In today’s hectic business world, we all operate under two general assumptions:
- Sales are the backbone of any business organization.
- There’s nothing like physical face-to-face communication to earn the trust of prospects and increase the probability of winning deals.
Well, A is definitely true.
As for B, you will soon realize that seller/prospect interaction that is based on advanced technology is not only future-ready, it is immensely more powerful, measurable and effective compared to physical meetings that are not technology-assisted. But first…
Meet the Traveling Salesman
Sales reps, as the ones responsible for creating revenue, are expected to go the distance to land new clients. “Going the distance” very often means red-eye flights, long drives, hotel stays and lavish client dinners.
The traveling salesman has become something of a cliché. For decades on end, that’s just the way organizations reeled in new business. If the potential client was located in another city, the salesman drove over for a meeting. When the potential client was located in another country, the salesman boarded a plane. The reasoning was simple enough: In order to close a deal, the client’s representatives needed to see who they were going to do business with. They needed to shake a hand, understand body language and gain a sense of trust.
But over the past decade, a shift has finally begun to take shape. According to numerous research predictions, it is a shift that will gradually take over the way sales are conducted and deals are closed: Face-to face sales meetings are slowly taking a back seat to video conferencing. This trend is already in full effect, and it’s on the rise. It is not without reason that Conversation Intelligence tools such as Gong.io and Chorus.ai spring up like mushrooms; they aim to enhance the video meeting experience using AI and BI, knowing good and well that this is the future of business communication.
Video Conferencing: The Key to Sales Scalability, Intelligence and Effectiveness
Today’s business processes are all about scalability. We all want to reach out to as many prospects as possible, and get maximum deals in minimum time. If your product’s sales process is one that requires human interaction, advanced video conferencing tools are a prerequisite for scalability: Not only do they enable sales reps to book many more meetings in an average workday and enjoy a much more flexible schedule, they also allow them to harness the power of AI, automation and big data to leverage their sales efforts.
Here are just some of the features that let sales reps make the most out of every sales meeting:
- Sales Calls Analytics: Advanced Conversation Intelligence tools analyze each call and provide actionable insights, track topics and monitor talk time. Such tools include a dashboard that allows sales team leaders to gain control of all sales calls and ensure all sales reps are on the same page, guiding them to talk more about certain topics and less about others. These insights alone are major performance boosters.
- Meeting Recordings: Hopping from one meeting to the next, sales reps often find themselves perplexed, forgetting what was said to whom and who told them what. Meeting recordings allow sales reps to keep track of all their meetings, having them always available for future reference.
- Automatic Transcription: Today’s video conferencing tools automatically transcribe the audio of a meeting, allowing sales reps to get high-accuracy transcripts as soon as they end their call and leverage them for email follow-ups as well as CRM updates. Transcripts also allow searching for text within them.
- Meeting Highlights: Some of the more advanced tools automatically tag important discussion points and divide the meetings into highlights that include real-time screen capture, making it much easier to catch up quickly by watching meeting summaries, and to share recaps with co-workers to ensure organizational alignment.
- Virtual Background: A customizable background enables sales reps to control their meeting setting so they can make sales calls from anywhere they want, while their virtual background shows a photo of their choice. Want to hide a busy open plan office and make it look as if you’re talking from a stylish conference room? No problem! Imagine the perfect setting for your sales meeting, and simply… upload a picture of it.
Bear in mind, though, that the quality and reliability of your video conferencing tools can significantly affect your pitch, for better or for worse. Just as you wouldn’t show up for a sales meeting wearing shabby clothes, you shouldn’t base your sales strategy on low-end technology.
Thankfully, most of today’s video conferencing tools are characterized by high quality and enhanced user friendliness. We’re not talking about fuzzy video and interrupted audio anymore, these days are long gone. We’re talking about HD video and crisp sound that can help both sales reps and clients convey their ideas and understand each other with ease, while genuinely feeling as if they’re sitting together in the same room. Not only can they study each other’s body language and tone of voice, they can also share presentation screens, record the meeting for future reference, and make an informed decision on whether or not to pursue their prospective partnership.
Less Expenses, Increased Revenue Potential
Indeed, video conferencing is part of being future-ready, and the benefits of sales via video conferencing are numerous and diverse. Ultimately, though, they all boil down to these core advantages:
- Less travel: Sales reps who travel a lot often reach a point where they feel worn out. The more they travel, the less effective they become over time. It’s definitely not easy being far away from home for months on end, and staying in different hotel rooms every week. Video conferencing allows sales reps to close deals without leaving the office, and as a result, they also get to spend more time at home.They are able to channel their energies into their deals, rather than into catching planes and ordering taxis.
- Effective client preservation: They say that the easiest way to close new deals is to reengage with old clients. Video conferencing is ideal for interacting with clients who are already familiar with your service, who you hope will want to work with you again in the future.They already know who you are, so they are less prone to insist on a face-to-face meeting. That said, they still require more than an email or a phone call to jump on board for a new project.
- Ideal follow-up: Sales processes can stretch out for long periods of time. In the past, sales reps would fly or drive to meet with a prospective client time and time again, until the deal closed. Today, with advanced video conferencing, that’s no longer necessary. Effective follow-up can be conducted from the comfort of the office, on a flat computer screen.
- Robust data support: Closing a deal is about more than just a personal connection. It’s about promising results and backing them up with data. Today’s video conferencing tools allow sales reps to deliver presentations and webinars, share documents and analyze graphs. It’s transparency at its finest.
- Less expenses, higher revenue: At the end of the day, companies want to make money and save money. If there’s a way to achieve great results while cutting back on expenses, then they’ll go for it. That’s one of the main reasons video conferencing solutions have become such popular sales tools.
Supporting Sales Greatness
Great sales results happen when great sales reps get the support they need to showcase their talent. Our advice is to invest in the best sales reps you can find, and empower them with tools that can help them deliver results. These tools aren’t restricted to technology. They can include workshops, personal coaching, access to data, and participation in strategic thinking sessions. But if you’re looking for an instant game changer, then advanced AI-based video conferencing can help turn sales greatness into gold.
