The Relationship Edge: The Key to Strategic Influence and Selling Success, Third Edition

Chapter 13. USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

I've talked throughout this book about social media and the use of technology, and up to this point it's been about how to use technology to stay in touch or to find people. What about using it to be found? How does being involved with social media help you build a positive business relationship? We know social media sites can be a giant waste of time, but what good are they?

I'm talking primarily about sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and your blog and your website. Sales consultant Jeffrey Gitomer argues they should be called "business social media" to distinguish what you do on them from what teenagers write on Facebook, MySpace, and other social media sites.

I am going to assume that you know what they are and what they do. If you don't, stop reading and check out the sites that tell you how to use them.^[31]

As I said earlier, while you cannot build a positive business relationship with social technology alone, it can prepare the ground for a relationship. People who find you via social media have already moved up your Relationship Pyramid at least one level—they know your name. They may also have advanced another level—they may like you based on what you've posted. Once someone has found you, you have an opportunity to build a relationship and create a customer.

Valerie Sokolosky, who heads Valerie & Company, tells me she's signed two clients who found her from her LinkedIn profile. "They were looking for my area ...