How to prospect online and sell by videoconference?

It is no secret that the Covid-19 crisis has changed the way we live and work. Salespeople are now increasingly turning to video conferencing to cope with health restrictions and keep in touch with their prospects. Teleworking and videoconferencing allow salespeople to save travel time and thus improve their productivity.

Here are two facts to illustrate this:

• According to surveys, salespeople spend on average between 20 and 40% of their time travelling to customers.
• The most optimistic survey of all sales action specialists (CSO Insights survey) puts effective selling time (face-to-face and telephone) at an average of 37%.

Although the telephone and e-mail are useful tools in the first instance, they do not generate a sufficient conversion rate. To do this, you need to step up the collaboration triangle. It is necessary to talk to your customer face-to-face or to talk to your customer using video conferencing solutions in case of remote locations.

How can video conferencing be integrated into the sales process?

To answer this question, it is necessary to distinguish between the different commercial phases: prospecting, pre-sales and post-sales.

STEP 1: PROSPECTING BY VIDEOCONFERENCE

Canvassing clients is a tricky step: the prospect does not know you and there is little chance that he will take a video meeting even if you have obtained his IP number. Worse, if you try your luck in this way, it is highly likely that your prospect’s feeling of intrusion will close the door on you for good!

Let’s be clear: direct videoconferencing is not a solution at this stage of the process; people’s minds are not yet ready. Does this mean that only traditional processes (mailings, phoning, trade shows, networks) are qualified at this stage? No, but we have to do it differently.

A very interesting approach is the webinar. This consists of selecting a topic of interest to your prospects, setting a date for a webinar and then spreading the information widely around you (website, blogs, communication through traditional media, etc.).

On the day, you have the floor to present your subject… and arouse the interest of your prospects.

STEP 2: PRE-SALES BY VIDEO CONFERENCE

Now that you have made contact with the prospect, you need to convince them of the relevance of your offer: service or product. A collaborative meeting is clearly an excellent means of persuasion at this stage to sell by videoconference, but there is a prerequisite but also an advantage:

• The prerequisite: It is necessary to prepare your speech carefully. Unlike the telephone, the video conference allows for a certain amount of “white space” or improvisation. Indeed, the prospect follows your gaze but not to the same extent as in a face-to-face meeting.
• The advantage: Any professional videoconferencing system allows you to share content at the same time as the visual and auditory exchange. A good preparation allows you to play on this double functionality. Indeed, you can alternate with attractive content and your own personal performance.

STEP 3: AFTER-SALES SERVICE BY VIDEOCONFERENCE

Video conferencing will be an asset in your game to maintain your relationship with your customer. It allows you to complete the range of your telephone and e-mail exchanges, by raising the level of your interaction, without having to travel. Moreover, experience shows that it is much easier to get a video appointment from your customers than a physical one.

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CONCLUSION:

One of the best prospecting solutions for making sales via video conferencing is to use webinars..
This is a video conference session consisting of a facilitator and participants. The facilitator is seen and heard by all participants, as is his/her presentation. The participants, on the other hand, are not seen by the moderator or by the other participants (unlike a traditional video conference). They can connect anonymously, as long as they have been given the url link to enter the organiser’s virtual room.

Selling by videoconference has thus become an alternative method for your employees to reach more customers more efficiently while saving considerable time.

Distance selling is only one of the many uses of videoconferencing. Motilde can advise you, contact us for more information!