I joined Steve Benson on the Outside Sales Talk podcast to talk about something that affects every salesperson and business owner today: your online reputation. Steve is the founder of Badger Maps, and his podcast brings in sales professionals from across the industry to share what actually works in the field.
We covered a lot of ground in this conversation. From understanding the digital buyer to building a strong online presence, getting reviews, handling negative feedback, and making digital transformation work for sales teams. Here is what I shared.
The Digital Buyer Has Changed Everything
Buyers today are smarter than they have ever been about the things they want to buy. They have access to more information, and there are more things competing for their eyeballs, their time, and their attention. Before a prospect ever talks to you, they have already done 60 to 70 percent of their research online.
That means they have Googled you. They have looked at your LinkedIn profile. They have read reviews about your company. And they have formed an opinion before you walk through the door.
Steve made an interesting observation during our conversation. He said, “We believe that the average person that buys Badger Maps has done at least 70 percent of their research before they ever talked to anyone over here.” That number is consistent with what I have seen across hundreds of businesses.
Everyone today has a virtual doorway. It is important to know that each person knows a lot about you before they walk through your actual door. The future of B2B sales depends on how well you manage that virtual doorway.
A Strong Digital Presence Accelerates the Sales Process
A great online presence helps speed up the qualification process. When your value proposition is clear to a prospect before they engage with you, you spend less time explaining what you do and more time solving their problems.
Think about it this way. If a buyer already understands your offering before the first meeting, you skip the basic pitch and go straight to the real conversation. That is where deals happen.
There are several ways salespeople can improve their online presence:
- Keep putting content out there that your audience wants to consume. Blog posts, videos, and social content all work.
- Have an up-to-date and clear value proposition on your company website. Make it crystal clear what you do.
- Make sure your LinkedIn profile is a selling tool, not just a resume. It acts as your virtual business card.
- Engage on social media where your buyers spend their time. For most B2B professionals, that is LinkedIn.
I have done a ton of work on my own LinkedIn profile over the years, and I take it seriously. Your LinkedIn profile is the first thing people check. Make sure it tells them exactly how you can help them.
Three Strategies for Enhancing Your Digital Presence
Steve asked me about the most important things a sales rep or company can do that are not always obvious. I narrowed it down to three.
First, get on camera. Video is the most powerful medium right now. Your prospects want to see you and hear from you, not just read about you. A short video introducing yourself or explaining your product does more than a thousand words on a landing page.
Second, invest in learning. Before I arrived at the tech company I work with today, I was in the traditional media space. In traditional media, you could listen to Tony Robbins and Zig Ziglar, get some motivation, and follow that path. But today, there is a whole new generation that loves learning and consumes information constantly because it is easy to get their hands on. As a seasoned salesperson, I had to adapt to become a constant learner or I would not have survived in the software business. You need to constantly invest in yourself and consume new information.
Third, build your personal brand online. Your digital presence is not just your company website. It is your LinkedIn profile, your social media activity, and the content you create. All of it sends a signal to your buyers about whether you are someone worth their time.
Why Online Reviews Matter More Than You Think
In the old days, we had brochures and printed testimonials. Today, social proof lives online. Reviews on Google, LinkedIn recommendations, and case studies all serve the same purpose: they remove the fear a prospect has about whether they should give you their time.
And here is the thing most people miss. Prospects are not just afraid of spending money. They are afraid of wasting their time in a painful meeting where they get no value. Your online reputation has to address that fear before the meeting even happens.
The challenge is that very few customers leave reviews on their own. Steve mentioned this during our conversation: “I’m always surprised at how few, how little interaction there is. We have thousands of people who listen to every episode, but nobody goes online and reviews it.”
You have to ask for reviews. You have to make it easy. And you have to ask at the right time. The best time to ask is right after you have delivered value. If a customer just told you how happy they are, that is the moment to say, “Would you mind sharing that online?”
Build a Community of Raving Fans
One concept I shared with Steve is the idea of building a community of raving fans. These are customers who love what you do and are willing to say it publicly. Most businesses have them, but they never ask them to speak up.
At Vendasta, we had salespeople who figured out a smart approach. At the end of a successful call with a customer, they would say, “I am so glad we could help you. Would you mind leaving a quick review?” Some of our team members built their entire email signatures around linking to review platforms. That one small change drove a noticeable increase in reviews.
The key is to reach out to your raving fans and make it easy for them to share their experience. Do not assume they will do it on their own. Most people want to help, but they need a nudge and a clear path to follow.
How to Handle Negative Reviews
Negative reviews are inevitable. What matters is how you respond. And here is the important thing to remember: when you respond to a negative review, you are very likely not responding to the person who left it. That person is probably gone. You are responding on behalf of the thousands of other people who will do research on you, your brand, and your company.
You are showing that you actually care enough to talk to all your customers, whether they are happy or not.
Steve shared a great example from his own company. Someone left a negative review about an experience with one of their salespeople where the salesperson thought they had hung up the phone but had not. The salesperson said something unprofessional, and the customer heard it. Steve reached out personally, apologized, and made it right. That response mattered far more than the original negative review.
There is also real business intelligence in reviews. In three and four-star reviews, customers often include product and service suggestions. In one and two-star reviews, you usually find broken processes. And five-star reviews contain positive sentiment you should amplify. Leaders who pay attention to this data gain a competitive advantage. Those who have built scalable sales teams know how critical this feedback loop is.
Choose the Right Review Platforms
Not every review platform matters for every business. You need to figure out where your buyers are making their decisions and focus your energy there.
If you are a business owner, you need reviews on Google. Google My Business is where people make their buying decisions at the zero moment of truth. Those reviews also help your search engine optimization.
If you are an individual salesperson, LinkedIn is your platform. It is not over-polluted the way Facebook is. Your professional reputation lives on LinkedIn, and that is where B2B buyers go to evaluate you.
If you are a doctor, you need to be on rate MDs and similar healthcare review sites. If you are a software company, G2 and Capterra matter. The point is to identify where your specific audience looks for information and make sure you are present there.
Sales Leaders Need to Drive Digital Transformation
Digital transformation is not just a marketing initiative. Sales leaders need to drive it from the top. One of the biggest mistakes I see is when organizations put a technology layer on top of a team that has never used the tools and expect magic to happen.
You have to train your team. You have to model the behavior. And you have to show them what is in it for them. If salespeople cannot see how the change makes them more money or makes their job easier, they will not adopt it.
A mentor of mine, Steve Middleburg, shared a framework I still use. The perfect sales day is 60-30-10. Sixty percent of the time, you are talking to customers and doing actual sales work. Thirty percent of the time, you are learning how to be a better salesperson. And ten percent of the time, you are doing admin work. Most teams have the learning and admin numbers flipped, and that is a problem.
What I Would Tell Every Salesperson Right Now
If I could boil this conversation down to a few core takeaways, here is what I would say:
- Do not underestimate how important Google reviews are. People at both the top of your funnel and late in the funnel see those reviews. Google puts them right in your face.
- Your LinkedIn profile needs to be up-to-date