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How To Optimize Virtual Networking

Virtual networking

Networking in online events is vastly different from the face-to-face interactions at live conferences and forums. When you’re missing the essential human contact and full body language, you’ll need to rely greatly on your content, presentation, and most importantly, active listening skills to ensure a great networking session.

Here are some tips on how you can optimize virtual networking at digital events and organize an effective online meeting.

Impression

In any face-to-face meeting, the first impression you set is critical, and the same is true for virtual networking. But it’s not just about the way you’re dressed.

As remote working increases and more sales are conducted through video conferences from the home or office, the environment you are calling from, both physical and online, becomes a part of your impression. This includes the smoothness of the video call.

Aside from a professional appearance, you should also ensure that:

  • You are familiar with your laptop or computer settings to prevent any technical or audio issues that may arise during your meeting with the decision-maker;
  • The online conferencing program is tested and set up in advance so that you know how to navigate through the application. You should also make sure that the application allows file and screen sharing so you can easily share information with your client;
  • Your headphone, webcam, and microphone are all in working order for a steady flow of communication;
  • All pop-up notifications are turned off to prevent distractions and accidentally sharing confidential or irrelevant information with your client. You might also consider putting your phone and messages on silent or Do Not Disturb mode as opposed to vibrate, which can still be picked up by your mic.

To minimize other potential interruptions or disturbance, set your conference call in a quiet area of your home or office. Additionally, pick a place with a neutral background and good lighting to show a professional image of yourself.

Content

As Cvent puts it, “In a virtual setting, your content is your event”, and the same applies in virtual networking.

In online meetings, you need to capture the full attention of your client. Therefore, your content needs to be both engaging and powerful. And the best way to do that is to ensure your content is appealing and applicable to the decision-maker and presented in a concise and easy-to-understand manner.

  • Visuals

Based on an article by SalesFuel, a verbal-only approach in online calls leads to less engagement and recollection of your message. In fact, 87% of sales representatives either rarely or never used visuals to engage the prospects during their online meetings.

Make your remote presentation more engaging by sharing your screen, which allows you to show your files, links, images, and presentation in real-time. Brief and engaging videos serve as an effective tool to highlight key aspects of your presentation, ensuring sustained interest from your clients, especially during CXO meetings where time is highly valued.

If you are doing a PowerPoint presentation, make sure that the slides are clean with minimal wordings, and use high-quality images to avoid pixelation. Also, don’t be afraid to draw or write on the slides to emphasize certain points. Movement on the screen captures the attention of your audience and helps to maintain their engagement level.

  • Narration

As with every story, your sales narration should have a beginning, a middle and an end, with some elements of suspense.

Rather than presenting cold hard facts on your slides, tie them all together into a continuous and intriguing thread of information. Your content should encourage your prospect to think so consider adding some open loops with questions or concepts that will be addressed at the end of your presentation. 

Tone is another aspect you can optimize for your online sales meeting. Keep your tone energetic and enthusiastic. Emotion can be contagious and leaves a long-lasting impression. So while your prospect might not exactly remember your words, they will remember your passion and how you made them feel with your presentation.

Active Listening

Active listening is a vital part for every sales, regardless if it’s done online or physically. While you might want to showcase your solution and all its benefits, listening to your potential client is the basis for a solid interaction and will help you to better understand their needs.

Try to implement these points for effective active listening:

  • Maintain eye contact – Look at your webcam instead of the screen. It might be a subtle move, but looking directly at the camera gives the impression that you are looking at your client and builds a stronger connection.
  • Positive body language – Even during an online meeting, you should be aware of your body language, including your posture, facial expressions, and hand gestures. Use these non-verbal signals to project confidence and attentiveness. Also, keep an eye on your client’s body language if they are on video. Their gestures and expressions will indicate if they’re getting distracted or losing interest.
  • Seek clarification – Asking specific open-ended questions helps to ensure that you have a clear idea and understanding of your client’s needs and pain points. At the same time, encourage your prospect to ask questions so you can alleviate any concerns they may have.
  • Listen for the meaning – When the decision-maker is talking, don’t just listen to the facts. Go deeper to find the meaning, and possible opportunities, behind their words.
  • Give your full attention – Avoid thinking of your responses while the client is talking. Your facial expression will show on the video call if you are not 100% focused on what they are saying. Furthermore, inattention can cause you to miss out on key points of the discussion.

