To help you reach your sales goals
Social Media Prospecting
3 Succinct Steps to Get Sales through Social Media: How a Small Business Did It (and so can you).
Jan 6th
3 Succinct Steps to Get Sales through Social Media: How a Small Business Did It
(and so can you).
These days you can’t escape the social media buzz. You also can’t escape the recession. During a time when most non-essential businesses struggled to survive, one such organization experienced solid, sustained growth. This is a remarkable accomplishment. This is how they did it.
Madeline’s Catering is a full-service caterer in Rochester, NY. Like many other small and mid-sized organizations Madeline’s Catering found themselves facing the perennial small business challenge-they were so busy providing a high quality service they had neither time nor knowledge on how to sell it. “I’m a chef not a sales person,” says Madeline Neville, Head Chef and owner.
Madeline’s Catering followed a customized 6-week plan organized around specific, realistic action items. Social media played a key role. Here’s what they did.
- Rebranding. Madeline’s Catering built an attractive, new website fully integrated with the traffic driving, social media channels Twitter, Facebook, and Linked In.
- Streamlined Maintenance. To accommodate time limitations Neville uses an account on Ping.fm, a social media management site that allows her to upload new content and update all her channels in minutes.
- Customer Service. Using scripts for phone calls and letters along with an in-take form Neville has a process for systematic follow-up for phone inquiries. In addition, she sought education for herself and staff to assess and improve phone skills and closing techniques.
The results: In six weeks Madeline’s Catering’s website traffic increased 41 percent and phone inquiries have nearly doubled. Their phone call strategies have increased the number of closed sales. This efficient system has streamlined management and improved employee morale. Madeline’s Catering now stands above the competition with a reputation of excellent customer service. Furthermore, time previously spent finding prospects is now used for researching and improving recipes.
The Takeaway: Social media means real business. As a result of their upfront efforts Madeline’s Catering has a distinct advantage over their competitors that translates into benefits in the eyes of the customer.
You’ve probably figured out that Sales Sense Solutions organized the 6-week strategy. And yes, there were other components involved in that 6-week strategy. We decided to share this dimension of the story with you to demonstrate that social media can be a solid sales-driving tool for you even during an extended recession. If you want to read a full version of the Madeline’s Catering case study please visit www.SalesSenseSolutions.com
Please visit http://www.madelinescatering.com/ for all of your catering needs.
We’re also hosting a social media seminar and invite you to join us and learn. Click here to get more information. https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/850393099
How to Connect with a CEO: 12 Easy Social Media Steps Part II
Dec 30th
How to Connect with a CEO: 12 Easy Social Media Steps
Part II
by Mike Krause
Last week we gave you the first 6 steps on how to connect with a CEO using social media.
If you took full advantage of that advice you should have a list with your 5 top prospect companies and their chief staff members. You should also have notes of your common interests as well as the names of professional organizations and groups your prospect belongs to.
In review: steps 1 and 2 directed you to XYZ Company’s website. Steps 3 through 6 took place on LinkedIn.
Time to move to Twitter
- Sometimes XYZ Company may have a Twitter account but hasn’t put it on their website. Go to Twitter.com and do a company search (click search then type in XYZ Company). If they’re listed, follow them.
- Visit XYZ’s Company’s profile page on Twitter. Look who they’re following. Review
XYZ Company’s tweets. This information allows you to assemble what’s important to XYZ Company along with their interests and conversational tone which will help you be prepared to converse. - Now it’s time to shift gears on Twitter and search for your CEO by name (remember, you found her name on LinkedIn). If your CEO prospect is listed, follow her. Repeat what you did for XYZ Company. Look who your prospect is following along with her tweets and conversational tone. You can use this information to search for common interests so you’re prepared to converse. Look at your prospect’s tweets to get a feel for what she thinking and what’s important to her.
Note: Quite often an organization will have a Twitter account while individuals who work with XYZ Company have their own Twitter page. We are asking you to review both.
