Do YOU know the WHY of YOUR SSI?
With all of us working from home for the foreseeable future, we are trying to figure out how to be visible and relevant to our customers. It is new ground for many, especially those of us who have historically been "road warriors" and could visit our customers in person. How will we know that we are reaching the right audience? Making the right impression? Building the right relationships? Able to provide the right products and services so that our customers so they will continue to work with us? Able to land new logos and customers so we are growing our business?
These are all questions that the jury is still out on and it may take more time to understand how we adjust our selling techniques to meet the challenges of this new normal.
I have talked about it before, but one of the tools that LinkedIn has put in place to gauge the effectiveness of our overall social selling is your SSI (Social Selling Index)
The theory from LinkedIn is that your effectiveness on the platform can be measured by the 4 elements above. They further breakdown the list of activities that you can perform to increase your score in each element. The combination of each makes up your overall score and should equate to you being more successful in your social selling journey.
Do YOU know the WHY of YOUR SSI?
All that said, I happened to have my 1:1 with my boss, Brad Shapiro, yesterday and he asked me "what do you have planned for the long weekend?" The first thing that popped to mind was spending Saturday morning at my desk...cup of coffee in hand...and writing my weekly blog post on LinkedIn. I went on to further confess that I have held the #1 SSI score within HPE for the last 6 months. Not that I am competitive...but now that I have held the spot for so long - I don't want to let it go! One of the key elements to maintaining my score (among other things) has been posting my weekly blog.
As Brad is apt to do, he asked a very practical question,
"Do you think there is a correlation between the top five SSI scores for HPE and their ability to meet or exceed their sales quotas? After all isn't that what all this should be about?"
Great question and I can only speak to what outcomes I have experienced so my answer was...
It has enabled me to build and maintain strong relationships with my customers which is resulting in new business opportunities. There have been numerous examples over the past 6 months where people in my existing network have reached out and asked for assistance....and in some cases unrelated to financing. That opened a door to virtually meet a lot of new people that are now invaluable to me both personally and professionally. The sales plays we are currently running are possible because we now feel like we have known each other for years and it feels like we are interacting regularly - even though we have never met in person. It is that connection and trust that builds over consistent interactions that enables "people to do business with people".
I have also benefited from "old friends" popping up in new roles. With corporate america changing and adjusting to the new normal, there is consolidation and change happening at a rapid pace. I am now getting reacquainted with folks I knew well in my previous company that I haven't interacted with personally in years. This past week, I had two moments like that and I was delighted and lifted when they greeted me with enthusiasm and a "how the heck is my old friend Marcie?"
It is 100% credited to LinkedIn and focusing on the elements of social selling that I can maintain and build on these relationships. How on earth would I stay visible and relevant with my network (3000+) or be able to predict who will pop up from 10 years ago that are now in my day to day conversations? There is no way I could and I have seen the benefits time in and time out. Given I am in the relationship management business - I would say I know the why of my SSI!
But what about the sales reps that are STAR performers that have nothing to do with their SSI?
So back to Brad's question... "How successful are the others in the top 5 SSI scores against their sales goals?" What we discussed briefly is that this may take time to catch up or may all be relative. In a lot of organizations, the top reps have worked hard over the years to build up those one or two massive accounts that move the needle for the company. They continue to work hard with those customers to maintain and grow their business. They did this at a time where social selling wasn't a thing or needed. If, for some unforeseen reason they were to lose that account, it could all change in a minute where social selling could take on new meaning. As an example, currently none of our top producing reps are in the top 5 SSI scores and I think that is OK! They are killing their numbers and for that I am grateful!
Also - when I do an unscientific assessment of the top 5 SSI scores for our company (leaving me aside)...
2 are inside sales reps and most likely are trying to build their business
1 is a field sales rep that has been with HPE less than 2 years and is a social media strategist and author so he probably has benefited from LinkedIn over the years to maintain and build his network
1 is a field sales rep with 9 years experience at HPE holding multiple sales roles over the years. He is an outgoing, competitive guy and most likely benefits from LinkedIn in multiple ways (on top of exchanging places in the top spot with me)
I am guessing the "WHY of their SSI" is different for each one yet still relevant in the grand scheme of the success of our company. We need "up and comers" as well as ways for those that are not in the field to be successful with our customers. We need fresh perspective and experience to bring new customers to the table and we need those that are our top performers to continue to be at the top!
One last story...
Over the past 5 years Vincent Brissot of HP has been one of my heroes of social selling. We have talked often about how sales teams can leverage LinkedIn, the reporting, data and analytics, effectiveness and best practices (including sharing our SSI scores). On Thursday, I was shocked to see on my news feed that he was leaving HP and taking a role outside of the industry with a move to Bio-Tech.
In the two days since he posted his unique, heartfelt departure note...his post has been "liked" by over 2500 people with 850 comments. It is evident from the interactions that Vincent left a lasting impression on a lot of people...not just me. It is also a testament to his social selling motion on the platform that SO many people would take time to write a custom comment in response to his post.
I have no doubt Vincent will not only maintain the relationships from his time at HP but he will also build new ones as he takes on this new role. To me this is the power of the platform as well as the gold standard for social selling success when you have that kind of impact and reach. I could only be so lucky to leave an impact on so many on "my last day". I believe that Vincent knows the "WHY of his SSI" and will continue to be a champion of social selling no matter where he goes!
In Closing...
The key to all of this is for us to figure out what works best for us and for the success of the company. Depending on the role you are in or what you are trying to achieve, you have to put your SSI score in perspective with all the other measurements of your success. I don't expect the top sales reps to be in the top 5 SSI scores any time soon, but I would expect that those that are building their business or in the relationship management business to be striving for it. Our network and reputation evolves over time and takes consistent interaction. It is not a spectator sport!
Leadership Questions of the Week for YOU?
What is the WHY of YOUR SSI?
Do YOU believe there is a benefit to building and maintaining a high score or do you think it is all a lot of foolishness?
Can YOU see a benefit to certain roles within your organization to build and maintain a high SSI score i.e inside reps?
Do YOU think there should be a correlation to top SSI scores and top sales reps or are the two mutually exclusive?
What consistent practices do YOU apply to get your SSI score up?
What consistent practices do YOU get the MOST value from doing on the platform that you could share with others? In other words - you have seen direct sales results from these actions?
Who is YOUR gold standard or social selling hero? What do they do that you would tell others about?
Thanks for reading and remember…YOU make a difference!
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