Facebook’s Impact on Salespeople
I noticed a great post by Mark Hunter on his "The Sales Hunter's Sales Motivation Blog." It's about the influence Facebook can have over a salesperson's sales efforts. He makes the simple, but powerful point that its influence can be good (if, for example, your friends post positive comments on each others' walls) or negative (if, for example, your friends post demotivating things).
First, I believe strongly that social networking plays a critical role in today's selling environment. However, there are important considerations...
The Role of Technology in Sales
The other day, I had a great telephone conversation with Anthony Iannarino from The Sales Blog. As an aside, it's a lot of fun to connect with someone offline after getting to know them online - especially given what we talked about. In the interest of full disclosure, he and I have no connection other than that we both manage sales blogs. I will say that, because his content is so interesting, I'm hoping he'll bring a guest post to us here at Sales Evolution.
Anyway, we ended up taking about the role of technology in sales. It was a great conversation and we agreed that technology should support -- not replace -- the sales effort. That's something I've said before. And he has too.
But the telephone call sparked a tweet.
We sent out, "Returning to fundamentals is always more important to sales success than implementing technology. Always."
The Socially-Appropriate Way to Approach Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
Tools like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter have given "networking" a whole new meaning. And, for sales professionals, it can be about more than just reconnecting with old flames and friends. Salespeople have been using parties to develop business relationships for generations. And online networking services can do the same thing. Use them as a powerful tool to gain information about your prospects and competitors.
There are a lot of people using science to analyze what works best on these sites, but I thought I'd post something a bit more basic...here's a quick run-down of what's “socially-appropriate" on each site.
Sales Training 2.0
Even before all of the chatter about Sales 2.0 began, The Brooks Group was working on Sales Training 2.0. We began developing virtual sales training more than a decade ago and have been leading the charge ever since.
Our clients tell us that travel costs and time-out-of-the-field can sometimes make traditional classroom training difficult. We responded by developing industry-leading online sales training tools that deliver "drip" training in bursts to salespeople in virtual classrooms.
We’re particularly excited that our lead curriculum designer, Michelle Richardson, will be a presenter at the 2010 Partnering for Performance Conference scheduled for May 4-6, 2010 in Raleigh, NC.
Her presentation, called A Brave New World: Exploring Virtual Sales Training in the Second Life Environment, will focus on our clients' virtual training experiences.
B2B Social Networking Etiquette: Is “Friending” Clients On Facebook Appropriate?
It’s no secret that Social Networking is at the center of Web 2.0. In fact, if you don’t watch it, social networking can become addictive, not to mention time-consuming! Every day I’m surprised at the number of old friends and non-business contacts whom I’ve completely forgotten about and who have re-entered my life by asking to “Friend” me on Facebook.com. Couple that with taking the time to examine and respond to all of the discussions going on within the LinkedIn groups I’m a member of and my day can slip away before I know it.
At any rate, from the standpoint of using social networking with the intent of growing your business, there are many ways to leverage the increasing number of social networking sites. I really want this blog post to focus on Facebook.com, though.
LinkedIn, Plaxo, etc. are great tools to use to connect to prospects and clients within a business context; however, I personally believe that Facebook is most appropriately used within the context of the user’s personal life. It’s a way to connect with old friends, let people know what you’re up to and really to share what’s going on in your personal life.
Here’s an analogy to consider: trying to “Friend” a client on Facebook might be something like inviting yourself to that client’s weekend backyard BBQ! There’s a place and time for business and a place and time for outside interests and I don’t think that showing up at your client’s house on the weekend to try to sell your products or services is the right venue for business to happen.
My advice: save your attempts at growing your professional network for LinkedIn and other professionally-oriented social networking sites and DON’T try to “Friend” your clients on Facebook.
Sales Evolution is a B2B Sales Blog for curious people. We talk about things like sales training, sales management, sales assessments, sales leadership, prospecting, and sales relationship building. I’m Jeb Brooks and I’ll be your host. So, please sit back, relax, and join us!- Join the Sales Community
-
Free Sales Training Tips
-
TheBrooksGroup The only certain way to ensure you, your organization or product is thought of first is through frequent, repetitious contact. #B2B #Sales - 05/21/2013 21:15
TheBrooksGroup You never know when your prospect’s motivation to buy will suddenly and dramatically escalate. #B2B #Sales - 05/21/2013 12:03
TheBrooksGroup Powerful sales managers know it’s not always what you say that is important. What is important is how you say it. #SalesManagement - 05/21/2013 06:50- Asking the right questions
- Book Review
- Customer Service
- Hiring / Retention
- IMPACT Selling
- News From The Brooks Group
- Overcoming Objections
- Positioning
- Pre-Call Planning
- Professional Selling
- Prospecting
- Sales Leadership
- Sales Management
- Sales Motivation
- Sales Negotiation
- Sales Presentations
- Sales Technology
- Sales Training Audios
- Sales Training Industry
- Sales Videos
- The SalesBuzz Radio
- Time Management
- Videos – Ask Bill
- Webinars
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
Popular Posts
Sorry. No data so far.