Its Not About What You Know But Who You Know: The Value of Social Capital to the Strategic Selling

Keotshepile Kgogwe
Aug 3, 2015
3 min read

You don’t need to convince business owners, executives or professionals about the importance of their business networks. They get it. Who you know often trumps what you know in terms of creating real business opportunities and advantages.

Social capital is understood as a set of norms, networks, and organizations through which people gain access to power and resources, as stated by Christian Grootaert in his paper on social capital as the missing link.in the selling function, social capital is reflected in both the internal and external social networks that sales functions builds, manages and maintains on behalf of the firm. The potential benefits of social capital can be seen by looking at social bonds. Friends and families can help us in lots of ways – emotionally, socially and economically

Social-capital-Venn

There three major catalyst vital for the success of an organization, financial, human and social capital. Social capital is arguably the most important catalyst as it natures long term relationships, open platforms in business and creates a wider network to do business. Building social capital is more akin to investing for long-term accumulation than for short-term profits. It requires the investment of value (your time and insight) without the expectation of any immediate return.

1. It Establishes You as a Leader

By offering advice or resources to others without expecting an immediate benefit, you cultivate social capital. Giving to and supporting others builds trust and establishes your reputation as an upstanding person who is skilled in your field — two qualities that are critical for buyers looking to engage.

To build trust in your network, do the following:

Become an active contributor to your field.
Provide value to your network via social media and in-person events.
Contribute to dialogue and debate.
Share the work of others with your network.
Support others’ endeavours when they need advice or support.
Be a person who adds value to others by connecting them to people who may help them.
Be honest with your team. Refusing to hide even the toughest truths will earn the trust of the people closest to you.

Social capital establishes leadership

Investing in people, sharing your knowledge and helping others establishes you as a leader within your network. Everyone wants to do business with a leader. Whether you’re hiring an executive, or choosing a firm or a professional advisor to do business with, people want to work with a recognized leader in their field. That’s because leadership within your industry and professional network acts as a form of social proof.

Creates strong teams

Social capital doesn’t simply exist external to your organization. You can also build strong, honest, and mutually beneficial relationships within the walls of your company. And by so doing, you make sure you can count on your people to have your back when the time comes.

This internal social capital is nurtured within your walls every day, but it’s also fed by outside relationships. For example, providing quality internships for local graduate students has led to a tremendous increase in our quality of intern applicants. The universities want to send us their top people in return for offering these positions and providing quality experiences; it’s a win-win

It Fosters Reciprocity

After you’ve provided wisdom, support, and connections to others in your network, you can begin to count on those people when you need support. Once you have a strong social capital it easy to turn to your network and do business because you have created and nature a relationship making it easy to understand your clients and their needs.