Selling virtually does come with a ton of benefits – like cutting costs, increasing customer visits and getting more deals closed faster – but knowing where to start isn’t always easy. Here are 4 ways to get your virtual sales machine started, and steer it in the right direction.
1. Be ready to change
It may seem like a strange place to start, but in reality the first step to start selling virtually is to get comfortable with the changes that come with it. To move to a virtual model will mean that the traditional processes are uprooted, and that new ones will come to take their place. And as with any change, this may seem a bit scary.
That said, if you as a sales leader can get comfortable with this change and communicate the same level of confidence to your team, you’re in for a world of benefits.
2. Find the right tools for the job
Are you ready to start? Then, it’s time to gather the hardware and software that will make virtual sales possible. This can mean the right computer setup for digital meetings, with high-quality cameras and microphones, as well as the right digital tools. For the latter, we find your classic video-meeting tool to let you meet prospects and customers, along with digital-signing solutions, whiteboards for collaboration and maybe even a Digital Sales Room that can tie them all together.
You don’t need all software and platforms from the start, though, so it’s a good idea to take stock and investigate what you really need to get going – and what you need to keep moving.
3. Adapt your sales pitches and presentations
Meeting prospects virtually is a bit different from meeting in person. We’ve got the attention span to worry about, as well the very real possibility of zoom fatigue (as your prospects are probably in a lot of digital meetings every day). Factors that more or less require presentations to be shorter and more straight to the point, to make sure that your prospect is giving you their full attention when you really need them to. I.e. it’s a good idea to re-work your sales presentations by clearly showcasing the value you bring your customer at the very beginning, and cut the less-than-necessary parts.
4. Standardize the virtual sales process
Creating the perfect pitch, sales presentations and product material is one thing, and the hard part usually comes when you want to standardize your sales process and customer interactions. This means that you find a way for your team to always use the right sales material, to go about their meetings in a way that’s aligned with your strategy and give the customer the nice digital experience that is necessary when selling virtually. Something that can be a total game-changer, and make for an extreme boost in sales efficiency and number of closed deals.
To do this, you may want to look for a sales-enablement solution that can help you set up templates for how your sales processes and meetings should look, and easily share the right material to both your team and your prospects. Like our own SP_CE Digital Sales Room, that lets you do all that while also tying tying your sales processes together.
Do you want to know more about how SP_CE can up your sales efficiency, and make your sales reps’ lives easier? Contact us for a demo, or check out our Remote Sales Hub for more sales inspiration.
