• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

The Social Media Hat

Always On Top Of Social

  • Home
  • Social Media Articles
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • Social Media Resources
  • Social Media Tools
  • GET HELP
  • Search
  • Home
  • Social Media Articles
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • Social Media Resources
  • Social Media Tools
  • GET HELP
  • Search

How to increase sales up to 29% using CRM and Social Media [INFOGRAPH]

You are here: Home / Social Media Articles / How to increase sales up to 29% using CRM and Social Media [INFOGRAPH]

March 28, 2013 //  by Mike Allton

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing. Always be closing, always be closing.” If you’re in sales, that classic line from the film Glengarry Glen Ross has always resonated. It comes from the school of thought that when you’re talking with a prospect, you need to take control of the situation and always be working them torwards the sale and asking them, in various ways, to make the purchase. And while the velvet hammer approach is no longer a viable sales technique, it is true that in sales, we must always be working to provide and demonstrate value to our prospects so that they can make a purchase decision.

Today, that means having far more information than Levine did in the film. Levine was one of the older salesmen, a guy who was past his prime and was struggling to make any sales at all. The film portrayed a real estate investment company and the salesmen would followup on leads from people who had expressed some interest in buying real estate. At one point, Levine is charged up because he finally caught a break. After spending an evening with a couple they caved and made a substantial purchase. Little did he know, the couple just enjoyed the company of salespeople and had failed to complete a contract multiple times.

What Levine, and every business owner needs, are tools to manage customers and prospects. These tools are referred to collectively as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and they come in a variety of flavors. Initially, a CRM would simply be a place to house al of your propect’s information, which you would manualy enter yourself. This would typically include contact information, as much as you could obtain, and any other information about the business or notes you took during conversations.

CRM has now evolved into true systems that can organize client information from a variety of sources, including social media. Imagine being able to see what your prospects are saying on social networks regarding whatever it is they’re wanting to buy. Instead of spending half your day monitoring four different social networks, you only have to check in on your CRM occassionally to see if any of your prospects have posed a question or made a comment which might be appropriate for you to respond to.

To be clear, I’m not advocating creepy stalking activities. A good CRM will be showing you only what you’d be able to see if you were directly on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Google+ – wherever the prospect was. And as a good salesman you would be looking for buying questions or buying signals, just as if the prospect was in your store talking to their spouse. If you overheard them asking each other questions which you knew the answer to, you might interject and offer to give them the information they’re looking for.

The CRM integration with social media will also help you track and manage leads that come in through social media. More and more people are initiating business contact via social networks. If a prospect happens to see something you tweeted or shared, they might respond right there, on that platform, rather than go offline to make a phone call or send an email. 

The following infograph provided by Salesforce sales software demonstrates how CRM can streamline your sales process so that you have more information and can work more efficiently.

Transform Your Small Business Into a Sales Powerhouse

If Levine had had a CRM solution in place, he would have known that his clients had gone through that same routine with other salesmen at his firm before, and could have spent his time with people far more interested in actually making a purchase.

Do you use any CRM at your business, and if so, which solution are you using?

Image courtesy of mtsofan, Flickr.

Related

Category: Social Media ArticlesTag: Twitter

About Mike Allton

Mike Allton is a Content Marketing Practitioner – a title he invented to represent his holistic approach to content marketing that leverages blogging, social media, email marketing and SEO to drive traffic, generate leads, and convert those leads into sales. He is an award-winning Blogger, Speaker, and Author, and Brand Evangelist at Agorapulse.

Mike has partnered with Jenn Herman, Stephanie Liu, Amanda Robinson and Eric Butow to write Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing published by Entrepreneur Press.

Join The Community!

Thousands of other businesses and bloggers get the latest social media insights and ideas.


Previous Post: « How to make Google+ your favorite Social Network
Next Post: Did your Klout score go up recently? Thank Instagram and Bing. »

Primary Sidebar

Mike Allton is a Content Marketing Practitioner – a title he invented to represent his holistic approach to content marketing that leverages blogging, social media, email marketing and SEO to drive traffic, generate leads, and convert those leads into sales. He is an award-winning Blogger, Speaker, and Author, and Brand Evangelist at Agorapulse.

Reserve Your Copy

Reserve your copy of Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing by Eric Butow, Jenn Herman, Stephanie Liu, Amanda Robinson and Mike Allton. Available here.

Plan To Succeed

Social Media Planner for Social Media Success

Grab your copy of the Social Media Planner, today!

Join The Mastermind

Want access to experts and live video training for just a few bucks a month?

The 360 Marketing Squad is a private Facebook Group featuring 4 of the industry’s top minds, covering every aspect of online marketing, and costs just $5/month to join. Learn more.

Footer

Recent Posts

  • 5 Dizzying Changes To Twitter Already In 2021
  • Top 10 Reasons Not To Miss This Summit
  • Instagram Trust Score: What It Is and How to Improve It
  • Agorapulse To Host Premiere Online Marketing Event
  • 10 Light Years Ago
  • We Whisper Too Quietly on Social Media
  • The Social Media Job Hazard No One Is Talking About
  • 15 Newsletters To Level Up Your Marketing, And You!

Key Topics

Agorapulse Apps Bing Blab Blogging Buffer Business Canva Content Marketing Easil Email Marketing Evernote Facebook Facebook Groups Gmail Google+ Holidays Hootsuite Influencer Marketing Infograph Instagram Klout Link Building LinkedIn Live Video Marketing Meerkat Mobile MySpace Pinterest ROI SEO SnapChat Social Media Marketing Social Pulse Summit Strategy Tailwind Triberr Tumblr Twitter Video Vine Yahoo Yelp YouTube
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • About The Social Media Hat
  • Social Media Planner
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure

Site Footer

  • Social Media Articles
  • Digital Marketing
  • Social Media Tools
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021 The Social Media Hat · All Rights Reserved