Part of adapting to the new normal has been the transition to video sales meetings rather than face-to-face ones.
Setting up a GoToMeeting or Zoom account is the easy part; what shouldn’t be taken for granted is that good face-to-face salespeople will automatically be effective at video sales meetings.
New business sales meetings are incredibly valuable, so in this article we’ve outlined some of the steps to ensure that you continue to squeeze every ounce of value from these opportunities.
1) Pre-meeting Planning
Continue the same level of pre-meeting planning that you would for a face-to-face meeting (if you weren’t doing this previously, shame on you!) This needn’t be arduous, but as a minimum should include:
- Setting clear objectives of what you want to gain from the meeting e.g. your best / best worst / worst case outcomes
- Identifying who the potential decision makers and influencers are on LinkedIn
- Any news or intel about the business, their competitors or their market that might help you demonstrate specific knowledge of their business
2) First Impressions Still Count
Much like attending a face-to-face meeting, being slightly over dressed is better than being slightly underdressed. Within the limits of what’s achievable, set up your meeting background to portray a professional working environment.
And the old adage “be dead on time or dead on arrival” still holds true.
3) Structure your meeting
It can be more difficult to break down any initial barriers, without, for example, the usual courtesy of the host offering a visitor a drink and the opportunity this provides for a warm-up. Depending on whether your meeting is a genuine 2-way video meeting, or a gloried telephone intro call, you may also have to work to overcome the lack of visual cues.
This means that it is even more important to have a structure to the meeting, particularly around how you open it: introductions and background, clarifying what the prospect is hoping to get from the meeting and your proposed running order for the session.
4) Agree Next Actions
Just because a video meeting may be less formal than a face-to-face one, doesn’t mean you need to water down your objectives.
These may include understanding their buying processes and who the decision maker unit are, alongside some traditional objectives such as getting a commitment to a follow-up meeting, or the prospect providing you with some further information to enable you to put together a proposal.
The key is to ensure that you treat the meeting for what it is; a valuable opportunity for you to move a step closer toward winning their business, and to summarise and agree with the prospect what your respective next actions are.
5) People Still Buy From People
Although the world may have changed, some things haven’t. There will always be technical and cost factors that influence any purchasing decision, but Buyers still want to do business with people they like and trust.
6) The More New-Business Meetings You Do The Better
Video meetings are no different to face-to-face ones: no matter how well-qualified they are, or how strong your proposition is, you won’t close them all.
The #1 reason cited by Salespeople and Management alike for missing sales targets is a lack of opportunities.
If you’re interested in stacking the odds in your favour by increasing the number of sales meeting you cover, Beanstalk can help. Please get in touch on info@beanstalkmarketing.co.uk or 0345 474 2047 for a discussion about our experience and capabilities.