Social selling strategy: succeeding at every stage of the funnel

Social Selling Strategy

A social selling strategy is a consistent approach to building trust at every stage of the sales funnel. While it’s true that each sales stage has its own specific characteristics—and yes, every stage is different—there are also many similarities, and there’s one rule that always applies.

“Give and take”—that’s it. However, gaining or losing trust is a very delicate balance.

If you give too much, you're out, and if you ask for too much, you're out, too.

“Do you have a social selling strategy for each stage of the sales process?”

The Social Selling Funnel

Suppose you've received an impressive lead and have a good rapport with your contact.

No, there's no commitment yet, but the lead becomes an opportunity and moves to the next stage in the sales funnel.

You follow up (respect), ask good questions (attention), and invite your contact to an in-house event (expertise). Oh, andyou do it all for free.

Now your contact is asking for more.

First, he tells you that he likes what you've done so far (receiving praise). Now he wants to meet one of your senior consultants.

What are you going to do now? You've already given so much.

The social selling strategy is always a two-way street

If you agree to share more expertise without asking for anything in return, this can backfire.

Why? The delicate balance is being disrupted. Can you count? You've given five times and received only once. You're probably wasting your energy.

Your contact probably needs more information. The question is whether now is really the right time to fly in that senior consultant. Is it really necessary to play your trump card just yet?

I mean: “Is there any kind of commitment yet?”

Want to attract a new customer?

You can win a new customer, but the prospect can win a great new “supplier.”

The prospect can choose, but you have the same power. You have the right to say “no.”

Don't go any further if you still have to give more without receiving anything in return.

Despite your doubts, you still agree to schedule a free meeting with one of your top consultants. After all, you’ve qualified the opportunity and provided a price estimate for the solution.

Fortunately, your prospect isn't put off by the price, and you're receiving a lot of internal support to make this possible at no cost—this consultant's daily rate is normally EUR 2,000.

Finding a suitable date is complicated because this consultant works all over the world.

The Consequences of Giving Too Much

This top consultant has a lot of confidence in you, and he'll do everything he can to help you.

It will take you a full day to organize this meeting. You call your contact to discuss a date, and he says, “It’s not ideal, because I’ll have to reschedule a few internal meetings for this… but I’ll take care of it.”

What do you think? Did you give something, or did he give something? Depending on his personality, he might either believe that things are balanced, or that he’s the only one giving (after all, he rescheduled his meeting, remember?).

It’s the recipient who determines whether you give something. And sometimes you have to make this explicit if you expect something in return. Make it explicit, or you’ll be misled by perception. Social selling training for salespeople Social selling training for salespeople

The social selling funnel is about building trust

Every stage of the sales cycle gives you the opportunity to build trust.

However, as you move further along in the sales process, the dynamics of the social selling playbook change .

Building trust on a personal level is still important, but it isn't the deciding factor.

The potential client now wants to learn more about your product and your company.

As a salesperson, you’re now more of a director than a player, and your role is changing, but one thing remains central. You must continue to give in order to earn trust.

The game just keeps getting more fun. More players are getting involved, and you have to prove that your product and company are trustworthy.

They see you as reliable, but now they want a demo. The demo goes great, and it looks like a partnership is on the horizon, but then…

References

“What kind of references do you actually have? We’d really like to schedule a reference visit with a client similar to us,” says your main contact.

You start to sweat…

It feels like you're in the middle of the jungle, and you're at a loss. All around you, you see and hear animals and sounds you don't recognize, and you're tired.

You just can't seem to decide what to do because you don't have a suitable reference.

Simply more certainty

And suddenly it becomes clear to you. It’s not so much about the reference; rather, the customer is looking for more certainty. – As commitment grows, so does fear. And fear is every salesperson’s most dreaded adversary.

TIP: Consider the risks and come up with countermeasures, because the perception of risk continues to increase as the purchase date approaches.

You ask the prospect if they're looking for more certainty. The prospect explains that they've made a few mistakes in the past and want to avoid that now.

Unfortunately, you'll have to tell the prospect that you don't have a reference that's a good fit, but that you want to help them minimize the risk.

You ask him if you can share a story, and he nods in agreement.

Storytelling

A little pig and a chicken work on a farm. However, the chicken doesn't want to work for a boss anymore, so the chicken says to the little pig, "Hey, little pig, let's open a restaurant together."

The little pig: “Good idea. What should we call the restaurant?” The chicken says: “How about ‘Bacon and Eggs’?” The little pig is happy for a split second, then pauses for a moment and says, “No, thanks. I’m committed, and you’re just involved”— more on storytelling

The prospect looks at you with interest, and you tell him that you can minimize the risk of failure by taking a slightly different approach. This does require an investment of your time, but you indicate that you’re willing to do so.

At the same time, you point out that it is necessary for the client to make sufficient resources available to ensure that the collaboration runs smoothly.

Finally, you ask him if he's willing to do this.

The prospect looks at you and smiles…

Deal!

Social selling in the funnel is therefore a constant balancing act between giving and receiving, but this is something you can practice. The situation may change every time, but the basic principles always hold true. A good social selling strategy isn’t based on tricks; rather, it’s a mindset and a code of conduct that is simple and effective when combined with a number of relevant sales skills.