9 Steps to Virtual Sales Mastery

If you’ve built your career, reputation and bonuses on successfully building rapport with people across a table, virtual sales might feel like a whole new ball game. One that you need to master and fast because hybrid-working is here to stay. In fact, according to McKinsey, since the pandemic 75% of B2B customers prefer remote sales interactions over traditional face-to-face ones.

Personalised Prospecting Videos

Prospecting is the most critical part of the virtual selling process. Whilst cold calling and cold emails are effective tools, people are more likely to watch a 60 second video pitch than read a lengthy email or engage in a sales pitch over the phone.

By using video sales tools like Loom and Vidyard, you can create personalised videos and speak directly to the prospect.Not only will this make your email interactive and more likely to stand out, it allows the prospect to see your face – helping you build an instant connection with them.

Video prospecting is still being delivered in a cold email format, so the usual rules of compelling subject lines and providing high value content to the prospect still apply.

Plan & Prepare

Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail. To ensure your virtual sales call goes the way you hope it will, you must set expectations and make the process as clear and straightforward as possible for your prospects, which is only possible when you plan ahead.

Plan you call by:

• Checking who your prospect would like included in your pitch presentation
• Check if they would like to allow time for questions afterwards
• Informing all parties about how to join the video call
• Provide the details of which platform to use and how it works
• Give instructions on how to join the meeting, with a backup way to connect if there are any technical issues

Remove any confusion or doubts the prospect may have before the call will greatly improve your chances of virtual sales success.

Use reliable tools

This is no time to be cheap. You’ve done the hard part and got them on a virtual call. Invest in reliable, popular video conferencing tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Webex Meetings that are easy to install and set up. Obscure free tools with time limits of restricted features aren’t going to help you communicate smoothly with your customers.

Dress to impress
It’s important to dress as if the meeting was being conducted in the office. Not only does this put you in the right mindset by dressing for success, it also ensures you avoid any (news reader-esque) awkward moments.

Neutralise your background

Not everyone has the perfect home office set up. So to help you create a great first impression, make sure your background is uncluttered and free of any busy distractions. The easiest way to do this is to neutralise your background. 

Keep the cameras on

Once you have the prospect on call, gauging the prospect’s body language and interest from their reactions—positive and negative— will help you adjust your approach to ensure better outcomes. When selling virtually, you can judge body language and other rapport cues that you’d otherwise have to be in person to see. But none of this is possible without the cameras so encourage your prospects to turn on their camera.

Eye contact

Whilst making direct eye contact is tricky, make sure that you’re looking at the camera. Try not to look elsewhere outside of the screen as your potential client may feel like you’re distracted or unsure of what you’re pitching.

Handle Introductions and Hand-offs Tactfully
Whilst not ideal, handing off the prospect to another team member during the sales is sometimes unavoidable.
From the prospect’s viewpoint, this can be unsettling and potentially diminish the trust you’ve established. The best way to do this is to plan ahead and have the new person join in on a virtual meeting and formally introduce them to the prospect.

Video Follow-Ups

Following up is the most important part of the sales process so it’s worth investing the effort to make this as impressive as the initial pitch. Creating a quick follow up video, recapping everything discussed in the sales meeting will help you get your message across exactly how you intend and make it easier for the prospect to share it among other decision-makers too. This avoids any loss or dilution of the message.

These tactics will help establish trust with the prospect’s organisation and ultimately improve your chances of closing the deal.