2020 boosted the adoption of online selling. Many salespeople hope to go back to face-to-face meetings but according to Mckinsey, about 80 per cent of buyers prefer virtual selling because it is easier to schedule and the travel costs are lowered. With these statistics in mind, what are the trends for virtual selling?
TREND 1: Video is where it’s at
Lights. Action. Camera. Now is the time to work on your fear of the camera as more and more clients prefer to watch videos than read long streams of texts about your product. Video can be sent in an email to build rapport with your new leads. You can use video to show how your product works. If you are on any social media platforms, you will have seen how popular live videos are and most people like to see the behind-the-scenes of your business.
TREND 2: Trust is growing
Online trust was low initially, but as more and more work has been done online; people are becoming more comfortable with doing business online too. You can build trust by displaying different logos of the security software you use on your website and you should ensure your web address’ “HTTP” ends in an “s” to highlight that your site has an SSL certificate in place.
TREND 3: Plan for online
Many people had to jump online quickly and used whatever options were quick to implement but does the solution truly work for your business? Online selling is different to face-to-face meetings, and you need to make sure you have the proper technology and training in place to effectively use virtual selling to your advantage. Invest in good audio equipment and videoconferencing software. Learn about how to present yourself in a virtual environment.
TREND 4: Improve your process
There are many sales processes in place for face-to-face selling but how do these translate when you do virtual selling? One example is handing your business card over to someone. In face-to-face, you would physically give a card to someone but what do you do in an online conference? If you have struck up a conversation with a potential lead and they ask for your contact informationmake sure you send them the details via a private chat or better yet, set up a LinkedIn profile for your business and you. Go through each process in your sales funnel and note how you can do it effectively online.
TREND 5: Become a hybrid
Though many parts of the sales process can be done online, and this means that they can be more efficient and cost-effective. There may be times when you need to meet face-to-face with your client. Don’t be afraid to design a hybrid sales solution for your business. Every business has different aspects which work better online than offline.
With these five trends, you will be well on your way to closing deals online.
Proudly brought to you by the NSBC