Jon Ferrara (CEO, Nimble)
“Sales intelligence boils down to any information or context you as a salesperson use in the sales process to better establish trust, rapport, expertise and suitability of yourself or your company in order to make the sale. Ultimately, people (buyers) purchase from people they trust and want to do business with you.”
“The first specific tip is to invest in getting to know the person/people you will be selling to. This research investment used to take inordinate amounts of time and was fraught with leakage as sales professionals bounce around Google, trying to learn about a person, making mental notes and potentially even entering in data to a CRM. Better tools like Nimble @Nimble and its Smart Summary automatically bring a dossier-like summary to the contact record — in a single place, for immediate insight.”
Can you give any specific strategies, tips and/or examples of using sales intelligence and social media to engage customers and prospects during sensitive sales events?
“Social media has provided a new outlet to showcase your expertise — and your passion. Brick and mortar establishments are about location, location and location. The cyber-world is about content, content and content. When you provide consistent, relevant, helpful content, and answer people’s questions about your area of expertise, you quickly become known as the go-to person for your topic. Buyers will gravitate to you. You will be the expert everyone turns to for advice (and yes, to spend some money). After all, you’re not just a salesperson; you’re a thought leader.”
“Follow what I call the “Four C’s” — Community, Content, Communication and Consistency. Think about your community — both fans and strangers. What do they want from you? You build your community by publishing content that enhances their lives, not just ads for your product or service. You engage your community via two-way communication — asking them questions and responding to their questions, comments and complaints. And you have do it consistently.”
“Prospects today want to buy, they don’t want to be sold. They want to buy from people, not sales people. It sounds like pie in the sky language, but there is a difference. Using tools to personalize your sales contact can make the difference between a “no thank you” and “tell me more.” Always know something about your prospect. You can find them on social platforms such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Then dig deeper on their corporate sites, or LinkedIn. When you approach them or engage them in a conversation, use this information. Tailor your conversation to include key points you learned about them.”
12 Simple #SocialSales Tips From 12 #SocialSelling Masters – http://t.co/LQTN7cKN5y
— Nimble (@Nimble) April 14, 2014