INTRODUCTION There are many possible reasons why you may be reading this book. Most likely, it's because you're a sales or marketing professional who has some level of responsibility for generating leads, closing sales, and creating revenue in your organization, and you're constantly under pressure to identify new strategies for delivering the goods. Perhaps someone suggested turning to social media as a lead source. Perhaps you've heard peers and industry leaders tout the benefits of this new thing called "social selling." Or perhaps you're an influencer within your organization who already understands the value of social prospecting and need a resource to help develop a business case for integrating social media into your current sales and marketing process. No matter why you've picked up this book, the truth of the matter is simple: Social selling is a strategy that every B2B and B2C sales and marketing professional must understand in order to increase his or her effectiveness and remain competitive in today's global marketplace. It's a bold statement to imply that your continued value as a salesperson or a marketer hinges on successfully incorporating social media into your sales process. In reality, the decision not to adopt a social selling strategy is not a game ender; you'll certainly continue to generate leads and make sales. But you've got to wonder if what you're doing now is enough to not only sustain but grow revenues for your organization. Are you generating enough new leads? Are they high quality enough to continue building your sales pipeline? Can you close enough sales and do so soon enough to make quota? Consider that, on average, only 43 percent of sales professionals make their quota, according to a study from the Aberdeen Group. The same study indicated that you're much more likely (79 percent more likely, to be exact!) to hit your sales target if you're using social selling in your sales process compared to your peers who are not using it. Even so, some of you may still be skeptical of its value. After all, whether you've just begun your career or you are a veteran within your industry, you've most likely experienced some wins using traditional sales and marketing techniques. Why change now? Think of social selling as a numbers game. Take a look at the following stats: ----Without social selling, 40 percent of sales teams make less than 80 percent of quota, on average. (Based on accumulated data from Xactly, a sales compensation management company.) ----Salespeople using social media exceeded sales quotas 23 percent more often than peers not using social media. ("Social Media and Sales Quota: The Impact of Social Media on Sales Quota and Corporate Revenue," by Jim Keenan and Barbara Giamanco, 2013.) ----In B2B organizations using social selling, 21 percent more sales reps met sales quota and 31 percent more sales teams achieved quota. (Research Brief: "Social Selling: Leveraging the Power of User Generated Content to Optimize Sales Results," published by Aberdeen Group, February 2012; distributed on SlideShare.) ----67 percent of B2C companies surveyed use Facebook to generate leads, and 43 percent say they get leads from Twitter. ("State of Digital Marketing 2012 Report," Webmarketing123, 2012.) ----39 percent of B2C companies receive sales from Facebook and 19 percent land sales from Twitter ("State of Digital Marketing 2012 Report," Webmarketing123, 2012.) ----44 percent of B2B companies turn to LinkedIn to generate leads with 23 percent of B2B companies gaining sales from LinkedIn. ("State of Digital Marketing 2012 Report," Webmarketing123, 2012.) ----60 percent of best-in-class companies train salespeople in how to engage in online conversations with prospects and customers compared to only 19 percent of laggard companies. (Research Brief: "Social Selling: Leveraging the Power of User Generated Content to Optimize Sales Results," published by Aberdeen Group, February 2012; distributed on SlideShare.) ----Best-in-class companies are three times more likely to identify and utilize external social influencers to support the sales process compared to laggard companies. (Research Brief: "Social Selling: Leveraging the Power of User Generated Content to Optimize Sales Results," published by Aberdeen Group, February 2012; distributed on SlideShare.) Percentages like those above favoring social selling didn't happen overnight. While I can't pinpoint an exact date that organizations first realized their prospects and customers were on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites, you have to understand that social media has been in existence for barely a decade. Some of today's most successful social networks, like Facebook and LinkedIn, first made their debuts in the very early part of the twenty-first century, while others, like Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+, have been around for only a few years and yet are boasting record-setting numbers of new users. Somewhere along the way, people transitioned from using social media merely as a way to commemorate small milestones of their daily lives to using it as a medium for communicating meaningful ideas, building important business relationships, researching products and services, and interacting with brands in a very personal way. It's often said that at some point during the social media transition period, the power shifted from the brand to the consumer. From a marketing perspective, this means that brands could no longer send one-way messages to consumers in the form of advertising and think that would be enough. Instead, customers