Erin Eschen Moloney

• The most interesting finding was that in 2012, 78.6% of sales people using social media to sell out performed those who weren’t using social media.
• When it came to exceeding sales quota (exceeding quota by more than 10%), social media users were 23% more successful than their non-social media peers. 
• Over half of the respondents (54%) who used social media tracked their social media usage back to at least one closed deal. 
• Over 40% said they’ve closed between two and five deals as a result of social media 
• More than 10% of the respondents said; “Yes, It directly contributes to my closes.” 
• 50.1% of sales people who report using social media state that they spend less than 10% of their selling time using social media. That’s decent ROI.
• The top social selling sites were, in order, Linkedin, Twitter,Facebook , Blogging, Google +, other.

Selling through social channels (social selling) is the closest thing to being a fly on the wall in your customers, prospects and competitor’s world. Using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media – supplies information that is almost impossible to obtain through traditional means. A lead today can be someone complaining on Twitter that their current vendor is driving them crazy. It can be a question in a LinkedIn group. It can be a unassuming comment on a Facebook page. Today, leads are far more than a call from a friend, a business card from an event or a chance encounter on a flight.

The phrase; “Go where you customers are.” has always been true and now it’s truer than ever. Your customers and prospects use social media.

Social Media Marketing (21 hours)

CMOs know that increasing their investment in analytics is a key to…

1. 
   

   Driving the competitiveness of their business in the marketplace

   
   


2. 
   

   Ensuring the ongoing relevance of their department within the organization

   
   

The increased complexity of the job has made CMOs more fulfilled, challenged and respected, resulting in a big shift in how long they stick around.

The reason companies like Southwest Airlines, Apple and Whole Foods have loyal followings is because they tell us what they believe.

A Facebook fan is worth $174 to a brand, up 28% since 2010, according to Syncapse, a social media marketing firm.

the thing we like about working on the client side is that you can advocate, encourage and sell through amazing work in ways you just would not have been able to do on the agency side.

This week Salesforce announced the launch of Social.com – a social advertising solution that brings the power of Radian6 (R6) and Buddy Media (BM) together

(via How to Optimize Your Business Blog [Checklist] | Unbounce)

• the signs are everywhere that the CMO’s position is increasing in importance


• in 2006 the average CMO tenure was just 23.2 months, whereas by 2012 CMOs generally have tenure of 43 months.

• LinkedIn remains the top social media site for business executives (directors and above), according to a recent survey conducted by DHR International and Modern Survey. While LinkedIn holds on to this top billing, executives indicated that Twitter (27%) and Facebook (44%) were sites that they use often.


• Despite the increased awareness and “noise” about Twitter and blogs, very few executives consider them to be their preferred social media vehicle.


• The executives also indicated that they would use social media more if:
  
  - If it were helpful to their business—90%
  - If they were actively looking for a new career opportunity—86%
  - If the items learned were consistently high value—85%
  - If they thought it was a better use of their time 80%
  - If they better understood the benefits ~60%
  - If they had a better experience with the tools ~50%

Great article. Here is my summary:

5 specific ways salespeople can use LinkedIn

1. Find out who they should contact in order to secure customer meetings; use LinkedIn to ensure they were contacting the right person but make first contact via email


2. Find out more about people they will meet prior to customer meetings: where they have worked in the past and who they might know in common


3. Research their competition: monitor a prospective customer’s connections to find out which competitors and salespeople are working on the account.


4. Join groups to keep in touch with colleagues they worked with in the past, follow companies of interest, and to improve industry related knowledge or sales-skills.


5. Keep existing customers informed about their company’s offerings; use LinkedIn to send short messages that contained links to press releases, white papers, analyst reports, product announcements, and company produced videos

How they should not use LinkedIn in sales:

• making an unsolicited initial customer contact directly through a LinkedIn invitation

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  A survey by content curation software provider Curata found that engagement was the most frequently cited objective of content marketing among US B2B marketers.

  
  

1. Branding isn’t as important in B2B as it is in B2C


2. Last-click measurement provides an accurate picture of where your marketing dollars are working


3. Getting in front of the right company makes for successful B2B marketing


4. All B2B targeting is all created equally


5. Display advertising doesn’t drive leads


6. Business marketers need to stick to delivering a message to businesspeople within a business environment


7. Businesspeople always want personalized marketing

When successful, it engages buyers in an exchange of ideas that delivers value to both sides — buyers and sellers — while positioning your firm as a trusted source of great information. And the market, not your marketing department, tells you when your stuff reaches true thought leading status.