Last week I spoke at Sales Machine with some other great folks, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Simon Sinek, and more. I was on a panel with the brilliant Jill Rowley and the ever engaging Jamie Shanks.  We were talking about social selling and how the tools available to sales people today have never been so powerful in helping salespeople connect with buyers. Hillary Bird of Consensus reached out and asked if we’d be willing to share HER thoughts as a social participant at Sales Machine.  I thought that was a great idea. So, if you didn’t go to Sales Machine, here’s additional perspective of a great event. BTW: Seth and Simon killed it!! —————————— By Hilary Bird, Marketing at Consensus, @goconsensus   I watched remotely from the comfort of my desk, listening to Keenan, Jill Rowley, and Jamie Shanks speak about social selling. A little later, it dawned on me that Sales Machine Summit had encompassed what it means to social sell and market. Let’s quickly break down the top three things I noticed:   #1 THE LIVE BROADCAST I wasn’t even at the show, but it didn’t feel that way. Our Consensus team was there, sending out tweets like mad men, snapping pics with sales influencers and industry leaders – all the while, I hopped on to the live broadcast in a matter of seconds. I took screenshots of speakers that moved me and paused the video when I needed to quote them and share on Twitter or Facebook. It was debatably more convenient this way, and I didn’t run the risk of missing speakers. Even got to watch my team win their #DemoJam! Making the live broadcast so accessible and shareable allowed anyone not at the show to still participate in its social community – this insanely increased the potential social activity.   #2 THE HASHTAG Salesforce and Sales Hacker had gathered some of the most innovative minds in the sales industry, which meant they were all on top of their social game just as much as Sales Machine. That being said, the online Twitter community was blowing up about Sales Machine (seriously, “#SalesMachine” was trending on Twitter on June 15th). This audience was one of the most, if not the most, socially savvy audience I’ve ever seen at a show – sponsors, speakers and attendees alike were treating the Twitter community as an extension of the show. This helped keep the remote audience (such as myself) highly engaged. Check out the Twitter social activity of #SalesMachine over this 5-day span. Pretty cool it’s still getting 10-25 mentions a day, 5 days after the show. (Source: Keyhole).   #3 THE RIGHT TOOLS AND AUDIENCE Again, to have a successful social execution at a show requires a lot on the part of the audience. I have seen shows that flop on the social media side, and it can be hard to pinpoint the exact cause (as it’s most likely a combination of things). Hosts can only do so much to encourage social activity until the event is live. But Sales Machine had the right audience, and provided the right tools far in advance – making it a social success. From pre-made tweets and nicely designed social pics emailed to me, and constant reminders with critical logistics info, sharing socially was made very easy. Nice job, Sales Machine! What other ways can we leverage social to increase brand awareness, educate and ultimately close more deals? Leave a comment about what’s worked for you!