Statistics show us that the number one most valuable trait that sales reps have is the ability to listen to a customer’s problem and challenge them on how to most effectively solve it. Statistics also tell us that the least successful sales rep is the one that focuses on building relationships. 

Now what these stats might be telling us is that a good sales guys should be an abrasive, antisocial know-it-all. And although some of my favorite people might agree, that is not what these stats are really saying. They are telling us we need to prioritize our time.

In a conscious effort to be a better challenger and relationship-builder, I have been toying with some ways on how I can most effectively marry the two behaviors. The following is what I have come up with. These are the steps I take at the start of a cycle:

1. A core tenet to being a good challenger is to understand your audience. Take the time to check your prospect out on various social networks. Look for things like groups they follow, tweets they posted and prior jobs they have held - this will tell you what they really know.
2. Once you understand who they are, try to brainstorm what challenges you have helped similar customers/individuals overcome. There is a lot to be learned by understanding the point of view of the individual you are meeting with. For example, they probably care about integration and reports if they spent their whole career in data warehouse jobs.
3. Meet face to face and have a meaningful conversation. A core tenet to the challenger sell is building trust by relating and helping a customer identify gaps in their perceived solution. Put simply, telling someone what they need to do over the phone is not going to cut it.  
4. After you have a great challenging conversation, make them part of your social network. That way you now also have access to their network.
5. Now it gets tough. Once you are underway with your cycle, try to find soft connections between your prospect and your other relationships. For example, if the prospect is a salesperson, maybe their top customer is an existing customer of yours. Once you have found this link, the sales process just skipped a few steps.
6. By the end of this process you will have (a) expanded your network (b) been better equipped for your calls and (c) potentially bypassed the always logistically challenging reference call.

Of course, once you get this down there is a whole other world of social trolling. For example, I can monitor who my partners are connecting with and we may have some joint effort opportunities. The key to that is don’t be abusive. Social networks are for connecting and collaborating, not for stealing and pestering. If you need a jump start in any of this, check out our #GoingSocial Portal.

To continue the conversation, feel free to follow and connect with me on Twitter @AndyThoe. I’d love to hear how you use social to sell. I am particularly interested in how to engage prospects earlier in their discovery cycle.