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| Having A Sales Mindset on Social Media Isn’t A Bad Thing! |
You might want to change your mindset about “sales” to be successful in your social networking online…
Chances are you have the wrong idea about “sales” as it relates to your behavior.
Most people are either deathly afraid of being considered a salespeople or too pushy, or they have no idea about what sales actually is and they are the one’s being to pushy.
So that’s the problem, about half of the people are too weak and the other half are too strong. It has always been a funny fact of life to me that about half of the population is afraid to do what they dislike in others, and the other half has no fear, but no filter either. This is especially true when it comes to the sales profession and what an actual professional salesperson looks like, sounds like, and behaves like.
Did you know that “sales” has been one of the most hated professions since is was officially created in the 1920’s? It is right up there with lawyers, politicians, and dentists every time they do the surveys. The most loved professions are things like teachers, clergy, and firefighters. These should come as no surprise to most people I would guess.
How many third graders do you think you would have to ask to get just one that said they wanted to grow up to be a “salesperson”? About a 1,000 is what we have come up with, you will find an occasional kid with the gift of gab and professional salesperson as a mother or father who is a strong role model for the child. The rest of us would rather be astronauts, doctors, and teachers.
However, do you happen to know what the most popular profession is in the United States? Surprise, it is “sales” with over 4.2 Million people performing the role, not including inside sales, waiters, or cashiers who all also happen to sell for their profession!
Last one, do you know what professional is a perennial contender for the highest paid profession? If you didn’t guess it, you need to pay better attention. Salesperson has almost always been in the top 5 highest paid professions since its inception. Now there are a lot of people making low wages as salespeople, so the average doesn’t come out in the top 10, but as far as top earners are concerned, salespeople come in right with CEOs, doctors, engineers and lawyers.
Why you might have the wrong idea about what professional salespeople do:
- Salespeople have a bad PR department. We take a bad rap in commercials, movies, and TV shows. We are associated with used-cars, polyester suits, and either the most pushy or most slick of our kind. Eventually, we need to get together and sell some marketing people to take on the task of changing our public image…
- Good salespeople make a lot of money. Did you notice the correlation above between the income of the most hated and most loved professions? The most hated generally rake in the dough, while the most loved are notoriously underpaid for what they do.
- There are a ton of bad salespeople out there. This one I will grant you. There are a ton of people doing it wrong. Hey, we have 4.2 Million salespeople out there; they can’t all be winners. People rarely talk about the good ones though. They silently propel companies and communities forward without being noticed.
It seems like our perception as a people of “sales” is bipolar. We love that people are willing to do it, we just don’t want to be one, and we don’t want them calling on us. We will gladly pay salespeople large sums of money for what they do, but then run and hide with our phones turned off if they are being paid by someone else.
People hate to be sold, but they love to buy!
In order to have the best of both worlds, to make sales and make friends, it takes a special mindset and a balance of the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of sales.
What can you do to make sure you have the right sales mindset when you are on social media sites?
To me, great salespeople are like great waiters and your favorite restaurant. This is the sales mindset you should have on social media.
- You want to compliment the experience not force or artificially create it.
- You want to make suggestions about ideas that will enhance the experience.
- You want to be likable as a person and a company, and create an atmosphere that compliments your brand.
- You want to listen and anticipate the needs of your audience.
- You want to solve problems and make sure the customer is happy.
- You want to encourage your customers to try new offerings.
- You want to use your expertise to point the customers to the right solution for them.
- You want to welcome new guests and explain why people love you and why they made a good choice to check you out.
- You want to have fun and promote an environment that matches the customers expectations.
- You want to let them know when things have an up charge or will take longer to receive.
- You want to make sure they understand their purchase if people make common mistakes.
- You want to make sure they are 100% satisfied with the experience before you deliver the bill.
- You want to clean up after there messes if they make a mistake with your product or service.
- Finally, you encourage them to spread the word if they liked the experience, or ask for feedback if they did not.
All of those things a waiter does well, are the exact same things that will help you grow your business on social media sites, and create a raving fan base of loyal customers, who refer you often. Some people call it customer service, some people call it marketing, some people proudly call it sales. It really doesn’t matter, but those things that make a waiter great, are the same things that make salespeople great.
They create an atmosphere and environment which allows the customer to buy, while the salesperson stays out of the way.
Some, so called sales and marketing gurus, will tell you that this means the salesperson is unnecessary. That could not be further from the truth. Please don’t think that you can use marketing automation, can the salespeople, and still create that kind of environment.
There is a reason that a drive-through, fast food experience is different than being served by a great waiter who helps create a memorable experience. It is called “salesmanship” and it results from interpersonal communication and treating each person like the individual that they are.
You cannot substitute information and automation for interpersonal communication and expect the same results!
Don’t be afraid of being a salesperson, be afraid of not selling anything or not serving your customers the way you want and they deserve. Learn how to develop a sales mindset appropriate for social media and create the experience you would want when dealing with your company.