Work with Social Selling Tools
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Identify Salesforce tools for collaborative selling.
- Describe how to automate timed posts.
- Explain how to monitor competitors with social media.
Salesforce Tools for Collaborative Selling
Social selling is a proven way to draw in new prospects. As with all successful sales methods, there are some smart people out there who are dedicated to making tools to make it more successful. In fact, Salesforce has tools that can give you that extra boost.
Social CRM
Did you know Salesforce has its own built-in links to your customers’ social media? Check out your contacts in any account or opportunity listing. You can even click the icons to go to the customer’s social media page. That way, you can know what’s up with your customers before you reach out to them.
Slack
Above all other tools, the greatest asset you have is that you are working with other great Salesforce professionals. As with anything you do here, you can always find help on Slack. Here are a few ways you can use Slack for social selling help and resources.
- Find or create a Slack channel for your prospect, customer, or industry.
- Search for relevant posts and business records.
- Publish status updates so your colleagues can check and help you out.
- Share official documents.
Automate Your Posts
If you’ve only casually posted content now and then, social selling can seem a bit intense. In fact, it can feel like you’re going to be so busy posting that you won’t have time to do any actual selling. It’s all good. There are tools to help you with posting.
- Review your queue. Automated posting isn’t just set-and-forget. Check your progress regularly to make sure the right content is going out. That way, if something goes wrong, you can fix it quickly.
- Prioritize big news. If something big happens, you don’t have to put it at the end of the line. Pause your queue and move the news to the front while it’s still news.
- Automate content, not interactions. It can be tempting to create automatic responses and communications, but don’t do it. Customers know when they’re talking to a machine and they don’t like it.
- Tailor content to the platform. The language of LinkedIn is different from the average tweet. Make sure your post fits the place where it is posted.
- Limit your automation. If your entire feed is automated, then you’re missing the social part of social selling. Keep your queue down to a week in advance and take time every day to make a personal appearance on your social media channels.
Monitor the Channels
Social media isn’t just about sharing. It’s also about reading what other people share. This goes for both customers and competitors. If they’re telling you what they’re doing, it’s a good idea to read it and learn. Here are some easy ways to learn from the information they’re giving away.
- Join key customer groups on social media to learn what customers say.
- Follow customers, competitors, and thought leaders on social media.
- Check online for any new presentations or documents created by prospects, their partners, and the events they are thinking about attending.
- Set up alerts for competitor terms including brand names, products, and key people.
