The idea of social selling might seem daunting at first, but I’ll let you in on a well-known secret: selling has always been social. Before our lives were consumed by constant scrolling on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, when making purchasing decisions we asked the people we know and trust for advice IRL (in real life), often with a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of chit chat. 

Historically, women have always discussed the products and services we buy with others.  It’s part of being what Bridget Brennan calls “chief purchasing officers” for our households. “Many women pride themselves on being a source of helpful information and resources for their family, friends, and colleagues,” she says in this Forbes article Social selling takes this concept out of the coffeeshop and into the digital world, to the social media networks that women are already dominating. (78% of American women use social media vs 65% of American men, according to a 2019 Pew Research study). It’s the act of leveraging your social networks to find potential clients, build trusting relationships, and achieve sales goals.

“78% of American women use social media vs 65% of American men, according to a 2019 Pew Research Study.”

So, how do you promote your services on social media without spamming your contacts? You do what women have been doing for generations: make new connections and share valuable resources. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about using social selling to generate leads and increase revenue, including: 

  • A clear social selling definition. 
  • Why social selling is essential to the growth of your company. 
  • How to get started with social selling.  
  • How to leverage social selling to grow your audience.  

Let’s get started. 

What is social selling?

Social selling is the modern way to generate meaningful interactions and move through the 7 steps of the sales cycle: prospect, connect, research, present, handle objections, close, and follow up and generate referrals.

In this Forbes article, Mario M. Martinez Jr., host of The Modern Selling Podcast, defines social selling as: “leveraging social networks to help a sales person establish a personal and professional brand as well as understand their buyers through research, allowing them to relate and build a relationship with today’s digitally, socially, and mobile-enabled buyer, which ultimately drives sales.” The takeaway here is understanding your potential customers and developing strong connections. Social selling is not about constantly pitching—that type of unreserved, and often unwelcome, promotion can work against you. Instead, it’s about providing value to your market by answering questions, responding to comments, and sharing thoughtful content that meets the needs of your prospects and helps them decide whether to buy from you.  When done right, social selling can enable you to establish your brand as a go-to resource for thought leadership, trend forecasting, and—most importantly—expert services in your industry. The stronger your reputation and relationships, the more likely potential customers will be to take actions that could lead to sales. Goodbye, cold calls! Hello, inbound marketing! 

“The stronger your reputation and relationships, the more likely potential customers will be to take actions that could lead to sales.”

Learn more about the impact social media can have on your growing business in this video, “Marketing your Business on Social Media (Is it REALLY Necessary?)”. Subscribe to Eleanor’s YouTube channel for more practical advice for high-performing women entrepreneurs. 

Why is social selling important?

Now more than ever, buyers are looking for authentic and inspiring businesses they can trust, and they’re looking online to find them. In our digital world, it’s no surprise that 75% of B2B buyers said they turn to social media when deciding whether to purchase a product or service. If you’re not on your market’s preferred social platform, you could be missing out on interested leads, important sales conversations, and ultimately, revenue.

“75% of B2B buyers said they turn to social media when deciding whether to purchase a product or service.”

Smart salespeople know that social media is an integral part of the first step in the buyers’ journey. Just look at this list of social selling statistics from Hubspot

  • Social sellers generate 38% more opportunities than traditional sellers.
  • Social media has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing. 
  • 63% of social sellers reported an increase in company sales revenue, compared to 41% of non-social sellers. 

Not only does social selling ensure you have a strong online presence, but also a solid reputation. It all starts with knowing who you are, what you represent, and what value you bring your customers. Once you have a clear understanding of your offer, you can start to target and connect with potential clients online.  So, now that you know the impact social selling can have on your company’s success, how do you get started? Here are 6 actionable strategies for turning your connections on social media into cold, hard cash. 

How to get started with social selling 

1. Develop a personal brand. 

As I mentioned in The Ultimate Guide to Personal Branding for Women Entrepreneurs, personal branding is what makes you stand out in a sea of sameys. It’s an integral way for you to stake your claim in the market, elevate your reputation, and expand your network.  Developing a personal brand starts with understanding the unique qualities that set you apart from your competition. Maybe it’s your skills and experience, your commitment to social causes, or your quirky personality traits. Whatever you decide to focus on, be intentional and consistent in sharing it across all your marketing and communications channels—especially social media.  More than 80% of buyers are more likely to engage with a strong brand than a wishy-washy one. So, make sure your social profiles are primed to catch potential customers’ eyes when they’re looking for expertise in your industry. That way, they’ll see you as a leader and a valuable contact to have.

2. Identify your ideal customer. 

Once you know what you want to say, you need to figure out who you’re going to say it to. In this conversation on The Sigrun Show, I talk about the importance of niching down to become a company of one. Niching is the act of focusing your offer on a specific group of people. Think about who you want to help, specifically, and target your offer towards them. 

To identify your ideal customer, consider both demographics (age, location, gender) and psychographics (attitudes, beliefs, and lifestyles). This will help you understand who your target market is, what they like and don’t like, and what they need so you can custom-tailor your approach on social media to match. 

3. Choose the right social network. 

You don’t need to be active everywhere, but in a few places that make sense for you.  It’s easy to get caught up in the next big social media platform, but the most successful social sellers are the ones who are active on the same networks as their potential customers. Once you know who your audience is, find out where they are most active and start to connect with them through conversations in comments, and eventually, direct messages.

