SOCIAL SALES
| WHITE PAPER
SOCIAL SALES:
THE PATH TO REAL ROI
Meagan Herfkens
August 2013
888.990.3777 | +1 415.692.6230 | [email protected]
SOCIAL SALES: THE PATH TO ROI
| © 2013 HEARSAY SOCIAL
www.hearsaysocial.com
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SOCIAL SALES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
HARNESS THE THUNDERING HERD 5
JOIN THE PARTY 7
BUILD CREDIBILITY 8
MANAGING SOCIAL SALES 9
RESULTS 10
Sales Growth 10
Additional Benefits 11
CONCLUSION 11
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 12
ABOUT HEARSAY SOCIAL 13
SOCIAL SALES: THE PATH TO ROI
| © 2013 HEARSAY SOCIAL
www.hearsaysocial.com
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SOCIAL SALES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Harnessing the power of a sales representative’s social network is as much of
a part of sales as the cold call. For decades, sales managers have targeted
individuals with “a strong rolodex” in order to maximize their likelihood for
success in sales. On top of hiring individuals with solid professional networks,
sales managers have built countless training programs focused on teaching
salespeople to effectively utilize their personal and professional networks in order
to generate business. Historically, sales reps that understood how to effectively
engage and expand their existing connections rose to the top and became
consistent top performers.
The value of “a strong rolodex” for a salesperson still holds true today. The rise
of online social networks has made the process of harnessing these networks
significantly more efficient and powerful. This is true because online social
networks act just like social networks in the physical world. Online social
networks provide the context, familiarity, and trust that allow good salespeople
to effectively establish credible rapport and warm relationships, just like personal
contacts and connections would facilitate in an offline world.
With nearly 50 leading financial services firms and over 50,000 salespeople using
Hearsay Social to drive social sales, we are witnessing the emergence of social
sales best practices. Hearsay Social is able to measure the return on investment
(ROI) for social selling activities with aggregated industry data across these firms.
This paper outlines best practices for generating a solid ROI for social sales and
provides insight into the results.
In general, organizations that derive the highest value and quickest ROI from
social sales follow this pattern:
•
•
•
•
Enable their teams to establish a branded, consistent, but personal
presence on the social networks.
Help their teams grow their online social networks and add connections.
Provide their teams with an efficient way to listen for key events in the lives of
individuals across their social networks.
Empower their salespeople to establish credibility as experts in their field as a
trusted advisor.
Companies who follow the best practices outlined above are seeing significant
ROI and making additional investments in their social selling efforts.
SOCIAL SALES: THE PATH TO ROI
| © 2013 HEARSAY SOCIAL
www.hearsaysocial.com
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SOCIAL SALES
RESULTS INCLUDE:
•
•
•
A-B testing reveals that social sales teams generate 11% - 23% in increased
sales relative to either teams who are not leveraging social media or the same
teams’ performance before they leveraged social media.
Deployments that successfully establish broad networks surfaced an average of
one key life-event (births, deaths, marriages, graduations, moves, etc.) alert per
salesperson per day.
At the highest level, average annual network growth is greater than 20%.
Social sales reps who grow their networks at a consistently higher sustained
pace than their peers have been found to also be consistently the highest
performers.
SOCIAL SALES: THE PATH TO ROI
| © 2013 HEARSAY SOCIAL
www.hearsaysocial.com
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SOCIAL SALES
HARNESS THE THUNDERING HERD
The most effective social selling companies harness the power of their sales
force’s network by enabling their team to create a consistent, personalized brand
presence across the web, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and by
helping them continually grow their networks.
When deciding to work with a new representative or looking for a service
provider, online searches are often a first step for a buyer. The first step of
creating pages and profiles on the social networks makes sales representatives
significantly easier to find. Google search results, more often than not, return
results from LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter as the top results for any search
containing a name.
For example:
When deciding to work with a new representative or looking for a service
provider, online searches are often a first step for a buyer. The first step of
creating pages and profiles on the social networks makes sales representatives
significantly easier to find. Google search results, more often than not, return
results from LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter as the top results for any search
containing a name.
For example:
SOCIAL SALES: THE PATH TO ROI
| © 2013 HEARSAY SOCIAL
www.hearsaysocial.com
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SOCIAL SALES
Plus, some buyers go directly to social networks, such as LinkedIn, to evaluate
a representative’s professional background and understand how they are
connected. If a buyer can’t find a rep on LinkedIn, the sales rep can instantly lose
credibility.
Showing up in search results is only part of the equation. Being a findable sales
representative means that a rep’s online presence accurately represents their
products, services, and/or expertise. Leading social sales organizations help reps
by providing them with clear and consistent content on both the company and
its products, making it easy for reps to build credible profiles. Helping the sales
team represent themselves and the brand requires a cross-functional approach.
