Does your Social Selling Index matter When we talk about social selling, one measure sales people and leaders talk about is the “social selling index”. During any social selling or digital selling training, it is a term mentioned frequently, in fact with companies who have integrated social into their sales strategy it has become a metric. This is no surprise, as case study after case study is proving the benefits a social selling program is bringing to companies. So does your social selling index really matter? All measures in sales are helpful to a lesser or greater degree. However most of measures of activity, such as phone calls made, webinars delivered, and presentations given etc The Social Selling index is a measure of “influence” a person has on the social networks, mainly LinkedIn. I believe companies will devise their own scoring or SSI to account for a sales persons reach across multiple social networks. As companies implement sales transformation programs towards a socially connected business, then yes, an SSI could be the most critical measure for buyer engagement. A Reminder to What Is a Social Selling Index For now, a social selling index is for many sales people, a measure exclusively for LinkedIn on their activity based around four pillars of social selling (although I believe there are actually six pillars to social selling), and scores them on a 1 – 100 scale index. It measures a person’s effort in 1) establishing a personal professional brand, 2) engaging/connecting with the right audience, 3) engaging the target with insights and 4) building and deepening relationships. So it works on the premise that the more activities one has on LinkedIn which relate to these four pillars, the higher the social selling score will be. So in effect, the score is a means of highlighting how companies (at this point mainly sales people) connect and engage with audiences. While the SSI only publically relates to LinkedIn, it is however a good measure in that it raises the awareness of the power of social selling and if nothing else it gives sales teams a benchmark to start with. From a sales leadership perspective, the scores of the individual sales people helps monitor the team’s to benchmark your score against peers and competitors. I encourage sales people and sales leadership, to think of SSI as a bigger measure of a company’s social reach and level of influence across multiple social networks where leads generated could also be included as part of the scoring. A Few Tips to Boost Your SSI Score It is worth mentioning, that each of the current four pillars of social selling index score are worth 25 points. So to raise the score, each pillar will require spending time and attention. Credibility: AKA Establish Your Personal Professional Brand Creating and cultivating a strong personal brand across the social network sites is the path to “Social Credibility” which builds trust in the mind of buyers. The focus is not on selling, promoting or plugging, but sharing and giving. I call it Be Seen. Activities that help establish someone as a trusted source or a thought leader. We all like to engage with experts, (according to LinkedIn 92% of B2B buyers will engage with sales professionals if they are viewed as industry thought leaders). So here are a few ways to build your credibility and be seen as someone worth listening to on the social networks. Ensure all your social media profiles (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook etc ) are 100% complete, including photo, images, articles, background info, personal/business summary. In the ‘Summary’ section, relate your content to your target customer or Ideal Customer Profile. If possible, try to use a variety of media in the ‘Experience’ and ‘Summary’, sections including Slideshare presentations, articles and even video. Always include skills plus get recommendations from existing customers, other influencers and work colleagues. Connections: AKA Engaging with the Right People Social networking (selling or marketing) is about building a network where people want to engage with you or your brand, and you want to help them on their journey. This is the power that drives social media. Connections are about social reach and this is why it is important to connect with the right people. LinkedIn monitors how well you engage and then analyses the value of the connections made. Leaving the SSI score aside, connecting with the right people is worth getting right, not just for the score but for your sales performance. Start with influencers, existing and past customers, business relationships then focus in on your Ideal Customer Profiles as you research potential prospects. Look up existing and previous customers or business contacts. Develop two, three or even four ideal customer profiles that you wish to attract. Don’t forget to connect with current and past work colleagues and alumni, Create a list of companies and people to follow. Using your ideal profiles, find five to six influential people in your target companies. Review who has viewed your profile or activity daily. Engage with them. Always check out who shares, Likes and Comments on your own posts or posts you are adding value to. Content: AKA Share Insights Follow this manta, Be Seen, Be Found, Be Useful and Be Valuable as a route to social selling success. It is all about attracting and engaging with potential customers at every opportunity which means every day.  The four Be’s listed above create visibility and visibility over time will create opportunities. So when it comes to the Be Found, Be Useful and Be Valuable, it is critical to have a constant flow of quality content (created and curated) to attract and build relationships. Surveys show that well over 60% of B2B buyers appreciate content shared by a sales person which provided insights about their business. With a steady stream of content to offer up valuable insights and information, you will intrigue buyers and build your credibility across the social networks as a whole. Create a content library, topics listDoes your Social Selling Index matter?