Using Social Selling Tools to Improve Sales Pipeline

Using social selling tools are not only a fantastic way to build a
sales pipeline but they also play a big part in managing the pipeline
with insights and social updates to help improve win rates. Every sales
organization needs a constant stream of new opportunities along with
having social insights into existing opportunities in the pipeline.


In the past CRM tools have done a good job delivering much of this
data but now advanced social selling media tools are now coming on the
market which complement CRM systems while providing greater social
insights into the pipeline. These new ‘social media listening tools”
give sales team capabilities they never had before – vastly improved
lead generation success, insightful social listening to improve timely
follow-up and a better method to engage with prospects more successfully
through an ‘social selling’ approach.

Sales lead nurturing image

The use of social selling tools is giving sales people the sales
tools for increased visibility into the buyers journey plus customers’
interests and social activity.  This social knowledge about when and how
potential buyers engage with conversations on social networks (based on
keywords or activity) or read marketing content allows sales teams to
drive sales opportunities faster through the pipeline and hence reduce
the overall sales cycles. Social selling tools achieve this by:


What potential prospects are talking about what


How to lead nurture using content marketing


Who is giving out buying signals on the social networks


Are your prospects or customers talking or connecting with competitors


Connecting others that may be involved in the decision-making process


Uncovering social data on customer interests to keep opportunities moving forward

See how social selling can build sales pipeline

A study on Inside Sales Market Size conducted
by Inside Sales, shows that more than half (53%) of B2B sales people
sell remotely, and that inside sales is growing 15 times faster than
traditional field sales. With less customer facing contact, sales people
need to be up to-date and socially informed of where things stand with a
prospect or potential buyer. The old interruption sales model of
chasing a prospect with phone calls to fact find or to explore
opportunities is just is not an effective sales tactic anymore.


Sales automation and CRM will monitor the level of activity
surrounding a sales proposal.  However with social selling tools, sales
teams can see social activity that may help or hamper a deal, who are
they connecting to or with, what social conversations are they engaged
with, what they are sharing with others on social networks. All of this
gives greater understanding about where customers are in the sales
pipeline.


Also just as important, these social tools also reveal prospects who
are not engaging with your content or social activity. Social selling
helps to weed out the ‘nos’ faster so sales people can stop wasting time
chasing prospects going nowhere and instead focus their efforts on more
accessible prospects.

Connect to all influencers in the buyers journey

Social selling is a great way to get visibility and to connect with
influencers or decision makers across multiple departments with little
effort. Multiple social connections help manage the pipeline for more
complex deals and gives the sales teams varied points of contact for
lead nurturing.  Also to understand the sales pipeline, organizations
need insight into the social interests and connections to any
stakeholder in the sales process. Social knowledge is a powerful sales
weapon.

How can social media analytics help?

Social media analytics help to make it easier to identify anyone
potentially involved in a company’s buying process. Social selling
tools, such as Connectors Marketplace social prospecting platform, can
alert sales teams to new prospects and on that prospects social activity
from shares to like to group activities. Also it allows sales teams to
view how articles or content is being shared across the social networks
to identify interest levels, gaining insight into all the people who
interact , which works to deeper understanding about where a prospect
might be in the buying process.


Social insights into how much activity a prospect in the sales
pipeline spends looking for information or asking questions gives sales a
better path to match their needs. They can see what tweets,
blogs,articles, likes and comments a prospect is engaged in. Empowered
with this social data, sales teams can better generate and qualify
leads.

Uncover customer insights on the social networks

Social media has enabled buyers and consumers to learn more about
products and services than ever before. In fact the buyers journey has
changed the nature of selling due to what Forrester Research calls the
‘Age of the Customer’ ,  an era of educated buyers who have control over
the selling and buying process.


Due to the change in the buyers journey as a result of social media,
sales team need more insight into a customer’s social interests as
possible. Social selling tools shows sales teams what type of content
engages prospects  plus acts as an indicator to how and when to engage
with prospects.


Social selling tools
allows sales teams to tap into a myriad of social conversations, many
with buyer signals, buyers interests supported by access to social media
profiles. Social selling allows for very personalized sales
conversations and relevant information sharing. According to Aberdeen
Group, 45% of best-in-class companies make personalized sales  conversations a priority.


There is no doubt that social media has created a paradigm shift in
the way every business sells and transformed the way that they should
manage their sales pipeline. By showing how prospects engage with social
media and content, social selling tools are now an essential asset in
growing the sales pipeline of the future for any business whether B2C or
B2B.





Using Social Selling Tools to Improve Sales Pipeline | Instant Lead Generation For Social Selling