The Virtual Sales Handbook

A Hands-on Approach to Engaging Customers

Mante Kvedare, Christian Milner Nymand

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781119775898
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Betriebswirtschaft
• Subtopic: Vertrieb

Learn to engage your B2B customers through effective virtual sales meetings and presentations

The global COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed how business-to-business companies interact with their customers. The traditional face-to-face meeting has quickly become a thing of the past—the virtual customer engagement model is the new normal. To secure existing and future revenue streams in the virtual B2B sales environment, companies must equip their commercial frontline with the confidence, skills, and tools necessary for effectively engaging customers virtually.

The Virtual Sales Handbook: A Hands-on Approach to Engaging Customers is designed for sales reps, commercial managers, customer relationship managers, and other customer-facing professionals working in the virtual realm. Step-by-step, readers learn to prepare for a virtual sales meeting, create compelling virtual presentations, build energy through effective openers, develop trust in the virtual world, drive impact through virtual meeting follow-up, and much more. Throughout the book, readers are provided with an abundance of tips and tricks, illustrative examples and case studies, and actionable strategies based on extensive implementation and upskilling experience.

Written by two authors with deep knowledge and expertise in operationalizing virtual commercial sales and marketing methods and tools, this must-have guide will help you:

• Navigate the world of virtual sales
• Overcome the barriers of virtual customer interaction
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses ofdifferent virtual sales models
• Plan andexecute effectivevirtualsalesmeetings
• Buildengagingstorylines andpresentations
• Lead the transformation from physical to virtual sales
• Leverage effective virtual customer engagement techniques

The Virtual Sales Handbook: A Hands-on Approach to Engaging Customers is an indispensable resource for C-suite executives, business leaders, senior sales managers, sales representatives, account managers, and anyone on the commercial frontline.

Chapter 1:
NAVIGATING THE WORLD OF VIRTUAL SALES

---

Adjusting to a new reality

As Kim reached for her alarm that was buzzing at 6:30 am, she had a strange feeling in her stomach. It wasn't the usual urge for a cup of strong coffee, it was a feeling as though she had woken up in a new reality.

Memories came flooding back, like news flashes. The night before the Prime Minister had announced a total lockdown across the country. She could picture fragments of the headlines: “Stay at home,” “Global pandemic,” “Save lives.” Everyone had to stay at home if possible, and all the schools in the country were closed for a minimum of four weeks. They'd all seen it coming, the gradual creep of Covid-19 cases that was turning into a flood. Still, the realisation that nothing was normal hit her like a ton of bricks, while she was lying still wrapped in her duvet.

She shook her head, as if trying to shake the headlines out of her brain, and turned to her phone. This was how she always started her day. A quick scan of her calendar to get an overview of what lay ahead for the day. She was suddenly relieved that this week her ex-husband had their kids. At least I'll have time to work, even if it is from home. Kim was still looking at her phone as she rolled toward the side of the bed. She tapped into one entry in her diary at 10 am, and she half smiled. My most important meeting of the year so far. When I close this deal, I'll be over my target … and I'll get a nice bonus.

Kim's thoughts were interrupted abruptly and painfully as she tripped, slamming her head into the wall. Her phone clattered to the floor. She'd been so preoccupied thinking about the meeting, her desire for a strong coffee, and her uncertainty about this new normal that she'd forgotten about the step around the bed. Who the hell puts a bed on a platform?! She winced as she gingerly brought her fingers up to her forehead. At least there was no blood.

In her kitchen, Kim brewed her coffee and retrieved an ice pack from the freezer, placing it carefully against her now throbbing forehead. Sitting on a stool at her kitchen island, one hand holding the ice pack, she decided to take control of the situation. It was only 7:30 am. She tapped out a quick message to her contact for her 10 am meeting.

“Hi Paul, I hope you had a good night's sleep, despite the Prime Minister's announcement yesterday. I assume we are not safe to meet in person given the Covid-19 situation? Or what do you think? I am open to any suggestion you may have about how we can make this meeting today work despite the lockdown. Kind regards, Kim.”

One of the things she loved about her new phone was that it displayed when someone was in the process of replying to a text message. She saw the reassuring blue text “typing” appear in the corner of the screen just moments after hitting send. She could hear her heart in her ears. She put her phone on the counter and reached for her mug of coffee, taking a long, slow sip to steady her nerves. I don't know what he'll suggest. I hope we can still go ahead with this meeting. It would make my year! And it would make the bump on the head hurt a little less …. Maybe I could use some of my bonus to get rid of that stupid raised bed? Kim realised the ice pack wasn't doing enough, and that she'd need to go in search of painkillers soon.

“Beep!” The sound almost made Kim jump, even though she'd been expecting it. She took a deep breath before opening Paul's reply. It was a short message, despite how long it had taken him to respond.

“Hi Kim,

We will make it a virtual meeting instead. I will email you a link to a Zoom meeting half an hour before the meeting. Paul”

Kim's heart sank. Uh-oh, a virtual meeting …. Kim was one of the most successful salespeople in her team, and she was widely admired for her ability to connect with customers, manage even the most complicated negotiations, and close the biggest deals. Face-to-face meetings had always been Kim's strong point, and, until now, she'd successfully been able to avoid virtual meetings, where she felt that it would be difficult to leverage her strong in-person impact virtually. How am I going to shine in a virtual meeting, through a screen?

She finished her coffee, stood and made her way to the bathroom in search of painkillers for her now pounding headache. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she realised that a virtual meeting could be a blessing in disguise; a large bulge had become quite visible on her forehead and was turning a vivid blue and purple colour. Maybe today of all days this virtual meeting is a blessing. I can't wait to get back to physical meetings once this is all over, though!

Kim turned away from examining her forehead and started to run a bath. She left the taps running to go and make herself a second cup of coffee. Although the bath helped her feel a little more relaxed, it did little to get rid of the slightly sick feeling in her stomach and her, now slightly dulled, headache. Examining the bump in the mirror again, she did her best to cover it with makeup, but wasn't overly worried that it was still pretty prominent as it was going to be a virtual meeting anyway.

She turned on her PC to log into her emails and see if Paul had shared the Zoom link for the meeting. It was ready, waiting at the top of her inbox. She clicked into it and instantly cursed as she read Paul's email. Why didn't I pay more attention when I was getting out of bed this morning?!

1. Dear Kim,
   As agreed, find below a link to our upcoming virtual meeting.
   Please turn your camera on during the meeting.
   Regards,
   Paul

---

A world of change

Virtual selling is becoming more commonplace, with a growing number of businesses realising that they need to adapt and learn how to sell in the virtual as well as the physical world. Our research found that 70% of companies are likely to run virtual customer meetings in the...