Virtual selling – in which sales teams discover, communicate with, and sell to customers and clients remotely – generates unique challenges to the art of the sale. However, if practiced well, selling virtually can offer businesses and buyers alike a more time-efficient sales experience – not to mention cutting down the costs of in-person sales operations.
In this article, we’ll examine three obstacles to virtual sales and outline the best virtual selling tips to help you leverage the virtual environment to your advantage and master remote sales enablement.
As companies were tasked with shifting their operations during the pandemic, the need to carry out remote sales created new challenges. Let’s take a look at 3 challenges and how to overcome them.
The challenge: A virtual meeting environment can lack the warmth of an in-person meeting, and prospects may be less receptive to opening up. How can sales reps put prospects at ease and build rapport in a virtual setting?
The solution: Aim to create a warm virtual environment that mimics in-person communication as much as possible, while being aware of the differences. You might try to:
The challenge: Remote sales rely not only on a steady internet connection but a decent level of technical competency and knowledge of the latest sales technologies. Can sales teams keep up?
The solution: Minimize technical interruptions by investing in technological solutions to facilitate sales. Then, take time to get to grips with your chosen tools and technology ahead of time. You might consider:
The challenge: Distractions, phone tags, and the ready availability of the “cancel meeting” button can make maintaining interest a challenging aspect of the remote sale. How do sales reps keep prospects on the line – literally?
The solution: Encourage prospects to speak about their pain points through open-ended questions, then use this information to maintain interest through the follow-up. Actively work to help your prospect consider their options, and they’re likely to value the conversation as much as what you’re selling. You might:
Set your virtual sales team up for success with these tried and tested tips for selling online:
Preparation is as important as the sales call for the remote sale. Preparation falls into two main categories: research and logistics.
Within the research stage, you may want to consider:
For each sales call you prepare for, be sure to personalize your preparation to the client, customer, or industry involved. If you’re struggling to keep track of your research, a virtual teleprompter can be an effective (and subtle) way to keep your sales notes on hand during a sales call – without breaking eye contact.
Next, within the logistics stage:
Finally, practicing your pitch in advance can greatly boost your confidence as you wrap up the preparation stage.
The preparation steps outlined above will help set you up to connect during your virtual sales calls. Once on the call, you can use a few more techniques to communicate with your potential client.
A virtual sales call isn’t over when your call wraps up and you press the “leave” button. Following up is an essential step in maintaining interest, scheduling that next meeting, or—hopefully—finalizing the sale!
Once you’ve completed a sales call, aim to send a follow-up email within the first hour. Research shows that companies that do so are more than seven times more likely to qualify the lead than those who wait longer than an hour to follow up. And with more than 80% of sales deals taking five or more contacts to secure the sale, it’s well worth getting a head start!
A follow-up email can be as simple as a quick thank you and reiterate the key points covered during the meeting. If action items were discussed, aim to restate these and immediately follow up on those you are responsible for—such as attaching a pitch deck or providing an answer to a specific question the prospect had.
Since multiple follow-ups are often required, aim to add value with each email you send and offer your lead a specific action they can take to follow up.
Confidence communicates competency and builds trust – essential elements of the remote sale. Born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, VODIUM is committed to empowering remote and hybrid workers to communicate confidently.
To learn more about how VODIUM’s virtual teleprompter app can help you master the remote sale, read more about virtual communication, or get started with your free trial of VODIUM, reach out to VODIUM today!