Social Media and Sales: Just Get Started

Credit: Bill Gillespie

From time to time I’m asked about social media. Specifically, I’m asked about LinkedIn. Does it work? What should I post? How often? How long before it helps?

I can’t answer any of those questions for others. I’m happy to share what works for me. I just can’t promise that your results will be exactly the same. Let me start over.

I think social media is powerful. I think it’s very valuable to sales reps. It gives you a chance to share your story where brands can see it. What you post gives curious parties a chance to check you out before contact is made.

That was impossible when I started selling. Without a face to face meeting all anyone could know about you was gossip. That assumes they knew anything at all. Selling really did start out cold. It’s different today.

Here is how it happened for me. An employer asked me to make a company page on LinkedIn. I did so and wrote some boilerplate marketing copy. I parked the page and waited. Nothing happened.

Months later I snapped a picture of a cool project and shared it on our page. I didn’t get fancy. I simply wrote, “check out this cool piece we did for so and so.” It got a handful of views.

A week later I tried again with another piece. Once again, I got a few views. I also picked up a few followers. I even earned a comment or two.

Fast forward: I created a personal page for myself. I made it a point to post personally and corporately at least once each week. I shared projects, new machines and new hires. I talked about each from a “how this matters to the market” viewpoint.

Fast forward again: Followers started to grow daily. The messages started. There were business inquiries too. I could see a direct relationship between social media, opportunities and revenue.

One of the most exciting examples came when I shared a sample of a new marketing piece. It teased about a service we were adding and how it improved print. The image was a cell phone photo of a proof.

The CMO of an International entertainment brand saw my post and asked for a sample. The first finished copy was sent to him by express messenger. I was in his conference room ten days later presenting to his team.

They turned into a client. I shared his work on social media. His competitors saw it. So did his other locations. One client turned into several.

These people were contacting me. I was not smiling and dialing. I was responding to warm inquiries thanks to inbound social media story telling.

I could go on and on with the math. Followers grew daily. Our reputation and our reach moved faster than we could have ever managed with traditional selling. Brands were hitting our page to see what we were up to. They were looking for ideas on our LinkedIn page.

What this means to you: If you aren’t using social media you should be. It’s powerful and it’s inexpensive. Your prospects will see what you’re doing.

You don’t have to have things figured out to start either. You can’t learn to drive in a parked car. Jump on, share something you think is cool and pay attention to responses. It will start slow but it will grow.

Be consistent. Set aside an hour or two each week to work this channel. If you don’t post regularly you won’t get noticed. In the beginning I liked Tuesday mornings. These days, it’s daily.

Be yourself. Your personality matters. The genuine article will do more for you than any fancy persona you cook up. You’re introducing YOU to the marketplace.

Shoot a video of yourself or of a sample or of a machine. Have fun with it. Don’t worry if it’s folksy. The market likes down to earth, regular folks.

Whatever you post, share it from the why it matters to followers vantage point. Clients don’t care how fast your machine is or how cool your color is. They care about how your thing or innovation might help them. Your sensitivity to that distinction shows and matters.

Trust me on this. I get calls and messages every day from people I’ve never met. Most want help selling or growing or with a problem rep etc. These people know me because of social media. The article you’re reading now is being shared by Printing Impressions. They contacted me because of my social media content.

If you’re not on social media you’re skipping a tool that can help your sales. Start, keep at it, be patient and consistent. Your reputation will grow.

Your competition is doing it!