Looking into Social Selling Software? Ask Your Sales Rep These 7 Questions

A good sales technology platform is a huge asset to your sales organization. With the right tools, reps can accomplish things that couldn’t be done before, and sales leaders can scale best practices across the entire sales organization.

Unfortunately, finding the right tool isn’t always easy. When you’re researching your social selling options, it’s important to ask good questions so that you get the answers you need.

Here are seven key questions to ask your social selling platform sales rep. These questions will help you choose the right technology for your organization.

1. How does this software promote social selling best practices?

Social selling is about listening to buyers, engaging them, building relationships with them, and shaping the buyer’s journey. It is not about sending out as many cold pitches as possible. Discuss which social selling best practices are built into the framework of the software and how it will help your sales team succeed.

2. How quickly does your software scale?

Many sales teams find success with a pilot group of social sellers. But challenges arise when leadership tries to fold the larger sales organization into the program. Ask your sales rep how they work with customers to scale their programs, and request specific customer stories that illustrate the software’s ability to scale.

3. How will my company’s sales reps find content for sharing and shaping the buyer’s journey?

82% of B2B buyers indicate that the winning vendor’s social content had a significant impact on their buying decision. That’s why sharing content is so important for sales reps. But to change minds and influence behavior, sales reps must be able to find content to share. So, ask your vendor about the software’s social content library. For example, can you import your company’s content? Can you surface relevant third-party content so that your reps aren’t corporate parrots that struggle to gain buyers’ trust?

4. How will your tool help my reps listen at scale?

To learn about their buyers, reps don’t need to jump on a call. With social, you can know with greater certainty who your buyers are, what people think, and what’s going on in the industry around you. Listening is one of the most valuable skills a rep can develop. Check with your software provider to see how their solution will enable sales reps to gather intelligence on social.

5. Do you just offer software? Or can you help with the change management aspects of the implementation?

You’ve probably worked with CRM software. You know that implementation is key to getting the most out of your investment. A robust tool requires buy-in from the top of the organization to the bottom. Furthermore, implementation requires training and a change management plan. Ensure that your software provider provides sufficient support to get your team up and running and seeing results.

6. How does your software help us measure the success of our social selling program?

Organizing content and listening at scale are just two aspects of good social selling software. But you can’t forget about measuring what works and what doesn’t work. Ask your vendor how the software helps track and illuminate which tactics and content assets are helping your sales team achieve its goals.

7. How will this purchase maximize the results from our current technology investments (e.g. CRM, marketing automation, or specific social networks)?

Building your tech stack is a crucial decision, so it’s important to carefully evaluate how a new tool will sync with your current systems. For example, can you attach UTM codes to the content that your sales reps are sharing? This allows your sales and marketing teams to use marketing automation for tracking which assets are contributing to lead generation and pipeline growth.

What should you expect from social selling software?

The top sales reps, along with a best-of-breed social selling platform, will take your social sales game to the next level. By asking the questions above, you’ll find the best technology for your organization.

To learn more about social selling software, check out these data sheets: