Run a great meeting
The ability to run a successful virtual meeting is a must when it comes to virtual selling. In this article we discuss just how to do it.
Planning the meeting
Before you run or even set up the meeting, the first step is to have an idea on what the purpose of the meeting is and what you hope to achieve after the meeting has taken place. Unlike meeting people in person where it can be a bit more casual of grabbing a coffee together to discuss a certain topic, virtual meetings must typically have a more defined purpose to increase the chances of being able to get the other party to attend.
Scheduling the meeting
Ideally, you’ll want to do this over the phone, so you can get a feel for the other party. You can determine how receptive they are to the meeting and it will enable you to take care of any objections on the spot. Get in touch with them, explain what the purpose of the meeting is, run them through a rough agenda and get some feedback. If it all sounds good to them, schedule the meeting and send them a confirmation right away.
Setting the agenda
Now that the meeting has been scheduled, it’s crucial to finalise and send over the agenda for the meeting. In addition to keeping in mind what you want to achieve in the meeting and the desired next steps, also have a think about any concerns that there may be and perhaps try to incorporate that into the meeting’s agenda. For example, if you’re concerned about progressing with a prospect because you don’t know much about them, allow five minutes at the beginning to get to know them.
It is also very important to this day to stress that it will be a video call. Include in the invite that this will be a video call to make it clear to them.
Preparing for the meeting
Based on the relative importance of the meeting to you and the revenue-generating potential, decide on how much time you’re willing to spend on preparing for the meeting. However, it’s always best to devote some extra time to preparation to be more self-confident and less stressed, resulting in a higher chance of everything going the way you want it to go.
One of the huge advantages of virtual selling is the ability to use demos on the fly and leverage other visuals. Have all of that prepared in advance and depending on the meeting’s agenda, this will potentially make you look much more professional and increase the probability of success.
It’s also best to have everything ready to the degree that it’s possible for the next steps to be reinforced. For example, if your desired next step is to schedule a demo, have a template for an invite ready for that so you can share it straightaway. If your desired next step is to invite the prospect to a collaboration space, have everything ready for that so you can fire it off once the meeting is done.
Although this is basic, it’s crucial that you look at your software and hardware setup. Make sure that your video, audio and the software you’re going to be using to run the meeting and/or analyse during the meeting all work. Having something falling through just before the meeting can make you look less professional.
To reduce the risk of the other party not showing up, cancelling or postponing the meeting at the very last minute, get in touch with them as a reminder of the meeting and to confirm it.
Running the meeting
If it’s possible and you’re not booked back-to-back, get to the meeting earlier. Starting or joining the meeting five or ten minutes before the scheduled time allows you to have informal conversations with your prospect or whoever else you’re meeting with when they happen to get there early. One of the disadvantages or challenges of virtual selling is often the ability to build rapport. If you’re meeting with a few people and one or two of them get there early too, this is a great time to build some rapport by having an informal chat and getting to know them a bit better.
It might be a good idea to ask to have the meeting recorded as it could be useful to you and/or the other party. This is another advantage of doing things virtually, as you would not have been able to do this if you had met in person or talked over the phone. However, you will need to be the judge here on whether it’s a good idea or not to record it based on the nature of the engagement or the other party.
When you’re on the video call, make sure you’re set up in a way that allows you to talk to the camera and observe the people who you’re talking to. Quite often, people will do one or the other, but doing both makes it look like you’re focused and talking to them, while also being able to get some feedback on how they act or respond to certain things in the meeting. If you’re talking to the camera and ignoring everyone else in the meeting or look distracted, you’re not really engaged and talking to the other party. It’s best to set it up where you can talk to the camera and have the gallery of the other people in the meeting underneath it to be able to see their reaction and gain some feedback.
If you’ve indicated prior to the meeting that it will be a video call, but the other party doesn’t have their camera on, respectfully ask them if they can turn on their video and drop a couple of benefits in doing so if it’s required. They sometimes won’t be able to do it because they could be outside, or they just don’t want to. If this is the case, it’s still a good idea to leave your video on for them to see you and it will allow you to create more of an impression. In some Asian markets, there can often be the cultural perception from the buyers that you’re trying to sell something to them, so you should be the one trying to engage. Therefore, as mentioned you should always keep your video on even if the other party refuses to do so.
Another tip is to make sure that when you mention at the start of the meeting that it is an interactive meeting, that you count on the other party’s interaction. If you get straight into presenting mode in a virtual environment, it’s very easy to lose the other party and their attention. On an ongoing basis, you have to observe what the level of participation is from the other party and whether they’re distracted and doing something else. In this situation, you will need to make some adjustments that will bring their attention back. This could be done by asking for their interaction or using some of those things that are available in a virtual environment, such as sharing visuals or a quick demo.
As always, keep the next step that you have in mind. Get the buy-in for that, address any objections that arise, answer any questions that the other party might have, and after that, make sure to follow up very quickly with that next step. It’s very important to have everything ready for that and if required, adjust it based on how the meeting went and then send it off to the other party.