One vitally important step in virtual selling is preparation. Just as with in-person meetings, you are going to have a limited amount of time for your presentation. But unlike in-person meetings the prospect is not right in front of you—it is harder to see their reactions, and it is much easier for them to just leave the meeting if they so desire.
They could later say, “Oh, we must have had a bad connection.” or “It looks like the conferencing site went down.” Therefore, you want to be well-prepared with your presentation, so that you are “putting your best foot forward” with your new prospect.
The Research Step
The first key element of preparation for a virtual selling meeting is research.
If you are meeting with a prospect for the first time, then the Research step of the sales process fully applies. In any kind of selling, virtual or not, one massive mistake salespeople make is not researching their prospects before contacting them. Really understand that prospect before you meet them. Do they know the same people you know? Today with social media this step is much easier than it was years back.
Research the prospect through LinkedIn and their website. Learn all about their products and services. Research common connections. Check industry news. In short—do your homework.
Your research must also include, as much as possible, the issues your product or service will address with the prospect.
Assemble the Presentation.
Once you have that research finished and in hand, put together your presentation. Your presentation should be fully based on the research, and never on assumption, as an assumption in sales is rarely correct. If there is something you do not know and cannot find out online, make it part of your presentation to ask the prospect about it. You will need to do that anyway as it is part of building a relationship and trust.
The presentation should also include graphs, charts, pictures, and any other visual aids you will need to add spice and emphasis to what you are saying. That is important for in-person presentations as well, but even more important for visual selling as it is another method of retaining the prospect’s attention when you are not there in the room with them.
Drill the Presentation
The final key element for virtual meeting preparation is drilling. You should actually set it up so that the salesperson drills the whole presentation through videoconferencing, while others play the role of the “prospect.”
The “prospect” should ask questions you might expect in such a presentation, and the salesperson doing the presentation should be ready to field any of them.
The idea in drilling is to get the presentation down totally smooth so that when it is actually performed, it comes off very nicely, naturally, and—most important of all—effectively.
For presenting in this new sales environment—be prepared!
