Social selling best practices for building goodwill (video)

Social Selling Playbook

A playbook ensures you follow the right rules in every situation. With this social selling playbook, we give you the tools you need to navigate every step of the funnel. However, having the right mindset is essential:

• Always start by showing consideration for the other person
• Focus on the person, not the “buyer”
• Always give first, without asking for anything in return
• Maintain a balance between giving and receiving

Numerous studies have shown that lead generation is considered the most challenging phase for salespeople, and that’s no surprise. Building a relationship during the prospecting phase is binary—you’re either welcome or you’re not. It’s a matter of 0 or 1. In every other phase of the sales funnel, an empathetic approach forms the basis for a deeper understanding of the challenges.

As you move further along in the sales process, the skills and dynamics change exponentially. In this article, however, we want to emphasize that social selling involves much more than just LinkedIn, and we’ll illustrate this using a few best practices in social selling.

The Right Focus

Don't let yourself get distracted; focus first and foremost on your prospect's thought processes. You can't force the timing of a purchase, but you can stay relevant. Make sure that when your prospect is ready to buy, you're in a leading position.

Going off topic can indeed be a powerful tool, and it’s often used in social selling to build a deeper relationship with potential customers. The concept of “going off topic” means that you don’t limit yourself to just business conversations, but also explore personal topics and interests that go beyond the product or service you’re selling. Check out this social selling example.

Social Selling Tips for Context

Option A: I would briefly summarize our meeting and attach the full e-book.

Option B: I would summarize our meeting and refer to the most relevant chapter.

Here’s my social selling tip: Be a valuable source of information and help potential buyers prioritize the available information. In this case, option B is the best choice for the following reasons:

Providing more information does not automatically mean offering more value.

The strength of a social seller lies in providing context and alleviating the feeling of being overwhelmed that can result from an overload of information.

This social selling best practice isn’t just about the content—it’s mainly about the context. Make it easy for the other person to buy from you. Provide exactly as much information as is needed, not as much as possible, and take on the role of the “sense maker” rather than just the storyteller.

Empathy Effect

Empathetic listening is the key to understanding your prospect. And the good news is that you can practice empathetic listening.

Furthermore, this isn’t just a matter of talent, but rather the ability to set your “ego” aside when the situation calls for it. Let’s now move on to the next social selling best practice in the following video, where we’ll simulate a conversation to show how acknowledging emotions can create an opening.

Sales Training Best Practices: The Lazy Salesperson

It’s helpful to write things down, because it shows that you’re engaged… but let’s pause for a moment and think. What does this salesperson plan to do with the information that’s been written down?

Let's watch the video below to gain a better understanding.

Who is the social seller?

A – She noticed that I was taking notes, so there's no need to send a summary after the meeting.

B – It’s important to summarize the conversation together to show that I understand her point of view.

Answer: B

A brief summary is a valuable opportunity to show that you have not only been listening but also understand what was discussed. It demonstrates your engagement in the conversation and confirms that you have picked up on the other person’s key points and concerns. This strengthens communication and increases the likelihood of a successful interaction.

“Social selling tip: When presenting your company, it’s not about showcasing the logo of the company you work for, but about showcasing the logo that is you.”

Building trust follows a certain sequence

Personal: I really like the salesperson —he's knowledgeable, and I like him.

Product: I find the product interesting —it has all the features we're looking for—and the way the solution is presented also gives us an idea of its value to our company.

Company: A reliable company —quite solid and not too big—and their sales team made it easy for us to buy from them (Gartner’s “ease of doing business” for buyers). When things go wrong, trust erodes in this way.

Personal: I don't like the salesperson —he never follows up on things.

Product: I find the product interesting —it seems like a good product, but I'm not sure if it's as reliable as this seller…

Company: Good company —How important am I to them? They’re very focused on their own successes, though.

Let's take another look at it from a different perspective.

Listening accounts for 80% and presenting for 20%, but there’s a way to combine both approaches, as you saw in the previous example. The prospect will be interested in your story if you’re interested in theirs.

This principle may be even more important for a digital presentation. Meetings are shorter, and you could easily be the 10th meeting of the day for a prospect. Be innovative by linking your knowledge of the company to opportunities and ideas for the prospect. Every meeting is a success if you can provide your prospect with unique insights.

What's more, it's the best way to validate what you think you know, which increases the likelihood that your proposed solution will be a better fit.

A mistake

You've closed the deal. Congratulations. However, there's a catch: you quoted the wrong prices. You have a gut feeling that the customer can't back out now, so you let it happen.

Ultimately, you’ll have to make up for your mistake by offering a discount, because you reacted passively. Take a look at this social selling example.

The Risk

In this scenario, the salesperson had a good conversation with the Champion, and she’s ready to move forward. However, when her colleague (and decision-maker) looks at the presentation that was forwarded to him, he doesn’t want to proceed.

He sees potential risks, andthe Champion doesn't have the answers.What will happen?

Let's take a look at a possible outcome in this social selling example

Focus on the Relationship

The salesperson calls his contact and is told that there is no interest in an upcoming event…

The success of such a call isn't necessarily a new subscription. Sometimes it's a unique opportunity to learn something that will allow you to serve your clients even better in the future.

And often, it’s easier for a prospect to share something of value simply by asking the right question. Take a look at this social selling example.

The Goodwill Factor

We’ve called the following social selling example the “Silver Platter.” It’s a scenario in which you consciously invest in a relationship that can help you secure a warm introduction. She trusts who you are and recognizes the value of what you do.

In the social selling example below, the influencer can connect you with the champion within the organization.

Social Selling Tips

As discussed, the principles and behaviors of social selling remain the same for social selling best practices, regardless of the steps in the sales process. Finally, here are a few general social selling tips.

1 – Decide who you want to build a relationship with

Don’t think strictly in terms of who holds which role within each organization. People change positions and jobs. The goal is to determine with whom you want to—and can—build a relationship that can also exist independently of the organization they work for. They can serve as your personal ambassadors to help generate more referrals in the future.

2 – Determine your value

The beauty of social selling is that it allows you to connect with people in an empathetic way. However, a social seller also needs a social buyer to be successful.

Be self-critical and ask yourself if you’re intrinsically motivated to maintain a relationship with someone. That “click” is important, and the value you can offer isn’t directly tied to the products or solutions you sell.

3 – Think about what you want to receive

The goal of social selling is to build goodwill, and you do that by giving something first. However, it’s important to understand that you shouldn’t keep giving if your value isn’t appreciated. That’s where social selling ends.

Conclusion: Social Selling Playbook

This Social Selling Playbook offers a valuable guide to successfully navigating every step of the sales funnel. However, it emphasizes that the right mindset is essential for effective social selling.

The Social Selling Playbook also emphasizes the importance of empathy, active listening, and building trust throughout the entire sales process. It demonstrates that social selling involves more than just LinkedIn and that it’s all about understanding your prospect’s thought processes and providing valuable insights.

The "goodwill factor" and relationship-building play a central role in social selling. The playbook encourages you to invest in relationships that can be valuable in the long term and to focus on providing value to people, regardless of their current role or position.

In short, with the right mindset and the principles of social selling, you can build effective relationships, gain trust, and ultimately achieve successful sales results. It’s all about creating value for others and building lasting relationships.