Sell More with Social Media R.I.P.

You have no doubt heard the hype about selling more with social media. I can’t read through 10 blog posts today without reading some advice on how social media is going to “completely change” the sales profession. With the rise of a new technology the sales consultants, gurus, talking heads, etc are heavy with advice on how to use social media to sell more. Too many sales professionals and organizations are dazed and confused and are using the wrong sales strategies to leverage social media in the sales process. Too many tactics and tools and not enough strategy backed with process and data.

An excerpt from @hubspot’s @mvolpe:

“Social media won’t make your products better. Social media won’t make you or your company more interesting. Using social media won’t make your customers happier. Hiring an intern to do social media won’t transform your company.There is a lot of hype around social media, and too little realism. Social media is not a strategy or a technique, it is a technology or a tool.

Now click through this interesting Slideshare presentation with some notable statistics.

What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate

Social media is a sales and marketing alignment discussion – the tactical solution of having reps find individual opportunities with social media is far less effective. The name of the game, the real social media sales strategy is to use social media to expand the reach of your company and get more eyes to your content (blog, ebooks, forum, webinar, etc) so leads convert organically on your website. It’s about creating more high quality inbound leads for sales reps to close, marketing automation, and closed loop marketing analytics. That’s the secret sauce!

Stop being tactical. Start being strategic.

Related posts:

1. Social Media – How to Actually Win Business with It
2. How to Use Social Media to Prep for a Sales Call
3. My Interview with Anneke Seley: Social Media Sales Strategy
4. How Neil Patel Uses Social Media To Increase Business
5. Why Sales Reps Should Care About Social Media