Adapting to virtual networking may be daunting for some salespeople. But by optimizing your online sales meeting, you can discover new ways to better serve and communicate with your clients while gaining opportunities to assist new prospects looking for solutions during tumultuous times.

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10 TIPS FOR PLEASANT AND EFFECTIVE ONLINE MEETINGS

Digitalization has given businesses greater opportunities to connect and interact. However, it’s hard to beat a live interaction and discussion with a peer or a prospect to achieve the best results for your business. With that out of the way, we know there are situations where effective online meetings are the most feasible option due to schedules, travel times, or other unexpected situations.

Of course, there are certain challenges when it comes to to successful virtual meetings (or working remotely) that in-person teams and meetings breeze by. One example is that a physical face-to-face meeting allows you to swivel your chair around and ask someone about their digital strategy and fluidly continue the conversation with another person. Remote meetings require attendees to be more intentional with the way they communicate since everyone is basically on their own (online) island.

Few organizations feel prepared for large-scale remote meetings, but you can take steps to make the experience feel productive for large-scale remote meetings for both attendees and your organization.

So, how do you get the most out of a successful virtual meeting?

To get the most out of attending or running a online meeting, there are some common practices that the attendees and meeting chairperson should follow to optimize each other’s time. Let’s take a look at some of the best practices that you can take to make your online meeting a success:

1. Be Prepared

Alexander Graham Bell once said, “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success“.  With online meetings, whether it’s 1-2-1 or with a huge group, it’s always a good practice to make sure the agenda and preparations are provided beforehand, along with instructions on the online meeting solution. This will allow attendees to be prepared for the online meeting and be as productive as possible throughout the session.

2. Get (Online) In Early

Online meeting or not, it’s just good etiquette to be early for your meetings. But in an online setting, it’s best to be online early to sort out any problems or kinks (such as internet connection, screen sharing functions, webcams, etc.). Ask the attendees to log in 5 minutes before the meeting starting time to get everyone settled in.

3. Break The Ice

When connecting with new people, or in larger groups, the atmosphere might feel less interactive.. It’s times like these that you (or the chairperson) should take an initiative to kickstart the meeting with some icebreakers – make people smile or even laugh to get everyone loose and ready!

4. Outline The Plan

After the attendees are accounted for and once everyone has managed to catch-up and be prepared, it’s time to do the online meeting itself. Before the discussion, however, it’s best to clarify the purpose and goal for the meeting – this is to keep everyone on the same page and focused. With a concrete plan outlined, it’ll be easier for the chairperson to navigate the direction of the meeting.

5. Marking The Minutes

When everyone starts talking in an online meeting, it can be easy for some attendees to get lost in the conversation and not hear everything. Appointing someone to take the meeting minutes that’s shared after the meeting will help remind everyone of the main key points of the meeting. Ideally, the chairperson would be the one to take the meeting minutes but you can appoint anyone who is up to the task.

6. Leading And Steering Conversations

If you’re doing a 1-2-1 online meeting, you can easily keep track and lead the conversation. However, if you’re running an online meeting with a lot of attendees, you’ll need someone to keep everyone focused. The chairperson who runs the agenda should also keep the time – also be ready to park items if the discussion flows to the outside of the core topic – and get back to this separately with the people needed. That way, no matter where the conversation goes, you can always come back to the main topic.

7. Keep Everyone Involved

Online meetings offer great flexibility in that you can have as many people as possible in the meeting itself. But, if there are too many people in a meeting, you’re bound to have someone who’s not able to contribute as much or be as active in the discussion. Make sure that everyone is actively participating – those who do not comment, have the chairperson (or you) actively ask their point of view on the topic/discussion.

