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Hungry for stronger prospect relationships? You’re in the right decade because social selling has opened up a whole new window of opportunity for SDRs and BDRs alike.
With over 4 billion users that spend about two and a half hours a day utilizing its platforms, social media has become a powerhouse for sellers. But what does social selling for SDRs and BDRs actually look like? Is it cutesy giveaways and influencer partnerships? No and no. More than anything, social selling is about relationship-building.
Without this avid sales skill in your arsenal, social media can feel like a never-ending push to be seen. But when you’re armed and ready with a relationship-building mindset, you’re no longer a sales rep—you’re a trusted resource, a valued thought leader and a business opportunity.
Let’s take a closer look at what social selling is and how you can use it to build meaningful connections with your target audience.
What is social selling?
Social selling for SDRs and BDRs means researching, connecting and engaging with leads via social platforms, like Twitter and LinkedIn.
Similar to other lead nurturing processes, SDRs and BDRs use social selling to garner and nurture leads, but with an extra focus on building trust and fostering meaningful relationships.
Think about successful stock advisers. They didn’t become successful by holding on to mediocre relationships. They became successful by being friendly, honest, professional and forming close bonds with their clients.
Social selling has become an integral pillar in the sales conversion process. In fact, high-performing sales reps that close 51% more deals than their peers, view networking platforms as a pivotal component in their sales processes.
With that said, let’s take a look at how SDRs and BDRs can crush the social selling game using four simple steps.
1. Focus on the right social channels
Since you’ll be carving out valuable time in your schedule to find and engage leads on social media, you need to make sure you’re targeting the right platforms.
Start by finding out which social channels your target audience frequents most. For instance, if you’re targeting B2B leads, your prospects are likely using Twitter and LinkedIn. If you represent a strong visual brand, your leads are likely using Instagram and Pinterest.
After discovering which platforms your leads use most, study up on channel-specific algorithm updates, best practices and recent news. In other words, learn everything you can about each platform you’re planning to target.
2. Create a content and engagement strategy
Never walk into social selling blind. Before posting on your chosen platforms, be sure to create a content and engagement strategy that has:
- A content focus, including the topics you’ll cover, why they’re important and how often you’ll post.
- An engagement plan, including which communication and social listening tactics you plan on implementing.
- How much time you can dedicate every day to respond to prospect messages and start conversations.
- Specific ad campaigns you’d like to focus on.
- Specific retargeting campaigns you’d like to set up.
3. Know who you serve and optimize your social media profiles with them in mind
Showing up on social media without knowing who you serve is fruitless and a poor use of your time. To truly reap the benefits of social selling, it’s vital to understand your target clients and tailor your profiles accordingly.
For instance, if you’re an SDR or BDR for a synthetic data company, get to the nitty-gritty of who you serve, what they need and how you can solve their pain points.
In this case, it’d be banking, insurance and telecommunications professionals in need of artificial intelligence and machine learning development. These prospects are likely swimming in endless data sets and are looking for ways to streamline synthetic data training and cross-border data sharing.
It’s also crucial to understand your unique value-add. For instance, do you work for a financial institution that claims to be the best bank for college students? Why is that? Does the institution remove common barriers to entry via college budgeting courses, starter credit cards and no-fee checking accounts?
Once you’ve identified your core target audience and unique value-add, use them to create strong bios on your chosen platforms.
Use the template, “Who I Help + Why + CTA” to add a value proposition in your bio that sells: “I help project managers maximize time and create efficient processes using one simple tool. Click the link below to learn more.”
It’s also important to portray a consistent brand image across every platform you’re using so prospects can start developing a perspective of the brand you represent.
4. Build credibility and meaningful relationships
And finally, the most important step is building credibility and meaningful relationships. Here’s a quick run through on how to establish a strong reputation with your leads:
1. Post consistently
Use social media scheduling tools to batch your content and implement a consistent posting plan.
2. Show your expertise
Highlight relevant skills, endorsements, reviews, testimonials and work experience in your social media profiles.
3. Share valuable content
Share content that solves audience pain points, teaches them a valuable lesson, or inspires them through thought leadership. Stick to the 80/20 rule: 80% of your content should be valuable and 20% should be promotional.
Take this tip up a notch by collecting opt-ins for content downloads, such as ultimate guides and e-books.
4. Build relationships with the right people and take the conversation offline
Score your leads to pinpoint which prospects have the best chance of converting.
Lead scoring isn’t about dehumanizing sales. It’s about understanding who you can best serve and who’d be a value-add to your company. It’s a win-win approach.
After scoring your leads and building relationships, ask to take the conversion offline. See if your prospects can jump on a quick call to further explore their needs and how you can mutually benefit one another. Whatever you do, don’t waste their time.
Before asking for a phone call, ask yourself three important questions:
- Why should this prospect meet with me?
- How can what I’m selling help them?
- What’s the mutual benefit at play here?
Wrap up
And that’s it for today, friends. We hope these insights have inspired you to take your social selling game to the next level.
Remember to focus on:
- The right social media platforms
- The right content and engagement strategies
- Your target audience
- Building credibility
- Building meaningful relationships
Are you ready to crush the social selling game?
