Yes, social media improves client or member engagement,  and brand awareness, but wouldn’t it be nice if Social Media could actually grow revenue as well?

Here are four ways that Social Media can be used to sell services.

1. Create a business Profile: While some people think of their own profiles as “personal” or “private” they are not. To ensure that prospective clients see you as a credible and trustworthy source and actually contact you – create a profile that reflects your experience and knowledge, and demonstrates that you are the company to address their problem. In other words, your profile may determine if they will meet you.
2. Scan for opportunities: Instead of “conversations”, use your Social Media time to look for organizations that have a problem you can solve. The clues come from three key places: status updates from your connections, questions asked in LinkedIn groups, and queries on Twitter. Set yourself up to monitor these sources using a tool like Hootsuite.
3. Pick up the phone: Before any critical meeting, check the prospect’s footprint on the major social networks. Beyond getting clues about the prospect’s background – and what is important to them – their profile will expose your mutual connections. Pick up the phone to these people to learn even more about your prospect’s motivations and modus operandi. Then start your sales meeting with a question: “I notice that we both know [insert connection’s name] – how did you meet them?”
4. Build a referral network: Referrals are the lifeblood of a successful sales effort.  Testimonials that appear as LinkedIn Recommendations, Endorsements, and LinkedIn company page followership are examples of this.

These suggestions mirror a traditional sales process:  Awareness, Prospecting, Meeting, and then post-sales referral.  The goal is alignment to your brand.

This week’s action plan:  Change how you use your social network: become more active on your social platforms. Are you a member of any groups on LinkedIn – if so, do you participate in any discussions? What are some problems you can solve? Use your Social Media to do research, then pick up the phone: a computer is not your client: a real person is.