Selling is one of the oldest, and consequently one of the most dynamic, professions in history. Several thousand years ago, the first sales model was a simple bartering system. Since then, the sales model has been deconstructed, modified, and enhanced more times than we can count. But one idea still rings true: successful salespeople adapt their sales strategies according to changing markets and buying behaviors.
A shift in buying behavior
We’ve hit another major inflection point in sales history, stemming from an ongoing digital transformation. Although digital adoption was already making its way through organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic greatly accelerated the demand for virtual customer interactions. And that trend isn’t waning any time soon. B2B buyers now expect to engage and transact with brands quickly and at their convenience. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2025, 80% of B2B sales communications will occur on digital channels.
As a result, top brands have introduced social selling into their sales processes. This buyer-centric model is a way for sellers to connect, engage, and nurture authentic relationships with their target audience on the social media channels their customers prefer. When social selling, it’s crucial for sellers to build relationships to help prospects make sense of the abundance of thought leadership information they consume daily. Sellers who position themselves as subject matter experts and focus on building relationships will win a buyer’s trust — and business. As B2B sales become increasingly digital, sales teams who adopt this practice will deepen customer relationships, shorten sales cycles, and generate more revenue opportunities.
The monetary benefits of social selling
Social selling is a powerful tool that can help sales representatives build a pipeline and meet quotas. By leveraging customer information harmonized by AI technology, social selling doesn’t just focus on generating more leads, it focuses on generating the right leads. According to LinkedIn, 78% of social sellers outsell their peers who don’t use social media. They’re also able to acquire 45% more sales opportunities. The bottom line? Social selling is a proven revenue generator.
Not only can social selling make brands money, but it can also save them money by reducing operating and process costs. With a unified customer experience management (Unified-CXM) platform, time-intensive research and data consolidation is replaced by AI-powered social listening and measurement dashboards. Your sales teams will have time back in their day to focus on more meaningful tasks and your organization will have more money in its pocket.
Top social selling platform features
A Unified-CXM platform with AI-powered listening helps sellers better understand their audience so that they can establish and nurture authentic relationships. It provides information about a lead, including data from marketing and sales teams, details about their web presence, renewals of existing subscriptions, and activity from social media channels. Sellers who have this 360-degree view have the ability to personalize interactions and build relationships with prospects and customers. They can also use this information to understand what challenges their customers are facing and position themselves as subject matter experts on topics that their audience cares about the most, building trust, and generating more sales.
In highly regulated industries like financial services and pharmaceuticals, compliance is a big concern. Your social selling program should include a content governance strategy that facilitates communication and compliance within your own organization. A Unified-CXM platform gives salespeople the option to share pre-approved content curated specifically for sales teams or create their own messages that require approval through a central team. AI-powered features in your social selling tool can help guide sellers to create content that is on-brand, on-message, and in compliance with industry regulations.
To learn more about the benefits of social selling and other must-have features in a social selling tool, download Sprinklr’s ebook: Unlocking More From Your Sales Team: Social Selling for B2B Brands.
