Are You Guilty of the Seven Sins of Social Selling?

What sins do people commit in social selling? Why do so few people know how to leverage their efforts to grow their businesses using social selling? I believe many people fail to see the potential because they commit these seven sins in their social selling efforts.

Social selling provides me significant exposure to people who are getting things done in their markets. It provides me unique insights into the minds of my clients and partners. Social selling provides me a different perspective on what’s happening in their world. This perspective that helps provides my clients with new opportunities, feedback, and information in real time.

Today I share the seven sins that turn people off about what they think social selling is. See how many of these sins you are guilty of. Over the coming weeks we will share ideas on how to eliminate these sins from your social selling activities.

The first sin of social selling is pride.  How many times have you seen messages that promise the world? That they are the only solution to your problem or that they understand your world? How many times have you signed up for a webinar and walked away with an empty feeling?

Great marketing, limited execution. All hat, no cattle. Learn to approach your market with a respect based bias and you will get more out of your social selling activities.

The second sin of social selling is greed. Have you ever wondered how much is enough? How many times have people filled your email, your voicemail, and your timelines with a single message multiplied many, many times.

They demand your attention. They don’t want to earn it. Learn how to grow your connection with others over time. Learn to influence and advocate your position to increase your social selling success.

The third sin of social selling is lust. Sounds sexy, sex sells. How many times do you get messages that make you take action now? Then you go to the page and it has nothing to do with what was being offered on the initial messages. Thousands of messages, all sizzle, no steak.

This could be why so few people respond to our offers. They are overstimulated and underwhelmed. A deadly combination if you’re trying to build a relationship with potential clients.

The fourth sin of social selling is envy. My list is bigger than yours. You add thousands of people to your lists. You continue adding people to add social proof to your social selling efforts. There is always someone with a bigger following.

Stop being envious. Learn to be more satisfied with what you’ve nurtured and supported. Learn to share other people’s content and watch how your relationships grow.

The fifth sin of social selling is gluttony. You become so addicted to your social selling, you never talk with clients.  You never speak to a real person. You send out hundreds of auto messages and you never respond to messages back. You just keep adding to your efforts. Never satisfied.

Do you know when to stop and listen? A big reason people fail to connect with social selling is they are so busy sending out messages they fail to hear what their markets are saying.

The sixth sin of selling is anger. How many peoples’ careers have been destroyed by responding negatively to a message or an insult? You answer an irate message by throwing gas on the fire. You feel mistreated and you respond in a way that you might never in person.

Your anger amplifies and you have no ability to bring down the temperature in the conversations. You have hundreds, if not thousands, of people responding to your angry message. Take time to think before you respond in anger.

The seventh sin of social selling is sloth. You respond slowly to opportunities choosing to wait to respond. Meanwhile a competitor seizes the opportunity. You send out a message and then never respond. You create a reputation of being unresponsive.

You destroy all the goodwill you’ve earned over the past twenty years by not responding in a timely manner.  People expect faster responses today, make sure you’re able to deal with the always on connected world.

Now that you know the seven deadly sins of social selling, stay tuned for ways to overcome them an increase your sales success!  See you next week.