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Linkedin answers Social Media question without knowing

On Monday I raised a question to the "Global Sales, Marketing and Business Development Network" group on Linkedin. I asked the members "What is your one "Sales" tip for 2010. And it can't be hire me. If you bumped into someone in a lift and they asked for one Sales tip what would it be?"

The answers were very interesting; here is a sample of the responses.

"Listen and understand"

"Go out and talk to more people, and actually listen to what they have to say."

"Plan everything, work out who you want to talk to and about what. Think about what they want and then package your offering to fit that. Look at how your targets communicate and with who and plan your marketing appropriately."

"Listen more than you talk."

"Interesting that only one person so far has sighted networking as key and yet here we all are on LinkedIn. Networking is a great way to develop sales. I always network my contacts for referrals and recommendations. Speak to the people you do business with and ask them for help. It is always easier to walk through and open door than bang your fist on a closed one!"

"I agree with Allan and Girts - being honest should be a given, people are not stupid they know when they are being conned. And networking is proving an effective means of business development for us. My tip: Don't sell to people, be someone they want to buy from."

As I went through the responses it came to be that their advice not only applies to sales but to social marketing also. You will see that listening is a very important part, this cannot be stressed enough for engaging in Social Media. Listen first and then listen some more before voicing your opinion.

My favourite response has to come from Girts which is "Be Honest".

Remember Social Media can make an honest organisation of you. Because if you or your company screws up, someone somewhere will be saying it and most people will believe in Social Media rather than the corporate marketing speak. People warm to people are companies who can hold up their hand and say "we made a mistake, we got it wrong", especially if you are saying it from within the same social networking communities as your customers. All social media interaction is essentially about being open and honest.

Will Kintish also had the view for Sales in 2010, "Attend more events, pick up the phone more and reduce your online communications. Old-fashioned and quaint I know but then at my age this is what we used to do and it was "nice". Nice to see the smile, shake the hand, read the body language. Now that's real relationship building in my view"

So what is your one tip for 2010, before the lift doors close?