What is Socially Facilitated Selling? Share This! Comment below. True or False? Like? Whether you\'re selling commodities or complex products, selling has changed. In fact a whole new layer has been added to the sales process, a layer with fantastic power. This new layer of Social Technologies has forever altered the art and process of selling. Take a hard look at your most recent sales - or losses. Did the buyers "check you out online," either before they contacted you or after? In this due-diligence process, what did they find out about you? Have you searched yourself, your product, your brand, your market, and your competition lately? What is \'out there\' relative to YOU, your product reputation, and/or your brand reputation? Have you thought about how much influence these data-points have had on your recent sales results, or your lead volume? Perhaps if you really look at the trends, you\'d have to admit that selling has changed A LOT in the last few years. Perhaps it\'s time for you to change your processes in response. Whenever I talk to sales people about using Social in their sales process, they always want to know the "How", but often skip the necessary "Why"? The \'How\' is the easy part. But to really be effective at Social, we need to deeply understand the answers to questions like, Why is it helpful for the sales person to join online professional networks, update their Status daily, and get Recommendations from clients? Why is updating a professional Blog once a week one of the most important activities a sales person can do each week - for the rest of their career!?!?!? Further, why is getting a customer to Comment on a Blog post a huge event in the life of a customer relationship? What role do Facebook and Twitter play in the sales process? Why are \'listening\' devices such as Tweetdeck, Google Alerts, SocialMention, and Addictomatic helpful in the sales process? What\'s the best way to proactively target prospects using Linkedin? Once in your crosshairs, why is it important use Social Tech for warm introductions, to gain credibility, build rapport, and/or understand concerns and priorities of a prospect - all BEFORE the first contact, certainly before the first sales event or discovery session? Once we clearly understand the answers to these questions, with real-life facts and figures, then we are ready to tackle the tactical execution. Understanding "Socially Facilitated Selling" is critically important in the new landscape of sales. Netnet, we are using Social Technologies to facilitate the process of moving a prospect from \'stranger danger\' to future client, from \'hey look, I\'m on an extremely tight budget - I don\'t want to be sold a bill of goods" to "I\'m so glad you solved that problem for me. Of course I\'ll give you a recommendation and a couple referrals..." Yes, it\'s "easier said than done", and with plenty of land-mines to avoid. The question is, "How do I do that without diluting my immediate sales efforts and results - or worse: making myself look bad?" Enterprise Social Technologies have forever changed the landscape of sales and marketing. How nimble are you to adapt - physically, mentally, and emotionally? Are you relying on rote, stuck in a rut, and starting to rot? Or do you have the kind of high-beam leadership that sees tremendous opportunity and potential competitive advantage with Social. Did you maximize Web 1.0 and the power of the "e"? If so, you were likely innovative, an early adopter versus a laggard. About ten years later, Social is the next "e". Will you lead your industry and market? Or will you follow? Will you teach your competition? Or will you learn from them? One thing\'s for sure: The choices you make today will be seen by all tomorrow - for better or worse. Share This! Comment below. True or False? Like? Powered by Future Point of View