There is an unbelievably tall mountain of content about social selling. And it's growing. In fact, at the top of this mountain are several new "gurus," "experts," and "ninjas." Social selling is its own industry now.

So why add to the discussion?

Because I have yet to see a very clear definition for WHAT exactly the term means and WHO should even care about it.

I've done the research and compiled the data so you don't have to.

I asked my network on LinkedIn what exactly they thought "social selling" meant, and I got a wide variety of answers.

In the end I developed one definition of what social selling IS, and equally as important, a definition of what social selling IS NOT.

It's not that crazy, is it?

As the subject of social selling gets explored more deeply, the definition gets more obscured.

There are several facets to social selling like which platforms to use and the various techniques for engagement. But those aren't social selling in and of themselves.

Here's a test:
I'm a pharma sales rep and I share articles from my industry on LinkedIn regularly. Occasionally I even write my own content.
But my entire network is made of coworkers, friends, and family.
Am I "social selling"?

For the answer, see the next slide.

So the answer is NO. If you are building a brand for yourself on social media, but that brand isn't reaching prospective clients, you are NOT social selling.

Can social media be used for other purposes than sales?
By all means, yes. Almost none of these networks were developed with sales in mind - they were built for people to be SOCIAL.

If the people you want to sell to aren't using social media, you shouldn't be trying to sell to them there.

That would be like trying to sell business insurance on a playground. If your prospects aren't going there, why are you?

Imagine you're on Twitter talking with people about your weekend trip to Hobby Lobby when suddenly a sales rep for Michael's, their competitor, starts tweeting about how you should switch to them.

If you're not on Twitter to find an alternative to your current home decor supplier, this might turn you off to Michael's. It might seem intrusive and inappropriate.

But if you're tweeting about how horrible your Hobby Lobby experience was and how you wish there were a better way to decorate, you might welcome the suggestion to switch.

You may be tempted to spend a lot of time with social because it is new and exciting. But beware that if your prospects aren't using social or don't like being targeted by sales people there, you're probably just avoiding the really necessary steps to build your pipe.