Using Social Networks to Become a Trusted Advisor


Customers today are engaging sales reps later and later in the purchase decision. Our research shows that the typical purchase decision is 57% complete by the time the customer reaches out to a supplier. By that point, the customer has already decided:



The problem that needs to be solved,
The course of action that needs to be taken,
The list of suppliers they might buy from,
What they want to pay. (potentially)

All that’s left for the rep to negotiate is price. Average salespeople don’t mind this because it means much of the hard and messy work of needs diagnosis and building customized solutions has, in fact, already been done by the customer. High performers, though, reject being relegated to an “order fulfillment” role and instead head upstream—WAY upstream.  


Similarly, average performers see lead generation as Marketing’s job. They wait for a lead to be handed over or for their territory to be assigned and then they use their scorecard to pick the best opportunities to pursue. But high performers view lead gen as THEIR job. They leverage channels like social media to engage customers much, much earlier in the customer’s buying journey than most salespeople would even think is possible.


By doing this, star performers have found a scalable way to engage the customer while the customer is just learning about issues but before they’ve actually recognized that they have a need. These reps don’t wait until the lead comes in because they know that’s too late.


The best salespeople play in the places where customers are gathering information and learning…and, increasingly, that’s in social networks. These reps steer clear of advertising themselves and their companies on social channels and instead take a “give to give” posture—engaging in discussions, listening to customers, offering content they’ve carefully culled from different sources (sometimes from their own companies, sometimes from other sources). By doing so, they are establishing themselves as trusted advisors, helping customers form opinions about the world and, ultimately, “teaching them into the funnel.”


Across 1,000 sellers in roughly two dozen companies, the data is clear: top sellers leverage social media to help them get in early and average performers don’t. What we need to understand is why the data presents this way and what lessons we can take from it to make our own sellers more effective.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on April 24, 2012 11:36
No comments have been added yet.


Brent Adamson's Blog

Brent  Adamson
Brent Adamson isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.
Follow Brent  Adamson's blog with rss.