A virtual sales meeting via Zoom or Microsoft Teams are now commonplace in sales engagement with customers. Today, remote working has become the new normal in the sales world. As a salesperson, you probably will have plenty of virtual meetings with prospects on your calendar for demos, presentations, and introductions. However, a different skill set is required to successfully guide a prospect through a virtual meeting than in an in-person encounter. Here are some tips for conducting a successful virtual meeting with your prospects or customers.
Create a Relaxing and Distraction-Free Work Environment
When you schedule in-person sales meetings, you should choose an appropriate location to demonstrate to your prospects that they have your undivided attention. During a virtual sales meeting, you must show the same amount of attention to detail. Even if your current work scenario isn’t perfect, you should try to create a distraction-free environment and virtual meeting etiquette During sales meetings, ask your children and other family members to remain away. Despite how cute your pets are, you don’t want them to disrupt the meeting, so shut the door. Remove all other sources of distraction from your desk, and make sure your phone is turned off during meetings. You should also make sure that your digital interface isn’t causing you any problems.
Turn off notifications and close all windows that aren’t linked to your meeting. You must also ensure that your prospect does not become distracted throughout the session. Make sure your background is both professional and non-distracting. Having a lot of books or objects in the background can be a visual distraction for potential customers. Use a digitally created backdrop if you’re concerned about your area distracting others.
Invest in The Appropriate Virtual Sales Meeting Tools
You want to emulate the closeness of an in-person meeting as much as possible in your virtual sales meeting. A high-resolution webcam and microphone can be beneficial. A good microphone ensures that none of your words are lost, while high-quality video boosts your virtual presence. During meetings, you should also wear headphones. Although it may appear weird, shutting out background noise is crucial for clear communication exchange.
Before You Use Your Virtual Conferencing Application, Familiarize Yourself with Its Features
When working remotely, you may find yourself employing a variety of video conferencing platforms to satisfy your prospects’ preferences. Before dialing into a conference call, familiarize yourself with all of the tools ensuring the best virtual presentation quality. Struggling to complete fundamental tasks wastes time and makes you appear unprofessional. You’ll need to know how to invite participants, mute and unmute yourself, and share your screen with conference attendees at the absolute least. Many video conferencing software comes with a slew of extra features you won’t use. Find out what they are so you don’t click the wrong buttons during the meeting. If you have the option of recommending a conferencing technology for your meeting, choose one that you are quite familiar with.
Use Virtual Meetings to Practice Your Body Language
Body language is extremely different in video conferencing than it is in real life, yet it is just as crucial. Examine your appearance on the camera before entering a meeting. In order to create the illusion of eye contact, where should you look? To achieve a flattering angle for yourself, you may need to adjust the location of your webcam or computer. On a video chat with your boss or someone else who can provide honest feedback, you could try honing your body language. Make an effort to smile and speak in a confident tone of voice.
Put Your Best Foot Forward
Your appearance has a significant impact on how prospects react to you and how you feel. You mentally prepare yourself for the work ahead by dressing professionally. Even if your meeting is only going to be audio, it’s still necessary to dress professionally. Putting on your work shoes may seem pointless, yet it might aid in the adaptation of your work mindset. Don’t forget about your lower body, as you may need to get up throughout the meeting. In general, choosing neutral colors for a video conference call is a good idea. Prospects may be distracted by busy patterns and hues.
Make a Simple Yet Powerful Presentation
Even if you’re interacting via webcam, most prospects aren’t going to sit there and watch you for the whole of the meeting. As a result, it’s more important than ever that your presentation materials are stimulating and interesting to them. For most of the virtual sales meeting, your prospect may only see the slides. Personalize your presentation to your prospect wherever feasible. It’s fine to use a basic slide deck but attempt to include compelling details that will pique your prospect’s level of interest.
Use Screen-Sharing Technology to Your Advantage
During a virtual sales meeting, you’ll probably perform a lot of screen sharing. You don’t have to limit yourself to your PowerPoint deck. For these situations, walking the prospect through your product’s interface can be very helpful. To add some variety, consider uploading videos and other stuff.
Develop a Personal Relationship with The Prospect by Participating in the Conversation with Them
In a virtual sales meeting, it’s natural to want to get right to the point. However, you don’t want to miss out on the chance to build a personal relationship with the prospect. Make an interesting point or inviting conversation opener at the start of your presentation. This helps to simulate the more intimate atmosphere of a face-to-face meeting. Also, prior to the conversation itself, set some clear objectives, and forward on some information ahead of the meeting if appropriate. During the call, use your agreed agenda and end the conversation by clearly outlining the next steps (including actions, timing, and ownership).
To Make the Virtual Sales Meeting More Engaging, Ask Questions
One of the difficulties of a virtual meeting is determining whether or not the prospect is engaged. You might feel as if you’re speaking into the vacuum at times. Proactively address the issue by asking questions that require the prospect to interact with you. This makes your virtual meeting feel more like a real meeting rather than a presentation.
The reality is that salespeople everywhere have many additional obstacles as a result of the virtual selling environment. You can succeed in digital sales world via the virtual sales meeting channel if you follow these best practices.
