Oh, com’n, you didn’t really think that social media has made it possible for you to not have to do any selling, did you? But wait-maybe you did. It’s kind of understandable really what with all the hype that’s going on out there. Linkedin this. Facebook that. Instagram and more. Old fashioned selling seems to have become passé.

Yes, the social media Kool-Aid is a very powerful drink and business owners are taking it in in great big gulps.

It’s seductive. It promises big returns and heck, it’s mostly free so all of those other sales and marketing efforts can be stopped, right?

Wrong. Here’s the truth:

1. You absolutely must continue with an integrated sales and marketing campaign. They all work together to give you the biggest ROI on your investment, however small or large it may be.
2. Your social media campaign must be based on a well-formulated strategy or it will most certainly fail to get you the results that you want. Even more important, do you know the results that you want
3. Your social media campaign should not be designed and run by anyone that doesn’t have a strong background in business and who truly understands business communications and growth strategy. You should not be looking for a technician; a strategist will work better for you.
4. You must have a sales process so that you know what to do with your suspects and prospects generated by social media (and any other marketing initiatives that you have undertaken.
5. You and/or your sales team must have exquisitely developed sales skills. There is no compromising here.
   6) You must recognize that social media does not work for every business but before you determine that it can or can’t work for you, engage in an analysis with an impartial and knowledgeable resource.