7 Ways To Use Social Media Training For Sales And Crush Your Competition

Social media training for sales is a must for any online business. The last few years have shown that providing more value, connecting and building relationships without PITCHING sales have helped sales people become more successful online than ever before. Are you ready to learn some social media training for sales people that is specifically designed to help you get more sales? Sure, having 1001 friends, being on every forum and all the social networking sites is terrific…but is it translating into sales? Let’s face it. It’s all about the bottom line for your business. Here are seven tips in using social media training for sales people to start earning more sales:

1. STOP PITCHING! Unless you are planning on starting your own minor league baseball team, you can’t win this game by directly pitching to people on social networks. Forget all the trite sayings you were taught in business marketing school, this advice is based on a time that occurred well before social networking was ever the phenomenon it is today. Instead, you need to buildrelationships. This is what people are really hungry for. When you connect with someone authentically, they want to buy your products, services or goods. It seems like a backwards way of getting a sale, but it really works!

1. BUILD ON WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE. If you have a network of only half a dozen close friends, then invite all them up to the next event you attend or organize. Attend more networking events and make an effort to keep connected with your new contacts via social media. A contact that starts in the real world will be much more valuable online. You need to start by expanding your personal network in order to truly get how your virtual network can expand by creating new relationships. Observe. Listen. Apply to the social networks you belong to now, and add some of your findings to new social networks that you are perhaps exposed to via new friends.

1. NEVER THINK YOU KNOW IT ALL. I have a friend who has been teaching at community colleges for over three decades. She gets exposed to a lot of people, but since she has been doing it for so long, she sometimes forgets that even an expert in their field can learn something new. She found out, for instance, that her son could take community college classes right in her own backyard at a pilot school and didn’t have to travel across the city in order to do so. The school had been operating under her nose for over three years. Social media training for sales people involves asking yourself this question and giving an honest answer: How many opportunities are you missing that are right under your nose because you think you know everything about sales already?

Related: Social Media Tips From Sales Expert Jeffrey Gitomer: Special Interview

1. PROVIDE SOMETHING FOR FREE. It is estimated that most new businesses are developed online by offering something for free or at a high-value, low-cost price so that you get your new ‘friends’ hooked on your product or service. Are you the best organic gardener on the planet? Offer great, free tips and then sell them your E-book once you have built a loyal following.

1. PROVIDE MORE VALUE THAN YOUR COMPETITION. It doesn’t matter if you charge less or more than your competitors, what matters is the value you provide them both before and after the sale. Beef up your offer by providing more value than your competition. It doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot on overhead or products. You can easily find ways to provide additional value with exclusive offers and services.

1. NURTURE YOUNG RELATIONSHIPS. You wouldn’t water a plant once and then expect it to grow sky high. Build a relationship with your contacts and then keep watering it. Stay in contact. Be persistent but not obtrusive.

1. FOLLOW STEPS 1-6 again and again. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Energy and persistence conquer all things.” This is especially the case for sales people utilizing social media.

In your opinion, what would the ideal social media training for sales program contain? Related: 7 Secrets LinkedIn Experts Keep (Because They're Too Good To Share!)