Times are tough. Budgets have been slashed. Your company has probably implemented travel freezes and instructed sales professionals to conduct more online meetings. If this is the case, you’ve been given access to a virtual platform and likely have a list of complaints and reasons why this method of selling simply won’t work for you.
I’m here to tell you that it will work, and that the virtual platform is not the problem. The issues you face have nothing to do with the software. It has everything to do with you, the communicator. You need to rethink the way you conduct your sales meetings. You need to transform your content and communication style to engage your clients, understand their needs and close more sales. The following tips will help you stay on track for more successful virtual sales meetings:
1. Content is King! The days of showing up in somebody’s office and talking for an hour or two are over. If you have transitioned to web meetings and are still trying to use the same presentation that you used for face-to-face meetings, I’m willing to bet it’s not going well. Am I right? It simply will not work. The way you prepare, organize your content, and what you say will need to change.
To captivate your virtual audience, you have to cut your presentation into small segments, each of which has to have direct value to your audience. All of your content needs to be value-based. Remember, you only have two or three minutes to grab their attention before you start to lose them. You need to use shorter sentences and repeat your ideas often as it becomes harder to keep people focused.
2. Your voice is your client’s only contact with you. You need to adjust your voice to fit this new medium. You must sound enthusiastic, have incredible pauses and learn to emphasize key words and phrases. To help you do this, do NOT talk to your computer screen. Imagine you are speaking to someone sitting across your desk or to someone five or six feet away. Stand if you can, and wear a headset. This will help with energy and projection of your natural enthusiasm. It feels a little phony at first. You will need to practice. Record yourself, and then listen to the recording.
3. Plan for interaction. During a face-to-face meeting you can easily tell if your client wants to say something or if they are confused. When you observe this you might spontaneously ask questions or stop and let them talk. If you are hosting a web meeting, you lose that interaction. You have to plan stopping points to engage your client. This means it will take you MORE TIME to prepare for these meetings.
Sales people are known for being good on their feet! That does not work in web meetings. Preparation will win over your client. You must be smooth and have interaction planned at least every two minutes!
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