Social Selling Best Practices

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Even the most seasoned technology sales professionals need to develop social selling best practices - but they can take years to develop. That's what makes conversations like this one so powerful. In this episode, Bernie Borges explores the best practices of some of SAP’s most seasoned and successful sales professionals. You'll hear social selling tips from Account Executive Alex Hunter, Gaston Edreira, Business Development Specialist of SAP Hybris, Neil Howarth, also of SAP Hybris, Digital Sales Demand Manager Georgia Rita, and Phil Lurie, VP of Sales Technology.

The tips and success stories these SAP team members share demonstrate what is possible when good social selling practices are consistently applied. Be sure to listen all the way to the end to hear some of their most encouraging social selling successes.

Social Selling Best Practices Depend on Quality More Than Quantity

One of the most practical aspects of the conversations featured on this episode is that Bernie asked each of the participants to share their favorite social selling best practices. As they did, a constant theme that rose to the surface was the power of meaningful social engagement, not the amount of content shared on social media. Their stories illustrate how significant it can be to a future sales opportunity for a sales professional to pay attention to the real needs of those they're trying to reach and make themselves an asset.

This example is one of the outstanding tips these five members of the SAP team share on this episode. Their experience along with the success they have attained demonstrates that the SAP approach to social selling is a model any B2B brand can follow.

The More Relevant And The More Personal, The Better The Connection

When it comes to applying the very best practices in social selling, it begins with a mindset that understands the goal is not, first of all, to secure a sales conversation with a buyer. The first level goal is much more personal than that. The SAP sales team understands that there are real people behind each transaction, individuals who have particular interests, desires, and needs.

That perspective is key to being able to truly add value to the person through social by discovering those needs and making an effort to be helpful. It's that kind of genuine interest that sets the stage for the SAP salesperson to propose business solutions to the prospect down the road. The more relevant and the more personal the salesperson can be in attempts to connect with the prospects they want to meet, the more attention they can get. Learn more insights like this from these outstanding sales professionals from the SAP team, on this podcast episode.

Consistency, Relevance, Value: The Trinity Of Social Selling Best Practices

Much of what makes the SAP global sales team successful when it comes to social selling is their implementation of these three principles: consistency, relevance, and value. Let's look at each of those in turn.

Consistently sharing great content in the social feeds of a prospect gives that person time to become familiar with the salesperson and the expertise they possess. When that content is relevant to the prospect, it demonstrates that the salesperson has taken the time to learn about them and to take an interest in the things they are concerned about. That sets the salesperson up to add valuein ways that matter to the prospect.

This triune way of approaching social selling has proven to be a hallmark of the SAP team’s success. You can hear these three principles expressed over and over by the five participants in this conversation, in a variety of ways. Take the time to listen and learn. The insights shared on this episode have many anecdotes to back them up - you can learn the principles and see the proof all in one episode.

Featured on This Episode SAP Alex Hunter on LinkedIn Gaston Edreira on LinkedIn Neil Howarth on LinkedIn Georgia Rita on LinkedIn Phil Lurie on LinkedIn Outline of This Episode [0:48] The top two best-practices in social selling from Alex Hunter [3:02] Gaston Edreira’s best-practices for social selling [5:19] The best practices for social selling Neil Howarth likes most [7:00] Social selling best practices from Georgia Rita [7:45] The first things SAP teaches new social sellers on the team [8:59] Social allows you to find out information and be a resource first [10:52] LinkedIn engagement over time: a powerful social selling best practice [12:42] Watch for needs prospects have that you can help to meet [15:06] The biggest lessons-learned in using social selling strategies Resources & People Mentioned Ep 1 in this series: Social Selling Impact! Why Managers Should Encourage Social Selling LinkedIn Sales Navigator Google Alerts The Selling With Social Podcast with Vengreso CEO, Mario Martinez, Jr Connect With Bernie and Social Business Engine https://www.facebook.com/socialbusinessengine/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernieborges/ https://twitter.com/bernieborges https://twitter.com/sbengine

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