Five Tips for Closing a Sale in the Virtual World

If you are having hard time closing a sale in this Virtual World, don't worry, these five simple tips will help you stay focused and close more deals without shaking a hand.

Why doing sales over video feels so different?

Sales closing over video feels different because it is different. Not too long ago, you mainly had two options for closing a sale, either meet in person, shake hands the old school way, get the agreement signed, and off you go; Or, talk over the phone, get credit card information, and off you go. Now, you have a new option - a Video conference! It's like meeting in person, but you can't shake hands. It's like a phone call, but you can actually see the other person! In some ways, it's somewhere in between a phone call and a physical meeting. And that's why it feels so different.

1. Use What Works Best For Your Prospect

The first tip is that you need to understand that not everyone is used to of virtual meetings. It's not like the phone or in-person meetings, that we all grew up with. Everyone has their own learning curve and ability to adapt to this new way of meeting. Even if you are very good at virtual meeting, the person on the other side just may not be ready. Also, there are many virtual conferencing tools out there, Zoom and Google Hangouts being two most commonly used ones. But not everyone is used to it. If your prospect is better at doing FaceTime, then use that! Don't force them to use something they are not used to.

2. Make Sure to Look Into the Camera

People in the video business already know this. When you look into the camera, the other person sees as if you are looking into their eyes, and that's what you want. Personally, this was one of the hardest things for me. It's not easy to look into a camera and pretend as if you are talking to a real person. To make it as less awkward (for me), I try to keep the camera/laptop at least 2-3 feet away from my body. I use full screen mode so that all I see on my laptop screen is my prospect.

3. Use Virtual Backgrounds Responsibly

Avoid using virtual backgrounds if you can. No matter how fast your Internet is and how powerful your computer, you won't look natural. And looking natural and real is one of the most important aspects of closing a sale. Just have good lighting and be professional. Pretend like you are meeting your prospect in person. But if you just don't have a good real background then go with a virtual background that's simple and reflects reality. Avoid showing your prospect that you are at a disco club or a space station! Keep in mind, you want your prospect to focus on you, not a dancing ball in the background!

4. Stay Focused

While you may have a clean background, your prospect may not! Don't get distracted by your prospect's virtual background. Stay focused and be professional. Sometimes backgrounds can cause weird distortions, and if that's happening, you should certainly tell your prospect about it. In that case, the best thing to do is to ask them to turn off their video.

5. Follow up!

If you are used to of closing a sale by meeting in person, the "virtual way of closing a sale" may become a little challenging. Like I mentioned, it's like somewhere in between meeting in person and being on a phone call. And therefore, following up with a phone call or another video call may become necessary. If both you and your prospect have been doing business by meeting in person then you both may need more than one or two video conferencing sessions to lock the deal. Don't forget to follow up and keep the communication on.

If you want to do a "practice sales session", give me a call (925-344-6472) and I'd be happy to be your "guinea pig". I will provide you my genuine feedback, that you can then use to improve your sales skills in the virtual World!

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