How to strengthen your sales proficiency in the online world

Your product is only as great as your sales are. The statement is in no way an exaggeration. Ask any person worth their salt, and they will tell you how important sales are to any business. Since the time the world saw its first business deal, sales have formed the foundation of trade and it will continue to govern the business world until commerce continues to exist.

Over the years, sales, as a business tool, have continuously evolved, and technology has played an important part in this evolution. In fact, last year saw one of the major paradigm shifts in sales, wherein the focus shifted from ‘personal’ to ‘online’ almost overnight.

Sales teams across the business world suddenly found themselves dealing with screens instead of real-time people, as the pressure of selling their products or services mounted further with markets suffering economic losses.

All the tricks of personalisation suddenly needed a touch of imagination to be more effective as everything needed to be done with the technological aid. Ever since the pandemic, a lot has changed. Sales teams across the world have devised their own methods of making their sales calls effective.

Here are some of the many ways to strengthen your sales proficiency in today’s virtual world.

Be prepared: This is a piece of timeless advice, which you will need no matter what the world comes to – completely hybrid, partially online, wholly online or back to normal. Preparation is surely the key. While working from home often we tend to pack our schedules with back-to-back meetings and hence give ourselves very less time to prepare. This harms the performance during the meeting and might make you lose out on important information required to make that perfect sales pitch. So always prepare, even if your meeting is online – it requires same amount of attention, energy, and dedication from you.

Always check the audio and video: If you are a sales team member, you are probably used to making a final check before proceeding for the sales meeting. Make it a habit to check your devices are fully charged, your internet is fully functional, and your audio and video settings on your apps are working properly. Nothing gets you at a poor start of a meeting than other person finding you inaudible or finding your video disturbed. Make sure technology is on your side when you start and throughout the meeting as well.

Dress to impress: An online meeting doesn’t give you the liberty to underdress in any way. Dress your best – this not only impresses your customers but also gives you sense of confidence to give your best during the meeting. Make sure you pick the right background, and the lighting enhances your look, not dampens it. If you place in all the right ingredients, you cannot go wrong in at least making the first impression and getting off on the right start.

Be ready for the unknown: Online meetings also mean there is a lot that can go out of control. Because you are not in front of your customer, there might be some requirements that need more efforts from your end to explain than what it would have required had the meeting been in person. For example, be ready with website content, reports, data about your business and reviews, so you can share them if the client asks for any of them even if it is not on your meeting agenda.

A little effort and attention to details can help you excel in the art of virtual sales call and add profusely to the bottom line of your business.