You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know why Dell has been so successful with social media.

The computer maker views social media as a way to extend its direct model and drive new sales. And it has made a massive investment to make sure it is successful.

Dell has a highly visible presence on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and Flickr. And it's working. Dell has already documented that its @DellOutlet feed on Twitter has contributed $3 million in related sales since 2007. What's more the @DellOutlet feed has amassed over 1 million followers on the popular social networking service.

Lionel Menchaca, a chief blogger for Dell, points out that one of the reasons the @DellOutlet feed has been so successful is because the team "started with a clear objective in mind" and then did a great job executing on that vision. Menchaca also credits much of the success to another Dell Twitter user, @StefanieatDell, who touts herself as "the gal behind @DellOutlet and who has been fanatical about responding to @DellOutlet inquires. That's a testament to the power that one person can have in the social media marketplace.

One of the biggest mistakes many solution providers are making right now is not providing dedicated resources to become part of the social media conversation.

At our Everything Channel XChange conference last month, Andrew McAfee, a principal research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)  who coined the term Enterprise 2.0, told solution providers that if they aren't Twittering, Facebooking, LinkingIn and using blogs and discussion forums, then they are putting their businesses at risk.

"It connects people with each other where that connection never would have happened otherwise," McAfee  said of social networking phenomenon. He's right!

Those solution providers that are looking for an immediate return on investment are missing the point. You can't win deals if you're not part of the conversation. It's like opting out of a conversation with a potential client. How do you expect to get the deal if you are not even talking to the client?

Get with the program. Get socially aware. Dell gets it. Do you?