by Jeff Molander, Conversation Enablement Coach, Speaker & Founder at Communications Edge Inc.

social selling speaker sales speakerTime to read: 2 minutes. Most content marketing speakers, social media experts or social selling speakers are proclaiming, “engaging content drives sales.” But in reality even the most engaging blogs, YouTube videos, Facebook updates, LinkedIn discussions and other forms of content marketing fail to produce leads and sales. For most businesses, engaging customers creates profitless prosperity—impressive marketing statistics that don’t ultimately, directly help generate leads and sales. The businesses who DO create leads and sales using social selling know something the rest of us don’t.

Why we’re failing to sell with engagement

Most of us are failing to sell with engaging social media because we’re building our content marketing on an outdated foundation. We’re clinging to mass media advertising ideas and values. Rather, we should be exploiting direct response marketing tactics. This is the secret sauce, the untold truth that top social sellers realize and act on. It’s how they are making social media sell for them.

Why do so many of us pursue getting “Liked” on Facebook or followed on Twitter? Because of this single idea: getting lots of customers’ attention (reach) over and over (frequency) is enough to earn a sale… somehow, sometime. You know… this is how advertising works. Now I’m not saying attention doesn’t matter. It does. I’m simply saying it’s not enough. Stopping at earning customers fleeting attention is a sure-fire losing strategy online.

What to do in order to make the sale

Today’s best social sellers do not believe for a minute that exposure to engaging content will result in a sale. They have no trust that it will produce a lead. Rather, they believe in, and execute on, carefully mixing in calls-to-action. The content they create solves customers problems or vividly demonstrates (proves… think “infomercial”) compelling experiences relating to their service.

The best way to sell on Facebook is to solve customers’ problems (yes “for free”) in ways that earn trust and ultimately help them navigate their way toward your paid products and services.

Flip the paradigm!

Don’t get sucked into the profitless prosperity black hole! When I speak to audiences I encourage them to think (and act!) in terms of direct response marketing when engaging with social media and content marketing. Ron Perlstien says, “Frequency is the benefit of success, not the key to success.” In other words, you can increase frequency when you generate sales revenue!

Photo credit Michael Holden

Jeff Molander
Jeff Molander

In 1999, I co-founded what became the Google Affiliate Network and Performics Inc. where I helped secure 2 rounds of funding and built the sales team. I've been selling for over 2 decades.

After this stint, I returned to what was then Molander & Associates Inc. In recent years we re-branded to Communications Edge Inc., a member-driven laboratory of sorts. We study, invent and test better ways to communicate -- specializing in serving sales and marketing professionals.

I'm a coach and creator of the Spark Selling™ communication methodology—a curiosity-driven way to start and advance conversations. When I'm not working you'll find me hiking, fishing, gardening and investing time in my family.

In 1999, I co-founded what became the Google Affiliate Network and Performics Inc. where I helped secure 2 rounds of funding and built the sales team. I've been selling for over 2 decades.

After this stint, I returned to what was then Molander & Associates Inc. In recent years we re-branded to Communications Edge Inc., a member-driven laboratory of sorts. We study, invent and test better ways to communicate -- specializing in serving sales and marketing professionals.

I'm a coach and creator of the Spark Selling™ communication methodology—a curiosity-driven way to start and advance conversations. When I'm not working you'll find me hiking, fishing, gardening and investing time in my family.

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