We can learn a lot from the best basketball rebounders. So often in business development and life, it's not the first attempt that gets us the win.
If you're in the "social selling game," people comment on your articles, send you LinkedIn connection invitations, mention/tag you, or share your content. People care about what you're sharing and saying!
The critical moment is making sure you're responding to these opportunities to engage, providing additional value and making new connections with urgency.
In Social Selling, There are Offensive Rebounds and Defensive Rebounds
OFFENSIVE REBOUND
An offensive rebound begins when you write or share content on LinkedIn. You get responses.
Now, the ball is back to you! What do you do? You rebound and try to advance the relationships.
Opportunities for an Offensive Rebound:
- Someone Views Your Profile
- Someone Likes Your Comment or Content
- Someone Comments on Your Comment or Content
- Someone Mentions / Tags You
- Someone Messages You
- Someone Invites You to Connect
DEFENSIVE REBOUND
A defensive rebound is when someone else shares content and you're jumping in to pick up on the conversation.
Opportunities for a Defensive Rebounds:
- Someone Writes an Article Relevant to Your Industry
- Someone Answers an Interesting Question in a Group that You have the Answer to
The Top 3 Skills of Great Rebounders
To be good social sellers, we must be constantly rebounding when the "ball" comes into play. I did some research and came across this article: Common Traits of Great Basketball Rebounders, an article by Brian Schofield. Brian outlines 3 top skills of great basketball rebounders.
1. Desire
"This is something that is difficult to teach. Every good rebounder has a strong desire to get to the ball."
As a seller you've got to have a desire to follow up and identify who is showing interest in what you have to say.
2. Hand Position
"When I work with young players I teach them to always have their hands up."
Get your hands up! Raise your hand! And share something of value on LinkedIn.
3. Preparation and Study
"Spend time during warm-ups watching the opposing team shoot the ball."
Find out what your competition is doing. Figure out what they're doing that is working and how your potential clients are being impacted by their activities.
Summary
- If you're not "playing the game", you'll never have the opportunity to score.
- Just like in basketball, you're not going to ignore the ball when it comes back to you! Otherwise it might just hit you on the head or land in the hands of your competition.
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