If you’re looking to dominate the sales world, social media can be one of your greatest tools. Forbes has released new data pointing to the fact that social media helps drive sales. According to Forbes, “in 2012, 72.6% of salespeople using social media to sell out performed those who weren’t using social media.”

Social media marketing doesn’t just help you meet sales goals, it helps you exceed them. The article continues, “when it came to exceeding sales quotas (exceeding quotas by more than 10%), social media users were 23% more successful than their non-social media peers.”

In fact, over half of all salespeople who reported using social media (54%) could directly tie such usage back to at least one closed deal. Furthermore, “over 40% said they’ve closed between two and five deals as a result of social media and more than 10% of the respondents said; ‘Yes, It directly contributes to my closes.’ Respondents were very clear. Social media was a leading factor in their closed deals.” This isn’t entirely surprising, given what a valuable tool social media can be for lead generation.

For the salesperson living in constant fear of missing a quota, social media may also be a great relief. According to the Forbes article, “In 2012 non-social media users missed quota (by more than 10% or more) 15% more often than social media users.”

The top social media sites for selling are, in order, “Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, other.” With 75% of respondents saying they received no formal social media training from employers, it appears that the social media salesperson is still a largely independent adventurer.

Social media is best used as an additional tool, not a replacement, to common sales practices or other online efforts such as email marketing. The majority of salespeople using social media say it accounts for just 10% of their selling time. If you’re looking for a fast, effective way to help increase sales and exceed your quotas, social media may be the way to go.

Grab our new eBook, The Definitive Guide to Getting Started with Social Media Marketing here.

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