Sales…..Before Social Media
Sales – Research / ProspectingOld Process New AvenuesLeverage Hoovers,
Spoke, library site searches, or costly “pay for” lists.
Blind calls to gatekeepers and company directories.
Limited data and static, and research times lengthy, less information.
LinkedIn and Plaxo provide transparency and a place to research target companies, competition, network relationships, and groups.
Reduced time on research enables more time on calls and meetings.
More calls are “warm”.
Sales - NetworkingOld Process New AvenuesIn person at events or
through introductions from current network.
Contacts tracked in a rolodex, spreadsheet or CRM….static and one dimensional.
LinkedIn exposes extended relationships allowing for easy introductions and referrals.
Contact information is dynamic and updated by individual users
Meetup sites show membership and attendee lists allowing members to better target which events to attend.
People get connected online after meeting in person.
Sales – MarketingOld Process New AvenuesSome companies little or
no budgets for marketing.
Direct mail advertising, email blasts.
Print and internet marketing campaigns.
Social Media Marketing strategies.
Leveraging Twitter, Company Facebook Accounts, LinkedIn Company Pages, LinkedIn Groups.
Determining best way to integrate SM.
Target marketing to specialty interest groups .
Partial or full replacement of traditional advertising and marketing at a fraction of the costs.
Many times a necessity for organizations wanting to stay ahead of its competitors.
Sales – StrategyCompanies are determining social media
strategies and policies. Growing percentages of Salespeople are
using tools like Twitter and Facebook, more in B2C, increasing in B2B.
Some industries are adopting social media quickly and smartly, integrating it into their processes. Some aren’t.
“New tools onto an old process won’t yield desired results.Enterprise communities require a business process redesign.” Vanessa DiMauro, CEO of Leader Networks
RecruitingOld Process New AvenuesJob postings on job boards
like Monster and HotJobs.Lengthy candidate
research process leveraging internet searches, company directories, and expensive pay for sites.
Cold calling candidatesCandidates searched job
boards in the evenings.Professional References
Posting on Twitter, LinkedIn, & Facebook…diminishing postings on Monster.
Process to validate info across SM sites.
Relationship transparency = increased candidate pool.
On-line introductions Candidates see Tweets &
LinkedIn updates all day. New process yields greater
candidate pool and reduced time.
On-line reference checks . Easier long term connecting
Recruiting – The Bottom LineNetworking has exploded. People are easier
to find and connect with than ever.Companies leveraging Social Media are
reducing costs and effectively marketing jobs.Recruiters must understand where their
candidate pool “hangs out”.