Success principles for tweeting (networking):
1. Listen
2. Ask questions
3. Talk
Producer spotlight
Getting started on Twitter (or any other social network)
By Carol Mahoney
If there’s one question I hear most from salespeople, it is, "How can I use social media to make a sale?" Usually I respond to that question with another question, "Well, what are you doing now?" Most will answer, "I have a [Twitter/LinkedIn/Facebook] account, but I don't know what to do with it. It seems like a waste of time. I don't think the people I want to talk to are using social media, or if they are, it’s for personal use, not business."
My favorite (tongue in cheek) response is, "No, your audience is soooo unique! It's too hard to pinpoint them and even if you did, they are too smart to fall for some silly social media post."
I have yet to meet a salesperson who doesn't network. So let's use a networking event, say an industry conference social hour, and compare it to how to use Twitter.
Get on deck
Before you can attend a conference, you have to find one. And before you decide which one to go to, you are probably going to look to see if you can find out who is going, how many people will be there, etc. You don't want to waste your time, right?
To find that same kind of information on Twitter, you can do a simple search using http://search.twitter.com. Type in some keywords, companies or people with whom you want to be in proximity. How much time you spend searching on Twitter will directly correlate to what, and how much, you find.
Before you go to your conference event, common sense says take a shower, dress well and bring lots of business cards and mints. (Never forget the mints!) Same rules apply before you tweet. Design your Twitter page, enter your bio description, add a recent picture and include links to your website or LinkedIn profile. (Links are the mints – never forget the links!) Now you are almost ready to talk with, or tweet with, those people you have identified in your searches.
Listen first, ask questions second, talk last
Good salespeople know to use their mouth in proportion to their ears or, in other words, listen twice as much as you talk. If you are doing all the talking, you are likely talking to yourself.
So, as you would at a networking event, you walk around a bit, listening and reading name tags. When you hear phrases that pique your interest, you stop and listen more, perhaps ask a question, maybe even exchange business cards with the intent of talking more later.
Same with Twitter. Follow the people who are talking about what you do. Not just your industry colleagues, but your prospects, too. Fish in the right pond, listen to what they are saying – their frustrations, confusion, pleas for help. If they follow you back, then ask them questions through a direct message. Once you have made contact, and gotten through, set up an IRL (in-real-life) conversation.
Voila! – first base.
Founded and operated by Carole Mahoney, Mahoney Internet Marketing was established with one goal in mind: bring the focus back to the customer and their experience while helping businesses achieve a measured return on investment in their sales and marketing efforts. You can contact Carole and her team here.
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