ValueSelling Associates - Social Selling Initiative

Company: ValueSelling Associates, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Company Description: ValueSelling Associates equips B2B sales professionals to compete on value, not price, using a time-tested methodology with proven results. Our expert Associates create custom sales improvement training delivered globally in over 16 languages. With ValueSelling sales professionals get the tools, skills and processes to effectively qualify, advance and close more sales with higher margins.
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Social Selling Initiative of the Year

Nomination Title: ValueSelling Associates, Rancho Santa Fe, CA USA: Driving Engagement with The B2B Revenue Executive Experience Podcast Hosted by Chad Sanderson

Tell the story about your organization's social selling activities since the beginning of July 2017 (up to 650 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Chad Sanderson, a Managing Partner at ValueSelling Associates, is an engaging, high-energy consultant known for his direct and engaging style. He is also the host of “The B2B Revenue Executive Experience” podcast, the cornerstone of a robust social selling initiative that has driven measurable results for the company.

Creating Value through Unique Content

For the past 18 months, Chad has hosted a weekly podcast featuring a different guest every Tuesday, delivering unique content and insight to listeners. Today, over 5,000 people download each podcast episode, and twice that many tune in via the company website. The podcast is called The B2B Revenue Executive Experience (https: //www.valueselling.com/podcast) because the focus is just that – revenue generation. Each episode gives sales professionals actionable advice to be more effective at their jobs.

Hosting a podcast with a variety of guests enables ValueSelling to stay on top of the trends. It also helps drive business forward, but the key is always making sure that the strategy is developed around an understanding of what today’s sales professionals, including target customers and prospects, are going to find valuable.

At first, it was tough to try to line up so many guests for the podcast. Chad would put together a list of 50 to 75 people he wanted to have on the show and start reaching to them out personally. Now people are approaching him, asking to be guests on the podcast.

Using the podcast as an evergreen, “big rock content” asset, the company then applies a multi-pronged approach to share it through social media channels. Each podcast is also supported by a short blog post, because people want to consume content in different ways, and this offers another way to reach people. Additionally, it helps with SEO for that topic.

Social Reach and the Amplification Effect

ValueSelling has researched that 52% of its target executives around the globe are on LinkedIn, and almost as many are on Twitter. Therefore, the primary social media channels used for outreach are LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, and the company is starting to look at Instagram as well.

After each podcast episode is broadcast, the link is shared across multiple social platforms and visually interesting elements, such as a graphic or a pull quote, are added. In addition to sharing via the ValueSelling social channels, Chad shares with his nearly 3,000 followers on both LinkedIn and Twitter, and other company associates share on their social channels as well.

The proof is in the numbers. The B2B Revenue Executive Experience has enjoyed over 15,000 downloads since its inception in the Summer of 2017 and drives 5,000 to 10,000 visits to the company website each month.

ValueSelling also uses social media to highlight work with its clients. For example, when Chad finishes a sales training class, he posts on LinkedIn and tags the participants, deepening the relationship. They might engage with the post by liking it or commenting on it, or they might share it. This helps to highlight client successes, share thought leadership content, and lets prospects learn a little bit more about ValueSelling and the company’s approach.

Social Selling Results and ROI

“If you can’t measure it, you don’t know if it’s working” is one of Chad’s mantras. As a result, he’s a self-proclaimed “data freak” and measures everything. Here are some of the stats that show the effectiveness of social selling initiatives he has helped to initiate and drive:

-The podcast drives 75 to 100 content shares/month across the company’s associates’ social channels.

-73% of all business generated in the last 18 months was influenced by social media, i.e., clients or prospects specifically referencing having seen something shared on social, or conversations started via a social media channel.

-Through an employee advocacy pilot, 15 ValueSelling associates now promote the podcast socially. Within two months, the company’s web traffic doubled, and leads increased by 25-30% per month.