How to Fight Premature Presentation in Social Selling

Let’s face it.  It’s happened to all of us. The anticipation. The excitement. Dying to get in there and tell others about how great your company is and how you can really help. It’s awesome that you are excited about the products and services you provide, but premature presentation will fall flat on prospective customers 100% of the time.  

How to Fight Premature Presentation in Social Selling

If I walked up to my wife of 28 years, the first time I met her and said “Hey. You’re hot. Let’s get married and make babies” She would have run for the hills, and I wouldn’t have blamed her.  That’s essentially what premature presentation looks like in social media today. Social media has made it easier than ever to find and connect with prospective prospects, but we can’t treat networking sites like LinkedIn as if they were Tinder.

Follow these 3 keys to avoid premature presentation:

1. Establish trust first – First impressions matter and premature presentation can ruin any chances of advancing a relationship. People don’t buy the best solutions; they buy from people they trust.  Don’t make your connections feel like they are part of your sales/marketing funnel. Your funnel should only be there to provide an easy path for those who are interested to take the next step. It should NOT be a way to trap unwary bystanders. Here are some tips for establishing trust first:
   1. Be trustworthy – Make commitments and deliver what you promise. Often in social selling/networking, you have an opportunity to help a connection out by doing them a favor. Maybe it’s an introduction or sharing a resource.  If you promise to help….help. There is nothing more trust sucking than offering to do a favor and then forgetting to deliver, or worse yet, just blowing someone off because there isn’t anything for you in return.
   2. Trust transference – Let your network sing your praises. This doesn’t normally happen unless you are good at being trustworthy and delivering value. However, it never hurts to ask for referrals, social recommendations, or testimonials to help establish yourself as a problem-solver and value-bringer.
   3. Use Posts to share your knowledge – Not all communication is direct communication with a connection. Posting in social is actually talking to all of your connections in a passive way at the same time.  This is helpful because the Internet is the world’s largest encyclopedia. People, including you and me, use the Internet to gain knowledge. That’s why you are reading this blog right now.  More than likely you got here because someone shared this article in social.
   4. Learn something about each of your connections – Check out their profiles and find some common ground. Shared experiences or common interests help to quickly establish trust. Talking about items your connections have shared on their profile is a great way to communicate “I see you” “I get you” “I care about you.”
2. It’s about them, not you – Successful sellers are in reality successful helpers. Having a servant attitude and looking for ways to help people accomplish their goals is what it takes. Helping can look like:
   1. Sharing the best places to stay or eat when your connection takes their family to Disney if it’s their first time and your family has been many times before.
   2. Introducing them to someone in your network that can meet a need.  We should all be “Professional Introducers” and always on the lookout to make a good introduction. I can’t tell you how many jobs I’ve helped find or business relationships I’ve helped establish over the years. It’s part of the process and always pays off in awesome relationships, having fun (it’s fun to help others), and ultimately being rewarded when someone you have helped connects you with someone who needs your help.
   3. Answering a question is a great way to share your knowledge and potentially begin a sales process.

1. Follow with value – We’ve all heard about “leading with value,” but that’s only after you have established trust and a personal relationship. Follow with value once you have proven you care and are competent to help. Here are some examples:
   1. Invite them to an event like a lunch-and-learn or webinar
   2. Provide access to premium information like a guide or video series
   3. Offer to grab coffee or lunch to learn more about them to help them network
   4. Offer to conduct an analysis or review their situation.

Growing, building and maintaining relationships in social media is a key ingredient to success in social selling. Follow these three keys to make sure you have properly developed relationships first, before you make the ask to engage in a sales process.   

Social Selling Rules!

• People buy from people they know, like, and trust.
• Follow with value AFTER you have built a trusting relationship.
• Treat people as people, not as opt-ins, or potential appointments.
• Be a professional introducer.

Can We Help?

Does your sales team have a premature presentation problem? Vende has been helping B2B sellers successfully engage in the social selling process. We offer on-site and video-based sales training as well as enablement tools.  We offer a complimentary initial consultation/discovery meeting to learn more about you and for you to learn about us. Schedule yours today and let’s see if we can help.