Social Selling
Quick definition
Using social media, especially LinkedIn, to build relationships with prospects and create sales opportunities.
Detailed explanation
Social selling is about strategically using social media platforms to expand your network, demonstrate thought leadership, and build trust with potential customers - long before you make a sales pitch. It's the modern equivalent of networking and relationship building. On LinkedIn this means: an optimized profile that showcases your expertise, regularly sharing valuable content that helps your target audience, authentically connecting with your ICP, and engaging on prospects' posts. Social selling works because people buy from people they know, trust, and see as experts. According to LinkedIn, sales professionals with a high Social Selling Index have 45% more sales opportunities and a 51% higher chance of hitting quota.
Synonyms
Examples
An SDR shares 3 posts weekly about sales challenges and best practices, comments on prospects' posts with valuable insights, and sends personalized connection requests that reference shared content → 40% acceptance rate and 20% convert to conversations
An AE builds thought leadership by sharing case studies, hosting webinars, and writing articles about industry trends. Prospects approach her proactively because they see her as an expert in the field.
When to use this?
Use social selling as a long-term strategy alongside your outbound cadences. It works best in B2B sales with longer sales cycles where trust and expertise matter. Invest at least 30 minutes daily in authentic engagement.
Match-day approach
Match-day builds social selling programs for your entire team. We optimize LinkedIn profiles for credibility, develop content calendars with relevant material, and train your team in authentic engagement. We also create battle-tested templates for connection requests and DMs that don't feel "salesy." Our clients see that social selling increases their cold outreach acceptance rates by 2-3x.
Learn more
Wil je weten hoe je social selling effectief inzet in jouw organisatie? Neem contact op met Match-day.
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