To some degree, social media has become an outlet for the insecure to flex their muscles that don’t really exist. As you know, sales professionals that are competent, real, and vulnerable, are the ones that win. Customers can see right through the garbage today – even more so on social media. If you want to create an endearing and competent image to your customers and prospects on social media, check out Strategy #2…
Social Media Strategy #2 for Sales People: Engage in the discussions and ask questions. Before moving to the next paragraph in this post, get on Facebook or LinkedIn and count the quantity of questions vs. bold statements by the masses that possess blind certainty. Quite a bit, huh? I just did it on my personal Facebook page and I didn’t see a question in the first eight posts that had follow-up comments (election season doesn’t exactly helpJ).
Here’s the secret: many people have the same question that you have, but are afraid to ask it. Go ahead, ask it. If you’re in a discussion about the magnitude IP video has had on the industry and don’t quite understand someone’s statement, ask: “Mike, what exactly do you mean when you say that the impact has been less than expected? Is that from your experience and expectation, or from a study that was predicting the impact? BTW, I’m not disagreeing with you – I’m just curious because I have similar thoughts.” That last statement is important. People are sensitive and defensive on social media, so make sure you disarm them.
After they reply, thank them for their input and offer some type of compliment.
Start today. Use the idea from Tuesday, scroll through your network(s). When you spot something that catches your interest and sparks a question, ask it.
What do you think? Have you asked questions on social media before? Have you sparked any defensive answers? When has it worked well?
