The Social Media Sales Shift

The introduction of social media has not only changed the ways in which we connect with each other in our daily lives, it has also changed the ways in which we sell to each other.

What did the sales process look like before the social media wave?

• Cold calling
• Consultative selling
• Direct selling
• Guaranteed sale
• Needs-based selling
• Persuasive selling
• Hard Selling
• Price based selling
• Relationship Selling
• Target account selling
• Solution selling
• Auctions
• Giving away for free

I plan on choosing a few of these points which will be the most relevant to this piece and expanding upon it. Preferably points that we are most familiar with or that have evolved or been replaced due to social media.

One of the most common sales tactics is cold-calling. We have all experienced that annoying moment when we pick up the phone to hear a telemarketer trying to sell us what they insists is an amazing product that we absolutely need in our lives. This process of a salesperson trying to sell a product to a customer with no prior contact is cold-calling. In these scenarios the salesperson is trying to establish a need within their consumer for the product right on the spot. This tactic is also seen through door-to-door salesmen. Although this method can be effective it is risky because the salesperson is trying to make a sale without establishing any prior relationship with the customer. The majority of the time customers reject these calls and this can lead not only to an annoyed customer but also to a dissatisfied salesperson due to the consistent impersonal rejections.

What does the sales process look like during the social media wave?

“But, social media is very much like the offline world, where tenacity and consistency are required qualities to see results in your social media efforts”.

As stated by Jenny Frances, social media although it has the ability to create an overnight sensation, requires work. Just like previous sales tactics, social media marketing requires certain techniques to produce results. However once these social media skills are mastered one has the ability to be able to appeal to a wider audience in a shorter period of time.

One of the important decisions to make when representing a business through social media is choosing which of the ample social medias would best promote your company. Many companies make the mistake of establishing too many social medias and then spreading themselves too thin. When creating a brand image through social media or promoting a campaign it is essential to distinguish between quality and quantity. If a company has a ton of ads on a social media sight they can easily become as annoying as cold-calling. However one thoughtful ad is more likely to grab the readers’ attention and even better be shared by the reader. (Give two picture examples of the different types of drafts)

Just as social media is all about connecting with people social media sales are all about creating a better buyer-seller relationship so that the salesperson can better connect with the customer. Just as in previous sales techniques an effective sale requires you to know your clientele. It is important not to just jump straight into a social media campaign but rather to know your clientele demographics and find the social media site which best suits their interests.

(Give examples of the pros and cons of Facebook and Twitter and why one might better fit your clientele than the other)

-business can learn about a problem with their product from a comment on social media and fix their product before it effects a large number of people

-businesses can track what their clients are interested in to expand their market

-anyone can become an entrepreneur through popular social media such as vine YouTube stars

Has social media been beneficial or harmful to sales?

After acknowledging sales process involving social media and not involving social media, what has the overall effect of social media been on sales thus far?

Is social media actually helping your company’s bottom line?

Is social media really a waste of time? Harvard professor gets it wrong

These articles are in response to each other and they show that although social media helps with strengthening things such as brand imaging and customer support, it does not have direct impact on sales. I plan on using excerpts of these articles in my final piece.