eBay, Amazon, Airbnb, Trip Advisor, Uber have all built their business models on people giving each other a rating. Third part validation is important to all of us when we buy something.
That book on Amazon, checking out an eBay seller, that apartment on Airbnb, it all makes a difference. We should dismiss the power of this in our B2B Sales efforts, in fact the ability of your network to support and refer you is critical.
So how can you capture this power?
1. Make sure you get people to endorse you on LinkedIN. This may seem like a pain, but having a good strong set of endorsements is important.
2. Having a network, rather than contacts is critical as this enables you to build your referral network. Why is this important? - As we work through our territory and there are people we need to get in front of, referrals enable us to get to these peoples. Social should allow you to get higher, quicker than with cold calling.
That’s because word of mouth is still the most trusted source of information for consumers who are increasingly suspicious and avoidant of the marketing messages they’re bombarded with day after day. According to Nielsen, 84 percent of consumers reported trusting recommendations from influencers, friends, family members and peer networks above all other kinds of marketing. Tellingly, when it comes to the coveted millennial market, a recent study by the McCarthy Group shows that 84 percent of them don’t like traditional advertising, nor do they trust it.
