Simple Techniques to Successful Online Selling On Facebook

Selling techniques seem to have got lost somewhere in the great race to capitalise on social media by making friends, chatting and socialising and sending each other a few dozen virtual red roses just because you can. Know what I'm talking about? If you don't then you're possibly reading the wrong article but if your sales strategy seems to have gone West for the winter and your Facebook wall is starting to look like a roll call for the next remake of The Wizard of Oz you'll understand every word you are about to read. But you may just find it all a little bit painful...

People have been selling stuff for thousands of years, from the great tradesmen who travelled across Asia with their wares to inuit tribes exchanging crafts with visitors. Selling is an art in itself and one which is often classified in various ways;

  
    * Hard Selling
    * Heart Sellling
    * Price based selling
    * Relationship Selling
    * Target account selling
    * Cold calling
    * Consultative selling
    * Direct selling
    * Guaranteed sale
    * Needs-based selling
    * Persuasive selling

For many people involved in sales two familiar terms are used to clasify types of sales professional; "Farmers" and "Hunters". In reality the majority of professional sales people have a combination of the two and most likely a little bit more thrown in along the way. We see the hunter as the more aggressive sales type and this is the guy who calls you up long distance and talks you through the process of buying what he has to offer until you simply have no choice other than to agree. This guy or gal is the closer we've all heard about. A sales farmer is a person who generates sales demand by activities that influence the buying process.

If you're using social media as part of your sales and marketing strategy then you'd better go grab your wellington boots because you're about to get your hands dirty and I don't mean down on Farmville. If you want to make sales on facebook then you have to learn to cultivate to accumulate. Here's how...

Facebook marketing strategy is something that seems to confuse most people when they think about selling online and if you've been battling through various eBooks and social media marketing material it's likely you've already started to feel a little overwhelmed by the constant information overload that hits your inbox every day of the week.Marketing on Facebook for business is no different to marketing offline but it can seem like a different planet when you first start out.

Let's face it, with a site set up to meet and greet old friends and family it is difficult to see how a sales and marketing strategy can fit into the webs largest and most powerful social networking site. But, if you follow these three simple steps, you could soon start to benefit from a customer base in the tens or even hundreds of thousands. Here goes;

Step 1

Find your market. facebook has over 300 million users from all corners of the globe and is growing all the time. With thousands of groups and fan pages and niche communities set up to talk about everything from dog food to liver transplants to cake decorating it's a site that will provide you with a ready made marketplace if you know how to use it. Start with these actions to find and connect with your target market;

Search. Use facebook search to look for groups, pages, people and conversations around your topic. Facebook search results will take you right across the platform and will allow you to connect with people interested in your topic allowing you to send a personal friend request to someone which introduces you and acknowledges your common interests.

Step 2

Build a relationship. Once connected with your audience start to build a relationship. Take notice of what they say and share and comment on their updates. People love being liked so show your interest in them and they will become interested in you.

Start a group around your topic, product or area of interest and invite your facebook friends into the group to talk about their ideas. Post updates and discussion topics and promote members of the group within the community by sending out weekly updates to group members. If your group see that you are prmoting others they will pay more attention than if you were promoting yourself and will listen when you do have something to say that relates to your business.

Step 3

Don't sell! Talk, listen and build relationships and people will buy from you. Try to sell and you will hit a brick wall as fast as you can say Facebook sales and marketing plan. Develop your selling skills and the sales will follow.

Selling on Facebook is not as difficult as it first appears but as with all sales and marketing campaigns your results depend on the the plan you have in place, your activity and your ability to track results and make changes where needed to increase conversions and maximize profit. Tweak your selling techniques as needed but remember to focus on farming and leave the hunter where he belongs, back in the sales room with all the other closers.

Follow the steps above and take a look at these other useful sales and marketing tips and you will soon be heading down the right road towards a successful online sales and marketing career.