What are the benefits with social selling B2B according to social selling specialists?

Our Social Selling Specialists reveals their views on Social Selling.

Sales people and Account managers have been the main information source for B2B buyers and it has been like this from the beginning of Business to Business (B2B). If people wanted to learn about about a product or service they needed to engage with a sales person to find out the information. This placed the sales person in a position of power and they could influence the decision from early on in the research process.

This model of the sales person holding the power is no longer.

The Corporate Executive Board conducts research every year interviewing B2B buyers, C-suite Executives, Middle managers — the entire B2B buyers suite –. This research claims that 57% of the B2B buyers decision is complete before they call in the sales rep. They search on Google, LinkedIn & Twitter to get their information.
This is a big problem because if your buyers have already made up 57% of their minds with regards to your products and services. It pretty much leaves you as the supplier to bargain on price and you become commoditized.
So if you’re not good at social selling, you will always show up late for the show. That’s really a big issue because we all want to be considered at the very early stages of our buyers consideration when it comes to what we sell.

Why I believe in social selling

David Duncan, London, UK
“The best sales reps are not just present on the social channels, they are positioning themselves as thought leaders. As the popularity of inbound marketing increases companies will have to create more valuable content for their buyer personas and distribute that effectively to their target audience, social selling is a key enabler of this.”

Sharon Herrnstein, Toronto, Canada
“Sales teams are all struggling with prospecting but don’t know why! Sales works in a product-centric vacuum. It is our job to educate them on how the social world has changed and why they need to change or become obsolete.”

Rob Thomas – Bristol, UK
“Potential buyers do their due diligence online finding out who you are, what you do, and your online reputation. Get social selling right and the phone will ring, get it wrong and you’re out of the game… With social selling you can deliver consistency and productivity across a diverse sales force.”

Francois Muscat, Johannesburg, South Africa
“The sales cycle has changed to the buying cycle & now the buyer controls the process. 75% of decision makers turn to social media as part of their purchase research. Engaging in social selling will build your reputation, brand and trust, giving you more opportunities to develop your business and it will become an important part of business going forward.”

Peter Fieger, Victoria, Canada
“Continuing the connection revolution (our Global Village). With social selling you get to stay in business for the next 10 years. The concept of social has even reached the oil patch and transportation industries – it is ubiquitous and mandatory.”

If you like to learn more about social selling B2B, check out SocialSellingEducation.com.
Social Selling B2B in Sweden, check out wsiwebanalys.se.