ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix

INTRODUCTION xi

CHAPTER 1

FISHING IN SOCIAL PONDS

Using Social Media as a Prospecting Tool for Online

Sales 1

Tackling the Ever-Changing Sales Process 4

The Social Selling Mantra 5

Where to Go Fish 7

Social Selling Is a Team Sport 10

CHAPTER 2

THE SOCIAL TRIANGLE OF ONLINE SALES SUCCESS

Bringing Together Social Marketing, Social Commerce, and Social Support 12

Meeting the Demands of the Social Customer 13

Capturing the Customer Experience 18

Taking Shape and Connecting All the Dots 22

CHAPTER 3

SPEAKING A NEW LANGUAGE

The Ten Most Important Rules for Online Social Interactions 28

Rule #1: Be Genuine 30

Rule #2: Listen, Listen, Listen 32

Rule #3: Be Responsive 33

Rule #4: Follow the Leader 34

Rule #5: Tailor the Conversation 34

Rule #6: Be Helpful 36

Rule #7: Identify the Enter and Exit Signs 37

Rule #8: Maintain the Separation of Professional and Personal 38

Rule #9: Be Consistent 39

Rule #10: Admit When You're Wrong 40

CHAPTER 4

MORE THAN LEAD SCRAPING

The Benefits of Un-Selling in Social Media 41

Boosting Your Online Likeability 43

Lead Scraping or Lead Generation? 44

Moving Beyond Lead Scraping 46

The Truth About Un-Selling 48

Expanding Circles, Influence, and Recommendations 52

CHAPTER 5

TWEETS, LIKES, COMMENTS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Understanding the Value of Peer-to-Peer Influence in Social Sales 53

Online Reviews: Word-of-Mouth Marketing on Steroids 54

Likes, Favorites, Followers, and Other Positive Social Indicators 61

Blogs, Forums (Groups), and Communities Matter, Too 64

CHAPTER 6

CONTENT, ENGAGEMENT, AND BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP

Pulling the Social Customer Through the Online Sales Funnel 68

Understanding the Changing Sales Funnel 69

Developing Buyer Personas for Your Social Customers 72

Creating Content to Feed the Online Sales Funnel 74

Mapping Types of Content to the Social Networks to Engage and Build

Relationships with Prospects 79

CHAPTER 7

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Using Online Services and Applications to Help You Find,

Track, and Engage Social Customers 84

Social Information That Matters 85

Finding Purpose with Social Tools 90

Monitoring Tools 92

Influence Trackers 93

Social Sharing Tools 94

Content Curator Tools 96

Applications for Creating Content 97

Social Influence Measurement Tools 99

Mobile Apps 100

CHAPTER 8

TIME IS MONEY

Building Social Selling into Your Schedule 102

Identifying Current Time Conflicts 103

Spending Your Time in Fishing Holes, Not Rabbit Holes 104

Conquering the Social Selling Conflict 105

Setting Clear Objectives 107

Designating Blocks of Time 108

Prescheduling Posts 109

Limiting Your Exposure 111

Using Your Extended Resources 112

Going Mobile 113

CHAPTER 9

FREE AND NOT QUITE FREE

Determining Your Budget 115

Recognizing the Cost of "Free" and Investing in Your Success 115

Deciding How Much to Spend to Ramp Up Your Selling Game 116

Support Costs 119

Program Costs 121

Tools and Technology 124

Resources 125

CHAPTER 10

DEVELOPING YOUR SOCIAL SELLING STRATEGY

The Components for a Realistic Social Media Sales Plan 127

A Strategy for You and Your Company 128

Establishing Your Goals and Objectives 129

Setting the Rules of Engagement 130

Conducting Your Research 133

Knowing Your Assets and Getting Organized 135

Developing an Outreach Schedule 137

Integrate Online and Offline Sales Efforts, then Repeat 138

CHAPTER 11

LINKEDIN

Turning Connections into Sales 140

Expanding Beyond a Digital Resume 141

Social Media First Impressions Start with Your Profile 142

Expanding Your Connections 151

Paid Versus "Organic" Opportunities for Social Selling 156

CHAPTER 12

TWITTER

Social Selling in 140 Characters or Less 162

Influential Tweets 163

Twitter Basics for Business 164

The Advantages of Using Twitter for Your Business 167

Equal Opportunities for B2C and B2B Prospecting 173

Best Practices and Tips 176

CHAPTER 13

FACEBOOK, GOOGLE+ , AND ONLINE COMMUNITIES

Targeting Your Social Customer Base 179

Using Your Personal Facebook Account 180

Using a Company Facebook Page to Turn Fans into Customers 184

Google+ : Turning Circles into Opportunities 190

Spreading Your Message on Blogs and Online Communities 194

CHAPTER 14

THE RISE OF VISUAL CONTENT AND ITS INFLUENCE ON SALES

YouTube, Pinterest, Infographics, and More 201

Visual Content That Helps Convey Your Message 202

Incorporating Visual Content into Your Sales Process 206

Sharing Visual Content Using Apps 208

Social Sharing Platforms Made for Promoting Visual Content 211

Putting Your Videos on YouTube 211

Pinning Your Visual Content to Pinterest 215

Sharing Top-Performing Presentations on SlideShare 220

CHAPTER 15

SOCIAL SELLING TRENDS

Harnessing the Growth of Mobile Sales 223

The Influence of Mobile Devices by the Numbers 224

Mobile Commerce in Action 225

Social Selling and Preparing for Mobile Sales 227

CHAPTER 16

CASE STUDIES

Social Success Stories for B2C and B2B 231

Caron's Beach House, a Specialty Online Retailer (B2C) 231

Bizo, a Marketing Services Firm (B2B) 235

Shopify, an eCommerce Platform for Online Retailers (B2B) 238

NOTES 243

INDEX 251