For years, video conferencing has been one of the most under-utilised tools in the sales arsenal.
Fortunately, companies from all industries are beginning to re-examine the way that they connect with prospects and enhance the customer journey. In a world where digital demonstrations and video conversations can often be more cost-effective and efficient than face-to-face interactions, video is finding its place in the spotlight.
Video meetings, offering an immersive way to support face-to-face interactions at a distance, provide sales teams with a new avenue to encourage conversions. Today, we’re going to examine how sales teams can effectively close more deals with video in their toolkit.
What is video conferencing?
Video conferencing is a powerful component of the remote sales toolkit. As working from home becomes increasingly popular, and businesses strive to avoid long trips and regular travel, video is a key solution. Video conferencing tools provide a quick and easy way for businesses to host meetings with colleagues, contractors, and customers alike.
With the right video technology, you can have HD interactions with other people that make it feel as though you’re sitting in the same room. What’s more, many video conferencing tools also come with access to things like screen sharing and remote desktop access, to help add more context to conversations.
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How does video conferencing work?
Video conferencing allows people in multiple dispersed locations to interact with each other through both voice and image. Visual information is exchanged via webcams and streaming video codecs, while audio is delivered through headsets, conference phones, and desk phones.
In the world of remote sales, video conferencing takes teams as close as they can get to face-to-face interactions, while allowing them to remain in the comfort of their own homes or coworking spaces. Some video software solutions are even so simple that all you need to do is click one button to launch your call.
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Why remote sales teams should use video conferencing
All remote sales managers want the same thing: to keep their team as efficient and productive as possible in any environment. With video tools, sales teams can unlock all the benefits of working remotely, without having to compromise on meaningful interactions with prospects and leads.
As remote work from home jobs continue to grow more common, sales teams around the world are discovering the benefits of video for themselves, such as:
Face to face interactions: Studies show that only 7% of communication is verbal. The rest of what we say is conveyed in things like tone of voice, body language and facial expression. In remote environments where employees can’t meet in-person with clients, video conferencing ensures that crucial nuances of nonverbal communication still come through.
Better presentations: Working remotely doesn’t have to mean reducing the impact of your presentations. Screen sharing technology means that you can showcase the performance of certain tools and software in action, without a PowerPoint presentation. Remote sales staff can even use video tools to share a screen case of just one application or internet tab at a time, helping to enhance the quality of the meeting.
Reduced travel: In the past, prospecting used to take a lot more time and money. Travelling from one office to another ate up a lot of time and cost a fortune in fuel. However, with video conferencing, a remote sales team can host dozens of demonstrations and conversations in a single day, without any travel at all. Not only does this cut costs and improve efficiency, but it means you get to protect the environment too.
Regular communication: Visiting a prospect in person often meant finding a time when everyone could be available to appear in a room at a certain time. This isn’t always easy for busy business people. However, when joining a video call is as simple as clicking a button, it’s much easier for sales teams to connect flexibly and regularly. Teams can collaborate internally or reach out to clients in a matter of minutes and close deals. Electronic signature solutions such as Signeasy enable sales reps to send contracts and request signatures and get those back within hours. There is no need to print, mail, scan and fax documents anymore. Electronic signatures are gaining huge popularity in the age or remote work as they are quick, easy and as legally binding as wet signatures.
Reduced time and money costs: A remote sales team equipped with virtual collaboration tools and video conferencing services is incredibly productive out of the office. They can get more done, in less time, thanks to reduced commutes and travel. What’s more, you save money with fewer office overheads and fuel expenses.
How do remote sales teams close more deals?
Remote sales staff can be an incredibly valuable component of any team. These flexible teams can pursue more opportunities and drive bigger sales, all without having to worry about pesky travel time or face-to-face demonstrations. However, just like any sales team, it’s important to ensure that you have the right strategies in place to support employees working remotely.
Set the stage
First, ensure that your employees know how to set the stage for a sales call. Providing their co-workers and clients with an agenda of what might be discussed could be a good start.
Additionally, remote sales staff also need to make sure that they’re comfortable with the tools they’re using in advance. Encourage your team to take the time to set up a video call and make sure it looks as professional as possible. This means choosing the right hardware for video and audio, eliminating any clutter in the background of the office, and dressing professionally.
Send information ahead of time
Some of the information that your team delivers during a sales call may need to come through screen sharing applications. However, for the most part, you’ll be able to provide your clients with documents and videos that support your sales pitch in advance.
Make sure that your prospects have access to all the information they need to make an informed decision about whatever you’re offering. Additionally, ensure that employees can access information about customers if it could help them to deliver a more personalised pitch.
Build trust with customers
In the remote sales world, nothing matters more than developing a good sense of trust with the people you’re going to be selling to. Trust is built through personal and meaningful interactions. Video conferencing can help to establish more credibility for your team by establishing that crucial face-to-face connection. However, it might be worth sharing things like reviews, testimonials, and case studies from other happy customers to give your trust ranking a boost.
It’s also worth ensuring that your customers know who to reach out to on your sales team when they have any questions about your product. Responding quickly to concerns and queries enhances trust instantly.
Make the most of visual presentations
Human beings absorb information better when we can see and hear everything, rather than just using one of our senses. Ensure your remote sales staff have the sales tools that they need to demonstrate your product visually. This could include recording videos and webinars in advance that you can share with your customers, or just sharing screens during a meeting.
Remember that how you present your video conference can make a difference too. Think about the settings that your teams are working remotely in – do they look professional? Are your employees dressed for success in every meeting?
Establish goals from the beginning
Finally, make sure that you can direct the flow of the conversation by letting your customers know what to expect from the beginning. It’s helpful to be as clear as possible during an actual call by establishing that this is going to be a closing call.
Introduce everyone that’s on the call so that you can reduce questions in the middle of the presentation, then walk your customer through your sales pitch, stopping to answer questions when it’s possible to do so.
Get ready to close more sales
Remote sales teams are becoming increasingly popular in the current landscape. They’re more productive and satisfied at work than their in-office counterparts. What’s more, they’re much more affordable to manage too!
With the right tools in place to manage your remote team and a solution for video conferencing to enhance sales conversations, your business will achieve its goals in no time. Reach out to RingCentral today to find out more about optimising your sales team.
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About the Author:
Sam O'Brien is the Senior Website Optimisation & User Experience Manager for EMEA at RingCentral, a global UCaaS systems provider. Sam has a passion for innovation and loves exploring ways to collaborate more with dispersed teams. He has written for websites such as Hubspot and PollEverywhere.
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