Sales Prospecting Perspectives

With social selling gaining momentum for sales professionals, inside sales reps are making their presence known in the digital sphere, specifically on LinkedIn and Twitter. Unfortunately, that presence isn’t always positive. Many social selling guides tout real tips and strategies for sales reps to stand out in their prospects’ busy social feeds, but unfortunately often don’t give away social selling templates which sales reps can customize for their own needs.

The result? Sales reps appear to overly curate content, never share their personal opinions, and if they ever reach out to someone one-to-one, they lead with their pitch and immediately turn off potential prospects.

It’s a common occurrence. You may think that a “How can I help you?” message to specific followers will aid you in getting more sales on LinkedIn and Twitter, but actually, that question assumes that your buyer needs your help; it’s leading.

Instead, try these types of messages from our Inside Sales Messaging Toolkit to send to your specific followers or connections. Remember, social selling is less selling and more social.Think of yourself as a marketer as well as a salesperson.

The Introduction Template

The first message you send to a potential prospect should be informative. When you’re getting to know someone on social media, it’s good to incorporate social listening as well. Find out if they publish on LinkedIn, or what kinds of tweets they post, to connect with them that way.

LinkedIn

Edit your request to connect to include a relevant message, such as:

Hi Dan,

I saw your most recent LinkedIn post on how to prevent security breaches for businesses. I’m an inside sales rep at XYZ Company, and I shared that post with my colleagues. They were floored; there’s so much we could be doing to protect our company! I’d love to connect with you so I can follow more of your insights. Hoping to hear from you,

Alex

Twitter

A first interaction with a prospect one-on-one does not have to involve messaging them like on LinkedIn. Instead, favorite or RT their recent tweets; you will show up in their notification center. However, be sure not to RT all of their tweets, as it will look like you’re mindlessly hitting the RT button.

The Call-to-Action Template

The next message you send can be more educational and helpful, but you still should not sell your product or service. You do want more information from your prospects, however, so lead them to a landing page on your website that might interest them..

LinkedIn

Hi Dan,

I was reading through your most recent posts about security breaches, and I realized that we have a report regarding security analytics that might interest you and provide some interesting statistics for your next post. Here is the link. Hope you find that helpful!

Alex

Twitter

Hi Dan! I see that you’re a #security expert at @ABCCompany. This security report from my company might help give you a boost! → bit.ly link

The Thank You Template

If your prospect does interact with you via a comment on LinkedIn or an RT and mention on Twitter, it’s pertinent to be polite and thank him or her. If the conversation is leaning more towards the utilization of your service and product, after three or four times interacting, you can now ask to move the conversation over to the phone if they’re ready.

LinkedIn

Dan,

Thanks for sharing our article on the 10 Most Important Things to Remember When Selecting a Security Provider! I really appreciate it. It’d be great if we could schedule a phone conversation. As I mentioned before, I’m an inside sales rep at ABCCompany, and I actually think you’d be a great fit for our service. I’m available tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. if that works for you; I’ll send you over a calendar invite and you can change the timing if necessary.

Thanks,

Alex

Twitter

This can be sent in a DM:

Thanks for sharing our article, Dan! I’d love to speak to you about how our businesses can help each other. You can find me at alex@ABCCompany.com.

These one-to-one messages to prospects who are active on LinkedIn and Twitter are effective in cultivating relationships that will benefit you in the long run - either through sales, inbound leads, or simple connections or referrals you can leverage going forward. Customize these templates for your initiatives, and try them out today!

What other inside sales messaging tips would you add for social selling?

If you liked these templates, see more in our Inside Sales Messaging Toolkit, which also includes sales prospecting strategies for email and voicemail. Click here to download!