The increasing digitization and the Corona pandemic have significantly changed B2B buying behavior (Ancillai et al., J Ind Mark Manag 82:293–308, 2019; Forrester, 2022B2B buyers and Digital Selling. https://www.forrester.com/blogs/b2b-buyers-and-digital-selling-part-2-buyer-enablement-buying-signals-and-sales-transformation/ . Accessed: September 30, 2022). The number of interactions required for purchase decisions was 27 in 2021 (17 in 2019). B2B buyers are more thorough, conduct, if necessary, more conversations with sellers and third parties than in previous years and exercise more attention and due diligence in their purchases. For their business challenges and to have a good basis for their decisions, buyers search for information and solutions on the Internet and use social media for this purpose. These facilitate contact between individuals and companies, networking with each other and direct exchange about, e.g., similar business challenges, successful solution approaches, and suitable providers. Providers, on the other hand, use social media to build relationships with new customers and maintain relationships with existing customers, to learn more about needs and topics that concern the network, to offer help and to initiate business, perhaps even concluding it. The doubts about the practical use of Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Twitter have long since vanished, particularly in the B2B context and due to the possibilities for analysis, communication, and direct advertising that these media offer. Social Selling, a strategic sales approach at the level of the individual sales employee, has received increasing attention in B2B sales over the last 5 years. The benefit of this sales approach is, among other things, that it provides access to ever more complex and growing buying centers and helps to open up target segments, customers, or opportunities (Gabler Economic Dictionary, n.d., Neeb, Account management strategies in B2B sales. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden, 2022, p. 119 ff.). Other advantages are seen in the early presence in the purchasing decision process of prospects, in direct contact with decision-makers, greater brand visibility, the acquisition of better-qualified leads, better sales rates, and order sizes, among many other things. This article sheds light on theoretical and practical aspects of social selling, including what prerequisites must be in place for the start, how social selling works, what characterizes a successful strategy, the relevance of content and content marketing, and much more.

Social Selling in B2B: How Sales Benefit and the Sales Process Flourishes

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发表日期：

2025年

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Beatrice Ermer,
Jens Kleine

摘要

The increasing digitization and the Corona pandemic have significantly changed B2B buying behavior (Ancillai et al., J Ind Mark Manag 82:293–308, 2019; Forrester, 2022B2B buyers and Digital Selling. https://www.forrester.com/blogs/b2b-buyers-and-digital-selling-part-2-buyer-enablement-buying-signals-and-sales-transformation/ . Accessed: September 30, 2022). The number of interactions required for purchase decisions was 27 in 2021 (17 in 2019). B2B buyers are more thorough, conduct, if necessary, more conversations with sellers and third parties than in previous years and exercise more attention and due diligence in their purchases. For their business challenges and to have a good basis for their decisions, buyers search for information and solutions on the Internet and use social media for this purpose. These facilitate contact between individuals and companies, networking with each other and direct exchange about, e.g., similar business challenges, successful solution approaches, and suitable providers. Providers, on the other hand, use social media to build relationships with new customers and maintain relationships with existing customers, to learn more about needs and topics that concern the network, to offer help and to initiate business, perhaps even concluding it. The doubts about the practical use of Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Twitter have long since vanished, particularly in the B2B context and due to the possibilities for analysis, communication, and direct advertising that these media offer. Social Selling, a strategic sales approach at the level of the individual sales employee, has received increasing attention in B2B sales over the last 5 years. The benefit of this sales approach is, among other things, that it provides access to ever more complex and growing buying centers and helps to open up target segments, customers, or opportunities (Gabler Economic Dictionary, n.d., Neeb, Account management strategies in B2B sales. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden, 2022, p. 119 ff.). Other advantages are seen in the early presence in the purchasing decision process of prospects, in direct contact with decision-makers, greater brand visibility, the acquisition of better-qualified leads, better sales rates, and order sizes, among many other things. This article sheds light on theoretical and practical aspects of social selling, including what prerequisites must be in place for the start, how social selling works, what characterizes a successful strategy, the relevance of content and content marketing, and much more.