Social Selling

Cisco Confidential 1© 2013-2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

© 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 1

Leslie Lau (@lelau)Global Social Media MarketingCisco Systems

May 2014

Leveraging “Likes” into Sales


The Current Landscape

Agenda

The Program

Sales Rep Success

Takeaways

Sync


70% of a customers buying decision is now made based on information he or she finds online, well before a salesperson has a chance to get involved.

85% of all business tech buyers engage in some form of social activity while working.

Effective use of sales intelligence increases revenue productivity per sales rep by 17%.”

Buying Behaviors


The Customer Journey Has Evolved

93%Use public

search engines as the initial point

of information discovery

88%Suggest that

social channels are strong

influencers during the decision

process

67%Of the buyer’s journey is now done digitally

with online searches the first course of action

75%Rate websites as important primary

sources of information in the decision making

process

44%Expect a smart

phone or tablet to be their

primary device for business

60%Will use support

forums and technical

discussion groups to inform the

purchase decision

“Loyalty Loop”

Source: Ant’s Eye View


Leveraging Insights Along the Buyer JourneyBuyer Center Touch Points

Explore

Unmask visitor

Sense & engage

Provide audience specific content & engagement triggers

Engagement score alerts email “push”

Opens email, visits Cisco blog

Calls to Cisco rep

Click to chat,virtual events,online activities

Personalized offers and programs

Seeks support,engages in online dialogue Call care

FREE TRIALSearch

Cisco Actions

This means… Calling sales/customer service is not the first step Multiple touch points are needed to facilitate buying cycle Research process reaches beyond company’s platforms Sales reps have an opportunity to engage customers early in the buyer journey

Buyer Journey vs. Cisco Actions

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=eLVi-SGQRux8MM&tbnid=xp_UIt19XBmS2M:&ved=0CAgQjRwwAA&url=http://www.clker.com/clipart-walking-icon.html&ei=IAT2UauWFu_DiwKwxIGQDw&psig=AFQjCNFuca_OKI-vYNCe8Gzy4VbZYZBMSA&ust=1375163808398035

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=FXNviEBXeN9DcM&tbnid=Jc4QQfhBP1bzmM:&ved=0CAgQjRwwAA&url=http://publipage.com/blog&ei=xJb2UY6UD8S6rgHdxIC4Dw&psig=AFQjCNG8b6Wj6tFUaENy8K_GUPA804Wvqw&ust=1375201348338046

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=xvZ0CVMOgcRhNM&tbnid=yEQNtpEm7Nu5DM:&ved=&url=http://www.iconarchive.com/show/icons8-metro-style-icons-by-visualpharm/Phones-Headset-icon.html&ei=CKT2Ufn8EYrEiwKJ1oCoBA&psig=AFQjCNGJimFLoHCFtY4Me5v4nKpLCG44lg&ust=1375204744330938

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=computer+screen+icon+white&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=vOUz7sD_uN72KM&tbnid=eTrWc5M37OLRnM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.123rf.com/photo_16331845_cloud-computing-concept-computer-display-with-cloud-icon-vector-illustration.html&ei=oKT2UeeFN8aIiAKi8ID4Ag&bvm=bv.49967636,d.cGE&psig=AFQjCNFgSyjqFWGFQGlbxO17gn63YNMRSQ&ust=1375204884287713





The Program


Social Selling Program

Social Profiles

Account Reach

Engagement

Content


SALES REPRESENTATIVES 6 virtual account representatives in the US Mid-Market Commercial and Public Sector

PROCESSES Conducted social media training Developed custom profile pages to support

social branding Provided LinkedIn premium accounts Created sales rep introduction videos and

hosted on YouTube Curated social content Hosted Tweet-a-Thons

Social Selling Proof of Concept




Social Selling Capabilities KPIs

Sales Qualified Leads

Social Media Reach (1K New Connections)

Content Engagement

$590K

24% LI

1,500 Page Views

Key Performance Indicators• LinkedIn Training• Video Introductions• Profile OptimizationS

ocia

l P

rofi

les

Accou

nt

Reach

En

gag

em

en

t

• SFDC to LinkedIn Sync• Account Intelligence• Social Account Matching

• Social Content Curation• Tweet-a-Thons• Social Selling Intensives

Social Media Capabilities


Sales Rep Success


Improve existing marketing methods using engagement techniques

Sales Rep A fully embraced LinkedIn

1. She introduced herself to everyone and offered to help answer any questions.

2. She was able to learn about customer projects

The ResultIntroduction into large school district that no one had been able to connect with for 2 years. Ultimately, led to $177K opportunity.


Improve existing marketing methods using nurturing techniques

Sales Rep B used a combination of Outlook, SalesForce.com & LinkedIn to identify and nurture new contacts

1. Synced all his valid SalesForce contacts with LinkedIn to identify all the potential contacts he might have within his LinkedIn network.

2. Sent out a mass email from SalesForce inviting these contacts to connect to him in LinkedIn. The response was low.

3. Followed up with a LinkedIn email asking this same group to connect with him.

The ResultHuge spike in views and he added 30 new contacts to his network in a matter of days and continued to add new contacts over several weeks. Captured $350K in qualified leads.


Improve existing sales interactions methods by facilitating valuable connections

Sales Rep C used a combination of LinkedIn & Twitter

1. Using LinkedIn she looked for SMBs in her region that were trying to connect with each other.

2. She made introductions between the SMBs looking for support.3. She invited people to join her on Twitter and let them know she was their

Cisco Sales rep and if they needed anything, to reach out.

The ResultGained sales opportunity via Twitter, led to $145K booking.


Takeaways


Key Takeaways

• Start with a small proof of concept / pilot• Find motivated individuals open to new ways of

connecting with customers and prospects• Start with a small group to test the new

capabilities• Build new capabilities, but don’t over invest in tools

• Culture change is the hardest part. Training and engagement is key

• Don’t let tools define your process • Optimize & integrate your social presence

• How will customers find you and connect with you?• Why should customers stay engaged with you?

• Scale intelligently• Tools and processes need to be localized• Find ways to engage with the sales deeply to

develop the new social selling habits


“…The bottom line is: stay strong. 21 days is a myth; habit formation typically takes longer than that. The best estimate is 66 days, but it’s unwise to attempt to assign a number to this process.” http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/hbrc/tag/european-journal-of-social-psychology/


Open Discussion

Thank you.

Leslie Lau [email protected] @lelau

mailto:[email protected]