- Get the list of groups you made on Step 6 while you were on LinkedIn. Use Twitter to search for those groups. Look at their tweets and learn more about what they are doing so you can identify a common interest with your prospect CEO. Join the ones that interest you or think might be important to your prospect. Take note: If a group or your prospect likes your Twitter account, they will follow you back. This is why you should maintain a Twitter account and post regular helpful information on it. And please refrain from sending automated messages; they are not appreciated by the Twitter community.
- If your prospect follows you back you will have the ability to send him a direct message. Send a personalized note…now you’ve made your first connection! If he doesn’t follow you back immediately you can still connect to him by making a thoughtful comment on one of his tweets using Twitter’s @ feature. This is another way to make a connection!
- Repeat the search for XYZ Company and your prospect’s name on other social media channels (i.e. You Tube, Facebook, or SlideShare). Now that you’ve made the first contact you can extend connections on these channels. Please remember, you’re cultivating a professional relationship so be respectful and polite.
Connecting at this level is valuable because you’ve eliminated the gatekeepers and you’re reaching out not as a sales person but as someone who shares a common, social interest. How you handle your conversation from this point is a topic for another day.
Next week: A case study of a Rochester-based, small business and how they grew during the recession by incorporating fundamental sales strategies into a new social media presence. Their story is remarkable…visit next week to find out why.
How to Connect with a CEO: 12 Easy Social Media Steps (And why it’s faster than cold calling)
Dec 22nd
How to Connect with a CEO: 12 Easy Social Media Steps
(And why it’s faster than cold calling)
You need sales. You need leads. But you don’t want to waste your time on social media. Guess what? Social media can get you the leads you need to make sales.
If you think 12 simple steps is too many then consider the alternative–spending another block of time cold-calling prospects whose gatekeepers give you the cold shoulder or reaching staff members with no authority to take action.
When you’re prospecting for a lead generation campaign not all contacts are created equally. A high quality lead is with someone who has decision-making capabilities within their organization. Who fits this description better than the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)?
You can count on this exclusive group to be busy. Understand your voice will be one of hundreds competing for their attention. How do you break through? You use social media.
Here’s how:
Start at the website
1. Go to your prospect’s (XYZ Company) website and register for any newsletter and/or read through their blogs. This action will give you access to XYZ Company’s current information, interests and needs.
2. While on their website search for any social media accounts such as Twitter, LinkedIn, or You Tube and start following and listening to what they are saying.
Search LinkedIn
3. Go to LinkedIn and conduct a company search (type in XYZ Company in the search box).
4. Linked In will display a list of employees and their positions. Find and search your prospect (remember, you’re looking for the chief decision-maker) to see how you are connected to him or her (“search references” gives you this capability).
5. Reach out to your direct connection or get introduced through a connection. When viewing his/her profile look for common interests; groups, schools, and books they are reading, etc.
6. Make a list of any professional organizations or groups your prospect belongs to.
Come back next week for the remaining six easy steps that will have you connecting with a CEO in a way that separates you from the crowd.
There’s a reason why I’m breaking this article into two parts. That seven day window gives you plenty of time to implement these first action items.
So if you’re ready for the next level do this: take a piece of paper and write the name of your target company across the top. Repeat until you’ve identified five (just five) companies. Follow the steps outlined above. When you read next week’s blog you will have a name, title, and list of membership groups. Armed with this information you’ll be ready to complete steps 7 through 12. After that you won’t be reading about how to reach a CEO…you’ll be connecting.
Incidentally, many sales outfits charge thousands of dollars for blueprint action-oriented modules. You just received one module for free. Happy Holidays.
Social Media: 5 Reasons Why It Will Increase Your Sales
Dec 16th
When it comes to social media small and medium-sized businesses just want to know one thing: is it worth it?
Yes. Here are 5 reasons why.
