I spent several years in Sales Management roles in Corporate Healthcare and the lessons I learned have helped me in my professional and personal life. Yet, let’s face it the mere mention of sales makes many people cringe. Even the dictionary defines it in ways that leave you feeling in need of a hot soapy shower.
to deliver or give up in violation of duty, trust, or loyalty and especially for personal gain : betray; to deliver into slavery for money to give into the power of another <sold his soul to the devil>
However it also offers these definitions:
to develop a belief in the truth, value, or desirability of: gain acceptance for <trying to sell a program to the Congress> ; to persuade or influence to a course of action or to the acceptance of something <sell children on reading>
While the goal of sales is to influence a course of action the process of getting there does not require you to check good manners and ethics at the door. It is what happens in that space between lead and sale that sets the tone for any future relationship.
When I was in Sales, before I ever met with a prospective client, a great deal of work went into understanding their business, challenges, competitors, weaknesses and opportunities. Today, technology has facilitated the sales process but it has not eliminated the need to do the work. Below are 5 fatal mistakes that are made when selling via social media:
Mistake #1: All talk no listening
Contrary to the myth, in sales you learn to listen twice as much as you talk. You ask open ended questions to engage. You want your prospective client to talk so that you can let them tell you their problems in their own words. In social media, you can listen by reading updates or blog posts BEFORE launching into a pitch.
Mistake #2: Failure to establish a connection
I learned to be attentive to details and my prospect’s surroundings. I would search for an “anchor” that could break the ice and allow us to connect. That anchor could be a photo, a book on their desk, or even a pen. In social media, tune in to the other person’s interests and use that to establish a point of discussion. Read profiles, updates and visit blogs to give you an authentic entry point for conversation.Mistake #3: Dear What’s Your Name
I developed a proposal template that was adopted company wide. The template made it easier to gather information that was commonly used – menu of services, company history, etc – but was always customized to fit the prospect. Do not send a Dear {blank name, wrong name, wrong gender} letter or email. Automated DMs on Twitter and copy and paste Facebook wall posts are other examples of this mistake.
Mistake #4: Rushing the Sale
Hi my name is Karen buy my junk. Would you do this in real life? Yet, somehow people believe that technology has eliminated the need for common courtesy. Here too the ugly automated DM rears its head. Your first tweet to a mutual follower should not be “Hey thanks for following, here’s my link buy my stuff.” Build a foundation, find out their needs and then offer solutions.
Mistake #5: Tuning into the wrong station
In sales we talked about station WIIFM (what’s in it for me) The acronym was a reminder that your prospect could care less about what you needed to sell to make your quota, they always want to know what’s in it for them. Forget about what you want to sell and focus on what people need from their perspective.
All of these mistakes can be quickly eliminated by putting the focus on your prospect and not yourself. Make sure that your web copy, and your social media communications focus on them and not you. Ditch the spammy wall posts and automated DMs and instead focus on participating in your community and listening for needs. Selling when done with integrity and a focus on the other person will leave you and your prospect like winners and that is the true beauty of the process.
What has been your experience online? Any other mistakes or recommendations to add to the list?
Mistake #5: Tuning into the wrong station
In sales we talked about station WIIFM (what’s in it for me) The acronym was a reminder that your prospect could care less about what you needed to sell to make your quota, they always want to know what’s in it for them. Forget about what you want to sell and focus on what people need from their perspective.
All of these mistakes can be quickly eliminated by putting the focus on your prospect and not yourself. Make sure that your web copy, and your social media communications focus on them and not you. Ditch the spammy wall posts and automated DMs and instead focus on participating in your community and listening for needs. Selling when done with integrity and a focus on the other person will leave you and your prospect like winners and that is the true beauty of the process.
What has been your experience online? Any other mistakes or recommendations to add to the list?
Karen Swim says
Pat, thank you so much for your comments and the compliment! I could not agree with you more, bonding does lead to trust. So often overlooked as people seek the shortcut from meeting to sale. I’m really thankful for people like you who still understand the value of forming relationships.
Pat Marcello says
It always amazes me when people do nothing but sell on Twitter and Facebook. Why bother? If you don’t communicate with the people in your niche and do some bonding, all the best selling tactics in the world won’t work. Bonding leads to trust. Without trust, you have nothing.
Great article!
karen says
Andrew, great observation! Whether conscious or not it is a very selfish approach and you are right they are robbing themselves of opportunity – monetary and social. Taking time to get to know people can yield rewards far greater than a financial transaction.
Andrew says
Karen,
All of these mistakes boil down to one common theme: self absorption.
Unfortunately, there are some people who are so focused on themselves and what they want that they don’t even realise that taking their focus off themselves for a little while can yield enormous dividends.
In their self absorption, they don’t realise that they are robbing themselves of opportunities, and hurting themselves in the process.
Karen Swim says
Irene, I’m with you a bad approach is a turn off even if I would have been interested. I loved your post on this topic and truly hope that we can work to educate at least a few.
Irene Koehler says
Well done, Karen. You’ve hit on a number of bad behaviors (aka, mistakes) which drive many of us nuts due to their insensitivity and lack of a clue regarding how to connect with their audience. Even if I was interested in the product being promoted, when I’m approached using these tactics, the chances I’ll do business with this person are nil.
Karen Swim says
Cath, lol! I was motivated by frustration! Sheesh, I agree what were these people doing before? I manage a few other accounts and it’s funny to see what comes across, like the borderline illegal DMs that come to a law firm, nice. 🙂
Cath Lawson says
LOL Karen – I’m not surprised I wasn’t the first one to tweet this. Hopefully you might be able to influence some of those spammy direct marketers on Twitter.
I got one on Twitter the other day. She’s only just added me, never met her before and it was ironic that her first DM was something like – “How To Make Your Customers Love You And Buy From You Again and Again”, with a link to her spammy product. I unfollowed straight away.
Sometimes I wonder what these people did for a living before they became Internet spammers. They definitely make it more difficult for folk who genuinely want to help other people get what they want.
karen says
Hi Heather! Annoying someone is definitely not the goal in sales, yet it happens on and offline. Asking permission and then confirming is a good practice. Even when I lose a deal I’ll ask if it’s okay to touch base in a few weeks. The downfall in MLM is not necessarily the model but the untrained people who do not have a clue how to sell. Thanks Heather for the comment and the reminder that EVERYTHING we do impacts our reputation.
Heather Gardner says
Nothing annoys me more than someone adding me to their email marketing list without asking and then spamming my inbox with products & services I’m not interested in receiving. I’m over all those multi-level marketing schemes because of this practice.
It’s much better practice relationship building & add value first. Sales is a tough business to be successful in and certainly not for everyone. Social Media is a great catalyst for sales in this new ever changing world, but if it’s done wrong it can also affect your online reputation pretty fast.
Karen Swim says
Brad, yes! Social media is famous for hit and run pitches which is why those who engage in this behavior don’t immediately recognize the ineffectiveness of their tactics. I hope that others will read your words and take them to heart the way you handle the sales process does give clues to how you would do business. Brilliant!
Brad Shorr says
Hi Karen, Your list is excellent. Going wrong on any one of these points can absolutely kill a sale. Another issue I’m sensitive to is follow up. It makes me very nervous when a sales person doesn’t get back to me in a timely fashion, or misunderstands what the follow up activity is, or follows up partially. In social media, when people don’t respond or respond days or weeks later, it makes you wonder how they would be to work with.