As I’m becoming more active within the local Raleigh/Durham community, I thought it would be nice to share the benefits of local Meetups. This one in particular was sponsored by a friend of mine and marketing extraordinaire, Cole Watts. His Triangle Marketing Club provides very insightful data and entertaining speakers. Tonight for instance, we enjoyed the marketing and sales savvy of the talented Lindsey Boggs. From the event page:

Join us in May as Lindsey Boggs, Social Selling Expert, explains the who, what, and why of selling and marketing in a very social world. Recently named a “World’s Top Sales Professional” by LinkedIn, Lindsey will provide intel on sales prospecting tactics that will help your response rate increase significantly.

Lindsey has presented to companies across the country including Oracle, NetSuite, InterContinental Hotel Groups, Brocade, SparkPost, SkillSurvey, and many other companies.

Lindsey is known as a Social Selling Expert and hence the title of the Meetup…

Social Selling Masterclass

If you’re in the sales & marketing game or a business owner, that title is intriguing indeed. This is why I found myself ponied up to the makeshift bar within the gracious hosts HQ — The Knowledge Tree, Inc.

On tap was Agave Cream Ale, Wheelhouse India Pale Ale, and Sweet Stout provided by Compass Rose Brewery. If you’re curious, I had the Cream Ale and it was delicious.

Eight Cream Ale’s later, Cole’s pulling Lyft up on my phone and that’s the end of this blog.

I kid, I kid. I kept it to just one son.

So What Did I Learn

LinkedIn has a thing called ‘Social Selling Index’ (SSI).

Your Social Selling Index (SSI) measures how effective you are at establishing your professional brand, finding the right people, engaging with insights, and building relationships.

Check what your SSI is: http://linkedin.com/sales/ssi – it only hurts for a second.

It’s Harder Saying No to a Person

It’s easier for potential clients to say no to an email than if they know you a bit. Direct them to your LinkedIn bios, personal pages, anything that gets them to see you and get to know you a bit. You’ll improve your chances of getting that yes.

The ABC’s of Selling Have Changed

It’s no longer ‘always be selling’, oh wait, that’s ‘always be closing’. The new name of the game is… Always Be Connecting.

If It Feels Weird, You’re Probably Doing It Right

Think and act outside the box. Stand out from the crowd with unique voicemails, snazzy crafted emails, and even how you present yourself. Here’s a quick story that comes to mind: Not too long ago we received a lead from a sexy swimsuit company. After a few attempts to reach the sender with no luck, I decided to be different. My next email subject was: “You don’t want this to happen, trust me”, followed up with a threat of showing up in one of their skimpy suits if they didn’t respond.

I got a response after 3 unsuccessful attempts.

Back to the event. We learned about the 3 P’s: Personalize, Persistence, and Patience. No need to explain here do I? Until they say ‘No’ — there’s still an opportunity.

And that truly was the end for me as time ran out on my night.

If you’re a small business, I highly recommend you check out Meetups in your area.