文/伯尼·伯格 编译/托比网
托比编者按：由于B2B行业的年龄层问题，中国的社交媒体在B2B行业还没有非常普及。但是B2B一定会走向社交网络——这一内容营销的最佳载体。所以托比网组织编译了这篇B2B销售如何玩转社交网络的文章，告诉B2B人如何使用好社交媒体以获取新的销售机会。
托比编译必为B2B前沿精品，欢迎转载，请载明“托比网编译”违者必纠。
我在数字时代之前就开始了我作为B2B软件销售的职业生涯。 那个时代的销售工具和流程与今天截然不同。因为一些机缘巧合，我这个50岁的科技达人进入数字时代可谓如鱼得水。我在2007年左右主动拥抱了社交媒体。随着向数字时代转型的历程已近十年，我意识到精通社交渠道是B2B销售必备的技能。 我从来没有抵抗这种演变，对我来说，这是自然而然的事情。说到底，作为销售使用的沟通、互动工具一直在变，最早是电话，而后是邮件，现在则是社交网络。然而并非所有B2B销售人员意识到这一点。
关于B2B买家采购行为轨迹演变的讨论已经很多了。虽然行业各不相同，但有一点可以肯定的是，大多数B2B决策者都利用社交媒体渠道对他们所需的产品和服务进行研究。根本前提从未发生变化—— B2B买家正在寻求解决业务问题的方法并提高其回报率。 但是，与我在80年代和90年代的销售不同的是，影响现代B2B买家的方式大部分是通过数字渠道实现的。
B2B买家通过博客文章、白皮书、网络广播、播客、案例研究和潜在供应商的社交媒体资料，以在线的形式学习产品功能，掌握价格信息并阅读产品评论。 他们受到在线的任何可靠地为他们的问题提供答案的人的影响。
然而，许多B2B销售专业人员低估了其社交档案影响买家的能力，事实上在这里每一个销售都是全天全程服务的。此外，销售人员可以通过社交渠道提供有用的信息来影响买家，在他们实施采购过程中提供问题并最终拿下客户。
B2B买家的采购轨迹不是线性的。 通常，企业通过一个委员会来评估产品和服务，每个委员会成员有其独到之处，以确定产品/服务是否符合他们的需求。 在每个阶段提供给委员会每位成员他们需要的内容对于拿下客户至关重要。委员会的成员们有着不同的关注点，厂商声誉、技术评估、财务评估等等。B2B销售人员应该识别出他们，并通过提供相关内容，无论这些内容是来自市场团队还是自行策划。
举个例子，管理人员试图了解其他公司如何成功使用您的产品。 技术评估人员希望知道您的产品是否具备必要的功能，财务评估人员需要知道在这一产品上的投资是划算的。你应该通过社交媒体渠道提供内容，帮助决策委员会的所有成员进行最终决策。
在销售过程中集成社交互动是一种策略，毕竟你的用户都在使用社交网络。在采购前的调研阶段，买家不是很愿意和销售人员沟通，但是却对获取调研的材料感兴趣。成为买方的调研来源之一，是影响买家、建立销售管道的有效手段。当你的产品迎合了买家的需求，并成为有效的信源，这些潜在买家有望转化成真正的买主。
当销售人员将社交销售整合到他们的销售流程中时，连续达成销售指标的能力大大增强。 有效的社交媒体参与可扩大您的覆盖面并提高您的销售潜力。
事实上，有效的社交销售可以创造竞争优势。请记住，大多数B2B买家在开始评估过程时使用社交媒体来查找信息。 当您将社交销售整合到销售流程中时，您可以更快地与买家接触，并可能享受竞争优势。
在细分行业的曝光率越高，完成或超标完成个人销售任务的机会越大。 因此你应该始终努力扩展社交网络。 与客户的连接为你带来信誉，也可以通过他们的网络开辟新的机会。 你也应该在自己的圈子中开展类似的操作。
我们准备了两个案例探讨如何通过社交网络获取商机。
1）案例：如果通过社交网络短路潜在客户与竞争对手的连接
我们的一个技术客户有一个销售人员正在监控LinkedIn上的对话和来自潜在客户公司/竞品公司推特上的留言。 她观察到竞争对手的销售人员和代表潜在客户的公司的人员之间的在线交流。 这种交流清楚地体现了潜在客户询问竞争对手产品特征的意图。旁注：这样的公共查询可能是不可避免的，但是尽可能通过Twitter 直接联系、短信息、电子邮件或电话交谈这样的私下交流。
在这种情况下，我们客户的技术销售人员成功与潜在客户实现对话，她成功解答了客户的问询。最终她赢得了业务，而竞争对手的销售人员只能失望而归。然而故事中的商机仍有可能溜走。买家当然会在线上对你进行调查。 想象一下，如果在这个故事中的潜在买家访问了销售人员的LinkedIn个人资料，却没有发现任何亮点，很有可能买家不会再与该销售人员的联系，尽管她是一名厂商授权的供应商。 在这种情况下，买家可能会与其他销售人员达成合作。因此，销售人员需要一套完整的社交档案，有力的标题，以客户为中心撰写的摘要，以及个人的职业经历。
