The fundamental principles of organizing and building a social selling program

Social media is pivotal in B2B decision-making processes in today's increasingly digital world. A recent study by Gartner revealed that 83% of B2B decision-making occurs without direct contact between buyers and vendors. As a result, social selling has become an essential component of successful sales strategies, leveraging the power of social media platforms.

When embarking on a social selling program, it is crucial to consider the organizational aspects involved. We interviewed Andreas Klauser, a prominent marketing leader at Zoom, to gain insights into effective tactics. Andreas has an extensive background in senior tech marketing roles, having previously held leadership positions at HP and T-Systems International. He currently oversees and expands Zoom's marketing organization across the EMEA region.

Andreas specializes in various marketing facets, from Field IT and Industry Marketing to demand marketing and marketing operations. His focus at Zoom revolves around engaging with clients and prospects while creating compelling content highlighting Zoom's UCaaS portfolio, including Zoom meetings, Zoom phones, and Zoom Contact Centers. Furthermore, Andreas pays close attention to thought leadership topics, particularly those related to new and hybrid work models.

Key takeaways from our interview with Andreas Klauser include valuable insights into social selling and the organizational tactics that drive success in this domain. By harnessing the potential of social media platforms, businesses can effectively connect with clients and prospects, create compelling content, and navigate the evolving landscape of new work models. Andreas's expertise and experience provide valuable guidance for organizations seeking to optimize their social selling strategies and enhance their overall marketing efforts.

Are you ready for the details? Read on!

How does Field Marketing bring marketing and sales closer together and leverage the power that salespeople can have on social media?

When you look at B2B and sales roles today, experts are stuck in the last century. They use technology and methodologies that can be old-school, and studies show that around 90% of all C-level decision-makers are not accepting cold-calling attempts from companies. This means that marketers must enable our sales colleagues to know how they can best get in front of prospects and clients meaningfully so they can get close to the business. It's still people buying from people, but that doesn't necessarily mean you need to have the first conversation physically. Social selling becomes incredibly important.  

"The reality is a lot of people believe they're good social sellers, but many have never received good training," Andreas states. You should always start by giving participants good training, showing them what their social profile should look like and how to contact others. If you provide the salespeople with good training, you make them feel comfortable and give them support and confidence to say things on social media that represent themselves. 

It's important to remember that someone who is verbally good on the phone is not necessarily an excellent social seller. Another thing you should remember is many large organizations have corporate guidelines for social selling. Ensure that you work with all other marketing functions to guarantee everything you do aligns with the standard practice. For example, many organizations don't allow even people to be active on social in a selling type of way. So, check that you have the flexibility and authority to do that. "Social selling is not just for salespeople," Andreas says. "A social selling strategy is not a pure sales pitch, but it is giving the whole organization a good social profile towards the prospects out there." 

What are the specific tips on training and overall social selling organization? 

One of the first things you should do is appoint someone responsible. "So have someone who is waking up in the morning thinking about social selling," Andreas explains. "That's the very first thing that helps with organizing," Andreas explains. Social selling also needs senior leadership commitments because it takes time to show value. It often needs ramping up time, which requires commitment and buy-in from the senior leadership. Make sure those social role models are put in a special position because that will help others use them as an example. 

It is also essential to define a goal with your stakeholders. Figure out what "good" looks like and what KPIs you want to measure people on, even if it's not leading directly to transactional business. In addition: start small, learn from any mistakes, and then scale up. It is easiest to apply a phased approach throughout your organization. Start with one sales team or region, a subset of 10 or 20 social sellers, and you make their little bubble of social selling successful, then you have a team that becomes a role model for the organization. Then you get that buy-in from the sales organization organically. 

What are your best practices for content in general? 

In essence, social selling is content. Focusing on a specific topic or a particular industry lets you create content that is much more relevant for the audience out there. With limited resources, you can test the model end to end. As an organization, looking into a team that focuses on specific products helps you be spot-on with the content. And it's so much more relevant for prospects and clients out there. 

In social selling, you must refrain from being a machine that pushes corporate content; doing so isn't credible and doesn't help you as a seller. One of the good things about social selling is you're building your personal brand. You give yourself credibility. You can't do that if you just post content for your organization. Once you combine the corporate content with content complementary to what you produced, you become credible. "I would say a mix of maybe 60-70% corporate quality content, maybe 20% competitive content that you may share or comment on, and then some stuff that is coming from analysts or the like," Andreas elaborates, "If you are a subject-matter expert, I trust your expertise."  

 

What are the most critical social selling aspects you want marketers to consider? 

When you try to sell something, be in a position where you create assets for sellers that have value for the people that read and listen. Talk more about the real benefit for a client and see social selling as a programmatic approach rather than a campaign you run for a while. Social selling should span all quarters and have phases, but it should be a continuous flow of content for sellers to ensure they're successful with that. 

For a large sales team, would one person on the marketing side be able to manage the social selling program?  

"It's very hard in the beginning to assign more resources on something that is very new to a lot of people," Andreas states, "and so it doesn't stop with one person, and social selling is a team play." You will have organizations supporting content, people that write blogs, PR, and the AR team, but you need someone orchestrating that. From there, you can move away from a one-person show and have one individual focus on the overall program and one on training. After that, you can outsource a lot. If you are a lean organization, outsourcing to agencies and giving them specific tasks would be wise—training can also be outsourced. You will end up having two or three people on that very topic, and they're coordinating all those contributors and stakeholders in such a process. 

How long does implementing a successful social selling program for a large salesforce within an organization take?  

It typically takes six to nine months to see consistent results, but if you have a large sales organization, it can take a couple of years. Another important aspect is to keep a good communication channel between the marketing team, who is tracking the program, and the sellers out there doing the social selling. As you progress in your program, you need a way of monitoring conversations and leads that are developing from social media efforts. 

"When someone would ask me: How long does it take, I would almost always say, it depends on what you'd like to achieve, right?" Andreas states. If you want to see sales impact, greater reach in the community, or promote your company's brand, the result time can vary. It's all about the KPIs. 

You also need to remember the importance of defining your goals upfront. Implement very early success gates that you want to pass to keep the organization motivated to continue. And it also helps to be realistic; you will not sell a half million deal in the first three weeks, but you can gain a share of voice on social on a specific topic. Social selling substitutes many activities you would normally invest in paid social because everything generated by yourself doesn't cost you money. This knowledge helps you build a case in the very beginning on the pure visibility in the network and then move on to how it converts into leads and opportunities.  

In conclusion, communication is key, both internally and externally. Depending on your goals, professional and effective social selling can be a slow process, but it will be worth your while. So don't get frustrated! Following Andreas' expert tips will set you up for future success.