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There's Only One Reason to Use Social Media: Increasing Sales
August 26, 2013 |Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
For the PCB crowd, here are a few examples of people I found on LinkedIn and engaged with: the senior purchasing manager for PCBs (that’s his title) for a Fortune 500 transportation company; the PCB engineering group leader for a Fortune 500 aerospace and defense firm; and the global sourcing manager for PCBs for a multi-national manufacturing company. Many people I talk to say, “Our customers aren’t on LinkedIn.” Well, these people are. Each of these people work for companies that buy over $10 million worth of PCBs a year. I had one LinkedIn user tell me he buys $12 million in PCBs a year. He’s on LinkedIn, but no one has made use of site to approach him. I know he’s approachable because that’s how I got into a conversation with him and found out he buys $8 million worth of PCBs offshore every year and $4 million in prototypes in North America every year. I would think a lot of companies would be ecstatic to find someone like this. Most vendors have problems meeting people on LinkedIn because they forget that these are real people looking for real solutions and help with their problems--not just walking, breathing purchase orders. So, they come on too strong, too quickly, and lose any chance of a relationship and a possible sale down the line. People come to social media like LinkedIn to interact with their peers and get better at their jobs. They are not there waiting for some sales rep to bludgeon them into submission.
What most people don’t realize is that with the rise of social media power has shifted from the brand to the customer. The customer can get all the info they need to make their own decisions, thanks. That means they use social media like LinkedIn to look at your company. They will look at your LinkedIn company page and look at the profile of key people like your CEO and executive team. They will use the site to perform the first cut and select which group of vendors to investigate further. If you don’t make that first cut, they will never bother looking at your website or calling you. For those of you that don’t use social media and feel that you can just cold call people? Well, guess where those people go to check up on you once you hang up? Right to LinkedIn to check you out.
So, if you find someone interesting in a social media setting, introduce yourself. Figure out how you can help them with their work. Ask for nothing in return. I repeat: Ask them for nothing in return. Do not expect tit for tat. You will build a reputation as a person who is sharp and knows what they are doing, and you will earn the respect of the people you help And a wonderful thing will happen: When it comes time for that person to buy your product or service--or when a friend asks him for a recommendation--he is going to think of someone who is knowledgeable and that has earned his respect: You. Using social media like this is a much more reliable method than calling your prospects every two to three months and saying, “So, what’s going on?”
Social media takes a different mindset and it takes time. It may also take money. I am constantly surprised when I talk to companies that are struggling to increase sales and find they don’t even want to think about trying something new. If you’re stuck at $10 million in sales and there’s a method to potentially take you to $12 million in a year or two, why would you reject it out of hand? If you don’t understand social media, do the research. You may wind up putting $50,000 into social media and getting $2 million in sales in return. That’s not a cost, that’s an investment.I’ve been in sales for 30 years. The reason I got into social media is that I made the connection that social media was a tool that can be used to find prospective customers, develop relationships with them, demonstrate your credibility as an expert at what you do, and be invited to compete for their business.
There’s a reason that a company like Raytheon thinks it’s a good idea to have a Facebook page with over 13,000 likes, and have 20,000 employees on LinkedIn, write blogs, have a Google+ page, have a Twitter account with 15,000 followers, and a YouTube channel with over 100 videos featured. And that reason is: Social media is a good investment.
And if social media can help sell missile systems, it can help you sell circuit boards, solder mask, design services, manufacturing services, and just about anything else. You just have to put the same positive, directed effort into it that you put into your own line of business. Bruce Johnston is a sales consultant specializing in social media and especially LinkedIn. He has over 25 years experience in high tech sales and management. He can be reached at brucej@practicalsmm.com or through his profile on LinkedIn.