For a sales organization to leverage social selling and all of its power, it all begins with creating a strategy. This presentation presents ideas for putting a program together that leads to sales success.

1. Sales Meets Social Media
Implementing a Social Selling Strategy

2. Barbara Giamanco
Sales and Social Selling Author|Speaker|Advisor
After 25+ years in Sales, Barb understands the challenges that sales leaders and salespeople face. She carried a
bag, managed corporate sales teams, busted quota through the years selling to multiple customer types:
enterprise, mid-market, small medium business, distributors, retailers, and channel partner customers. She has
spent the last 10 years learning what works and what doesn’t when implementing social media as part of a
business and sales strategy.
With successful C-level background in Sales, Technology and Leadership Development, Barb’s experience speaks
for itself. She capped her corporate career at Microsoft, where she led sales teams and coached executives.
Through the years she has sold $1B in sales.
Barb’s book, The New Handshake: Sales Meets Social Media is the first book written about social selling. You
might also enjoy her Harvard Business Review article Tweet Me, Friend Me, Make Me Buy.
Barb is consistently recognized as a Top 25 Influential Leader in Sales, a Top 25 Sales Influencer on Twitter and
one of Top Sales World’s Top 50 Sales and Marketing Influencers for the 3rd year in a row.
@barbaragiamanco @salessmarts #socialselling

3. Why social selling
Elements of a strategic plan
Sales and marketing
alignment
Tools and training
Measurement and incentives

4. Sales disruption
90% of decision makers say they
NEVER respond to cold outreach
82% of prospects can be
REACHED via social networks.
75% of B2B buyers use social
media to RESEARCH vendors
57% of the buying journey
happens BEFORE a sales rep is
involved
Sources: CEB, Harvard Business Review, comScore, IDC

5. To accelerate
sales, sales
behavior must
change

6. That change must include…
A change in mindset and the
use of social channels
combined with traditional
selling methods to expand
networks, develop
relationships, generate
leads, conduct research and
drive revenue.

7. The ROI is clear
In 2014, 74% of salespeople who exceeded
their quota described themselves as “highly
effective” social media users or “better than
most”.
Socially savvy reps were 6.7 times more likely
to exceed quota than were salespeople with
rudimentary or no social media skills.

8. In 2012, 54% of sales reps closed a deal
because of social media. That number jumped
to 64% in 2014.

9. It all starts with a strategy

10. Executive sponsor from sales and
marketing organizations
Connected sales and marketing
Access to tools and social training
Scorecards and incentives
Keys to social selling program success

11. Break down silos
Sales
Sales
enablement
Marketing
Leadership commitment and accountability
Adoption plan and ongoing commitment to learning
Community, content, conversion

12. Strategic considerations
Target audience, core message
Social channels
Social media guidelines
Lead capture
Monitor, measure, track

13. Keep score
Expanded connections with targeted buyers
Number of net/new meetings
Search results
Profile views
Status updates viewed, liked, commented on
Increased influence score
Twitter retweets
And more…

14. Designing the program
Implement a learning curriculum
focused on two things:
 Providing salespeople the relevant sales skills that considers
current buyer behavior and expectations
 Teaching them the strategic use of technology and social
networks to support the sales process

15. Sales
Demonstrates by example,
drives execution and
accountability with sales teams
Enablement
Supports the adoption plan
and provides an environment
for ongoing learning
Marketing
Develops the content,
creates systems for sharing easily,
support social ambassadors

16. Without alignment…
Sellers do not adopt new
behaviors and revert to old
habits
No accountability for
consistent execution
Sales force isn’t provided
educational content or tools
needed to create new sales
opportunities

17. 57% of the buying journey happens BEFORE a
sales rep is involved
Create value
through
education
Challenge status
quo
Demonstrate how
your solution
solves problems
Most sales training focuses on why us, why our solution

18. Add value with business insights

19. Remember that training is a process
Instructor led
Homework
Learning
library
Coaching
calls
Collaboration
tools
90% of learning is gone in
less than
30-days if ongoing
learning and reinforcement
mechanisms are not in
place

20. Customer story
Goal:
To provide sales and marketing with the necessary tools and training to
effectively engage with and influence potential buyers on social media.
Planning:
Worked with sales and marketing leaders to assess sales and social
media skills. Customized content to include real-world selling scenario’s.
Program incorporated key strategic selling elements based on
Challenger Sale methodology that the company was using.
Tools:
LinkedIn, InsideView, Twitter, Hootsuite
Training:
8 hours of instructor led, virtual sessions that were recorded
6 months of small group, 1-hour coaching sessions
6 monthly 1-hour management sessions

21. Social Ambassadors – social content
provided to the sales organization

22. Training, tools, accountability
Start with “why social” and “how to get
started” sessions
Sales leaders must be active in social
Identify sales champions and highlight
their best practices
Leverage vendors to lead training
sessions
Deliver training in manageable chunks
over a specific time period
Build 1:1 or 1:few coaching model

23. Scorecards
and Incentives
Determine
goals/objectives
Hold sellers accountable
–program consisted of
scorecards (pre and post
6 week training course)
Build in incentives to get
people excited

24. Final thoughts
Buyer behavior and expectations have
changed… sales must adapt
Integrating social media into sales
process is not an option
Sales leaders must be involved on social
themselves
Sales and marketing must be in alignment
Measure and track – celebrate successes

25. Let’s connect
Barbara Giamanco, Sales and Social Selling Advisor
404-647-4925
barbara.giamanco@scs-connect.com
www.linkedin.com/in/barbaragiamanco
www.twitter.com/barbaragiamanco
227 Sandy Springs Place
Suite D333
Atlanta, GA 30328
Website: www.scs-connect.com
Blog: www.barbaragiamanco.com
(c) 2015 Social Centered Selling Do not reproduce without permission. All images licensed through iStockPhoto