Facts at your Fingertips

customer ‘solution’. I would call this approach Solution Selling3, a new facet of the more

The world of the lowly sales rep has changed having either lunch or drinks at the end of the day. In fact, 11:30am or 4:30pm appointments were

established solution selling. So what part does social media play? Next time you are in a social gathering, just look at how many people are glued to their phones exchanging information. Some of that information could be gold dust for you. It could have the potential to really differentiate you in a competitive pitch, if only you knew how to get hold of it. So let’s consider the following scenario: three salespeople from three different companies approach a camera If you think social media is all about viral videos of cute animals and gossiping about the latest reality TV star, think again. Social media is 55% of B2B buyers search for information on social media (source: MediaBistro) range of camera accessories. All three have great stories about their wares: they know their product range, price points and delivery. Salesman A is going to do a good, old-fashioned, sales pitch: “Here are my products, they are increasingly a tool that can help sales better than those you already buy and marketing professionals pursue new from our competitors, for the following clients, offering them meaningful, relevant reasons.” In short, Salesman A is only insights to improve their businesses. Social media showcasing the products and letting the potential is the way to go to beat targets, improve your hit client identify what they might want. rate and, ultimately, enhance your career. Saleswoman B is planning a similarly traditional

dramatically over the last ten years. The pace of business is ever faster and potential clients just “next time you are in a don’t have time to look at products on the off social gathering just look chance they could be interesting (and if they did, I would suggest they are not the potential clients you at how many people are should be talking to in the first place). I have over 25 years of experience in sales. When I first started, the majority of calls involved glued to their phones exchanging information” manufacturer to sell them a new the norm. This worked really well for me, as the solution sale and is going to use all the skills she more calls I made the fewer meals I had to has learned to probe the prospect to find out what prepare when I got home. But how many potential problems they believe they have and offer the clients have time to sit down for lunch nowadays? solutions to those problems. The message is, “I will give you what I think you need to sort out the solution selling3 problems we both believe you have.” When you call on a client or prospect today, they Salesman C, though, is going to adopt a are already likely to have carried out considerable Solution Selling3 approach. Before meeting the online research and decided to call in their top client he is going to conduct a social media three potential suppliers. As a result, salespeople in analysis of their range of cameras and the range the 21st century have to be able to harvest all the offered by the client’s nearest competitor. He will information they can relating to their potential then be armed with information to use as the customer, their own product and their market in foundation of his sales presentation. He will know order to ensure they are seen as being part of the specifically what people like and dislike about

Case study 1: Hardware ManufaCturer

a well-known manufacturer wanted to know what people were saying about a particular model of camera it had recently released. an initial analysis quickly determined: 1. it was getting considerably more negative comments than expected 2. users were complaining about one part of the hardware in particular 3. Most complainants were male and the peak of complaints came on a Monday morning. the camera manufacturer then ran a comparison analysis between this model and a direct competitor. the competitor’s hardware had less than 10% of the negativity expressed as a percentage of posts and considerably more positivity overall. By delving into the results more closely, it found that, while it did have some technical issues, the real problem was that it had positioned its model incorrectly in its marketplace. By repositioning it, the firm expects to have a much better outcome in terms of happy customers – and sales.

these products, having listened to both. His presentation will revolve around what has been learned from this research. Having listened to both the prospect’s customers and to the needs of the prospect, Salesman C can position himself as someone who can truly add value. He would be able, confidently and insightfully, to present the problem and suggest the solution: “Do you realise that over the last month, although your customers

are saying great things about your warranty, they do not seem to like your lenses or your tripods? In fact, the tripods supplied by your competitor get much better reviews. You should consider looking at a different supplier.”

This is the sort of winning edge that will make the difference, as you are showing that: l You have carried out research l You have identified a problem (that the prospects may not even know they have yet) l You are offering them a solution. And how much time and effort has Salesman C had to invest to gather information deemed valuable in the eyes of the budget holders? Case study 2: PubliC seCtor

a hospital trust used social media analysis to investigate patient feedback information. it wanted to focus as early as possible on the key issues affecting patient satisfaction, while also listening out for early warning of emergency issues. in this particular instance, it was able to determine very quickly that patients had some problems with its pharmacy, which it was subsequently able to rectify. it had no awareness of the problems until it ran this Jon HalestraP is VP of analysis. it is now regularly using the tool to business development at help determine the best use of its limited TheySay, a text analytics company founded by Oxford University financial resources. computational linguists. He specialises in implementing social media sentiment and text analysis He probably spent no more than 20 minutes on to improve business performance. Email jon.halestrap@theysay.io, visit www.theysay.io or tweet this – but a precious 20 minutes if spent correctly, which could greatly increase his chance of @TheySayLtd winning the deal. This analysis is also a great way of ensuring that you retain your existing customers – because you can consistently give feedback on results of strategies by looking at what people are saying about the products and the competition. Solution Selling3 works equally well for B2B as for B2C – just use the available information to your advantage. The technique can be used by sales and marketing professionals, and others, across all sectors, to find out what people are saying about products, services or brands – and 61% competitors. The case studies above show how social media of US marketers sentiment analysis and text use social media for analytics can increase sales and lead generation customer satisfaction, and (source: IBM) maximise customer retention. So in summary what advantages can social media text analysis give you? There are three main areas of knowledge: 1. Market knowledge Spend 20 minutes setting up some analysis streams for your sector, so you understand market trends fully, inform your customers and add real value. 2. Prospect knowledge Spend as little as 10 minutes setting up an analysis of a target customer. It will enable you to see what is being said about them or their competition, giving you competitive insight and advantage. 3. Customer knowledge What better way to get to know your customers than by seeing what is being said about them? Give them feedback too, to help them grow, and they will come to regard you as a trusted adviser and could end up needing more of what you’re selling.