Social selling isn't living up to its promise. Those promises have been exaggerated and oversold. Social selling is failing.
Why?
1. Lack of content Your social selling program isn't going to work without content. You may want to make noise on the social channels, and you may want attention. You can't have attention without content. Salespeople without content are unarmed.
2. Link bait content isn't content You see some social gurus and sales experts writing provocative content. If it's not link bait, it's comment bait designed to drive engagement simply by being provocative. If you want attention from your peer group, you'll get it. You are not, however, gaining engaged prospects.
3. Content doesn't compel change Infographics are really neat. So are inspirational images. And quotes. But they do absolutely nothing to explain to your dream client what's going on in their world, why they are plagued with dissonance, and why they should change.
4. Too great a reliance on content to drive leads Content marketing is not going to generate enough leads for you to make your number unless you are the rare exception, a thought leader with an earned following. Inbound marketing isn't supposed to provide you with 100 percent of your leads, plus the amount you need to make your number.
5. Too much faith that connecting is enough. You need to open relationships. You can do that on the social web. The barrier for someone to accept your LinkedIn connection request might now be lower than a friend request on Facebook. Prospecting means asking for a meeting.