1. Stay Four Moves Ahead of the Competition
A recent study conducted by the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth discovered that America’s fastest growing private companies adopt social media marketing initiatives at much higher rates than other companies.
Meanwhile, Vistaprint, a company specializing in small-businesses conducted a study on small business marketing trends. They found that small businesses are likely to increase their use of online marketing tactics in the coming year.
The takeaway: small businesses embracing online tactics now will grow at a higher rate in the future. If they aren’t already, trends indicate your competitors will extend their marketing into social media in 2010. Those who do are poised for faster growth and increased sales. Are you?
2. Greater Reach
Facebook has over 350 million followers, up 25 percent from less than a year ago. As of Sept. 2009, Linked In had over 109,300 participants from just Rochester, NY or approximately 10 percent of the city’s population. In the U.S., 1 in 20 people has a Twitter account. You Tube is outpacing Twitter.
The takeaway: use social media to get your information in front of many people who are interested in what you have to say. Connecting with prospects is the first step to making a sale. How many quality prospects did you reach today?
3. Powerful Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Search engines love activity. Social media participation increases your online presence. Posting fresh content on your site and broadcasting the link on your social media channels also improves your SEO.
The takeway: when a prospect does a search for your business they will find proof of your activity in the form of multiple links to your site. Your site will rank higher than someone who has the equivalent of an electronic brochure for a website. Or is your site the one that is the electronic brochure?
4. Absence is Suspicious
Prospects today turn to the internet to get their information. Your absence is no longer simply missed, it raises a red flag. Prospects trust businesses with an online presence.
The takeaway: Prospects equate an online absence with a business that has nothing to say and is disengaged with customers. Or they will wonder what you’re hiding. When it comes to making a purchasing decision customers will turn to vendors they can find and trust. Are you claiming excellent customer service while making it difficult for customers to find you?
5. Social Media Respects Compressed Schedules.
Social media activity shows prospects who you are, what you do, how and where you do it. A prospect can gather this information and get their answers all before the first conversation. They will see you as a trusted source of information, a critical factor when it comes time for them to pull the sale trigger.
The takeaway: people follow the path of least resistance. Use social media to give them that path. Do you still insist prospects give up their time to meet you in order to gather information they can get online…from your competitors?
What are your experiences with social media and sales? We encourage you to comment.
Next week: We’ll give you some specifics on how to start and what to expect with a social media strategy.
10 easy steps to find a CEO using Social Media: “Peel (back) the onion”
Aug 19th
10 easy steps to find a CEO using Social Media: “Peel (back) the onion”
Step 1: Go to prospects website and register for any newsletter to get up to date information.
Step 2: On their website search for any Social Media; Twitter, LinkedIn and join their accounts.
Step 3: Go to LinkedIn and do a Company search.
Step 4: Search by name and see how you are connected with them. XYZ CEO and how you’re connected to XYZ CEO?
Step 5: Reach out to your direct connection and get introduced through a connection, to XYZ CEO. When viewing his profile; look for common interests; groups, schools, books they are reading etc…
Step 6: Go to Twitter.com and run a Company search. (None) If listed Follow. Look at who the Company is following and develop/search for common interests so you are prepared to converse. Look at their tweets and continue your research process.
Step 7: On Twitter.com search for XYZ CEO. (None) If listed Follow. Look at who the person is following and develop/search for common interests so you are prepared to converse. Look at their tweets and get a feel for what the person is thinking.
Step 8: On Twitter.com search for Groups that XYZ CEO was a member. Look at their tweets and learn more about what they are doing to develop common interest. (Join the ones that you are interested in or think might be important to your prospect)
Step 9: If they like your Twitter account, they will follow you back. (Auto-Follower) (Tweet-Later)
Step 10: If they follow you back you will have the ability to send them a direct message. Send a personalized note, not a sales pitch to your prospect.
Now you have a direct connection to your prospect.
Update your status often on new information, quotes etc…..
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