Organizations must create the content, distribute it to the field, and develop
discipline to maintain accurate and useful content over time. This effort proves
worthwhile because a successful program provides search engine optimization
(SEO) benefits for both the individual salesperson as well as the brand.
Unlike rolodexes and CRM data, social networks remain current because
individuals update their own profiles regularly. Plus, with focus from the sales
reps, networks will continue to grow rather than growing stale over time like an
old-fashioned rolodex. There are several techniques for helping the sales team
expand their social networks that center around training. Sales organizations
must encourage representatives to add contacts to their networks upon email or
in-person introductions or after successful meetings. As with any sales operation,
folding the measurement of network growth into the normal sales review
process, along with clear targets and KPIs, helps to drive performance across the
organization.
SOCIAL SALES: THE PATH TO ROI
| © 2013 HEARSAY SOCIAL
www.hearsaysocial.com
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SOCIAL SALES
JOIN THE PARTY
Leading salespeople are always focused on how to stay top of mind and
how to best understand their clients and prospects. Through online social
networks, clients and prospects are providing a consistent stream of important
information about their lives and buying needs to their sales representatives. For
salespeople, it can be like going to a party with all their clients and prospects
every day–a party where you can hear all the conversations and engage your
connections in ongoing dialogues. The best social salespeople listen carefully to
the dialogue and hear when their contacts say, “this is what I’m looking for and
this is how I want to buy it.”
Great social sales leaders are providing their teams with ways to listen in,
separate out the noise, and get productive with the information clients and
prospects are sharing.
The ability to effectively listen for social signals helps sales reps by:
•
Delivering more opportunities to engage with clients and prospects
•
Reducing the time to develop rapport and trust with prospects
•
Providing relevant context for reps to start warm conversations
•
Surfacing life events to add value and generate sales opportunities
SOCIAL SALES: THE PATH TO ROI
| © 2013 HEARSAY SOCIAL
www.hearsaysocial.com
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SOCIAL SALES
BUILD CREDIBILITY
The final step in developing solid ROI from social sales is to help the sales team
both position themselves as experts in their field and to remain current on issues
that affect their clients’ businesses.
Top social selling organizations provide targeted marketing materials, relevant
industry information, and lifestyle content to help their teams demonstrate and
share expertise in a consistent, yet personal manner. We have observed that
leading social sales organizations partner with their marketing organization to
integrate social sales into every marketing campaign. In the most successful
organizations, social is not perceived as an “add-on” function, but instead is an
integrated part of sales and marketing programs.
By sharing relevant and useful content with social networks, social sales reps
can become trusted advisors and valuable, ongoing go-to resources for their
contacts.
SOCIAL SALES: THE PATH TO ROI
| © 2013 HEARSAY SOCIAL
www.hearsaysocial.com
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SOCIAL SALES
MANAGING SOCIAL SALES
With an increased emphasis on research and networking activities online, sales
management can measure and manage progress through data-driven reviews
of these important sales activities. Top social sales organizations integrate this
review of social selling skills and performance into their regular sales review
cycles.
Four key areas of measurement for successful social sales include:
Social Sales Goal
Be Findable
KPI
% Approved Profiles
Grow Your Network
% Network Growth
Research and Act on
Buying Signals
Be Credible
• # Social Signals
• Social Signals/Target
• # Social Posts
• % Social Post/Target
Definition
# completed, approved rep profiles live divided
by # of total reps
% month-over-month growth in connections/
followers across one’s network
• # warm leads via social media in a month
• % of warm leads via social media vs. goal
• # Posts made on social network in a month
• % posts via social media vs. goal
Below is an example of a monthly social selling scorecard showing KPIs by region
as used in top social sales organizations:
KPI Card- April
Be Findable
Regions
Northeast
Tri State
Mid-Atlantic
Southeast
Mid-West
Southwest
Northwest
% Approved
Profiles
Grow
Network
Network
Growth
67%
83%
71%
66%
87%
81%
93%
4%
22%
12%
16%
11%
23%
14%
SOCIAL SALES: THE PATH TO ROI
| © 2013 HEARSAY SOCIAL
Research and Act on
Buying Signals
Social
Social
Signals
Signals/
Target
1,089
88%
3,113
102%
1,734
79%
1,419
97%
1,667
112%
1,574
101%
926
93%
Be Credible
Social Posts
% Social
Post/ Target
1,883
7,320
3,402
2,765
3,334
2,430
3,245
86%
118%
98%
97%
100%
85%
115%
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SOCIAL SALES
RESULTS
SALES GROWTH
Leading companies have been actively selling socially for up to three years,
affording them the opportunity to develop and deploy enterprise-wide programs.
In the last year, we have seen these organizations begin to analyze the ROI
in more sophisticated ways. While few organizations have done complete
integrations with existing CRM or policy management systems, we are seeing
companies move beyond anecdotal evidence to measurable results.
