Social selling means embracing opportunities on social media to promote your personal brand and business. It has changed how customers research and purchase products and services online. Now more than ever, salespeople must utilize social media for relationship building and demonstrating their expertise, as non-traditional roles are taking on more selling responsibilities. LinkedIn is key for personal branding, connections, and sharing knowledge to position yourself or your business as the trusted advisor when others need recommendations. The document provides tips for using social media effectively and emphasizes that social selling is about building trust over time.

1. Signallin g and Social Sales
Branding us!
Branding you!
21st July 2016
A staff briefing and a viewpoint shared by
@SafarazAli

2. The need to embrace Social Selling!
Social selling means…
• Being open to opportunities
• Being comfortable with sales
• Promoting your personal brand
We need to understand that this is the
lifeblood of our business
What do we need to do?

3. Social selling has not just changed the way we buy products but also
the way we purchase services.
• People will go online to search what they will buy.
• Often customers will have research about the product/service
reading reviews and feedback.
• Customers are a lot more informed about what they are looking
for.
So what does this mean for Sales people?
Isn't that their job?
Social Selling…
Changing how we buy

4. A 2015 Forrester report (which is the most conservative)
states that 22% of B2B sales representatives will be no
longer required by 2020,
Other estimates even suggest that this figure could be as
much as 80%.
Is there a role for sales?
B2B business is already often conducted by “non-traditional” sales people and
this is going to further increase as time goes by. People in charge of or involved
in procurement generally avoid traditional salespeople. Other key people in the
business are now finding opportunities and closing the sales – This can be
MD/CEO / OD/COO/ FD/CFO and all levels of Managers, including 1st line Team
Leaders.

5. The use of social media networking needs to be encouraged within
organisational management so that relationships can be formed, trust can be
developed, business opportunities to be sought as well as it being a tool for
learning and information.
Social Selling…
Old School Thinking:
Prevent access to social media as it’s
a time killer
Now: Get C Level, M Level and T
Level on there. Embrace it first, then
utilise it and get better at it.
Old School Thinking:
Sales People Sell
Now: Everyone sells
and non-traditional
people sell more
without selling.

6. Set yourself up and look at personal branding for you first!
LinkedIn is Key here - In the past, people have tended to use their LinkedIn
profile in order to gain new employment opportunities. However now even
more so LinkedIn profiles are about educating, sharing, connecting and
networking. It’s no longer just about job hunting.
It works best alongside meetings, telephone calls, emails etc. It’s an
additional bonus and at times the first call of action and not there to replace
any other forms of communication.
Have a buyer-centric profile. Buyers are interested in what you're saying. You
need to have a professional photo and an output of what your product does.
Think of your audience when you are writing.
So what should you do?

7. Do you know a good………?
How many times have you asked this question, it may be a plumber, a
builder or a cake maker but at some point we’ve all asked someone “do
you know a……..”
This is where your branding comes into play, more often than not
people don’t buy from businesses, they buy from people, or to be more
accurate they like to buy from people they know and trust… What do
YOU want to be known as.
When someone asks do you know someone who does 24+ loans, or
apprenticeships.. Or do you know anyone we can approach to sub
contract from we need to make sure the name on everyone's lips is
Pathway….

8. Who do people buy from?
Example..
An engineering company wants to update its mechanical processes
and machinery who is more likely to be able to advise?
Sales Guy
An obvious bias
Known to have sales targets
Has interests of his company
Only knows what he has read in brochures
Expected to “sell”
Another Engineer
Credible in industry
Inside knowledge of technical terms
An understanding of processes
Can recommend based on experience
Not expected to “sell”

9. • Whether you’re Quality or Operations, say what you do.
• Provide a good description of what you’re doing for your customers.
• When you’re online, be authentic. People want to deal with individuals
not corporate suits.
• You want to build trust and rapport. There’s nothing wrong with talking
personal – it states who you are.
• In Sales, you either win a deal or you lose a deal. You can get
competitive advances by having a good LinkedIn profile.
So what should you do?

10. From a B2B perspective ,certainly from an enterprising level, LinkedIn, is
the most important social network.
Next Steps
Lets talk. Lets work together and get going. If you feel that you can’t
develop an online profile or have other concerns then lets have a chat in
confidence.
Saf’s thoughts…

11. Pathway College
Brand Building for Employers Brand Building for Training Providers
Martin Shaheed
Safeguarding and
Prevent information
Contractual information
within sector
Dealing with
employers from a
learners perspective
How to better market
yourself to prime
contractors
ILT from a learner
perspective
(Flip, E-Portfolios)
The funding landscape (
Health & Safety
Saj Tracy
Ofsted
information
IQA Material
Observations of
teaching and
learning
Good
Practice in
Quality
Good practice in
teaching and
delivery
Managing
Assessors
Ahsan
SFA data/numbers
Apprenticeship
targets
ILT
Having confidence
in numbers
Key IT / Data issues
relating to SFA

12. Pathway College
General Brand Building & PR Brand Building directly to HR
Cathy
Talent management
Apprentice advice –
Recruiting and inducting
Learning and Development
Vocational qualifications
and 24+ loans
HR Updates
Hira/ Khalid/ Isa/
LJ
Good news stories
relating to organisation
Good news stories
relating to staff
Events, awards and
promotions
Blogs, News, Stats

13. Strategic
Alliances & Partnership
Opportunities: Safaraz, William, Alan
and Eddie,
Brand Building &
Being Aware and
Seeking
opportunities for
Training
Funding
Partners and other
stakeholders

14. Final thoughts….
•Social is about learning
•Its about relationships
•Communities
•Its a different way to buy