Margie Barkley: Virtual Selling Tools: Overcoming Common Challenges

Virtual selling is now the norm in today’s business world. B2B companies are increasingly using virtual selling to build relationships with customers and prospects. According to a HubSpot study, 63% sales leaders believe virtual meetings are as effective or even more so than face-to-face meetings. Virtual selling comes with its own challenges, which sales professionals will have to navigate. Sales reps must be armed with strategies that work, from building trust to addressing objections and maintaining engagement. Virtual selling is just as effective if approached with the proper preparation and tactics. This blog will explore how virtual selling tools, namely videos, can empower professionals to overcome challenges and achieve sales goals.

Take a look at each of these challenges to see how video can help.

1. Establishing trust and connection: Bridging the gap in virtual selling

It can be difficult to build trust and connections with prospects in the virtual world. Distance can make it difficult to build trust in virtual sales. Unlike face-to-face meetings, where interactions between people foster trust, distance can be a barrier in the creation of vital relationships. With the right tools and strategies, you can overcome these obstacles and build strong relationships with distant prospects.

Video is a powerful tool. You can make a lasting impact by combining personalized video messages and customized video backgrounds. Imagine adding your prospect’s company logo or website to the video background of your message. This personalization shows your authenticity, and establishes rapport from the very beginning.

A sample prospecting video to help you understand the impact video emails can create on your email open rates.

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You can personalize your video even further by including a screenshot from the prospect’s LinkedIn page or website. This extra step shows your attention to details and conveys the message that this video was specially created for them. It not only grabs their attention but also shows that you are willing to go above and beyond in order to meet their requirements.

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A personalized video background and a video message that is tailored to the prospect conveys an air of individualization. This shows that you’ve taken the time and effort to understand your prospects’ unique challenges and situation. This personal touch sets you apart from your competition and creates an unforgettable experience for prospects.

2. Maintaining Engagement: Elevating virtual selling with interactive elements

Engaging prospects and keeping their attention through a video presentation is a difficult task in the virtual selling environment. In the absence of personal interactions, prospects are more likely to lose interest or drop off your video midway. Incorporating interactive elements in your virtual presentations will help you overcome this problem and keep prospects engaged to the end.

You can use quizzes and polls to enhance your video presentations. You can actively engage prospects in the sale process by strategically placing interactive elements in key parts of your video. These interactive elements have multiple functions: they attract the viewer’s attention, encourage active engagement, and give valuable insight into prospects preferences and interests.

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Quizzes that are related to your video content will create an interest and curiosity in prospects. It not only keeps them focused, but it also encourages them to engage and think critically about the information presented. You can also use polls to gauge prospects’ opinions and adjust your sales strategy accordingly.

Interactive elements can be incorporated into virtual sales presentations for two reasons. They enhance prospect engagement, and make the experience of selling more interactive and enjoyable. This engagement leads to better information retention and more prospects taking action as a result of your video.

Second, interactive elements can provide you with valuable data and insights to inform your sales strategy. You can gain more insight into the preferences of prospects, their pain points and areas of interest by analyzing quiz and poll responses. You can use this information to tailor your approach and address specific needs. This will increase your chances of closing deals.

3. Showing Products and Conducting Demonstrations

The days of scheduling lengthy product demos and relying on text descriptions or static images are over. Videos are a great way to show off products in an engaging and dynamic manner. Sales reps can use the screen-sharing capabilities and webcam to create polished demos of products or walkthroughs. This will leave a lasting impact on prospects.

Video demonstrations are a great way to showcase products. They’re versatile and accessible. Instead of trying to coordinate schedules, sales professionals can simply send prospects a video. The demo can be viewed at the prospect’s convenience and makes the most of the time available. These videos can also be shared with other key decision makers within the prospect’s company, helping to effectively communicate the benefits and features of the product.

Sales professionals can create an immersive experience by using video demonstrations to showcase the product’s benefits, features, and possible use cases. Videos can provide a more comprehensive understanding of a product than text or images.

A good video tool will also allow prospects to comment based on the video timestamp, which allows them to give specific feedback or ask for clarifications about certain aspects of a product demonstration. This seamless interaction between a sales representative and a prospect encourages open communication, and allows any questions or concerns to be addressed quickly and easily.

4. Addressing objections and closing deals

In a virtual world, it can be difficult to overcome objections and close deals. Leveraging the power of video can help overcome these obstacles and secure successful deals.

Video testimonials of satisfied B2B customers can be incorporated into your sales process. You can overcome objections by showcasing positive outcomes and experiences of past clients. This will also instill confidence into your prospects. These testimonials are a form of social proof that builds trust and shows how your solutions have worked for other people in similar situations.

Video proposals are another powerful way to utilize videos. Instead of sending long, text-based proposal that can be confusing or overwhelming, you can create engaging video that guides prospects through each section. Visually presenting your key points, benefits and value propositions will help you to effectively communicate and overcome any doubts or objections.

Consider using video tools with e-signature capability. You can streamline the signing process, eliminating unnecessary paperwork or delays. You can close deals quickly and efficiently by adding e-signatures to the video platform.

5. Analysis of Performance and Continuous Improvement

Virtual selling has many benefits, including the ability to gather insights and analyze performance. This allows for continual improvement. Virtual selling videos provide a wealth data and feedback that can help refine B2B strategies.

Video tools provide valuable metrics and analytics that can be used to measure viewer engagement and the impact of sales content. You can learn more about how prospects interact with your videos by monitoring the video views, duration and viewer interactions. These data provide valuable insight into what parts of your content resonate the most, and where you may need to improve.

Use video feedback to learn more about prospects and employees. Encourage them to leave comments, or use video time stamps for specific feedback, on their impressions and suggestions. This feedback-driven strategy not only allows you to understand the effectiveness and efficiency of your virtual sales efforts, but also gives valuable inputs for continuous improvement.

By analyzing metrics and incorporating feedback received from your audience, it is possible to refine your virtual-selling strategies. You can improve your virtual selling strategy by identifying patterns, trends and areas that need improvement.

You can also actively solicit feedback from your prospects using interactive features such as a “Reply with Video”, call-to action (CTA), in your videos. You can engage directly with your audience, and encourage them share their feedback and thoughts on your services or offerings. They can then submit their video responses directly to you, expressing their concerns, questions or thoughts. This will not only encourage engagement and interaction, but will also give you valuable insight into their needs and preferences.

The conclusion of the article is:

Virtual selling is now a part of sales, and professionals need to adapt in order to meet its challenges. Sales reps who use virtual selling tools (specifically videos) can build trust, increase engagement, show off products, answer objections and analyze performance. These tools and strategies empower sales professionals to succeed in the virtual environment and achieve outstanding sales results. Virtual selling is becoming more prevalent and embracing virtual tools for selling success in today’s business environment is essential.

Do you want to see how easy it is to use a virtual tool for selling? Try Hippo Video and experience the magic yourself. With our newly-introduced pricing plans, we also allow you to test it all out for free without any commitments.