Social Media clearly has become a powerful (some might argue the most powerful) marketing tool available for businesses large and small. From my observations though, there is another application for Social Media that is being missed by many.
It starts with defining the components that make up the path from stranger to client. These are:
- Lead Acquisition (attracting new suspects and prospects)
- Lead Nurturing (pushing information to them so you remain front of mind)
- Lead Conversion (Closing the sale with those prospects who have articulated a de facto need)
Most of the buzz about Social Media is about growing your community, building relationships, establishing your credibility, attracting new inquiries, and staying in touch with those inquirers. This encompasses the first two steps.
The last step, lead conversion, is sales. This function is typically handled with conventional tactics; Telephone, E-mail, Face to Face. These methods are effective and should not be discarded.
Introducing Social Media into the sales portion of your revenue machine will increase the effectiveness of your conventional process. It will also take less of your time while enhancing the relationship and increasing the odds of closing the deal.
The key lies in identifying which prospects will be most receptive. During the earliest stage of your relationship is when you need to determine their level of Social Media comfort and competency.
If he is a non-believer you should not try and convert him. If he is already on board, you can differentiate yourself from the competition by providing faster, more accurate and more valuable information.
Here are just a few examples - staying within the three most commonly use Social Media platforms - Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. These are not the only tools available, there are others that may suit this process even better but I'll start with these simply because of their name recognition.
Direct Communications: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all have private, direct messaging which can be an alternative vehicle to e-mail, snail mail or telephone calls. Each has its own twist and will be better suited to specific situations.
Cross Connecting: If you are a regular user of any of these platforms, you have a broad base of contacts. If you discover that your prospect needs a reference to someone in a particular business, you can introduce them in a matter of seconds. Your prospect will think of you as a valuable, overall resource and the third party will appreciate the referral.
Increasing Your Credibility: This applies more to Twitter and LinkedIn than it does to Facebook. One of the often overlooked benefits of Twitter and LinkedIn is that they are fabulous search engines (YouTube is also great.) If something comes up in a discussion with your prospect and he is a little skeptical about your answer, the odds are you can find supporting information from Twitter or LinkedIn. Also - the information that you provide will be sourced by a third party. In other words, "So you don't believe me - here's 3 other sources that support my position." It's kind of like the fact that your spouse will believe someone else on a topic before they believe you.
There is a lot more that can be said but hopefully this will give you a starting place to apply Social Media as a tool to close sales - not just attract prospects.