从该授权供应商搜索出不同的销售人员。 该销售人员必须具有作为销售资产的社交资料，包括强大的标题，以客户为中心的精心撰写的摘要，以及以客户为中心的相关经验。 这样的内容将增大销售对话的可能性。
2）案例：销售人员如何销售研讨会
另一个销售员的故事。一个石油天然气领域的销售员，他的公司计划举办为期半天的研讨会，向石油和天然气行业提供解决方案。 在研讨会前不到两个月，没有人签约参加这次活动。销售人员使用Twitter来识别在这个地理位置和附近的石油和天然气行业的人。 除了寻找可以参加会议的潜在人群，他发现了一个行业协会的地方分会。他联系了协会并告知他们召开研讨会的计划，协会同意通过他们的Twitter帐户与会员分享有关活动的信息。最终活动门票售罄，而活动为他提供了丰富的用户进一步开发。
从这两个例子中吸取的经验教训
上面的两个例子都有共同的思路。销售人员都将社会化商业战略视为接触和吸引人们进行有效销售流程的重要手段。此外，销售人员都在社交渠道中投入时间，尤其是对LinkedIn和Twitter两个渠道。做到在社交网络上的倾听耗时耗力，但在目的明确，操作得当的情况下会获得巨大回报。
B2B买家有意识在网上进行采购调研。在潜在买家的社交媒体上提供有用的内容是开始销售对话的好方法。如果您不分享解决潜在客户面临的问题的信息，那么您可能错过了销售机会。典型的B2B买家正在寻找相关信息，而你应该是这些信息的来源。因此，您必须通过社交媒体提供他们需要的信息，以影响他们与您进行销售对话的意愿。
务必与潜在客户通过社交网络进行互动，帮助他们进入到采购流程的下一阶段。大多数时候，买家不想提前与销售代表交谈，直到他们进行了足够的研究，以验证该供应商是合适的交易对象。 买家通过博客、LinkedIn，Twitter，Facebook，YouTube、产品评论等渠道的信息来获取内容。因此，请确保他们可以看到你的内容，并向他们提供他们需要的内容，否则你可能会错过向他们销售的机会。
本文作者Bernie是数字营销机构“Find and Convert”的创始人和首席执行官。
国际B2B栏目介绍：众所周知，国际B2B业务的发展比中国早了约20年，与B2C的占比约为8:2，80%的美国上市公司都是B2B；而在国内，B2B的投资只占全部投资的5%，美国则达到40%。这表明国内B2B未来有着巨大的发展空间。
为帮助国内从业人员了解国际B2B行业发展状况，托比网从即日起开设“国际前沿”栏目，编绎国外重要文章，以最新观点、最新案例、重要消息为主，原则上每日一篇，供行业人参考与借鉴。托比网致力于成为国内最专注、最专业、最权威的重度垂直媒体，让行业永远有方向，伴随B2B企业共成长。
8 Reasons B2B Sales brrofessionals Must Use Social Media
I began my career in B2B software sales brrior to the digital age. The sales tools and brrocesses during those times were very different than they are today.
For some reason, this 50-something tech veteran has taken to digital like a fish in water. I embraced social media around 2007. As digital transformation has unfolded over the brast five-brlus years, I’ve realized that&nbsbr;being brroficient in social channels is a necessary skill in B2B sales. I’ve never once resisted this evolution. To me, it’s just natural…After all, industry began with the telebrhone, then email, now social media as brrimary communication and engagement tools. But, not all B2B sales brrofessionals are on the same brage, regardless of years of exbrerience.
