Moving B2B Sales forward with online Communications

The traditional idea of the B2B salesperson is the intrepid individual, with his ear glued to the telephone and his little black book of business and commercial contacts, routinely making contact with past and current customers exploring new sales gateways and possible contract outlets. Fundamentally, nothing has changed – this is still the bread and butter of how a good sales individual may network and nurture business relationships. But with the advent of the internet, the sales market has not only grown ten times over, finalising that final deal, or creating a sales pitch maybe done in a totally different way than it was 10 years ago. By using the internet and creating a credible online presence, the salesperson can not only reach markets he has never touched on before , he can also be more time efficient and put over the benefits and positives of his products and services at the click of a button. Social media is now an essential tool in any B2B salespersons tool bag. The big three in the social media world are Twitter, Linked in, and Facebook. They are all online forums whereby you can nurture new business relationships, tell the world about your services and products, and also any short term discounts that maybe a perfect trigger to get your prospective customer or client involved. So how do you use these applications? Each of the above applications have slightly different markets and roles on the internet. Twitter for instance is micro blogging. The key is to encourage a group of followers who are likely to be interested in your product and past and current clients and customers to follow you. By creating a consistent on-going presence and interacting with your followers you are nurturing that essential business relationship electronically. Most high profile businesses and corporate concerns have a Twitter account. Facebook works in the same way but it is regarded more of a social network than a real business network like Twitter. But that does not mean it is not an arena for prospecting because it most certainly is. The way for salespeople to use Facebook is to create a Facebook page to showcase their wares or create a Facebook advert. Linked in is great for communicating with your peer group, and finding referrals. Once you know someone is on linked in you can view their profile and invite them to link. You can set out your own services and products on your own profile along with any testimonials from past customers. Discussion groups are also a great way to enhance your online credibility and talk about your services and products.