8. Actions, Decisions, And Conclusions

Remember that the whole point of an online meeting is to make it as productive and as efficient as you would in a face-to-face meeting. That means getting as much done as possible when it comes to the main topic that you’re focusing on. During the meeting, make sure the agenda items reach decisions, conclusions or follow-up actions – steer the conversation to possible solutions and outcomes.

9. Wrapping-up The Meeting

A good practice to have is to recap everything that you’ve discussed, 10 minutes before the meeting ends, to ensure that everyone is up to speed with everything. Start to wrap up with “what we decided today” and go through the things which need follow-up or action, by whom and when – make sure that a name and date are attached to each agreed item so that someone will be responsible for further action.

10. Following It Up

Hopefully, by the end of the online meeting, you and your attendees were productive discussions. If there are more things that you need to discuss, book follow-up meetings if needed and have it in everyone’s agendas. Make sure the minutes are shared so that everyone knows the discussion points for the next meeting.

Bonus Point: Thank-Yous To Everyone

After a successful online meeting, send a thank-you note to the attendees for having good participation and ideas in the discussions! Not only will your attendees feel grateful to receive a personalized thank-you note, but they’ll also be more encouraged to contribute in future online meetings.

Face-to-face meetings can be a powerful tool for businesses, but online meetings can be just as effective if you follow the 10 points we’ve listed out. A well-thought-out agenda, keeping the time, and making sure the momentum stays high with some smilemaking – you can have an effective, pleasant, and fun online meeting with a productive outcome!

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How To Get Appointments With Decision Makers

Here is a story that many salespeople would find familiar – You’ve done your research, found potential prospects for your company, got their contact details, but then you hit one of these scenarios:

  • Nobody is answering your calls.
  • You’re leaving voicemails and emails but not getting any callbacks or replies.
  • The gatekeeper is blocking you from the prospect.

These challenges are certainly not new, and have been the bane of many professional salespeople looking to land their first face-to-face meeting with the prospective clients.

While getting the opportunity to talk with CEOs may be difficult, here are some strategies to help you to successfully reach and connect with decision-makers.

Getting Through To The Decision Maker

1. Make Friends With The Gatekeeper

Gatekeepers are often receptionists, secretaries or assistants, and are usually the most trusted and closest individuals to the C-suite. As such, they are a valuable asset for you in reaching the decision maker and closing your deals.

  • Tip #1: Be respectful and polite

No matter how frustrated you get with the gatekeeper, remember that it’s their job to screen unwanted and irrelevant calls. As with any business meeting, first impressions are important. So make your first impression, and all ongoing impressions with the gatekeeper, be one that is polite, personable and professional.

Start by treating the gatekeeper with respect. Note their name and details, and use the information to engage with them on a personal level. Have a conversation and keep tracks of touchpoints to use in future contacts with them.

  • Tip #2: Be transparent

Gatekeepers screen hundreds, if not thousands, of sales calls so it’s common for them to be wary and skeptical of you. Differentiate yourself from the rest, and be upfront about your call. Give them your company name and a brief overview of the purpose of your call, if they ask. 

Full disclosure helps you sound professional and credible enough to pass through to the C-level executive. But avoid using the sales pitch and sales-related phrases on the gatekeeper to reach decision makers.

Even with these tips, you may not get through the gatekeeper on your first call, so work to establish a strong rapport with them. Set reminders to ensure that you constantly and consistently reconnect with them.

Pro-tip: Don’t view the gatekeeper as a blocker. Instead, see them as a door opener.

2. Adjust Your Call Timings

The time you choose to contact your prospects has a big effect on the possibility of getting past the gatekeeper and getting through to the decision maker. Whether you are calling their office line or you are fortunate enough to get the prospect’s direct number, try contacting your prospects during off-hours.