began talking back to brands through social media channels. Marketing has become a two-way conversation with the customer. For sales, the transition to social media's use has been equally startling. Prospective customers no longer come into an organization's sales process at the top of the funnel, seeking general information or awareness of your brand, and wait for the salesperson to guide them through the company's buying process. Instead, prospects are defining the buying process. They're using social media to compare their purchasing options; they're turning to their personal and professional online networks to research products and brands before they even talk to a salesperson; and they're listening to what other customers say about those products and brands. By the time a prospect finally enters your line of vision, they're most likely entering midway (or further!) through the buying process. They've already done their fact finding, narrowed their buying decision to just a few options, and most likely already established a relationship with the brand. As a salesperson, your opportunity to influence the sale is minimized. And should you and your organization not make a prospect's cut for consideration, your ability to compete for the deal is unlikely at best. At the very least, the social-media--savvy consumer has made the sales process an uphill battle, putting you somewhat at a disadvantage, particularly if you have not participated in the online conversations. So how do you navigate the changing sales landscape? Adopting a social selling strategy is the first step to making sure you remain on the map. But it's more than merely getting on Facebook or Twitter and posting your company brochures. I'm going to give away the entire secret of social selling success right here in the introduction, without you having to read the first chapter! The Art of Social Selling is based entirely on your ability to build relationships. It just happens that those relationships are made and developed virtually through social networking sites, blogs, and online communities. Social selling is just another tool for you to use--it's an extension of the traditional sales process that you've already mastered. If I had to offer one reason why sales and marketing leaders are slow to adopt social selling within their organizations, it's because they've misunderstood it. Often, it's assumed that your organization must completely change to implement an entirely new sales process. But social selling is an extension of what sales and marketing teams are already doing, and integrating it becomes a matter of tweaking procedures and learning how to have persuasive conversations through social media instead of exclusively through the phone, email, or face-to-face meetings. Adopting a social selling strategy is really no different than the changes you make when incorporating any other modern sales tool. In this book, I provide you with the resources you need to start building toward social selling success. If you're new to social media, don't worry. I'll help you understand key terms and give you a sufficient overview of the various social networking sites so that you can understand how to implement the principles and basic strategies I'll be sharing with you. Of course, you've got to go into this process acknowledging that mastering social selling takes time and persistence. So, be patient, but be diligent, and it will pay off! As you begin building your social strategy, there's another important point to keep in mind. The only thing constant about social media is that it continually changes. New social media platforms and applications emerge, while existing social networking sites evolve to reach new and sometimes different target audiences. Likewise, the features and tools that are prominent on social networking sites today may be removed, modified, or replaced with different features tomorrow. One of the most challenging aspects of writing a book about social media is keeping pace with all of the new and improved features and sites that are continually being introduced. It's nearly an impossible task. However, I think it's important that you, as a reader, have continued access to any critical changes or updates to the social selling process. For this reason, I'm offering you a way to keep up with the most important changes through my website, www.ArtofSocialSelling.com. There, you can gain exclusive access to social selling updates and additional content (including some content that didn't make it into the book). Once on the website, look for the tab "Exclusive Content" and then enter the password: socialone. It's that simple! Oh, there's just one more thing before you begin reading. As I mentioned, everything about social selling revolves around the relationship between you and your future customer. For that reason, it would be unfortunate if I didn't begin this book with an invitation for you to connect with me! Here are the ways you and I can start to get to know one another and for you to join the conversation: Twitter: www.twitter.com/ShannonBelew LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ShannonBelew Google+: www.gplus.to/ShannonBelew] Facebook: www.facebook.com/OnlineMarketingToGo If you have any questions or comments about the book, or simply want to engage as a sales or marketing professional, I look forward to hearing from you! Excerpted from The Art of Social Selling: Finding and Engaging Customers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Other Social Networks by Shannon Belew All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
