It’s time we face the facts (and data!) that social media is here to stay. The majority of people can’t go a day without feeding into the social media frenzy. It serves as a new source to some, distraction to others, and a vehicle to drive business for the wise sales professional.
In Salesforce’s Second Annual State of Sales report, 44% of sales professionals said it is very important, and often critical, to use social media when connecting with customers. When you ask sales professionals how social should play into Account-Based Engagement that number is even higher.
Sales for Life’s recent report found that 64% of their respondents found social media essential to their account-based efforts.
What is it about Account-Based Engagement(ABE) that makes social media such an integral facet?
TOPO brings the answer home in their “Account-Based Everything Framework” ebook. ABE requires hyper-personalization to multiple contacts within an organization. While web searches can provide some data that may come in handy, social selling actively develops relationships as a part of the sales process with the help of social media. Which means social media is a valuable resource to make direct connections with accounts and individuals.
Identify Key Players and Intel
The first step to social selling is to get your foot in the door and that means know the account’s key decision maker(s). ABE usually means your marketing team is also engaging with your account, but you as the sales rep should be fully aware of your primary contacts. Social media provides simple searches with the information you need. LinkedIn specifically shows company employees along with their job title. No need to question who you are reaching out to, you can connect with them on the spot!
Second, relevant company and contact information are readily available with social media. Sure, you can leverage LinkedIn to learn hobbies for icebreaking conversation starters, but go a step further. Follow the company and the contact on Twitter. Just like that you have up-to-date insights about successes or pain points that may fuel your deal.
One cadence best practice for Salesloft users, create a Day 1 “Other” step to research the prospect on LinkedIn. This way you have your social media consistently in your sales process.
Increase Your Communication Odds
“With a finite number of accounts, it is critical that account-based SDRs use every effective channel at their disposal.” — TOPO
Let’s be honest, even when you’re just keeping in touch with your friends and family, you use multiple channels of communication. You call, text, email, Facebook, whatever you can to converse. You should take the same approach with your accounts.
Incorporating social media steps in to your engagement process increases the likelihood of making a connection. Adding social touches on top of emails and phone calls expands your communication net. So whether a prospect is impressed with your contact efforts, or you successfully stay top-of-mind, social media gives you the best odds at landing a sale.
Share Insightful Engagement
Modern buyers can look up your company and product just as easily as anyone else. Your account-based efforts need to show you are a product expert ready to provide knowledge to your prospects. Social media offers the fastest (and friendliest) way to do just that.
“In the past two years, content consumption on LinkedIn has increased 21.” — Hubspot
Let’s say a prospect posts an open question on LinkedIn or Twitter asking how they can drive efficiency within their organization. People will start commenting with answers, possibly suggesting your competitor. Rather than commenting on the post to simply say, “We can help!” take the time to really answer their questions.
Put in the time to research the answer if you don’t know it offhand. Share a case study of a current customer who was able to increase efficiency with the help of your product. This sort of post proves you and your company are in the business of presenting value.
Modern Account-Based Engagement and social selling go hand in hand because they both cater to strategic relationships with your buyers. Each involves taking information and giving your potential customers the best value.
Without a social media component, ABE falls flat inside a monotony of emails and phone calls. So follow a prospect on Twitter, send an InMail message, or like a company’s Facebook page, anything to engage in the most efficient way possible.
Want to learn more about effective account-based social engagement and strategy? Download your free copy of our latest ebook and start landing larger clients, earning more revenue, and enjoying more sales success.
