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SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SALES 
PROFESSIONALS 
How sales professionals can use social media to 
generate leads and develop trusted advisor status.
John Beveridge is the 
founder and President of 
Rapidan Inbound, an 
inbound marketing 
agency and HubSpot-certified 
partner based in 
McLean, VA. 
Vice Chair 
Biz Dev, Marketing and 
Sales Committee 
Twitter @JohnMBeveridge 
Email john.beveridge@rapidanstrategies.com 
Phone 703.878.1234 
www.b2binboundmarketer.com
B2B buyers use content to buy 
“When comparing the eventual winning vendor to 
the rest of the considered vendors, 61% of 
respondents agreed that the winning vendor 
delivered a better mix of content appropriate for 
each stage of the purchasing process.” 
DemandGen Report – 2014 B2B Buyer 
Behavior Survey Report
START WITH A STRATEGY
What are your social media objectives? 
• Who are you trying to reach? 
• What problems or opportunities impact them? 
• What is your situation? 
• What resources do you have? 
• What is your objective?
Who are you trying to reach? 
Ideal Customer Profile for businesses 
• Industry? 
• Company size? 
• Location? 
• Demographics?
Who are you trying to reach? 
Buyer Personas for individuals 
• Job title? 
• Demographics? 
• Aspirations? What is a win? 
• Watering holes?
Identify problems and opportunities 
3 primary categories 
• Save money 
• Save time 
• Increase revenues 
How can you help targets solve for these wins?
What is your situation? 
• Employee of large company 
• Access to content 
• Employee of SMB company 
• May have to create content 
• Small business owner 
• Will have to create content 
What resources are available to you?
What is your objective? 
• Lead generation? 
• Personal branding? 
• Develop partnerships? 
Set goals for your social media efforts
EXECUTE YOUR 
STRATEGY
Your prime directive 
BE HELPFUL
Top tips for execution 
• Earn the right to sell with content 
• Be consistent 
• Automate 
• Measure and iterate
Earn the right to sell with content 
• Forget the long-winded hard sell 
• Your content 
• Your company’s content 
• Third-party content 
Regardless of the content you use, add your personal take 
when sharing it
Be consistent 
• Make social selling part of your daily routine 
• Be patient, it takes time to develop your brand 
• Take the time to create and curate content 
Take the time to develop a social selling channel
Automate for efficiency
Automate for efficiency 
• Scheduling and monitoring tool for LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ 
and Foursquare 
• Custom content feeds 
• Analytics module 
• Free version available, Pro version for $9.99/month
Automate for efficiency 
• Daily custom content feed 
• Free version available, Pro version for $45/year
Measure and iterate 
• Use analytics to improve social selling 
• Which posts get the most views? 
• Which posts get the most engagement? 
• Which posts get the most shares? 
• Which networks and times are most productive? 
Use free and paid analytics sources
DON’T FORGET THE 
PRIME DIRECTIVE
Your prime directive 
BE HELPFUL
Blog Post 
Social Media Marketing for Sales Professionals 
bit.ly/SPSocial

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Northern Virginia Technology Council Presentation - Social Media for Sales Professionals

  • 1. SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SALES PROFESSIONALS How sales professionals can use social media to generate leads and develop trusted advisor status.
  • 2. John Beveridge is the founder and President of Rapidan Inbound, an inbound marketing agency and HubSpot-certified partner based in McLean, VA. Vice Chair Biz Dev, Marketing and Sales Committee Twitter @JohnMBeveridge Email john.beveridge@rapidanstrategies.com Phone 703.878.1234 www.b2binboundmarketer.com
  • 3. B2B buyers use content to buy “When comparing the eventual winning vendor to the rest of the considered vendors, 61% of respondents agreed that the winning vendor delivered a better mix of content appropriate for each stage of the purchasing process.” DemandGen Report – 2014 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey Report
  • 4. START WITH A STRATEGY
  • 5. What are your social media objectives? • Who are you trying to reach? • What problems or opportunities impact them? • What is your situation? • What resources do you have? • What is your objective?
  • 6. Who are you trying to reach? Ideal Customer Profile for businesses • Industry? • Company size? • Location? • Demographics?
  • 7. Who are you trying to reach? Buyer Personas for individuals • Job title? • Demographics? • Aspirations? What is a win? • Watering holes?
  • 8. Identify problems and opportunities 3 primary categories • Save money • Save time • Increase revenues How can you help targets solve for these wins?
  • 9. What is your situation? • Employee of large company • Access to content • Employee of SMB company • May have to create content • Small business owner • Will have to create content What resources are available to you?
  • 10. What is your objective? • Lead generation? • Personal branding? • Develop partnerships? Set goals for your social media efforts
  • 12. Your prime directive BE HELPFUL
  • 13. Top tips for execution • Earn the right to sell with content • Be consistent • Automate • Measure and iterate
  • 14. Earn the right to sell with content • Forget the long-winded hard sell • Your content • Your company’s content • Third-party content Regardless of the content you use, add your personal take when sharing it
  • 15. Be consistent • Make social selling part of your daily routine • Be patient, it takes time to develop your brand • Take the time to create and curate content Take the time to develop a social selling channel
  • 17. Automate for efficiency • Scheduling and monitoring tool for LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Foursquare • Custom content feeds • Analytics module • Free version available, Pro version for $9.99/month
  • 18. Automate for efficiency • Daily custom content feed • Free version available, Pro version for $45/year
  • 19. Measure and iterate • Use analytics to improve social selling • Which posts get the most views? • Which posts get the most engagement? • Which posts get the most shares? • Which networks and times are most productive? Use free and paid analytics sources
  • 20. DON’T FORGET THE PRIME DIRECTIVE
  • 21. Your prime directive BE HELPFUL
  • 22. Blog Post Social Media Marketing for Sales Professionals bit.ly/SPSocial