Only Good Social Relationships Breed Good B2B Sales - 5 Proven Tips

If you have ever tried to sell, I mean really sell, it can be hell. Let's be honest here. Selling for a living is no piece of cake. Even if you are great at it, have an amazing personality, are a really good person at the core, competition can kill you. Other "sales killers" can include, and not limited to:

• Wrong target
• Not the right time for the buyer or they don't know what they want or when they want it
• A moving target that doesn't want to be chased
• Lack of budget or no knowledge of having a budget
• Buyer wants to change the terms and unwilling to negotiate
• Buyer can't make a decision
• Buyer sees you as replaceable
• You have NO relationship with the buyer

And many more...but the point of me writing this, as I do with all my other LinkedIn Writing Posts and my LinkedIn Sales Books is to share my own experiences and secrets with you so that maybe you can avoid some mistakes I have made and get sales in the winning column (like #201 my favorite Patriot, Tom Brady did today - congrats G.O.A.T) Believe me I have sold for the largest companies (IBM and A&T) mid-market companies, small businesses and my own consultancy and training business. I know the nuances of B2B selling!

So my title here, Only Good Social Relationships Breed Good Social Sales  and the second part I would put as "Brutal Honesty in Sales" (and in being a Buyer) is all about the need anyone in sales has to first create real, authentic relationships and know the person they are selling to before they can actually sell to them!

In my experience the best social selling relationships start with having a social ecosystem strategy. Who do you want in your inner Linkedin circles i.e. your 1st network, your LinkedIn groups, your associations? Who is already there and do they fit your profile of an influencer or target? Have you defined these profiles? If you can't answer these questions, start now.

In the world of social selling, a necessary second step is to start to build a digital relationship with your intended buyers. How do you do this? There are many ways but for the sake of an easy read, here are 5 quick LinkedIn Selling actions you can do daily:

1.Acting as a resource, especially on LinkedIn, where you can be a networking source to refer qualified business professionals to a prospect

2.Sharing timely and important(valuable to their business) types of content For this, of course, I would suggest engaging in the build of an appropriate content marketing plan and content calendar that keeps your buyer's needs and interests in mind. It should include both original and 3rd party content. Since I do a ton of content marketing for my clients, I suggest you read a previous post I wrote on Content Marketing Best Practices when you have a moment.

3. Checking in with them when things change. For this LinkedIn Sales Navigator is fairly awesome. I train companies who are super serious about B2B selling on using the tool in the best manner, but a simple tip is to save your accounts and leads and do daily monitoring on related people and account changes that give you a reason to reach out to them.

4. This is my personal favorite and my personal mission to making the business world a better place to live in, so to speak. BE HONEST AND ASK YOUR BUYER TO BE HONEST! That may seem strange and I hope it does. But the only way you can have a real , respected business relationship is to be honest. Not just the sales person, but the buyer as well. You have to ask the buyer to be honest. If they want to waste your time, ask them! If they have no money, ask them! In sales, you are very valuable! You also have to practice what you preach. This goes back to what I teach my Personal Branding clients - assess your strengths and stick to them. In sales this means, if you promise you can do something well, make sure you can before you sell yourself. In B2B sales, it is just as much as you selling yourself and how you will act once the sale is closed as it is what you are selling. Anyone worth his or her salt in professional services sales can agree.

5. Make a commitment to taking your LinkedIn connections offline. I tell every LinkedIn sales audience I speak in front of that since 2004 I have met or spoken with at least 1 new LinkedIn connect a week. It is true. How else do you build relationships without starting them?

I have a new online LinkedIn course starting in 7 days "LinkedIn Sales - How to Sell Better Using LinkedIn" . For the first 100 students, I am offering a 50% off an already low, low price! Sign up to my exclusive online course discount announcement