Thanks for an engaging article that demonstrates complexity of marketing.

Social media is about selling. Not can be, is. We’re witnessing it. No, not Dell, Zappos and Blendtec. I’ve been researching many others as part of a book project. Many are *quietly* using social to sell. Some to the tune of Twitter producing six-figure clients. (Avaya http://bit.ly/giv9Q7)

I’m not sure that the hunter/gatherer debate is a very practical one. Thoughtful? Yes. But not so practical IMHO.

Because successful social sellers are using *publishing* approaches. Not debating theory. They’re selling more, more often, with social by being *useful* to prospects. And publishing relevant tools… providing helpful information to customers that fit their buying contexts. Yes, they “listen” to do that but is that really a new “good selling” concept?

Socially successful sellers are designing marketing processes that guide customers toward destinations they choose – their products and services. Again, also known as direct response marketing. Lead nurturing.

I’ve found that there are 3 practical success principles that always get results: Focusing social media marketing on behavior, translating customers’ evolving needs, and publishing useful tools and services. That’s how social media sells. In a practical sense.

Lately, I’m uncovering stories that teach us how to start reaching beyond listening to customers — translating their evolving needs. Then prompting customers to “signal” what they’re most interested in, when, where and why — leading to more leads and sales. Companies from Intuit down to little guys like PetRelocation.com and Logan Services (residential HVAC) are selling on Facebook, generating leads using content marketing, etc.

But, yes, I definitely think social media has a role in the sales cycle. Sometimes – depending on the relationship and the prospect – the community manager may need to be much more involved in the sale.

Great article!

Amy Garland
Marketing Manager, Blue Sky Factory

Interesting post here – I like your thinking, but I’ll offer a slightly different take that takes into account both the hunter and the farmer.

Whether it’s B2C, B2B or whatever, people buy from people. And people prefer to deal with people they LIKE. So how do you get someone to like you? Just be yourself, care about other people and show them some respect, and one way or another it will happen. The “just be yourself” part happens to be a hallmark of social media – transparency and authenticity are key. The same goes for sales and relationships in general.

Great article! While you did spend a significant amount of time explaining what is meant by hunting and farming from a sales sense, many people are still not aware of those terms even though they use the strategies every day. As a social media strategist and LinkedIn consultant, I specialize in social media for sales and business development and regularly use those terms. It’s amazing how many blank stares I still get talking to very accomplished sales people.

I think that this is a very important issue. Social media is great at building awareness, but does not naturally drive sales. It fits in perfectly with the farming mentality of planting seeds, building exposure and credibility and attracting clients. However, if you don’t ever “harvest” your crop – or hunt – you’re never going to be successful.

Too many people think that all they have to do is build networks, engage and people will be knocking on their door to give them money. The problem is that farming strategies tend to lull people into a common problem – they never ask for a sale.

There does come a point where you do have to harvest and hunt, which are the sales tasks that many people don’t like to do. Social media has almost given sales people an excuse that they shouldn’t have to.

I teach people how to hunt in LinkedIn every day. However, hunting in social media is not the same thing as cold calling, spamming and blasting messages until you’ve annoyed most people. It’s about understanding your target market, conducting effective searches to find them, seeing how you are connected to the prospect and then LEVERAGING your existing relationships in order to get in front of them and begin to build a relationship.

A truly effective business development strategy in social media needs to include both hunting and farming tactics. I see too many people spending a lot of time growing crops that then rot in the fields.

These are two very important concepts that people need to understand how to apply effectively to social media. Thanks so much for the insight and for bringing them into the light of day!

Crystal

This might be the worst titled blog post I have ever read.

Although the content is fine it has very little to do with the actual title.

Shame on you for wasting my time.

Adam