The Future of B2B Selling is Digital, But Still Human

Many organizations have adopted virtual selling as part of their process, while newer companies see virtual sales as a founding principle. Some are stuck with the old way, hustling through telephone calls and in-person meetings to close deals.

Whichever group your organization falls into, the reality has changed in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. With lockdowns across the world closing offices and making in-person meetings and conferences impossible, the vast majority of businesses have been forced to move to virtual selling, leading to an explosion in the use of video calls in sales.

And though the pandemic will subside one day, the landscape for business is going to look different to before. This is reflected in the greater weight many organizations are placing on virtual selling going forward. With this in mind, B2B sales leaders in particular are going to have to adjust their strategies in order to best prepare their teams to succeed, particularly where enterprise sales are concerned.

Sales directors of large teams can help those on the front lines by guiding on objectives and establishing a productive and focused virtual selling environment.

By now, all sales teams will be familiar with the various video conferencing tools available online. Zoom has shot to prominence since the onset of remote working and has become a staple of sales. But it’s not enough to select your video calling tool and send your sales reps off with the same preparation as they’d have for an in-person meeting.

This Deloitte report on virtual sales through COVID-19 and beyond suggests four aspects of preparation that are vital to achieving success in a virtual sales pitch or meeting:

1. Mindset and environment

Establishing the right mindset is crucial to winning the confidence game that is virtual selling; if your teams aren’t comfortable selling virtually, your prospects won’t be comfortable buying virtually. This feeds into setting up the perfect virtual selling environment; consider what your camera or microphone might capture during your sales call or adapt to your setup (e.g. dialing in where internet connection is patchy).

2. In-context messaging

In-context messaging is also important because we’re living in unique times, with daily disruptions to business as usual. The standard sales pitch is unlikely to cover all of your prospect’s pain points because they can change day by day. Get your sales reps to prepare for their virtual calls by drafting responses to the most common contemporary objections or challenges. And remember; attention spans in virtual meetings are much lower than they’d be in person, so try to keep things concise and invite engagement during pitch deck presentations.

3. Virtual meeting structure

The Deloitte report also suggests setting a defined meeting structure for virtual selling, such as preparing back up plans (e.g. turning the video session into a call in the case of bad connection), getting a pre-recorded demo ready to present if a live one fails and setting an agenda for opening and closing the meeting.

However you do it, it’s obvious that virtual selling is now a crucial component of B2B sales, and these video calls are here to stay.

4. Combatting Zoom fatigue

We’re already seeing the rise of ‘Zoom fatigue’. Prospects are getting bored with endless Zoom calls, and who can blame them? For sales directors looking to ensure ongoing returns from remote selling, moving to a virtual event strategy with new prospects is an excellent way to create more value for your organization and avoid your virtual selling becoming stale.

Virtual events are most often attended by senior decision makers with specific needs and objectives in mind. This means you can generate highly engaged leads and accelerate the closing of enterprise sales. Like their live counterparts, online events are idea-exchange forums; connecting your prospects with subject matter experts associated with your brand will build credibility and enable your sales teams to sustain the conversation with a higher likelihood of conversion.

Virtual event providers

Bespoke virtual event providers come with organizational expertise in putting these virtual events together, in addition to an established, senior audience and a network of quality speakers and hosts, so sales leaders looking to find a way around Zoom fatigue should look to partner up and bring virtual events into the sales process.

Imagine getting a group of hand-selected, ideal prospects around a virtual roundtable and having their undivided attention? These events tap into the rise of digital selling, which is likely to continue, but they also offer the personal, human touch that make in-person meetings so effective (and satisfying).

Virtual events connect individuals in a more natural way than a standard video sales pitch and help to forge ongoing relationships between C-suite figures. They also highlight new perspectives to incorporate into your sales process. Virtual sales are bound to become the norm, but that doesn’t have to mean losing the human touch from sales. The benefits are clear - a GDS and IFP survey of over 200 high-level executives and directors found that 60% saw sponsored virtual events as being instrumental in driving highly qualified leads.

Mix up the day to day grind of video sales calls by integrating virtual events into your process to accelerate your sales pipeline, deliver tangible ROI and defeat Zoom fatigue.

These are tough times for sales teams, because they’re tough for buyers. But there’s value out there to be had for both sides of the B2B table, and this crisis period could act as a discovery phase for how your business is going to thrive in the ‘new normal’.