Like this article? PLEASE +1 it!

How does social networking help make the sale?

Article Overview: With automatic ‘trust' built in - we're sort of family once we are connected - our conversations seem to flow smoothly: we've used Facebook, the net, and Twitter to discover who the other is, have determined whether and how we want to connect, what we can offer each other, and how to prepare. An off-handed comment about the person's upcoming wedding, or a congratulatory mention of their new business venture compounds the trust.

Free Download - Sales is a Flawed Model By Sharon Drew Morgen

How does social networking help make the sale?

These days we all use some form of social networking: it's delightful to go onto LinkedIn and find colleagues from Europe who might have interest in a program with me for when I travel across the pond - colleagues that ‘know' me well enough through my various on-line profiles to be eager to

dialogue with me,
discover ways to partner,
just chat about places to stay.

And the use and quality of Skype has made it all as simple and cheap as calling a friend in a different city.

IF WE TRUST EACH OTHER, WHY AREN'T WE CLOSING MORE?

With automatic ‘trust' built in - we're sort of family once we are connected - our conversations seem to flow smoothly: we've used Facebook, the net, and Twitter to discover who the other is, have determined whether and how we want to connect, what we can offer each other, and how to prepare. An off-handed comment about the person's upcoming wedding, or a congratulatory mention of their new business venture compounds the trust.

Gone are the days of cold calling, running around the country to network, speaking at events for free just to collect business cards. I bet some folks out there don't even remember when those were the only ways to get leads, other than the phone book.

So why aren't we closing more?

Not only are we not closing more, we're closing less.

What is going on?

What's going on is that our relationships, communication, trust, and friendliness are not helping others reach the sorts of decisions necessary to close a deal.

CHANGE, SYSTEMS, AND BUY-IN

Before we look at what's happening, let's change the discussion for a moment to look at what needs to happen for any purchase to occur.

In order for someone to buy something other than a small personal item, there are several steps that must take place to get the necessary buy-in to move forward. The appropriate buy-in must be acquired from the right people and groups; the rules must be changed to allow for a new set of ‘givens'; vendors and business partners must agree; job descriptions must match up with the new jobs.

We tend to forget that all purchases are change management problems. And, because a problem is not an isolated event and has been maintained by the people and policies, rules and politics of the existent environment, there are systemic things that touch the solution that would be affected if a new solution were to enter.

So a new piece of software would seriously affect users, techies, internal consultants, and trainers; training for one group would affect all of the people who touch that group.

And systems prefer to maintain the status quo, even if it means maintaining failure. After all, it has been ‘good enough' until now, and everything has bought-in to maintaining it as it is. In fact, our buyers would rather maintain their status quo regardless of what it is costing them, and regardless of the efficacy of our solution: no matter how much they will save with a new solution, it costs more overall to bring in something new.

Remember: If the buyer felt pain, or was ready to change, they would have done so already.

So until or unless the status quo will accept the addition of something new, and has the capability to manage in such a way that an addition will not create too much unregulated disruption, it will do nothing.

WHAT IT TAKES TO CLOSE A DEAL

Currently, our relationships through social networking haven't included the agenda to help the Other recognize and manage the different sorts of buy-in necessary to change. But that doesn't mean we can't include that.

I was at a client site recently listening in on a sales call with a prospect who my client had been chatting with for months. It was a lovely call. Laughter, in-jokes, obvious rapport. They were introduced on LinkedIn; they tweeted each other daily. Yet nothing was going anywhere. I wrote a note in front of him, which he repeated:

We've been chatting for a while now. And the more I get to know you, the more I see the possibility of our working together somehow. What would you need to know about my solution to know if it would fit, and if your colleagues would be willing to consider adding something new to what they are already doing so well?

The conversation shifted. The man was happy to answer: We're starting to go through the process of an M&A, and won't be able to take on anything new for about a year. Can we revisit this in 6 months? At that time there will be new people on board (I might even be gone!), and I don't know what the hierarchy will be, but we can discuss it.

There could be no buy in, no decision team, and most likely no purchase. Does that make you want to continue being ‘friends' or end the ‘friendship'? Do you want to ask for a referral? How much time do you want to spend being ‘friendly' vs closing a sale? And how will you know when/if it's time to pull the plug, or ask the hard questions?

We're in a new era. There are no rules - we're making them up as we go along. So ask yourself:

What do you want to get out of social media?
How will you know that one person over another is a prospect?
At what point is connecting enough, or do you want to connect only with potential prospects or partners?

The capability is in front of us. The choice is our as to what we want to do with it. We just have to remember that being friendly, evoking trusting ‘relationships', having hundreds or thousands of friends, doesn't make you a better seller.

What would you need to learn differently to add a new skill set to what you're doing online, to help you help your ‘friends' make their best decisions?

Related Articles

Social networking is an important part of franchise success

Are You Confused About Social Networking?

Home Business Expert: Importance Of Social Networking

Using Social Networking Websites to Promote Your Business

Social Networking Your Way To Work At Home Business Success

Social Networking Landing Pages -- How to Turn Your Social Networking Friends Into Customers

Home Business Expert: Importance Of Video Social Networking

How to get business from social networking

How to Find the Right Social Networking Marketing Video Course to Meet Your Marketing Needs

How to Make Social Networking in Business and Asset to an Online Home Business

Intro to Social Networking

Is the Answer to Our Social Networking Needs More Marketing Software Or Niche Networking Sites?

How to Make the Most Out of Your Social Networking Marketing Video Vault

Earn Money With A Social Networking Script

Social Networking: A prime location for advertising

Spending Time on Social Networking - Make it Count!

Social Networking Tips to Blow Your Competitors Outdated Marketing Techniques Out of the Water!

Using Social Networking Sites to Build Your List of Followers in Three Simple Steps

To Give Your Internet Marketing Business Greater Exposure Combine Social Networking and Blogging

Social Networks... are they for you?

Home > Sales > Sharon Drew Morgen > How does social networking help make the sale > Google +

Article Tags: buying facilitation, prospects, sales, social media

About the Author: Sharon Drew Morgen
RSS for Sharon Drew's articles - Visit Sharon Drew's website

Sharon Drew Morgen is a pioneer and thought leader, the bestselling author of NYTimes Business Bestsellers Selling with Integrity , Sales on the Line, and Buying Facilitation, the new way to sell that expands and influences decisions as well as 2 other books and 800 articles on her original collaborative decision-support model Buying Facilitation. As the architect of a wholly original sales model, Sharon Drew has provoked, inspired, and motivated thousands of sales professionals world-wide. With a history as a million-dollar producer and 30 years in sales, an entrepreneur of a successful start-up, and a sales consultant in many Fortune 100 companies, she brings field knowledge as well as innovation to her audiences. Based on supporting the buyer's internal (management) decisions, Sharon Drew is a trainer, consultant, keynote speaker, and designer of patents that help site visitors and sellers make the decisions necessary for success. Her model has been trained worldwide, in global corporations such as Coors, Wachovia, Intuit, KPMG, IBM, and retail corporations such as Clinique.

Click here to visit Sharon Drew's website