I moved into sales in my mid-twenties

At the time this was seen as being young

It was selling payroll and HR (human resources) software, back then it was called personal software 

The internet didn't exist back then, hitting the phones was fun as people wanted to talk to you

It was a way they could find out what suppliers were up to

I got my first meeting as a rookie sales rep at Arfon District Council in north Wales

Anybody who knows that part of Wales, Welsh is the first language

And the meeting took place in Welsh

My surname of “Hughes” is seen as Welsh so have always been treated generously

I don't speak Welsh, so every now and again they asked me a question in English

My manager at the time, Gary Harvey had told me to take a contract, just in case

During my cold calling, I had uncovered turmoil in the Districts because of a Gwynedd County Council 

To use the Miller Heiman sales methodology, they were in “trouble” buyer mode

At the end of the meeting, which I had no idea how it had gone as it took place in Welsh

I asked, “so are you going to sign the contract”

I was asked if they could get a discount and I said I would have to drive all the way back to the office and get the contract retyped

So they signed

No procurement, no tender, no competition

And at my first ever customer meeting  

We all need a little luck!

Can you drive revenue from social media?

Social selling is not about spamming people or inmails or connect and pitch

Our definition of social selling is 

"Using your presence and behavior on social media to build influence, make connections, grow relationships and trust, which leads to conversation and commercial interaction"
 

And the results?

For an AE, we can shorten sales cycles by 30%

And the average SDR will get 1 x ICP meeting a day

Which should increase your revenue by 20%

You can get these results by using our social selling methodology, that is certified by Institute of Sales Professionals (ISP)

"social selling techniques to influence buyers and changemakers - 2nd edition".

In this brand new edition, I have updated all the text, I have also got 15 practitioners, so people who are doing this already to explain how they are get (practical) business benefit. From the CEO that has been running a digital business for over 18 months to sales leaders and sales people who use social selling every day to drive revenue growth. 

Articles on how these business have and are implementing digital, from Mercer, Telstra Purple, Ring Central, Cyberhawk, Namos, Ericsson, DLA Ignite and more.

What does Mark Schaefer, Marketing guru think of the book "social selling - techniques to influence buyers and changemakers - 2nd edition"? watch the video here

It's available on Amazon worldwide.  Link to Amazon.com here and Amazon.co.uk here.