Although the most effective way to build strong relationships with your customers is still face-to-face, that is not always practical. Luckily web video conferencing can be almost as effective. Even if your customer or prospective lead lives half way around the world, it is still necessary to host sales meetings and presentations – the impersonal nature of email will only get you so far.
A number of excellent, easy-to-use solutions exist to host your online meeting or webinar. Personally, I’ve used and participated in WebEx meetings many times and always had a positive experience, although their costs can add up quickly as meetings get larger or more frequent. There are more affordable and just as capable and reliable web video conferencing choices out there also for online meetings or webinars.
Here are my 6 top best practices for getting the most out of web video conferencing for successful sales presentations:
- The number one thing to remember is that you must treat the web video conferencing meeting as you would a “real” face-to-face meeting: dress professionally, plan the agenda carefully, do not multitask (close your email and other applications before the meeting starts so you have no distractions).
- Choose a service provider carefully – you need to be sure they can meet your goals for the meeting in a professional manner;
- Be considerate of participants’ time: in a web video conferencing session they are not a captive audience, and will get distracted by email and other business demands if you don’t maintain their interest;
- Put together a crisp agenda, with meeting goals and strategies to achieve them;
- Have a plan to encourage live interaction. You could have some questions to ask of your customer to spur discussion, or include someone who’s role it is to ask the first questions or add comments to get interaction going;
- Have a clear call-to-action at the end of the meeting. Too often web meetings are ended abruptly (after all, since you are not face-to-face, there will not be the usual opportunity for small talk or next steps discussion as the customer is ushering you to the door). Include time in the agenda for wrap up and next steps, with clear action items for the attendees.
