The Inbound Growth Blog

The Inbound Growth Blog covers all topics relating to an integrated marketing strategy. We write about inbound marketing, social media, integrated marketing strategies and the sales process.

The Foundation of Social Selling

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Posted by John Beveridge on Oct 24, 2013 8:00:00 AM

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Technology has fundamentally changed the way people buy. The power in the process has shifted from the seller to the buyer. Buyers don’t need salespeople to access product information, pricing and educational content to help them solve problems – it’s all on the internet. The typical buyer completes 57% of their buying process before ever speaking with a salesperson (CEB – New Decision Timeline.)

Successful companies use social selling techniques designed to attract buyers to their solutions. They share great educational content to help their ideal buyers solve problems. They use social media and email marketing to communicate with buyers who have willingly agreed to engage. Simply, put they sell on the buyer’s terms.

On the other hand, we have sellers who still sell like they always have. They shotgun telephone calls incessantly hoping to connect with somebody in the midst of a buying process. But that’s not the way people buy! Busy buyers don’t have time to spend on things that aren’t important to them. These sellers end up turning off potential buyers because of their annoying sales tactics.

Lately I’ve noticed a new breed of seller. They realize that cold-calling doesn’t work and are looking for new ways to connect with buyers. Rather than cold-call, they send unsolicited emails that tell the buyer how “innovative”, “best-in-breed” and “(insert lame buzzword here)” they are. They’re really "leaning into it"! Unfortunately, they’ve just found a new way to be annoying. But they don’t have to be.

So now we’ll get to the point.


Good writing is the foundation of social selling

Good writing is where your social selling process starts. Whether it's your website, a blog article, prospecting email or social media posting, good writing is what attracts the modern buyer. Good writers cut through the fog and get found by buyers who are bombarded with marketing messages. Good writers generate leads and help buyers move through their buying process.

I highly recommend that you read Copywriting 101: The Principles of Irresistable Conent by Barry Feldman. It will improve your social selling process regardless of how well you write. If you're sending 3-page spam blasts, this will really help you. 


Get to the verb, Caesar

Busy buyers don't have time to read content that doesn't interest them in 3 seconds or less. The first thing they see is the title of your blog article or your email headline. That's your 3 seconds right there. If your title sucks, the prospect bounces from your website or deletes your email. Make sure your title is brief, to the point and written for your buyer (not you!) If it's action-oriented and compelling, the buyer just might decide to read more.

Remember, brevity is the soul of wit (William Shakespeare.) Say just enough to get the reader to the next step - whether it's reading your blog, clicking through to your landing page or responding to your prospecting email. Most email messages and web copy should be 200-300 words or less. 200 words is roughly what will fit on the screen of a smartphone. Concise writing is essential for mobile marketing.


Write the way people talk

Barry Feldman says it better than I ever could:

"Does public speaking freak you out? You’ve probably heard the tip speaking phobes often get. Fix on one person in the audience. Find a friendly face and talk to him or her.

The same concept applies to writing. A large part of the fright factor comes from worrying about addressing a large audience. Try a different approach. Imagine you’re writing to just one person, a good friend.

Now, converse. Want to ask a question? Go for it. Want to prove you’ve been listening? Let the reader know you know why she’s there. Want to ignore the writing rules you learned in school? Do it. This ain’t school.

Write as if you’re talking. If you can’t get that ball rolling, then don’t write. Get out a recorder and talk. Play it back and transcribe it.

My hope is you’re gathering the crux of my lesson thus far. Writing’s only hard if you make it hard."

Someone recently asked me to review an important email they wanted to send. The first thing I noticed was how it didn't sound anything at all like the person spoke. Don't use words that you don't use in conversation to sound smart - it often comes out stilted.


Social selling is essential if you want to grow your business. There are a lot of strategies and tactics for successful social selling. Good writing is at the core of all of them. Write good content targeted to your ideal buyer and you will fill your sales funnel and generate opportunities on your buyer's terms. 

 

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