What is social selling?
Social selling is using social networks to find, research and build relationships with prospects before and during a sales process.
Why it matters for sales teams
Buyers spend time on professional social networks, and their profiles and posts show what they care about. A rep who comments thoughtfully, shares useful content and reaches out with context starts from a better place than a stranger with a pitch. Social networks also help with research: job changes, new hires and company news all give reasons to reach out.
Social selling works best alongside other channels. A connection or a comment can turn a cold call into a warm call.
Example
A rep targeting HR leaders follows twenty prospects and comments on their posts for two weeks. When one posts about struggling to hire, the rep sends a short message that references the post and offers a relevant guide. The reply leads to a call the following week.
Social selling vs social media marketing
Marketing teams use social media to reach broad audiences with brand content. Social selling is individual: a salesperson engaging specific prospects one to one, as part of multichannel prospecting.