5 Ways to Step Up Your Social Selling Game

Selling on social media is no longer the big mystery it used to be. In fact, it’s one of the “rising stars” in the sales industry. If you’ve cracked the code of social selling, you’re off to the races, experiencing big sales wins and better customer retention.
But even for the most expert sales teams, there still remains one big hurdle: how to track the ROI of your social selling efforts. If you don’t have a process in place to track how social conversations turn into revenue, you’re not alone.
Our blog today—the second installment in our social strategy series with Microsoft—offers simple ways to nail down your social selling process, including basic steps on how to track your sales with the Dynamics for Hootsuite integration.

1. Document leads according to social conversations

Social selling is a relatively new concept, so it’s not always clear what to do with a lead that you find on social media. You may have a great conversation with a potential customer on social, but what do you do when that conversation is over?
It’s important that you connect your social selling outreach to your existing sales process. Make sure that you document your social conversations and segment customers based on their needs. That way you can track your relationship with them.
Using Dynamics for Hootsuite? You can flag, and create a profile for, leads and opportunities based on posts and conversations that happen on social media.

2. Gather customer data based on social profiles

When you get context around your customers, you can make better decisions about how to build a meaningful relationship.
As a starting point, check out your potential customers’ social profiles to gather information. Look at things like their bio, how active they are on social media, and what types of content they enjoy sharing. Document key points for future conversations.
Using Dynamics for Hootsuite? Fill out the personal details section or activity history for leads, contacts, or customers in Dynamics Online for Hootsuite. When you have a recurring conversation with a potential customer, you can pull up their profile for reference.

3. Identify where customers are in the sales funnel

By tracking customers’ social engagement with your company, you can get a better understanding of where they are in the buying process.
Keep tabs on what your leads are up to on social media. How often do they reach out? What kinds of questions are they asking? What level of awareness do they have about your product or services? Answering these questions will help you define your customers’ needs and how you can help.
Using Dynamics for Hootsuite? Capture customers’ social activities from Hootsuite. You can view all activities and conversations in Dynamics Online lead and contact records.

4. Provide targeted customer content

Once you understand where your customers are in the sales funnel, you should provide useful content that will educate them and help them make decisions.
Content is an essential part of the social selling process. According to a recent DemandGen study, 82 percent of B2B buyers viewed five or more pieces of content during the decision-making process. Work in coordination with your marketing team to deliver content that addresses different stages in the buyer journey.
Using Dynamics for Hootsuite? Use customer activity records to answer customer questions and provide the right content to your customers.

5. Provide awesome social customer service

When companies respond to customer service requests over social media, those customers end up spending 20 to 40 percent more with the company. Unfortunately, many companies don’t take advantage of this sales opportunity. Over 289 million complaints on social go unanswered every year in the United States.
Monitor your professional and company accounts so that you can respond to customers quickly and effectively (the average response time on Twitter is around two hours). Keep tabs on customers and follow up to make sure problems have been resolved.