Fewer and fewer business meetings are happening in person. Online shopping, corona and proliferation of home office have shifted the center of gravity for sales faster from brick-and-mortar to virtual settings, regardless of whether the focus is individual clients or B2B customers. Being able to deal with various information and communication technologies is a foundation for becoming a successful salesperson in the virtual world.
Digitally skilled salespeople are expected to intentionally build their business acumen on social media – through LinkedIn profiles, expert posts, or blog contributions. Photos shall purport the image of an experienced professional rather than of a frivolous mannequin. Sales personnel succeeding in the digital environment uses publicly available sources (primarily social media again) to profile their business prospects and draft potentially appealing offers before approaching a client. Both salesperson’s own credibility and prior customer knowledge are predicaments for making the unique impression during the initial virtual interaction (synchronous or asynchronous).
Developing a relationship through digital means is perhaps the most challenging part of approaching virtual clientele. Chitchat may turn a waste of time or loss of attention span. Compliments on situational elements may sound even cheaper than in face-to-face settings. Collateral incentives such drinks, dinners or invitations to events have usually no parallel. Samples need to be provided before or after the meeting unless we talk digital products and services. Follow ups are believed to be essential, although they can easily turn cold feet, as buyers may feel harassed by excessive chasing.
Buyers may prefer different communication platforms and may have very non-orthodox approach to cybersecurity. Some value their privacy and feel very uneasy about being recorded. Buyers get distracted by impulses on their side of the apparatus. Buyers may be misinformed or misled by their prior research. Online buyers may have a dire need to (re)verify the information provided through secondary resources.
Virtual sales are a different discipline. Gestures, mimics, voice, grooming, attire, and other sensual elements are less powerful and depend so much on transmission technology (on salesperson’s side, on customer’s side and on actual connection) and on situational elements beyond salesperson’s control. Virtual sales require different materials to be prepared. Virtual product demos need to be tech savvy – visually appealing and easy on data connection. Efficiency of virtual meetings seems to be generally lower, and development of a deal is believed to take longer in comparison to in-person visits, requiring different rapport metrics to be employed.
Sharing one’s pain is a way to cope with it. A job of a salesperson appears even more lonely in the online home-office world to what it does in traditional office or on-the-road settings. Feeding one common CRM platform, setting up ways for salespeople to exchange ideas, share tips on virtual communication and learning from each other becomes vital.
Virtual customers do not necessarily make a distinction between social media and virtual selling. Content and social media marketing are not the other side of virtual selling coin. Transparency and visibility of the online world makes it even more vital for salespeople to be on the same boat with digital marketers. Perhaps, the discipline of virtual sales may help to tear down the wall between marketers and salesforce.
Résumé
Rozšiřování dovedností prodejců s důrazem na schopnosti virtuálního prodeje
V čase rozmachu práce z domova a online prodeje se stává pro prodejce stále podstatnějším osvojit si, resp. excelovat, ve využívání nástrojů a technik virtuální interakce se zákazníky. Příprava na obchodní schůzku, její realizace i následný follow-up a uzavření obchodního případu jsou ve virtuálním prostředí znatelně odlišnou disciplínou. Obchodní schůzka závisí i na dodatečných parametrech mimo kontrolu prodejce – technologické vybavenosti zákazníka, technické kvalitě spojení nebo situačních aspektech. Virtuální obchod stírá hranice mezi digitálním marketingem a virtuálním prodejem, přičemž marketéři i prodejci transparentně sdílí jeden online svět.
Kontakt na autorov/Address
doc. Ing. Pavel Štrach, Ph.D., Ph.D., ŠKODA AUTO Vysoká škola o.p.s., Katedra marketingu a managementu, Na Karmeli 1457, 293 01 Mladá Boleslav, Česká republika, e-mail: pavel.strach@savs.cz
