10 ways social selling professionals keep in touch with their clients

10 ways social selling professionals keep in touch with their clients

We all know that as a sales person you need to keep in touch with his/her clients and prospects. But how many do this when there is no immediate lead or sale on the horizon. Maybe time to reconsider this strategy since keeping in touch is becoming so simple with the advent of social media and social selling techniques that the investment will actually yield great results!

Let me show you how to keep in touch with your clients and prospects without having to spend a lot of time.

In the real world you will have 3 touchpoints (probably the most time consuming) with your buyers:

  • Since all good salespeople make it a must to sit down with the their buyer at least once a year, you will have your first touchpoint
  • Buyers go to conference, seminars, industry meetings or plain other meetings. As a good salesperson you know which ones and you will try to attend one of these to score your second touchpoint.
  • Finally, making one phone call per year to your buyer does not seem out of proportion to keep in touch. So that makes 3.

Then there is the email channel offering you 2 great touchpoints

  • You obviously read and curate content that can be used and shared by email with your buyers. If you were only to send one email of these per year to your clients, you would have pocketed your fourth touchpoint. I am sure you can do better.
  • And then there is the holiday season which is perfect opportunity to get in touch with your clients. Why not export your LinkedIn contacts and sending them an E-card! There comes touchpoint number 5.

Number 6 to 10 are at the core of the social selling professional: social media and more particularly LinkedIn. It offers some great opportunities to get in touch with your network.

  • The “Keep-in-Touch” tab in LinkedIn lets you
    • Know when your contacts have their birthday. And let’s be honest, we all like to get “best wishes” on that day. So create your personal message and make a difference with this sixth touchpoint.
    • The seventh is an "either-or" touchpoint:
      • Know when your contacts have changed jobs (you no longer need to wait till the next networking meeting to be kept appraised of their career movements). Again, an ideal moment to let them know you are still around. Congratulations are due but no sales messages. Or…
      • Know when someone has a work anniversary. The ideal moment to start planning for your next face-to-face visit, start a conversation about the his/her company or even ask who you need to speak to in respect to your products/services.
    • Reacting to a post in a group or Status update of your contacts is also a great to get that eight touchpoint you need to start a conversation.
    • As a salesperson you meet a lot of people. Some of these people could benefit from a mutual introductions. Under the leitmotiv of “what goes around goes around” introduction create magic when it comes to relationship building. BTW: This not only doubles your touchpoints but also makes you look good and helpful to your contacts. Imaging what conversations could start here. So you are on number nine now!
    • And finally number ten of course is your own Status Update. Do not forget that a lot of your contacts will benefits from the information you share. Sharing is the new “trust” currency. It is simple and quick! No excuses here!

When it comes to time usage, lets’ be real the LinkedIn stuff can be defined in minutes rather than hours. The ideal scenario is that you mix “In-Real-Life” with “On-Line” touchpoints for maximum impact. In the end, it is about building a routine that gets you results!

If you do one of these every month you will have had minimal 10 touchpoints per year. Being visible, adding value and building meaningful relationships will make you the social selling professional that will get way past reaching quota’s or struggles to generate leads.

So what are you waiting for to start 2015 with the routine that will make social seller of the year!

Have a great 2015!

good advice

Like
Reply
Tom Stamm

SDR Manager - Americas at SugarCRM

9y

Great post Mic. To add to this list, I like to get "sticky" with the whole company. Examples: Sharing job postings to your network, setting Google Alerts to be notified when they are in the news, creating a "Ideal Buyer" persona for their clients so you can make introductions when you meet their perfect customer. It's all about value. When they value YOU more than what you are selling... well, now you have a personal brand! Cheers Mic!

To view or add a comment, sign in

Insights from the community

Explore topics