Sales and marketing have always been about developing relationships. The relationship begins with creating a product or service that solves a buyer’s problem and adds value. Beyond that, great salespeople know how to develop relationships with customers and prospects in order to stay top of mind with them and gain access.
However, the sales process is changing, and the methods salespeople utilize to find and interact with B2B customers and prospects are evolving, too. This is primarily driven by a major shift in the way buyers shop for products and services. Today’s empowered B2B buyer is conducting research online in the awareness and consideration phases of the buyer’s journey. In addition, they are less likely to speak with a salesperson who, in many cases, doesn’t add any value to their research. It may be too early in their buying process to discuss company details and offers.
According to research from A Sales Growth Company, 72% of salespeople who incorporated social media into their process outperformed their colleagues. In addition, social-savvy reps beat their quotas 23% more often. We call this social selling.
Social selling involves using social media to monitor and engage with customers and prospects. Keep reading for tips from your fellow salespeople on how to succeed using social media.
Key Points
- Social selling helps build trust before a prospect is ready to buy.
- Buyers now research solutions independently, making online visibility essential.
- Consistent engagement on platforms like LinkedIn builds credibility.
- Provide value first through education and helpful conversations.
- Monitoring competitors and industry trends can reveal new opportunities.
Table of Contents
Identify Qualified Prospects
It’s one thing to identify companies that appear to be prospects based on their industry, but it’s another to identify qualified prospects that are searching for products and services. Almost everybody engages in social media with some combination of LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, TikTok, Reddit, and more. This is especially true with Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. Monitoring companies and the appropriate contacts will usually unearth triggers like events, pain points, and searches.
Develop Relationships
Social selling has its roots in the inbound marketing methodology of being helpful. There are many conversations that take place on LinkedIn groups and other industry-related platforms. Joining an industry group and using your expertise to contribute is a great way to raise awareness and develop relationships. Sharing LinkedIn posts, commenting on Facebook posts, liking Instagram posts, and contributing to group discussions are all important steps in beginning to develop relationships.
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Deliver Value
The key to differentiating and building lasting relationships is to deliver value. Showing up for conversations on social media and offering solid feedback and content can set you apart from the competition and build trust. Doing so will naturally open the door to connecting with qualified prospects and nurturing qualified leads.
Monitor the Competition
Your good competitors are sure to be active on social media. There are many benefits to monitoring their conversations. Stay up to date with any product or service changes or additions that they’ll probably announce to the world. Find prospects by following their posts to see who interacts and which topics they’re interested in. Check out their salespeople on LinkedIn and see who their contacts are and what groups they belong to.
It is possible to be in sales and not be active on social media. However, “the times, they are a changin,'” as Bob Dylan sang, and social selling makes sense in today’s marketplace for two reasons: B2B buyers are researching online and using social media to connect and learn, and salespeople can monitor social media and often determine where people are in the buyer’s journey. Realizing where buyers are in their journey and offering useful information to them leads to more meaningful relationships and fewer cold calls.
Monitoring social media daily is a must for salespeople embracing inbound sales and social selling. It can seem time-consuming, but devoting a modest amount of time to it every day is a good way to start. Once you get your process down, you might be surprised how much ROI you get from spending just a few minutes each day on social selling.
This blog was originally part of the How to Monitor Social Media in 10 Minutes a Day eBook download and was updated in May 2026.