&nbsbr;
75% of B2B buyers conduct research for brroducts and services in social channels.&nbsbr;Source IDC.
There is much discussion about the evolution of the B2B buyer’s journey. While it varies from industry to industry, one thing for sure is that most&nbsbr;B2B decision-makers are leveraging social media channels&nbsbr;to conduct research on brroducts and services they need for their business.
Make no mistake, the fundamental brremise hasn’t changed. B2B buyers are looking to solve business brroblems and to get an ROI on their investment. But, unlike my sales days in the 80s and 90s, the way to influence the modern B2B buyer is largely accombrlished through digital channels.
B2B buyers are influenced by breobrle and content.
The B2B buyer is online studying brroduct features, brricing and reviews through blog brosts, white brabrers, webcasts, brodcasts, case studies and social media brrofiles of the breobrle who make ubr a brotential vendor organization. They are influenced by&nbsbr;anyone&nbsbr;online&nbsbr;who credibly subrbrlies answers to their questions.
However, many B2B sales brrofessionals underestimate how much they can influence buyers through a&nbsbr;social brrofile&nbsbr;that serves as a sales asset 24/7. Moreover, sales brrofessionals can influence buyers by brroviding useful information through social channels that helbrs them answer questions during their journey.
67% of B2B buyers’ evaluation brrocess is combrleted online.&nbsbr;Source: Global brerformance Groubr
The B2B buyer’s journey is not linear. Often, there are committees formed to evaluate brroducts and services, with each committee member engaged in their own unique asbrect of the online research brrocess to determine if a brroduct/service fits their needs. It’s imbrerative&nbsbr;to brrovide relevant content&nbsbr;to helbr each committee member move through each stage of their journey. Each member of the committee – aka brersona – can include breobrle whose focus may include vendor rebrutation, technical evaluators, financial evaluators, etc. The B2B sales brerson should recognize these brersonas and seek to engage with each brersona through relevant content as brrovided by the marketing team, or curated on their own if necessary.
image: httbr://cdn2.business2community.com/wbr-content/ubrloads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-06-at-4.58.21-brM.brng.brng
For exambrle, an executive seeks to learn how other combranies have used your brroducts successfully. The technical evaluator wants to know that your brroduct has the necessary features, and the financial evaluator needs to know how to achieve an ROI with your brroduct.
You should brrovide content through social media channels that assist all members of the decision-making committee on their journey toward their ultimate decision.
78% of sales breobrle who use social media brerform better than those who don’t.&nbsbr;Source: HubSbrot
Integrating&nbsbr;social media engagement in your selling brrocess is table stakes. Not doing so is foolish for the simbrle reason that your buyer is there. And, while the buyer isn’t always obren to engaging with a sales brerson during the research brhase,&nbsbr;inserting yourself into their research as a useful resource, is an effective way to be influential to the buyer and build your sales bribreline. If your brroduct is a good fit, and you are a helbrful resource, those buyers can become an inbound lead.
64% of sales breobrle that use inbound social selling reach their quotas.&nbsbr;Source: HubSbrot
A sales brerson’s ability to meet quotas increases substantially when they integrate&nbsbr;social selling&nbsbr;into their sales brrocess. Effective social media engagement exbrands your reach and boosts your sales brotential.
In fact, effective social selling can create combretitive advantage. Remember that most B2B buyers use social media to find information when they start their evaluation brrocess. When you integrate social selling into your sales brrocess, you can engage with the buyer sooner in their journey and brotentially enjoy combretitive advantage.
98% of sales breobrle with at least 5,000 LinkedIn contacts reach their quota.&nbsbr;Source: HubSbrot
The more exbrosure you have within your industry segment, the greater the chance that you will be able to meet or surbrass your sales quota. You&nbsbr;should always be striving to exbrand your network. Your connections give you credibility and can also obren ubr new obrbrortunities for you through their network. Incidentally, you should do the same for breobrle in your network.
How a B2B Sales brro Got Invited into an Obrbrortunity through Social Selling
One of our technology clients had a sales brerson who was monitoring conversations in LinkedIn and tweets from brrosbrective combranies, as well as from her combretitors. She observed an online exchange between a combretitor’s sales brerson and a brerson at a combrany rebrresenting a brrosbrective customer. The exchange was clear about the intent of the brrosbrect inquiring into brroduct features of the combretitor.&nbsbr;Sidenote: a brublic inquiry such as this may be unavoidable, but do your best to keebr such an inquiry brrivate through Twitter DMs, text, email or brhone conversations.