  • Tip #1: Call early in the morning

Unlike the gatekeepers, business leaders don’t follow the usual working hours. You have a better chance of bypassing the gatekeeper if you call before the office day starts, such as between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., when the C-suites are planning for their day before their meetings.

  • Tip #2: Call later in the day

Another optimal time to get past the gatekeeper is after business hours when the gatekeeper has gone home for the day. However, a study by HubSpot shows that the best time to call is between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. after the decision makers have wrapped up their meetings and are catching up on their emails and paperwork.

Each C-suite has a different schedule and workday, and optimal calling times vary between the industries and businesses they are in. Try calling at different times of the day for different prospects. 

Pro-tip: Avoid calling on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons as businesses will be busy planning for the week ahead or wrapping up tasks for the week.

3. Leave Effective Voicemails And Emails

One of the most common decisions when calling prospects is deciding whether to leave a voicemail. If you do decide to leave a voicemail, what should you tell the decision maker? And even if you leave a voicemail, what are the chances the prospect would call you back? Try these tips below to raise your engagement rate.

  • Tip #1: Leave a brief and concise voicemail

Your voicemail should be less than 30 seconds and should contain your name, your company, your contact details and your valid business reason (VBR). Your message should not be a sales pitch, but should include your prospect’s pain point and enough information about your solution to pique their interest.

It’s also best if you had prior contact with the prospect before leaving a voicemail, such as connecting with them through LinkedIn or sending them an email. This gives you something to use as reference and increases the likelihood of engagement.

  • Tip #2: Send a targeted email

If you have done your research on the prospect, you would already know their pain points and their area of interest. Use the information to create a personalized email that reflect a deep understanding of the prospect, their core needs and how your company can help them with their business concerns.

However, sending one or two emails won’t be enough. You should maintain a regular and consistent email scheduling for higher chances of getting a reply.

Using a combination strategy of voicemail and email helps you to get on the prospect’s radar more effectively. However, some prospects may require more attempts before you are able to connect with them. The key is to ensure a strong first voicemail message, which you should refer to in your following voicemails, and to send a follow-up email right after leaving your message.

Pro-tip: Don’t be vague in your voicemail. Mention a real and specific project or solution that could provide a valuable business opportunity for your prospect.

4. Use Your Network And Referrals

An article by XANT, a sales engagement platform, mentioned that majority of C-suites prefer referrals over cold calls and emails. In fact, 84% of business decision makers initiate a purchase process with a referral.

  • Tip #1: Leverage on networking

A well-developed network helps greatly in getting face-to-face meetings with prospects, and social networking services, such as LinkedIn, speed up the process of reaching them. One way is to connect with your prospect on social platforms or join LinkedIn groups that match your product offerings to build your second-level connections.

Events, such as B2B networking events by Management Events, are great places to get closer to your prospects. Decision makers who are interested in a topic or event that corresponds with your product will be more responsive in listening to your offerings.

  • Tip #2: Ask for referrals

The people you are connected to will most likely know business leaders who would benefit from your products and services. Reach out to your friends, colleagues and network to introduce you to the prospect via email, phone or in person.

Make sure that you explain the business reason and impact of your solution to your referral sources. This way they are equipped with the right information when they speak to the decision makers, and are confident in using their relationship to connect you with the prospect.

Building an effective network requires continuous effort on your part. Even if a referred prospect is not doing business with you now, you should thank them and continue to stay in touch. After all, they could be a client later on or another source for referrals.

Pro-tip: Don’t skip the referral introduction. Ensure that you are properly introduced to the prospect before pitching your solutions.

Appointment-setting is a big yet time-consuming part of sales, and requires multiple and continuous effort to get  a response, and in turn connect with decision-maker.

Instead of fixating on securing a meeting or getting a deal, focus on providing value to the decision maker. By changing your mindset, you will feel less frustrated when encountering roadblocks in contacting the prospect. 

Patience, persistence and a consistent calling schedule are key points in getting those important face-to-face meetings with C-suites.