Video conference calls are now an integral part of many sales processes. That’s one legacy of the pandemic era that seems likely to be with us for a while. With that shift in mind, here are five video conferencing best practices we see market leaders using to move the sales cycle forward.
Turn your camera on, even if no one else does. Body language seen on video dramatically increases the quality of the communication and the level of engagement of the viewer. As a sales professional, you should always want the best possible experience for the buyer, even if they can't or don't want to reciprocate by turning their camera on. Don’t pressure them to do anything; do let them see your face.
Record video messages instead of just relying on email or voice messages. Video is not just for real-time conversations! Video messages can supercharge messages you might otherwise have sent via email or voicemail. You can use a tool like Vidyard to record a video email and send your messages with the best possible message. A nice bonus for you is that recording a video is much easier and faster than typing and proofreading an email.
Remember, the best meetings are designed ahead of time as discussions. Any sales meeting, and in particular any virtual sales meeting, needs to be interactive. It should not be a one-way monologue from the salesperson. If you have a message to deliver, just record it... and keep it brief! If you need two or more parties to be live at the same time, it is typically because you need to have a discussion, create consensus, and/or reach a decision about what happens next. Remember: Great salespeople ask more questions, listen more, and talk less than mediocre salespeople.
Set the agenda and identify the decisions to be made. Don’t make the common mistake of assuming that because this is video, the obligation to plan ahead has somehow disappeared. More planning is typically required for a videoconference session than for an in-person meeting, because a) more people may be in attendance and b) more people means more opportunities to lose people’s attention. Your goal is to keep the people on the other side from even being tempted to check their email while the discussion is going on. Every meeting should have an agenda that makes sense to all participants; every meeting should end with a decision and a next step. Everyone in the virtual meeting should know why they are there, what the agenda is, and what decision to be made at the end of that meeting is. IMPORTANT: Make sure you leave time to get a firm decision about moving forward; schedule time to set the next steps; have a backup next step in place in case you don’t get the one you want.
Eliminate as many distractions as possible and engage with your buyers. Neither party should be checking email, doing other work, or checking their phone during the meeting. First and foremost, close all other apps and eliminate all distractions and interruptions for yourself. Then make sure you are keeping the buyer engaged with questions, interactions, and collaboration. You can take notes together in a shared document, in the chatbox, or by means of an electronic whiteboard. Doing this raises the odds that both parties are paying attention!
Make intelligent video part of your sales process. Adopt these five best practices right now. You can rest assured that your top competition will be using all five soon if they aren’t already!
To learn more on this topic, check out this webinar replay.
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