Social networking might be the best thing that has happened to salespeople since the invention of the telephone. Access to social networks have solved some of the sales industry’s biggest problems. Think back to a time where Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn didn’t exist. Although it’s difficult to remember those days, rest assured it is much easier to find information about sales prospects, start new conversations and nurture leads today than it was decades ago.

Jill Rowley, Social Selling Evangelist, says social networking can help salespeople take the cold out of cold calling. It’s up to sales folks to use these tools intelligently—here’s Jill’s recommended approach:

Avoid the “me, me, me” approach. The art of a LinkedIn invite is being able to cut through the clutter. When you rely on the scripted LinkedIn greeting you forfeit personalization and reflecting only on your expertise comes across screaming “me, me, me!” Instead, begin your conversation with sales prospects on LinkedIn with a combination of reflecting on your expertise while talking about the person you’re trying to do business with, and what’s in it for them. Talking about yourself isn’t building a relationship—it’s creating more clutter.

Build your online brand. Your social profiles, especially LinkedIn, should be written with the buyer—and not recruiters—in mind. This means you should probably ditch the resume format and opt for adding content that reflects on your reputation within a certain market. Be sure to link to blog posts you’ve written for your company, or industry blogs that are relevant to your experience. Don’t feel obligated to list your current title on your LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter either. Instead, use the space on these social networking pages to create your persona. Prospective buyers would much rather know you are a “leader in building businesses” with your experiences listed below, than read through your list of past titles and lengths of tenure at companies.

Content is currency. Sharing content—whether written by you or not—shows you are engaged and knowledgeable about your industry. In fact sharing content is a great way to build trust with your buyers as they begin to see you more as a buyer (like them) instead of a pushy sales rep. To ensure the content you are sharing is relevant and will cut through the clutter, be sure you’re engaging with a few industry experts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites to see what they’re sharing. You can also track what’s being read by including traceable links in the content, and then use this information for follow up.

Thanks to social networking, salespeople have access to a wealth of extra information about sales prospects, as well as a platform for communication that simply didn’t exist a decade ago. Communicating across LinkedIn and engaging through Twitter, Facebook and other networks is the perfect “warm-up” to take the cold right out of cold-calling.

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