9 Virtual Selling Best Practices To Host Effective Virtual Sales Meetings

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There’s no argument that the sales world has changed in the past few years, but most still wonder, “How much of this change is permanent?” The simple answer is all of it. We don’t see things returning to the pre-pandemic stage, so it’s just a matter of how fast we can mobilize, adapt and thrive with the tools available today. However, transitioning from in-person to online selling can be overwhelming, so here are 9 virtual selling best practices to help sales teams host more effective sales meetings with prospects.

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9 Virtual Selling Best Practices

Here’s what you need to do before, during and after a virtual sales meeting call to make sure that you tick all the boxes and you’re on your way to closing more deals faster and easier than ever before in a virtual selling environment:

Before The Virtual Sales Meeting

1. Make it easy to meet

First of all, if you want to meet with any prospect – you’ve got to make it easy for them to do so. You’ve got to make it super easy for prospects to get in touch with you, rather than creating a constant back and forth where you’re trying to double confirm the arrangements.

That’s not easy for them or you, so how do we make it easier? Use calendar scheduling tools like Calendly, where you can send a link to a prospect that lets them access your calendar to choose a day in time that works for them.

It’s a fast, easy, and convenient way to ensure both salesperson and prospect know where and when they’re meeting. It also has a handy feature that sends a reminder one or two days or even a few hours before your call.

This virtual selling best practice is so helpful because it helps reduce cancellations and no-shows, and who doesn’t want that?

Also read:

• How to Run Effective Remote & Virtual Sales Presentations
• Delivering Highly Engaging Virtual Sales Presentations with Spencer Waldron From Prezi
• Learn To Sell Like A Pro: 19 Best FREE Online Sales Training Videos

2. Master the platform

You must be a master of whatever platform you’re using for the virtual sales meeting, whether it’s Zoom, Teams, WebEx, Go to Meeting, or whatever platform you’re on; make sure that you master it so that you’re not asking prospects basic questions like:

• How do I share my screen?
• How do I use the chat function?
• How do I get my virtual background to work?

You’ve got to be the master because there’s a good chance that your customer or a prospect isn’t comfortable on the platform, so you’ve got to do some troubleshooting and tech support.

Overall, do some research on the platforms if you need to so that you are a guru on all of these platforms, and then be sure that you hop on the call at least five or 10 minutes before so that you’re familiar with it.

3. Send an email confirmation in advance

In the email confirmation of the meeting, you want to start by sharing the reason for the meeting. Remind prospects that this is going to be a video conference and then include the login instructions, where you’ll meet to chat (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet etc.), a sales meeting agenda and finally, finish by asking if there’s anything the prospect would like to add – that way when it comes to the virtual sales meeting, you can use your precious time with prospects effectively.

4. Research your prospect

Now more than ever, getting background information on your prospect or customer is easy. So do some research, hop onto LinkedIn, check out their profile, check out their company page on LinkedIn, go to their website, do a Google search, and see if there’s any news. Check out financial reports – do whatever you need to do. It’s not good enough to come and say, “Hey, what’s keeping you up at night?” Instead, tell them, “Here’s what should keep you up at night!”

During The Virtual Sales Meeting

5. Turn on the camera

Always turn on the camera and let people see your smiling face. Allowing prospects to feel and see your energy via video helps build trust and create rapport.

We also encourage you to prompt your customer to turn on their video. They may or may not do it, but you have to ask because if they turn it on, you’ll be able to see their body language and connect with them a little bit easier. But if they say no, refuse or are uncomfortable, that’s okay. Don’t worry about it.

If prospects really aren’t keen to connect via video, say, “Hey, do you mind throwing on your camera? So that I can put a face to a name?” And they’ll more than likely turn it on. Or if they’re a little bit hesitant, you can say, “Do you mind just throwing it on for a moment? So that we can get to know each other better? Feel free to turn it off afterward!”

Also read: 9 Tips To Look Your Best On A Video Call

6. Use prospect research to build rapport

At this stage, you should already be armed with your prospect’s research information to start building rapport. When you check prospects out on LinkedIn, for example, you’ll get a good feel for their identity. Ask yourself:

• What are their hobbies and interests?
• What do they like to do?
• Do they support certain sports teams?

Other topics you can talk about are things like:

• “How’s COVID affecting your business?”
• “Are you all working at home hybrid?”
• “What’s going on right now? How has this current situation affected your working environment?”

Any chitchat to get the ball rolling and build rapport in under two minutes, remember virtual sales meetings are usually much shorter than in-person sales meetings.

7. Be energetic

You must be more animated in a virtual environment; otherwise, your body language may not correctly translate to prospects. Remember to increase your energy by about 10%. That’s all you need. You don’t have to be over the top, but just a little bit more animated than you usually are in person. For example, if you’re going to count things out, go 1, 2, 3, and count it out with your fingers.

8. Have conversations, not pitches

Most salespeople in virtual meetings decide the best course of action is to throw on their sales deck and read through slide after slide after slide. Wrong. This isn’t a sales presentation or pitch; it’s a conversation, so ensure you engage prospects by asking them questions or getting feedback. For example:

• “What do you think?”
• “How does that sound?”
• “Is this what you had in mind?”

Again, resist the urge to share your screen immediately, and at least spend some time conversing. You always ensure you keep it a two-way flow instead of a one-way data dump. Use persuasive stories in your sales conversation to help make your presentations more effective.

After The Virtual Sales Meeting 

9. Send a recap email

Lastly, a recap email summarizing what you discussed and agreed upon, who will do what next and when is essential. This is imperative because the speed of business has accelerated -you’ve got to be on the pulse of the prospect’s next steps to ensure no business falls through the cracks. 

So once you hop off that call, you will want to send a recap email that thanks them for their time, recaps what you talked about, and the agreed-upon next steps.

Remember to mention the product or service you were discussing. To do so, consider, 

• What business outcomes do they want to achieve? 
• What are some of the indicators that will demonstrate progress and fulfillment? 
• What’s the impact of meeting these objectives on the customer? 
• What’s the overall value?

Designed and delivered using Prezi: 9 Virtual Selling Best Practices

No one wants to sit through a boring, static, and endless slide-filled meeting – it’s just not engaging. We used the Prezi video to design our Virtual Selling Best Practices video. They’re champions of using innovative and dynamic tools to ensure that potential clients emotionally connect with you, making you more likely to follow through with a purchase.

Seamlessly move from in-person to online selling