How sales professionals can use social networks to best serve the customer

When we think of putting the customer first we should think about the initial, and most consistent, contact they have for their purchase:  the sales person.  Today’s sales professional must use his or her social network to be successful.  And that success will come from using their social network to take a “customer-centric” approach.  Certainly the marketing department is hip deep in the social media milieu...It's not to be ignored.  But, I'm speaking to the sales professional in this thesis.

A Sales Professional Is Many Things

The best sales people must follow a disciplined process.  Customers have gained power and gone global, channels have proliferated, more product companies are selling services, and customers expect a single point of contact.  The sales person has to play a number of roles in this relationship:

•  Company leader. The best sales people actively help formulate and execute a territory strategy, and they collaborate with all functions of the business to deliver value to customers.

• Customer champion. Customers want senior level relationships with their supplier.  Customers expect an inside peek at their offering to be sure their buying decision is sustainable over time.  They need to understand product strategy, see future offerings in advance, and participate in decisions made about future products.
• Process guru. Although sales professionals must look beyond the sales and customer processes they have honed over time, they can't abandon them. The focus on process has become more important because buying decisions are being thrust on some users without buying experience. 
• Organization architect. Good sales leaders spend a lot of time evaluating and occasionally redesigning the sales organization's structure to ensure that it supports corporate strategy.
• Course corrector. Sales leaders must pay attention to what’s coming, because the business world changes constantly.  On the other hand they have to pay attention to the situation on the ground right now; to thrive in ambiguous environments and to respond when quick adjustments in priorities are needed.

The Best Sales Pros Have Powerful Social Networks

Social networks are critical.   It’s an oversimplification to say the more contacts you have, the more leads you'll generate, and, ultimately, the more sales you'll make. Different configurations of networks produce different results, and a nuanced understanding of social networks will help the best sales people outshine competitors.

 Different social networking abilities are required in each stage of the sale:

• When we’re identifying prospects, we need our networks to help us acquire precise and timely information about opportunities from contacts in the marketplace
• As we meet many people in the prospect’s organization our network helps us gain buy-in from all levels, titles, locations & disciplines
• As we create solutions we need specialists with knowledge outside of our purview so we can bring value to the table
• And when we’re closing the deal we need to mobilize our contacts from prior sales to act as references

A sales professional’s network often pays off most handsomely through all of these social, and sometimes indirect, contacts.   But we have to ask ourselves do our contacts know all the same people, or are their associates widely dispersed?

What Is The “Right” Social Network For A Sales Executive?

The right social network can have a huge impact on the sales professional’s success. It’s misguided to believe the key is having a large circle filled with high-powered contacts.   It’s better to cultivate a different kind of network: select but diverse, made up of high-quality relationships with people who come from varying spheres and from up and down the corporate ladder. This diverse crowd can help those in sales learn, make decisions with less bias, and grow personally.

Six critical kinds of social network connections:

People who provide information, ideas, or expertise;

Formally and informally powerful people, who offer mentoring and political support;

People who give developmental feedback;

People who lend personal support;

People who increase your sense of purpose or worth;

People who promote work/life balance.

The best kinds of connections are "energizers"--positive, trustworthy individuals who enjoy other people and always see opportunities, even in challenging situations.

Four Simple Steps To Keep A Sales Professional's Social Network On Track

If you’re a salesperson and you want to improve your social network, here is a four-step process you might want to consider to improve it.

1. Identify who your connections are and what they offer you,
2. Back away from redundant and energy-draining connections,
3. Fill holes in your network with the right kind of people,
4. Work to make the most of your contacts.

Today’s world of sales is all about the customer.  Today’s social network is a gift to sales people, allowing us to best serve our customers with the best information, the best relationships and the best thinking.  A sales person’s social network allows them to keep their fingers on the pulse of the marketplace, readying them to make course corrections on an ongoing basis in an ever changing buying environment.  

And, of course, the very best use of social networks for a sales professional is to use them to listen to their customers.

 

Harvard Bus Rev. 2011 Jul-Aug;89(7-8):149-53, 167., A smarter way to network. Cross R, Thomas R.

Harvard Bus Rev. 2006 Jul-Aug;84(7-8):102-12, 188., Better sales networks. Ustüner T, Godes D.

Ron Shulkin blogs researches and writes about enterprise technology focused on social media, innovation, voice of the customer, marketing automation and enterprise feedback management.  You can learn more about Ron at his biography web site:www.shulkin.net. You can follow him Twitter. You can follow his blogs at this Facebook group.  You can connect with Ron on LinkedIn.  

Ron Shulkin is Vice President of the Americas for CogniStreamer®, an innovation ecosystem. CogniStreamer serves as a Knowledge Management System, Idea Management System and Social Network for Innovation. You can learn more about CogniStreamer here http://bit.ly/ac3x60 . Ron manages The Idea Management Group on LinkedIn (JoinHere).