figure poses a great challenge for the salesperson: to renew his speech and adapt it in a coherent way to the person to whom he is directed. This is where social selling comes in. The seller has the possibility, especially thanks to social networks, to contact his prospects at any time, and obtain a lot of information in his profile in order to better target his communication. 

92% of the best sellers are already using it, so why not you? Find out what the benefits of a social selling strategy are and how to apply it to your business.

Definition of social Sales

Social selling appeared in 2009 as part of an academic investigation. Linkedin was based on this principle to launch a new software offering, Sales Solutions, in 2013. The solution is based on the contacts that each user has on the social network to turn them into a sales force. Thus, social selling is an approach that involves the use of social networks in search of new customers. Therefore, it will replace cold calls, which are less and less effective today. Cold calls are annoying as they are considered too intrusive and misdirected. On the contrary, social selling allows you to better understand your target market and generate new leads. This social selling action is used mainly by sellers in the B2B sector and mainly in the LinkedIn social network.

Why focus your strategy on B2B social selling?

Social selling is a powerful weapon for business growth. Since professionals are widely present on social media, it is essential that there are also providers. In fact, the amount of information they can gather about your potential prospects is enormous, whether it's through the posts they like, share, or comment on the people they care about. Follow the pages they have subscribed to. … By sorting all this information and selecting the most relevant, it allows you to better personalize your contact. Customers, even B2B customers, are no longer interested in spam messages sent to hundreds of people. On the contrary, they tend to be more sensitive to those who speak to them personally. For example, during a traditional phone promotion, only 1% of calls lead to an appointment. Also, keep in mind that 59% of decision makers no longer want to deal with salespeople and 75% choose to shop online. So social selling seems to be an appropriate response to this paradigm shift. Salespeople are still prospecting, but personalizing their messages and social media presence humanizes the relationships they establish with the prospect. The latter more easily accepts the contact.

Once business prospecting is complete, social selling is a wonderful sales tool. 54% of sellers claim to have made at least one sale through social selling!

How to do B2B social sales effectively on Linkedin?

Social selling is definitely a relevant solution to implement in your search for B2B leads. But how can you be as efficient as possible?

Measure your Social Sales Index (SSI)

Before you begin, measure your social sales index to see where you are starting and how you stack up against your peers. According to LinkedIn, "The Social Selling Index (SSI) measures your effectiveness in establishing your professional brand, finding the right people, communicating with the right information, and building relationships." The 4 pillars on which the Social Selling Index is based (establishing a professional brand, finding the right people, exchanging information, building relationships) each receive a score of 25, giving a score of 100 Is. An active person will score around 20, while a very active person will score between 80 and 100.