How can you use social media intelligence to help you make a sale?

In this post by Pamela Seiple you will learn how to use social media as an influential tool for lead generation. According to Seiple, “SiriusDecisions projects that by 2015, 71% of initial BtoB inquiries will be web-driven, and ‘a sound social media strategy is key to driving this inbound interest.'”

Using Social Media Intelligence in Sales 

1. Conduct Research: First and foremost, you’ll have to do some sleuth-work. Do a little social media digging to investigate where your prospect is spending time online. Does he/she have accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or another social network or community popular for your industry?

2. Do Your Homework: Scan your prospect’s presence on these social media sites. Learn about their interests. Do you have something in common (e.g. a shared passion for cooking, watching college football, or scuba-diving) that could be used as a good ice-breaker on your sales call? If you’ve already connected with the prospect before the call by another means such as email, consider following them on Twitter or connecting them with on that particular social network.

3. Strategize: Have you learned anything about the prospect that might be helpful fodder for your sales call? Maybe you noticed they’ve been discussing something in social media that your product or service addresses or solves. Perhaps accessing their company’s website URL you found on their LinkedIn profile reveals something about why they became interested in your company in the first place. Put on your best detective hat, and think creatively.

4. Follow Up: Continue the conversation. Use social media as a way to keep in touch with and nurture your prospects after your sales calls. Send them links to appropriate, remarkable content, and look for opportunities to answer their questions.

The beauty of using social media for sales is in its potential to make the sales process a lot more personal. Building relationships is an important part of sales, and social media offers a valuable platform for relationship-building. And don’t worry about seeming creepy. If the prospect has made themselves available in social media, they probably won’t be weirded out by the fact that you did some detective work. Chances are, they’ll be impressed that you’ve spent the time to do some extra thinking about how what you have to offer specifically relates to their problems, needs, or wants.

How else have you used intelligence from social media to prepare for a sales call?

Posted on HubSpot by Pamela Seiple on Wed, Jan 19, 2011
Read the full article at: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/8595/How-to-Use-Social-Media-Intel-to-Prep-for-a-Sales-Call.aspx#ixzz1BagBA1Wn