Clients across several areas of financial services have conducted A-B testing on
the impact of social media on sales. The tests in most instances were conducted
with Group A having opted into the social sales program and consisted of active
users of social media. Group B typically consisted of sales professionals of a
similar profile who were not actively using social media to promote themselves or
their business.
The results varied within a fairly narrow range with companies reporting that
the social sales professionals deliver between 14 and 23
percent better sales results as a group. While there were
14-23% average
some variations between the sub-verticals within financial
increase in sales
services, the most striking differences were within Group A.
vs. control group
Intuitively, across the board, it appears that social selling has
the highest impact on revenue growth for salespeople who
are actively growing their book of business.
Some clients tested these findings by looking at
longitudinal data. Here, the testing was done on
11-22% average
a single set of sales professionals. The first set of
increase in sales
data (group A) was drawn from a period where they
vs. prior time
were actively using social sales techniques and the
period without
second set of data (group B) from a period before
social
the same sales professionals used social sales. The
results held. The data revealed that, using social
media, the same professionals generated between
11 and 22 percent more sales than during the period when they were not selling
socially.
SOCIAL SALES: THE PATH TO ROI
| © 2013 HEARSAY SOCIAL
www.hearsaysocial.com
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SOCIAL SALES
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS
In addition to measurable increases in productivity, companies who implemented
social sales initiatives experienced a number of secondary benefits, including
network growth and increased lead volume.
Average Sustained Growth in
Professional Network Size
Average Number of Social Signals
Delivered
23% annual network growth
One per salesperson per day
CONCLUSION
After up to three years of social sales, it is evident that leading organizations are
effectively leveraging the power of social networks to increase sales in financial
services. This success comes as little surprise because online social networks
function similarly to the real-life social networks that sales professionals have
relied on for decades. We have observed that a well-sponsored social sales
program, fully integrated into the fabric of the sales process is essential in driving
ROI. With a robust social selling program, there are top-line benefits not only for
the top producers, but also for the broader sales team. Social selling is quickly
transitioning from an opt-in program to a fundamental requirement for sales
success.
SOCIAL SALES: THE PATH TO ROI
| © 2013 HEARSAY SOCIAL
www.hearsaysocial.com
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SOCIAL SALES
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
E-BOOK | The Social Era Demands Social Selling
How sales organizations can leverage social networks to grow business.
Download >
FORRESTER REPORT | The Future Of Social Selling
Sales professionals must join marketing and take a customer-centric approach to
how they engage with both customers and prospects.
Download >
WHITE PAPER | How to Create Your Social Media Plan & Policy
A complete corporate guide for social media executives.
Download >
BLOG | Hearsay Social Blog
Regular updates on social media for business, social sales best practices, and
regulatory changes.
Read >
SOCIAL SALES: THE PATH TO ROI
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www.hearsaysocial.com
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SOCIAL SALES
ABOUT HEARSAY SOCIAL
Hearsay Social empowers global sales forces to efficiently and successfully use
social media to attract prospects, retain customers, and grow business. The
enterprise-ready solution enables sales representatives to quickly and easily
move beyond yesterday’s sales tactics and adopt today’s leading social-selling
techniques. The Hearsay Social platform boosts sales productivity and
incorporates best practices while ensuring brand integrity and compliance for
even the most regulated industries. Tens of thousands of salespeople worldwide
use Hearsay Social every day to hear and respond to everything their customers
and prospects are saying on top social networks, including Facebook, LinkedIn,
and Twitter.
• Focused on sales: The Hearsay Social platform is optimized for salespeople,
empowering them to easily adopt leading social-selling techniques to attract
prospects, retain customers, and grow business. Easy to use capabilities such
as social signals alerts, scheduling, and libraries of ready-to-publish content
provide everything sales representatives need to sell socially. Move beyond
tired sales tactics and successfully adopt leading social-selling techniques.
• Enterprise ready: Hearsay Social’s flexible platform integrates seamlessly
with existing systems, hierarchies, and workflows so that organizations can
rollout successful social selling programs at unprecedented scale, while being
highly efficient for administrators and meeting the compliance requirements
of the most regulated industries.
• Success included: Combining technology, services, and partnerships,
Hearsay Social is the proven leader in delivering rapid social selling success.
Including training, implementation, and account management, Hearsay Social
provides everything the enterprise needs to quickly and successfully adapt to
the social era.
Connect with us to learn more today:
www.hearsaysocial.com
Hearsay Social Blog: hearsaysocial.com/blog
Facebook: facebook.com/hearsaysocial
Twitter: @HearsaySocial
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/hearsay-social
Google+: http://plus.google.com/+HearsaySocial
SOCIAL SALES: THE PATH TO ROI
| © 2013 HEARSAY SOCIAL
www.hearsaysocial.com
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