When you are a part of a sales team, your main priority is closing deals faster and meeting your monthly quotas. However, you have to be fully prepared before you can close a deal through a sales meeting.
It’s no secret that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused huge shifts in digital marketing and business operations.
Out of these effects, it’s the growing dependency on online communication platforms like Zoom, Teams, and Skype that has become the most prominent.
In this article, we will discuss how online communication platforms can help sales teams achieve their targets, along with tips to make the meetings successful.
Let’s get started!
Different ways leveraging video meetings can help boost sales
Business owners across the nation are planning to get back to business after, of course, adhering to the changes brought forth by the pandemic.
Since it isn’t safe to meet people in person with the social distancing norms, businesses have to resort to other means to connect with prospects and close deals.
And what better way to communicate with clients other than easy-to-use platforms like Zoom and Skype?
Keep reading as we discuss the benefits of video meetings when it comes to closing deals.
1. Allowing prospects to put a face to your name
According to research, only 7% of your messages are conveyed through text – the remaining 93% consists of body language (55%) and tone of voice (38%).
This is precisely why communication via email or over the phone isn’t as effective as holding video meetings.
Contrarily, video conferencing lets you host virtual face-to-face meetings, allowing your prospect to put a face to your name. This, in turn, helps build rapport and trust by expressing yourself freely.
Using Zoom or Skype can immediately make you stand out from your competitors that use emails. You can tactfully adjust your approach according to the prospect’s reaction to your pitch.
Plus, if you‘re able to make a good impression, it can go a long way in building and maintaining a strong, professional relationship.
2. More in-depth demonstration of products
Let’s face it: the only way you can actually convert your leads into customers is through successfully educating them about the benefits and features of your offering, giving you an edge over the competition.
After all, content marketing is one of the most popular areas today, with the industry estimated to be worth $400 million by 2021.
Now, regardless of whether you‘ve built an initial relationship with a prospect, you can use online communication platforms to deliver a live, in-depth demonstration.
For instance, you can use screen sharing to answer their questions, assist with setups, or do walkthroughs. Sharing and explaining videos, infographics, datasheets, and presentations could make your sales pitch more effective.
You can even make a better first impression by directing the client to your eCommerce platform that houses your products and highlights your best content.
In case you wonder what an eCommerce platform is, it’s nothing else than the software your website needs to sell products to customers.
3. Setting up meetings with decision-makers
When making sales pitches, it’s necessary to connect with decision-makers. After all, they are the one who decide whether or not your product is worth the money.
But due to their busy schedules, it often gets hard to make one key decision-maker to commit to a time and place – and we’re not even taking the whole team into account.
Adding to the complication managing a fully remote team that has key team members in different locations.
Video meetings let everybody – decision-makers, managers, or other employees – join with one click from any device of their choosing, irrespective of where they live. You can also record the meeting for reference purposes.
The other advantage is answering any questions your prospects might have instantly during the course of the meeting. You can also book follow-up meetings to check in with your clients in the future.
4. Boost productivity by speeding up sales cycles
Video conferencing completely eliminates the need for traveling. You can use this as an opportunity to connect with more clients in a day without the extra pressure on your physical and mental health.
This, in particular, can be very beneficial in today’s dynamic world as it helps boost productivity. Use the extra time you would have spent on the road to connect with potential leads to add to your sales pipeline.
Moreover, you can use content-rich presentations, engaging visuals, or other actionable items that effectively arouse the interests of your prospect to improve your chances of closing the deal.
How to improve your chances of closing a sales deal when on Zoom
In April 2020, Zoom recorded a staggering 300 million daily meeting participants, which was an impressive hike from the 10 million figure in December 2019.
This speaks volumes about how this online communication platform has become an important meeting tool.
More and more sales teams are using Zoom, among other online platforms, to close deals.
But in order to actually land a client, you need to consider various aspects that include setting up a proposal, getting the necessary paperwork ready, and so on.
Here’s taking a quick look at how you can close and follow up with clients virtually.
1. Schedule a proposal review quickly after the presentation
We would recommend scheduling a proposal review within 24 to 48 hours after you make a sales presentation.
Too much time might make your client forget what made them excited about your product in the first place, and too little time won’t give you a cushion to prepare a specifically tailored proposal for the client.
You can use Zoom for setting a proposal review. In fact, always get an agreement to the proposal review as soon as you are done with the first presentation, but refrain from giving the client an exact price if you have any doubts.
2. Creating a well-drafted contract
It’s necessary to have a contract in place to safeguard the interests of all the involved parties.
While you can always use pre-drafted order pads/contracts that contain standard terms and conditions, if you feel you or the client needs to add additional terms, make sure that you have it down on paper.
You can hold a video meeting with your client and your lawyer to explain any non-standard terms and conditions to the client, including the procedure for canceling the contract.
Once the client is aware of everything that’s on the contract, he or she will be more likely to sign the deal faster.
That being said, you can even consider closing deals faster by giving your prospect the power to digitally sign your proposal with legally binding eSignature technology.
3. Utilize variations in closing
The biggest advantage of video meetings is you can detect what works for your client and what doesn’t. So if you feel that asking direct questions doesn’t work for you, you can always use variations. You can try the following:
- Giving them an alternative. Eg: Would you like to add more graphs or text-based photos?
- Talk about details hinting towards closing the deal. Eg. Do you have a deadline in mind?
Your approach should allow the client enough time to say“yes.“ Also, avoid interrupting their thought process or looking too desperate when talking to them.
4. Negotiating the price
If you have closed deals before, you may already know how the client will almost always try to negotiate on the price.
Pricing your product or service is very nuanced and crucial.
Agreeing on an unrealistic amount may set unrealistic expectations, indicate that the price was too high in the first place, or even adversely affect your organization’s ability to deliver to the required standard.
If your client insists on price reduction per unit, offer him or her a discounted rate provided they are ready to place a large order.
Additionally, you can also reduce the price by altering some elements of your proposal, such as a cheaper version or using a later delivery time.
It’s very important for this reason to rely on invoicing software that is automated and easily customizable to help streamline all aspects of the payment process.
This will help make it easier for both you and your customers, especially when you will be dealing with large orders or unique circumstances from the client.
5. Consolidate the deal
You have to continue maintaining a professional approach once the negotiations are over, and the order has been signed.
Confirm what has already been agreed, including the delivery date, time, and payment procedure, where appropriate, in the video meeting.
If necessary, write down a proper schedule with carefully elaborated steps. Also, mention your contact details in case your client has any queries during the process.
The bottom line
Using video conferencing as a means of landing clients goes beyond creating an account on Zoom or Google Meet and sending out meeting invites.
While there’s a lot of scope for closing more sales deals through Zoom and Google Meet, you need to work on getting the approach right by taking the necessary measures. So don’t make the mistake of taking COVID-19 as a break.
You can still enhance your sales efforts by responding to leads and sending better proposals.
Things won’t go back to normal, which is why you figure out online alternatives to connect and maintain relationships with clients.
