How to sell a complex product on social media
I’m going to talk about how to sell the complex product or service on social media. It is often referred to as solution selling because it is not a straight forward sell. You don’t turn up at someone’s office or on the phone and have a quick conversation and then close. Often you will be meeting with somebody 4, 5 or 6 times or spending time on the phone to do that and you are going to go through some steps really of asking people about their problems, discussing the implications of their problem, they are going to be telling you about the pay off they need to solve that problem, so it is quite a complex process.
That style of selling is often referred to as solution selling and social media is perfect for that. The reason that social media is perfect is you don’t actually sell; you ask people questions about their problems and about their implications and by doing that you are having a public conversation which many other people will see and learn from. For example if you are a manufacturer looking for a particular piece of equipment, by explaining the benefits and explaining some of the solutions that this equipment will offer, other people who follow you or are connected to you will also be a part of that conversation and can learn from that.
You know that feeling…. It’s Monday morning, you’re alone in the office looking for some great ideas to share on social media, but you’ve hit a brick wall…
As you start building up contacts on LinkedIn, it becomes harder to remember where a particular contact originally came from especially if it is not someone you interact with regularly. In fact, once your number of contacts goes over 500, recollection of that first introduction is nearly impossible.
When it comes to making new business contacts and growing your professional network, LinkedIn is certainly the network of choice. But it’s not enough simply having a LinkedIn account? 
I recently received an invitation to connect with someone I had met at a conference. I didn’t remember her but she remembered me. Fortunately I messaged her back to ask if I could help her and she then reminded me where we’d met. I have also had LinkedIn invites form business associates who someone else has suggested should get in contact with me so that I can advise them on social media for example.
In brief, SWAM is a measure that LinkedIn introduced to reduce spam in LinkedIn groups. Group owners have the discretion to block any member they regard as a spammer. If for any reason you’re blocked from a group, all your discussions in all other groups have to be moderated by the group owners before they are published. This is pretty much a death sentence for your LinkedIn account as few group administrators have the time or inclination to check the moderation queues that group discussions attract. Your comments and posts simply stop appearing in groups.
