Social selling

What is social selling?

Social selling is using professional networks such as LinkedIn to find, research and engage buyers. Sellers keep a credible professional profile, find the right people at target accounts, share useful insight and build relationships over time, often through warm introductions from mutual connections. LinkedIn describes those four activities as the pillars of social selling and scores them in its Social Selling Index.

Why it matters to a revenue leader

Buyers research sellers before they agree to meet. Social selling affects pipeline generation and access to referrals, especially with buyer groups that are active on professional networks, such as property managers, facility directors and consulting engineers. It works best as a steady habit tied to a list of target accounts. Occasional posting with no account focus rarely turns into meetings, so managers should judge it by the conversations it starts.

A commercial roofing rep follows 40 facility directors at target accounts. When one posts about storm damage across a regional portfolio, the rep shares a short note on documenting damage for insurance claims. The rep then asks a mutual connection, a property manager the company already serves, for an introduction. The director agrees to a site walk the following week.