An important aspect of successful virtual sales meetings is non-verbal communication. During a sales conversation, it’s not only about what is actually said during the meeting, but also about things like body language, tone of voice, and the connection between you and your prospect.
Conversations in the same physical space are not always an option because we increasingly work remotely. More and more sales conversations are virtual sales meetings and this is unlikely to change in the future. Video calling has become the new norm.
Challenges of virtual sales meetings
Virtual sales meetings differ from offline, physical meetings in many ways. During remote selling, it can be more difficult to communicate nonverbally. Build a connection with the potential customer and to make sure everyone keeps their attention during the conversation can also be more difficult.
All of these aspects affect the sales process and can get in the way of successful digital sales. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can implement during a virtual sales meeting. Here are five tips for remote selling to ensure you have a productive virtual sales meeting.
1. Keep Sessions Short
Research shows that video calls are a lot more tiring than an offline, physical conversation. That’s because online conversations require more mental energy: during virtual sales meetings, it takes more effort to read and interpret the other person's facial expressions, voice, and body language. As a result, you can quickly feel over-stimulated and drained.
Furthermore, it takes more effort to keep your attention during the conversation in a virtual meeting. This is because you have to actively focus on your computer screen all the time. In addition, virtual conversations often take place at home, where you are more likely to be distracted by family members or pets, for example.
For this reason, it is wise to keep remote selling sessions short. They certainly don't have to be as long as offline sessions. For convenience, you can assume about half the time. You want to avoid that you and your conversation partner will be tired and drained at the end. Because if you are, it will make you less convincing. Besides, your conversation partner may be less interested if he or she feels tired and drained. So instead, go for a short but powerful session.
2. Rewrite Your Sales Pitch
You may be tempted to use the same sales pitch during virtual conversations as you normally do during offline conversations. But things that work offline don't necessarily work online: the situation is different and a pitch that works well for you offline may be less successful online. It is therefore smart to always evaluate your sales pitch and make sure you adapt it to the specific situation.
- For example, for an online sales call you can make sure you practice your pitch well in advance, because during a virtual sales meeting mistakes are more obvious.
- It’s also important not to forget the small talk. A video call often feels very formal, and with a little small talk, you can ensure that everyone feels more at ease.
- Also, try to avoid monotony, keep the conversation lively and interesting. This brings us to the next tip:
3. Go For Interaction
During remote selling, it can be more difficult to naturally start a conversation. During virtual sales calls, we often tend to have monologues. The threshold to respond to someone is a lot higher than during an offline conversation. After all, it’s often harder to use non-verbal communication to indicate that you want to say something.
Furthermore, people often have their microphones turned off when someone else is speaking. This means that before you start speaking, you have to turn on your microphone. This can withhold people from making small comments.
Interaction is important to keep your conversation partner engaged during virtual meetings. So try to avoid turning your sales pitch into a monologue and actively seek dialogue.
- If you are having a conversation with several people at once, it can help to make this explicitly clear at the start of the conversation. Tell them that it’s not a problem if people interrupt you with questions or comments.
- You can also propose that people wave if they want to say something.
- It can also help to give everyone some time to talk at the start of the conversation. Ask your discussion partners a few questions or make sure there is a short introduction. If people have talked for a while, the threshold to speak again later in the conversation is much lower.
- Keep asking questions during your pitch.
4. Test And Check Your Tools
This tip may go without saying, but that doesn't make it any less important. Nothing can be as awkward during a video call as faltering technology. Make sure that you are 100% sure that everything is in order beforehand.
- Check whether your laptop is functioning properly, whether the battery is charged, whether the audio is clear and whether the picture is good. Clear audio and a sharp picture are very important, it's a lot harder to feel a connection with someone you can't see and hear very well.
- Also, make sure you have a fast and stable internet connection. Make sure that the connection doesn’t drop. It’s also very important that there is no delay in the connection. A small delay will make a conversation go a lot less smoothly.
- And do not forget that you can use various online tools during virtual sales meetings. For example: show a presentation, a poll or a short video during the conversation. This keeps your conversation partners involved and makes the conversation feel less monotonous.
5. Research Your Conversation Partner
Make sure you research your conversation partner prior to the meeting. This is of course also relevant for offline sales conversations, but with online sales conversations, it can be extra important because here you have less time and resources to create a connection. So make sure you know who you are going to talk to.
If you have a conversation with several people at once, it's also wise to find out who the decision-maker is. Make sure you have relevant information to offer and that your pitch matches the specific needs of the client. This way you significantly increase the chances of successfully completing your virtual sales meeting.
The Right Conditions For Virtual Sales Meetings With Vectera
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Feel free to contact us to discuss the possibilities for your organization!