Social selling

Social selling is the process of developing relationships as part of the sales process. Today this often takes place via social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest, but can take place either online or offline. Examples of social selling techniques include sharing relevant content, interacting directly with potential buyers and customers, personal branding, and social listening. Social Selling is gaining popularity in a variety of industries, though it is used primarily for B2B (business-to-business) selling or highly considered consumer purchases (e.g., financial advisory services, automotive, realty). C2C companies (often referred to as direct selling companies) have been using social selling techniques (i.e. relationship building) since far before the Internet existed. B2B and B2C companies are now adopting many of those techniques as they are translated to social media platforms.

While social selling is sometimes confused with social marketing, there are two key differences. First, social selling is focused on sales professionals, rather than marketing professionals. Second, social selling aims to cultivate one-on-one relationships, rather than broadcast one-to-many messages. social marketing is a powerhouse which can provide right info at right time, but potential consumer expects established relationship rather than just info, so a completely successful selling process requires both social selling and social marketing to act together.