Selling on Facebook

Facebook is the most widely used platform of social media’s big four, with a whopping 2.6 billion monthly active users. Because of the network’s personal nature, you’ll need to be thoughtful about your approach to social selling on Facebook. A recent survey showed that 81% of people find unsolicited Facebook messages from salespeople creepy, and 78% are turned off by friend requests from sales reps.  Consider joining the more than 80 million small businesses around the world who are using Facebook pages and create a business page instead. Just make sure not to let the page sit empty, and to share useful content that illustrates your expertise. Doing so will make it easier for people to find and refer business to you. You can use an intelligent chatbot to message your prospects directly from your business page. This type of conversational marketing makes the business experience more personal and authentic, like chatting over instant messenger with a friend or coworker. Plus, it’s a format many consumers are already comfortable using.

Selling on Instagram 

Instagram is hugely popular and highly visual. The photo-sharing app has unveiled a number of unique tools to benefit business owners like targeted ads, shopping tags, and in-app checkouts. In 2020, it debuted Instagram Reels, a new way for brands to share short, entertaining videos. Reels can be shared in Feeds or discovered in Explore, meaning you can reach a much broader audience. Then there’s Instagram Live, which allows brands to share unedited videos and interact with viewers in real-time. Live videos are a great way to build strong, meaningful connections between your brand and customers.  Instagram’s 1 billion monthly active users skew young, with 71% under the age of 35. The good news is that 90% of them follow at least one business.

 

Selling on LinkedIn 

With over 722 million members, LinkedIn is the runner up to Facebook and Instagram in the user race, but its business focus makes it an essential platform for B2B service providers. Over the years, LinkedIn has evolved from a job board to a professional network, with 15x more content impressions than job postings. In fact, 98% of sales reps with more than 5,000 connections report meeting or surpassing their sales quota on LinkedIn.  LinkedIn offers two ways to contact your prospects personally: through direct message if you’re connected or InMail (also called sponsored mail) if you’re not. If you decide to use InMail, be strategic in your approach to social selling as these types of sales messages can be easily ignored. Capture your recipient’s attention by introducing yourself, or asking a mutual connection to introduce you. Then focus on providing value by making sure your message is relevant to them and their needs. More on this to come.

Selling on Twitter 

Twitter has come under fire in recent years for its purported role in US politics. Still, the platform continues to grow with 330 million monthly active users, only 34% of which are female. It’s a great network for getting the lay of the land. With Twitter Lists, you can create groups of users and monitor their conversations. Imagine what you can learn with lists for existing customers, prospects, competitors, and industry influencers!

Regardless of what networks you choose, you’ll want to avoid this crucial social selling mistake: spamming your contacts. Nobody likes getting unsolicited messages or generic connection requests. Which leads me to my next point…

 

4. Make authentic connections. 

I’ve talked about the importance of authenticity before in The Ultimate Guide to Personal Branding for Women Entrepreneurs. Today’s consumers are searching for brands they can trust, and they’ll sniff out the slightest hint of insincerity. A whopping 99% of consumers consider authenticity to be crucial when deciding which businesses they like and support. 

Social media is a 2-way street. In order to truly know your prospect, they need to know you too. One of the easiest ways to develop an authentic connection is to make sure you come across as human, with the same interests as your target audience. 

If your audience is in the B2B space, you can start by engaging with a target company as well as the company’s individual employees online. You might want to seek out influencers in your industry as well. Every like, comment, and share will pique your market’s interest and build your credibility. 

5. Build trust by demonstrating value. 

Give your prospects a reason to connect with you. It could be as simple as asking questions, sharing resources, or offering useful tips and tricks. Make sure your conversations are genuine by focusing on the needs of the prospect first, and selling second.   

You might also want to join groups so you can stay ahead of challenges your potential customers are dealing with. You can contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way or sit back and listen, just don’t use groups to hawk your products or services—that kind of salesy self-promotion can come across as annoying and insincere. 

The more you share relevant and thoughtful content with your target audience, the more they’ll trust you. And trust is essential when it comes to driving business. 

6. Take the conversation offline. 

Make no mistake, social selling is a long game. It can take months or years to cultivate trusting relationships with your prospective clients. You have to be willing to put in the time and effort to connect with your target audience, and even then, there’s no guarantee your efforts will pay off. But if you do it right, and wait until the opportune moment, you’ll have a much better chance. 

“It can take months or years to cultivate trusting relationships with your prospective clients.”

While social media is a great place to start conversations, it shouldn’t be your only method of communication during the sales cycle. When you’re ready to make the pitch, take the conversation offline. That’s right, back to the coffeeshop. This will allow you to learn more about your prospect’s challenges and get the clarity you need to close the sale. 

Ready to make the pitch? Learn how to Pitch Prospective Clients Today (the non-desperate way). 

How to leverage social selling to grow your audience

At the end of the day, social selling is about building meaningful relationships with your potential customers. After all, behind every social media connection is a real relationship between you and another human. So, get to know your followers—their likes, dislikes, hopes, fears, and concerns—so that you can be a resource for them. Look for opportunities to help, rather than to sell since 70% of customers say they want problems solved, not to be sold to. If you consistently share content that is relevant and engaging, your audience—and your reputation—will grow with every like, share, and comment! 

“70% of customers say they want problems solved, not to be sold to.”

Build your business through social selling 

In this guide, I’ve given you 6 actionable strategies to establish yourself as an expert, find your target audience, and build meaningful relationships to turn your social media connections into cash. Social selling takes time and dedication, but I promise you it’s worth it—and I’m here to support you along the way.

As a women’s leadership expert, business coach, and writer, I’ve helped countless women entrepreneurs scale their service-based businesses past the 7-figure mark with powerful positioning, messaging, and sales funnels. Learn more about how my team can help you develop an undeniable social selling strategy.