Social sellers outperform non-social sellers.

We see a staggering performance uplift from being sophisticated on social media and helping buyers to jump to the conclusions that you, the seller, wants. This uplift in performance is reflected in surveys from Gartner, SAP, Salesforce and countless others.

So if social sellers outperform non-social sellers why isn’t everyone doing it?

Our prospects, customers and buyers are on social media, so why isn't our sales force?

The fact that our customers are all on social media and it significantly shapes their thinking about why that want to work with is obvious to us all. Capitalising on this though is a different matter.

We hear all the time of "social programs" that don't deliver, so why is it that such a program does not provide any results?

Common social selling mistakes 

Since DLA Ignite's inception in 2016, we’ve worked with hundreds of companies and thousands of employees. 

I love what everyone social says in this article here and I will quote below.

"We’ve seen it all and can generally tell from the start if a company will struggle or not, which is why we provide the best support system to help you successfully build your internal social program from day one.

We’ve also identified some common mistakes and assumptions that people who are new to employee advocacy make that negatively impact their efforts, including the following:

  • Thinking an employee advocacy program will fix work culture (It definitely helps, but it won’t fix all your cultural issues.)
  • Social programs should only include company content and news
  • Content sharing is the only piece that matters for advocacy success 
  • Not providing any guidance around social media, networking, and community 
  • Thinking executive buy-in isn’t critical or that leaders don’t need to be active on social 
  • That purchasing a tool, doing basic setup, and doing little to nurture an advocacy program will lead to highly engaged employees long-term
  • Neglecting the creation of an authentic content strategy
  • Restricting the employee voice on all content and forgetting the power of user-generated content"

It's like going to the gym

I need to get fit and lose weight and we know what will work with regard to going to gym, we also know what won't work.

- A 1 x hour hints and tips sessions at the gym, won't get me fit and lose weight.

- Spending one day at the gym, won't get me fit and lose weight.

I need a methodology and I need a strategy, best still if I get somebody externally, a personal trainer in to help me.  They can give me a strategy, check technique and track my diet. 

How does DLA Ignite help companies?

Typically, lack of time, lack of empowerment, fear, failure to take responsibility for prospecting are all cited as “reasons I didn’t become a social seller” but ultimately it is usually a lack of support.

When organisations become social the raft of benefits is significant, better relationships with prospects and customers, increased revenue and pipeline, increased visibility, trusted advisor status, greater share of voice all of which help sell more, but the benefits don’t stop there as organisations become the employer of choice and and the greater shared sense of purpose means that not only is it easier to recruit great people but they choose to stay longer too.

So who's social selling?

In case you missed it, the Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch have banned cold calling and have moved all their people to social selling. This isn't some trendy tech company that might have decided to do this on a whim, this is a very conservative financial services company that has made a decision based on data.

But surely cold calling has a better ROI than social selling?  Not according to Merrill Lynch.

"They will also be encouraged to contact prospects over LinkedIn, which has a higher hit rate than cold calling"

The CRO (chief revenue officer), Richard Eltham of Namos Solutions, of one of clients posted a comment on LinkedIn about social selling. See here.

“Social selling is not an option now it is the way of the world and you either learn and execute it or fear getting left behind” 

Kevin Murray who is the Head of Sales at MacArtney Underwater Technology recently posted about his success with social selling here and wrote an article about the transformation that has happened in sales here.

I don't believe you Tim!

If you check out this video of Chris Mason CEO at Oracle reseller Namos, fast forward to 19 minutes 55 seconds. Chris talks about a $2.6 million win from being on social, after completing the DLA Ignite social selling and influence course. 

Here at DLA Ignite we don't do "hints and tips sessions" we don't want you to waste your money. Our social selling and influence methodology will provide your sales team with the stable platform for growth. It is also the only social selling program based on 70:20:10 change management principles which gives your business the mindset change and habit change they need in this digital world.