That Is The Question!

I just came across this question in the Sales Gravy Group on Linked-In:

“I don’t get twitter and sales! Is there a simple explanation of how sales people can best use it?”

And here were some of the comments posted by representatives of large well known name brand companies:
“The best how is to add Twitter to your “Stop Doing List”  Waste of time.”

“Thanks for the advice, I am rapidly comming to the same conclusion. I see little value. Perhaps I too old to be a twit?”

“I agree”

I don’t know but maybe I’m coming of age.  I’ve long argued that for many sales professionals, social media has been killing their businesses.  My point continues to be that building a long list of friends can be advantageous but at some eventuality you have to have a live conversation, know how to build trust and relevance and convert genuine interest into a successfully closed sale.  It has been my observation that far too many put all their effort into building friends and followers hoping it will replace the sales process and it doesn’t; it can’t.   But none of that means social media is a waste of time, it just means that it should be used for what it is: a communication tool that can help you build dialogue and trust.

Here’s my take: I use twitter as business communication tool; only posting relevant content that can add value to someone’s business and personal life. I occasionally intersperse my tweets with something lighthearted and personal like a you tube video or a joke so that people get a sense of who I am but I predominantly put out information that is related to helping or informing others with something useful. My Twitter account feeds into Linked-In so status updates can be found there.

So the question is: How do sales people use it effectively? Well I say use twitter to post useful information about what’s happening in your industry, with your product, what ever you deem to be a “Value Add” to your customers and potential customers. Then monitor the communication flow back to you with a tool like Hootsuite so you can reply to people who have tried to communicate with you.   It’s an awesome tool to manage the bi-directional communication flow.

The biggest mistake I discovered I was making was not checking what happened after making a post or a tweet. I had people reaching out to me with DMs and RTs and I was clueless. I was pushing information out but I wasn’t receiving any information back and there were people trying to connect back!  Social media only works if it is in fact social: An engaged dialogue. In sales, perception is is a powerful thing and I was creating a perception that I didn’t actually care because I wasn’t monitoring and engaging. The truth was I was completely unaware. Now I dedicate 15 minutes a day to put something good out there and to respond to inbound comments if any.

Now some might argue that C- Level Executives are too busy, time crunched and in survival mode to be on the Social Media Platform, but I can tell you I know many who are.  Having said that, I agree that many C-Level Executives aren’t sitting in their offices tweeting their hearts out but more and more companies are harnessing these tools and the Execs that run them are being briefed on what’s going on!

If you use social media to push information on others hoping it will drive people to your website and generate “Free Sales” then it’s a waste of everyone’s time. It doesn’t work this way and for sure don’t tweet about what you’re having for breakfast. There’s enough garbage on the net.  We don’t need to know about your Fruit Loops and Egg McMuffins.  But if you want to send useful information, hey that’s great

Nothing replaces face to face interaction and the building of trust and relevance but twitter and other social media platforms can assist in the process if used from the perspective of adding value and engaging with your audience.  There’s my 2 cents worth.  Now I’m going to tweet a link to this post and trust that someone will find value in it!

About Howard: Howard Olsen is President of High Output Training Systems, a Boutique Sales Training & Sales Consulting firm based in Vancouver Western Canada. As a professional sales trainer, keynote speaker and sales coach & mentor his powerful sales process and positive profit producing messages help thousands of sales people and business professionals look through the eyes of their customers to close more sales without pressure or friction every year. Follow Howard on Twitter @howardolsen or just give him a call at (604) 731-0901 to see if he can help you and your team.