3 Digital Sales Strategies Exposed By The State of Digital Selling Report, with Kurt Shaver, Episode #120

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On this episode, I welcome back to the show, the man, the myth, the LinkedIn legend, Kurt Shaver. Kurt returns to the #SellingWithSocial podcast to discuss Vengreso’s, The State of Digital Selling Report, and the three key digital sales strategies leaders need to implement ASAP for increased pipeline growth.

For everyone who doesn’t know, Kurt is a co-founder and CSO of Vengreso. He shares the amazing insights we gleaned from the report and why branded profiles, with quality connections, and relevant content equal a winning digital sales strategy. You won’t want to miss a single minute of this episode because it is full of valuable information and real-time statistics on current sales behaviors.

Are Your Salespeople Sharing Media On Social? 

The answer is likely no. 60% of all sellers share no media on their LinkedIn profile. You may wonder why this makes a difference in your sales numbers? Kurt shares the example of Chris Sikora with CenturyLink and the merger that took place with Level 3 Communications. 

After the merger, the Level 3 sales teams had unbranded, out-of-date LinkedIn profiles and it confused prospective customers as to which company they were working with. To create a seamless and branded transition, Chris reached out to Vengreso and we worked to update and rebrand all the CenturyLink and Level 3 sales representatives’ profiles. 

With newly branded profiles, Chris encouraged the sales teams to share updated media, from videos to documents to reports on their pages. Essentially, together with Vengreso, Chris created a massive army of sales representatives with social profiles all focused on one message and the merger of the two companies became seamless for their buyers.

If The New Buyer Looks At Social Before Committing…

Then your sales teams should have updated profiles. LinkedIn, in the 2018 State of Sales Report, noted that 62% of buyers stated they check social profiles before committing to work with a brand. If this is the case, then marketing leaders need to be cognizant of what their teams are sharing with the world on social. The new buyer is less likely to reach out and get to know a company if the company does not have a professional social presence through its employees.

Encourage customer-facing team members to update their LinkedIn profiles and then provide them the branded messaging they need to exude a unified message and brand to the world. By giving them media to share and a message to perpetuate, you are enabling your teams to build authority in their local space. Authority is one of the major keys to unlock increased sales and to reach higher-level target customers.

What Is A Super Connector And Why Are They Important?

Super connectors are LinkedIn users with 5,000 connections or more. In LinkedIn’s report, the correlation between the top salespeople and those who had 5,000 or more connections on LinkedIn was high. Why? Because the more connections you have in your industry, the more potential prospects and referrals you have on your digital Rolodex. People with high numbers of valuable connections know how to leverage those connections for referrals.

Most of the respondents in our survey revealed that they had fewer than 1,000 connections. Increasing the number of quality connections in your industry beyond those people with whom you already have a relationship is a necessity for a properly engaged digital sales team. Leaders need to create connection strategies and encourage their teams to build and leverage their connections for increased sales. More than half of the respondents in the survey showed that they had not used LinkedIn to ask for an introduction or referral from someone in their network in the last three months… This is a terrible statistic that needs to change!

Why Content Sharing Should Be The Backbone Of Your Digital Sales Strategies

Once considered solely a marketing function, content sharing is a necessity for sales teams, but it is not being done. With 62% of buyers checking social media before committing to a relationship, relevant content needs to be on the salesperson’s page. This goes back to the authority building that is so important in the digital space. 

78% of survey respondents stated that they had either never shared or occasionally shared content on their profile. This means they are not raising their visibility or credibility. Kurt says this is the new skill for salespeople to learn and it is one area that allows your business to beat your competition. Listen to learn the four steps to a solid digital sales strategy and why you need to implement one now!

Outline of This Episode

• [01:16] Welcome back to the show Kurt Shaver, Vengreso’s CSO and LinkedIn expert.
• [03:06] Kurt shares two things you’d never know about him from his social profiles, and they are good!
• [06:04] Learn why Vengreso’s State of Digital Selling report is insightful for sales leaders.
• [08:07] Why should more salespeople share media on their branded LinkedIn profiles? 
• [15:00] Most sales professionals are not super connectors. Learn how this affects the bottom line.
• [22:45] Why the vast referral network created on LinkedIn is wasted by the average seller.
• [29:31] Sharing content is an important new digital selling skill.
• [37:40] Why properly utilizing LinkedIn requires more than just training and re-training.
• [39:58] Kurt shares his all-time favorite movie and the character he likes best!

Resources Mentioned

• The State of Digital Selling Report
• Kurt on LinkedIn
• Kurt on Twitter: @KurtShaver
• Seamless.AI
• Implementing The PVC Sales Methodology For LinkedIn Social Selling, Episode #111
• Modern Sales Leaders Need To Follow These 3 Techniques with Kurt Shaver, Episode #80
• Constant Improvement Through Sales AI And A Purpose-Driven Mindset with Brandon Bornancin, Episode #74
• Modern Marketing Engine Podcast – Bernie Borges

Connect with Mario!

• www.vengreso.com
• On Facebook
• On Twitter
• On YouTube
• On LinkedIn

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