The social media provides a powerful means of linking a business establishment with numerous potential consumers. Many companies have successfully created their customer base by using social media methods. Through social media marketing, companies can affect the views of new consumers while also increasing the loyalty of the existing consumers. In any sales practice, the sales person first has to reach the person or persons he or she wishes to suggest the new product or service to. The second phase consists of the sales person discovering the likes and dislikes of its potential customers, as well as why they have the tastes they have. The sales person then seeks to learn how his or her company can serve the potential customers with products or services that are to their liking.
In this second part of the process, the sales person gets the chance to speak directly to the potential customers and influence their decisions. In the next stage, the sales person will get an opportunity to present facts to the consumer about the products or services on offer by the company. The information given to consumers will be based on the facts that have been gathered by the sales person, as well as the suggestions on how to solve any difficulties that consumers may come across. The last stage in the sales process is based on the customer’s decision to purchase the product or service (Ustuner & Godes 2006). When consumers make the decision to purchase the product, it means that the sales person has presented his or her bid in a way that the consumer understood, and was thus motivated to make a decision based on accurate information.
Social media sites have grown to be extremely significant for sales officials. Instead of physically endeavoring to reach the entire consumer market, sales people can simply make the decision to use the social media to execute daily selling activities. Social media sites are valuable because they allow sales people to listen to different views of consumers, and also form networks with potential consumers. Social media sites also allow sales people to participate in discussions concerning various products with potential consumers. In the course of such discussions, sales people can make positive suggestions about the products or services of their companies.
On its highest level, the function of the social media mainly concerns participation. Sales people are presented with the chance to be vocal and dynamic personalities in their company's online sites. They do not actually direct the charge; they merely contribute as specialists of the subject matter. This method of influencing consumers is usually more effective than direct marketing methods that inform customers about what is best for them. Sales people are given the chance to react to queries, and disseminate their wisdom on a tactical basis. By using social media sites to network with customers and listen to their views about products, the sales people will be able to garner more information on how to get more detailed information on the tastes of consumers, and learn better ways of how to present other products to them in order to get favorable reactions.
For instance, sales people with accounts in social media sites such as ‘LinkedIn’ have access to certain facts about the consumers they are selling to such as their main contacts, who are detailed in their account. Sales people will also be able to discover whom these contacts are linked with, and figure out who they can get to introduce them to all these potential customers. A sales person can also make use of Twitter, Google, and other social media platforms to help them comprehend the needs of their customers better, as well as understand how to better develop the consumers’ businesses (Ustuner & Godes 2006). In the sites in which there are forums of discussion, a sales person can strategically influence total strangers towards preferring products that are manufactured by the sales person’s corporation.
At present, consumers spend a lot of time studying different products already in the market before making contact with the suppliers. A lot of this perusing is conducted through online channels. Social discussions on the properties of products permit a sales person to reach the buyer even before they have made the decision to start searching for the product they desire (Ustuner & Godes 2006). Consumers not only have the opportunities to research for the goods they desire, but they also express their concerns and thoughts in the public space. This means that companies can actually get a bad reputation as a result of the disclosures of disgruntled consumers. It means that businesses have to be machinated to obviate such happenings before any damage is done. It has utterly redefined the role of sales people.
Connected consumers no longer depend business organizations’ websites for information. They visit the discussion forums in social media websites to view the perspectives of other consumers before making any purchasing decisions. A sales person who is as informed about the importance of such sites can serve as specialists, educators, and consultants in such forums. Businesses should reflect on how to organize and authorize their sales teams to be social media representatives of the brand to social networks (Ustuner & Godes 2006). Sales people can also share specific editions of their blog posts with other online publications, business blogs, and industry newsletters. They could use blog posts as commercial content promotional materials. Constant training, as well as feedback systems, are fundamental for enhancing skills and recognizing both non-productive as well as productive behaviors in consumers.
Reference
Ustuner, T., & Godes, D. 2006. Better Sales Network. Harvard Business Review, pp.1-11.
