Social Selling #101: You are your Brand.

One of the great things about Social Selling is that if used properly it can help you as well as your Brand, business or company you work for. The whole thing about it being “social” is that if used right, it’s a 2-way street: you see them and they see you.

Keyword: you. The way Social Selling works for people in sales is simple: it gives you a lot (and I mean A LOT) of information on your prospective customers. Not just the Companies you’re intending to sell to but the actual people that will buy from you. If you just use the Internet to get information on who they are and what they do and you di it anonymously…well, chances are you’re not really selling, just stalking.

People that prospect but never engage, never close a deal. People that do are called sales people and if you are one of these you know by now that your most important asset is no other than yourself. This has been true way before social networks appeared. The reason is really simple: people buy from people, which means you are going to be selling something to someone who will be buying it from you.

Having said that, if you are indeed going to engage in the hopes of selling something the first thing you need to equip yourself with is a strong, visible personal brand that translates into a simple message:

You want to do Business with me.

This goes beyond your online profiles on Linkedin and Twitter all though I would recommend you to start right there: what do your profiles look like? Is it friendly enough, or professional enough? Is it open and welcoming, or is it just filled with your accomplishments as a sales rep? Do you share or post relevant content? Would anyone who hasn’t worked with or for you know you just by looking at your profile? Remember that they (those who you will sell to) can see you and chances are they are going to decide if they want to do business with you or not right after they start finding relevant information about you.

And that’s the key here: you get to decide most of the information they’ll search and find. Not all of it of course, but the most relevant one for certain: the “who is this guy” info.

Your “Online Persona” becomes more relevant than ever before because you are visible, as much as the content you share or create. Did you know that:

• 75% of potential buyers do their research online before buying?
• If you’re selling a service, 80% of your potential buyers will look for reviews on your performance through blogs and forums. That is 8 out of 10.
• Buying processes are becoming more and more collaborative through Social Networks.

And because we’ll engage through Social Networks more often than not (we rarely just call people out of the blue these days, right?) or email, 6 out of 10 people will look you up on Linkedin first. Even before you sell a product, service or solution you need to grasp the importance of having the right profile up, one that shows why doing business with you is really important.

They just want to know who you are, which makes your profile your brand, and because you too buy products from other companies, you know how important a professional and honest look is.

If you are interested in knowing more on how to make your profile not just professional but more fit for a sales person…this is the right series for you. Watch out for the next blog and remember:

IF YOU SEE THEM, THEY CAN SEE YOU.

Originally published at IT is what IT is.