In my discussions with Paul @snapdragon_paul which became the post Using Twitter to get C-Level Appointments a Case Study there was more material for just one post, so created two blog posts.
This highly successful blog, has created significant discussion, debate and traffic. It really “blew the notion out of the water”, that there is no ROI in Social Selling. Well worth a read, if you haven’t already.
In this blog I will go through some of the ways Paul is using other forms of Social Media to get C-Level meeting. (In the previous week to this blog, he made 12 appointments!)
Using Foursquare and Swarm for Prospect Engagement
When I did some training on cold calling the advice was to move the discussion away from a decision on a meeting, yes or no, to an option. The advice was also to pose a question such as; “Can we get together to discuss this? I’m in the area next Tuesday or Thursday, which is better?” Thus moving the emphasis from yes or no to the meeting, making the dilemma over Tuesday or Thursday.
Foursquare and Swarm let’s you “check-in” to locations, it uses the geo-location functionality of your phone to do this. Thus you can see where you prospect currently is. Paul has used this in a number of situations where he has been able to say “I’m in the area, or just down the road’ why don’t we have a quick 30 minute get together?.
Note: Swarm is not linked to Klout, (this blog isn’t about the the pros and cons of Klout), he is therefore using If This then That (IFTT) to take any Swarm update and post it to LinkedIn . While this is “good” for his Klout score, it also “double dips” the information so he is also getting traction / engagement on LinkedIn as well as Swarm. He gave me an example, where he got a meeting with a Marketing Director where he had posted on Swarm but the post was picked up on LinkedIn.. As many Big Brands are now “listening” to Social Media, the fact that somebody is checking in with them means (based on your well crafted message) they may want to engage as much as you do.
Paul is also using Foursquare and Swarm to contact somebody to help him “piggy back” off that person to get to the true target.
Instagram Usage by C-Level People
He and I are not seeing Instagram being used by C-Level people, but if you find them on there, it is often a good way to listen to somebody or get an understanding of their wants and needs. For example, they are posting photos of their dog, cats, coffee etc. More on this in a bit.
Riffle GoogleChrome Plug-In
Riffle by CrowdRiff teaches you about a prospects Social community. It’s a good way to learn about your prospects to enable you to “break the ice” it also gives you the top 5 people they interact with, which enables you to build out your network.
WordSwag
WordSwag is an App the Paul and I use that allows your to create quotes against a pictorial background. This type of personalised Micro content is getting Paul a 90% response rate. An example WordSwag is to the left. Paul has got inspiration for a WordSwag that he sent over Twitter, based on a contacts interests and posts on Instagram. For example, Paul tells me how he researched a senior influencer, nobody had been able to track the person down on email or the phone. He researched them on LinkedIn and Instagram, sent over a Wordswag and he has them presenting at one of his events. Boom
If during your journey you come up with other ideas, I would love to hear from you. Please leave any suggestions or comments below.
Tim Hughes is a Social Selling Innovator and Pioneer, his blog has become a reference point for Sales People throughout the world to get hints and tips on Social Selling; Newbies and Influencers alike. Tim’s 27 years as a quota carrying salesperson, means he cuts the fluff and speaks in a no nonsense style. The blog is not about slogans but about how you can use Social to allow you to over achieve your quota, quicker.