Why Social Networking is about being human

If you think about your sales in recent years – it has always been about relationships. If the relationship is right, then the business is too. Here you can find tips on how to convince your customers on social networks.

When I was supposed to have my first sales talk, I asked an experienced colleague and partner what I should do and how I should proceed. He said, “Look at the photos and pictures on the walls and use this as a way to get in touch, connect and build a relationship.”

 

So when you come to this meeting and you hang photos of vintage cars or deep-sea fishing on the wall, you can start a conversation. Tap into it.

 

“Rapport” – a trusting relationship and the establishment of a deep contact to the unconscious of his counterpart – is no longer so familiar in today’s vocabulary. But 25 years ago it was all the rage.

When you think about it, we in sales always try to establish a connection. In the past – like today. When we went to school, to university, to football training, relationships developed everywhere. We do this because it builds trust and people “buy” from people they trust.

 

But today we are given tools for sales managers where human contact is simply not enough. This applies to brochures, sales catalogues, classic cold acquisition via the telephone, any form of advertising display, etc. Basically, something like this can only go wrong because you don’t know the person, you don’t know what they want and where their “aches and pains” are.

Trust as a Basis for Social Networking

In an Interview between Simon Sinek, bestselling author and leadership expert, whose lecture “How Great Leader Inspire Action” has been viewed over 40 million times on the web, and Jordan Harbinger, whose podcast „The Jordan Harbinger Show“ is one of the top 50 iTunes podcasts, the building of trusting relationships was discussed.

 

In an interview, Simon Sinek said, “Trust is important because we want to know someone is behind us. How do you know your friends are your friends? Love and trust and all these things are feelings and not instructions. You can’t order people to trust each other. It is the feelings that guide you. Shared values and the feeling of belonging together.”

 

Remember, you are in Paris and meet someone who speaks the same accent as you. You feel at home and the conversation is much easier. Simon Sinek speaks here of a feeling of camaraderie in a world where you don’t always feel a part of it.

 

Simon continues: “It’s tribalism, and the modern tribe is the company – so the best companies are based on values. They have meaning and purpose and when we work there, we feel that we can be ourselves. Trust is a biological construction that arises from the environments in which we find ourselves.”

 

Even when we’re online on social networks, regardless of the company we work for, it gives us a sense of belonging. Because we see who we are connected to and how many common connections we have. The principle is the same. If there are similarities, you can tie in with them and open up a dialogue here without any problems.

Sinek continues: “The only difference between work and home is the clothes we wear and the tables we sit at. I am who I am, and the reason my friends love me is the same reason my colleagues love me. I am, and if I’m different in one of those places, I’m lying in one of those places. Authenticity means that you say and do the things you really believe in. When others believe what you believe, they are attracted to you. If they don’t believe what you believe, they will be repelled by you. It’s not good or bad – we don’t have to hate people who have different beliefs. We don’t have to be friends with everyone either, but we have to respect other beliefs, we have to respect things that don’t belong to us.”

 

Social media and social networking allows us to find the tribe to connect and build trust. When we write and blog, you can express your values, desires, conveniences and inconveniences. We want that in our relationships, in our friendships, and frankly, we want it at work.

 

With social media, you can build networks, go for leads and get meetings, build online and offline relationships, and stay one step ahead of your competition. The most important thing is to be yourself. Don’t pretend – you can only create trust with your own personality.

 

We can also support you in building trust with your potential customers, polishing your “Digital Me” and navigating you through the “Digital Sales Jungle“.

Source title image: iStock / gruizza