In this era of social media and instant communication, what is the most effective way to communicate with people to let them know you are in a particular industry and you want their business? I have mixed feelings on the ways you go about talking to people. Many sales people don't understand how to effectively get their product across without seeming desparate, demanding or aggressive. What is the right method? Is it a face to face or social media? Let's break down each one with the "DOs" and "DO NOT's," and in the end, hopefully everyone will make an educated decision on how to contact prospects in the future!
Face to Face- The DO NOT: Walk into a prospective clients office, hand them some information and ask for 10min to speak to them RIGHT NOW. This is a horrible idea as it puts your prospective client on the spot requiring them to make a decision immediately. ''Do I sit and listen to this 10 min lecture thinking in my head, "Why did I agree to this? I don't have time," while not even listening to a single thing you are saying.' Or does the prospectve client turn you away? Either way, the face to face didn't go well. THE DO: Walk into a prospective clients office with SOMETHING OF VALUE, and introduce yourself. Let them know you are here for them, and anything they need, you are there to help. Don't ask for ANYTHING. If you do this on a regular basis, bi-weekly, monthly or whatever you deem reasonable in your industry, soon the prospect will realize you are there for them. In the end, they understand you want their business, but for now, they see you are devoted and dedicated to the success of theirs and earning their trust.
Social media,THE DO NOT- Get on Facebook and go to all of your friends pages and write a post saying, "I work for______, selling_______, buy one from me." You may laugh, but I have seen it happen, THE DO- Use social media to interact with your friends, family and acquaintances in order to get to know them better. Liking and commenting on people's status, links and pictures is a great way to show people you are interested in what is going on in their life. In return, people will go to your page to see what you are doing. I like to post helpful hints, tips and accomplishments throughout my page about my industry, while not making my friends feel obligated to buy anything from me. This is a great way to keep your name in front of them and they will keep you in mind when they need your service.
Being a salesperson is like joining a fraternity. In a fraternity, you are required to learn everything about your brothers/sisters before they even care to learn one thing about you. They need to know that they can trust you or they will never allow you to join. The sales industry is the same. It is not about what you are selling, it is about what you know about your prospect, their business and what you can do to help. Until you have proven yourself and gained their trust, you should not be "selling" them anything.
Are you getting the picture? No matter what type of sales, or what type of communication you choose, it has nothing to do with what you are selling, but EVERYTHING to do with the relationship you have built, the trust you have EARNED and WHO you are selling to.
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