It all starts with the three Ps. You need to be Proactive, Personal, and Perceptive. 

Don’t sit and wait for prospects to initiate chats...nothing will happen! Instead, you need to be proactive in finding people to talk to. 

Make a point of starting at least one new conversation in the group every day. This will improve engagement and bring more people into your prospect universe. The more people you have to talk to, the more success you will have. 

Here are some ideas for conversation starters:

Many companies are using chatbots nowadays. These are software tools that chat with customers in a natural-sounding way. These bots have their place, but they can cause problems, too.

Some customers may think that you are a bot and so be unwilling to engage. You can combat this by letting your personality show through. Even the best chatbots can’t mimic human personality, so your prospect will know you are a real person. 

Be sure to use a photo of yourself as your Facebook profile pic. This will help to make you seem more human. Add a bio, too, as some people will want to check you out and see who you really are. 

Every chat you engage in will be different. You will be talking to people with varied personalities, needs, and expectations. So you need to be perceptive and quickly understand the kind of person you are talking to.  

For example, let’s say a prospect starts a chat with a direct question and no introduction. Then you should address their query before introducing yourself. A direct inquiry requires an immediate response. Don’t annoy your potential customers by wasting their time. 

On the other end of the spectrum, people will begin chats by introducing themselves with traditional greetings and small talk. In this case, you should reply in the same, relaxed manner. 

Research shows that a conversation with at least six exchanged messages is 250% more likely to lead to a sale. So don’t try to hurry your chat. Instead, let the conversation unfold naturally. 

Customers won’t buy until you have shown them the product’s benefits, discussed the price, and countered any objections. A chat may go on for half an hour or more. But if you earn a healthy commission at the end of it, the effort is all worthwhile.  

Selling in chat conversations is both an art and a science. Don’t expect to master all the skills you need overnight. This will take time.

But if you focus on learning as you chat, you will improve at a fantastic pace. You will learn the rhythms of sales conversations and find it easier to close the deal.