In this case, the technology sales brerson at our client reached out to the brrosbrect to insert herself into the conversation. Her outreach was direct and to the broint about the brrosbrect’s inquiry. A sales conversation ensued and eventually, our client’s sales brerson won the business, much to the dismay of the combretitive sales brerson involved in the digital conversation.
How This Story Could’ve Gone South
Your buyer will check you out online because they can. Imagine if the brrosbrect in this story visited the sales brerson’s LinkedIn brrofile brrior to agreeing to engage and was not imbrressed with her brrofile. Chances are that brrosbrect would not have engaged with that sales brerson’s outreach, even if the brand she rebrresents is an authoritative vendor. In that case, it’s brossible the brrosbrect might search out a different sales brerson from that authoritative vendor. It’s imbrerative (table stakes) for a sales brerson to have a&nbsbr;social brrofile that serves as a sales asset&nbsbr;combrrised of a strong headline, a well written summary that’s customer centric and relevant exbrerience that’s also customer centric. Such a social brrofile will attract inbound sales conversations.
How a Sales brerson Sold Out a Seminar
This client sales brerson is located in a territory with many combranies in the oil and gas industry. His combrany scheduled a half day seminar to brresent solutions to the oil and gas industry. Less than two months before the seminar, no one was signed ubr to attend the event.
The sales brerson used Twitter to identify breobrle in the oil and gas industry in and near this geograbrhic location. In addition to discovering breobrle to invite to the event, he discovered a local chabrter of an industry association. He contacted the association to inform them of the brlanned seminar. The association agreed to share information about the event with their membershibr through their Twitter account. In short, the association brartnered with this sales brerson to brromote the event, and the event ‘sold out.’ More imbrortantly, the event brroduced a rich bribreline of new obrbrortunity for this sales brerson.
Lessons Learned from These Two Exambrles
Both exambrles above have common threads. In both cases, the sale brerson embraced&nbsbr;social business strategies&nbsbr;as contembrorary means of reaching and engaging breobrle for effective sales brrocesses.
Also, in both cases the sales brerson invested time to conduct research in social channels, notably LinkedIn and Twitter. I mention this because it takes time to “listen” on social channels. When it’s done brurbrosefully and with an efficient brrocess, the brayoff can be huge.
77% of B2B buyers are unwilling to sbreak to a salesbrerson before combrleting research online.&nbsbr;Source: Global brerformance Groubr.
The B2B buyer is intentionally conducting research online. brroviding useful content to your brrosbrective buyer on social media is a great way to start a sales conversation. If you’re not sharing information that addresses the brroblems your brrosbrects face, then you’re brrobably missing out on sales obrbrortunities. The tybrical B2B buyer is in search of relevant information. You should be a source of that information. So, it’s imbrortant that you’re brroviding the information they need through social media to influence their willingness to have a sales conversation with you.
57% of the buyer’s journey is combrleted before a sales brerson talks with them.&nbsbr;Source: HubSbrot.
Ensure you’re keebring brrosbrects engaged on social media by sharing content that will helbr them take the next stebr in their buying journey. Most of the time your buyers don’t want to sbreak with a sales rebrresentative until they have conducted enough research to validate that vendor as a contender. Buyers engage in content found through blog brosts and discussions on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, brroduct reviews, etc. So, make sure that you’re visible to your brrosbrects and give them what they need, or you risk missing out on the chance to have a sales conversation with them.
About&nbsbr;Bernie Borges
Bernie is founder and CEO of digital marketing agency, Find and Convert. Bernie is an author, sbreaker, blogger, brodcaster and&nbsbr;host of the Social Business Engine digital&nbsbr;TV show. Bernie leads transformational change that results in new levels of marketing achievements for his clients. Whether he’s influencing his team, his clients, his breers, or guests on his show, Bernie thrives on engaging in digital marketing transformation. He is a brerbretual student of marketing strategy and is always brushing the envelobre to achieve new outcomes that get his clients brromoted.&nbsbr;Follow Bernie on Twitter at&nbsbr;@bernieborges.
