Tag: remote

SIX TIPS FOR SMASHING A VIRTUAL SALES MEETINGS

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson

PROSPECTING IN A PANDEMIC

man at laptop in background, foreground image mask and keys in a table
A third of the Australian economy is generated from New South Wales, so what happens when that state goes into lockdown? Add to that Victoria in lockdown, and that is a sizeable portion of the nation’s economy taking a hard hit. We are once again in a situation where we need to be creative about how we are going to function and keep producing results. Virtual Sales Meetings are indeed back and look to be settling in quite comfortably for at least a month. So, do we stop selling and wait or do we power through and get busy smashing Sales remotely?
Imagine if at the start of 2020 you were told you can double the number of leads you see a day? Virtual sales meetings looks to be settling in quite comfortably as the preferred procedure moving forward. And used correctly this new modus operandi can work wonders for you, enabling you to see up to 10 times more prospects during a day than if you had to commute.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WIN OR LOSE
Acquiring and retaining strong professional sales relationships remotely is not as daunting as it seems in this new – online only world we are living in. As a Leader, is your sales team virtually afloat and motivated or really sinking? Are you as a manager making the right leadership decisions during this time of change?

MS Teams ZOOM meetings sales training with Brickworks

The simple truth is effective virtual communication skills could be the difference between winning and losing a sales deal. Just like in-person meetings, there are protocols to a sales meeting to bring about results. DOES YOUR TEAM KNOW HOW TO SELL EFFECTIVELY VIRTUALLY?

Here is both the why – and the how – of effective virtual sales to skyrocket sales results remotely.

 
1. PREPARE FOR THE VIRTUAL SALES MEETING FIRST
  • Make an Appointment: make sure you email an invite to all the participants to accept it – include a link to the web-conference into the invite and make sure you point out that it is a video meeting, so it is no surprise for the client.
  • Inform your prospect about your agenda, the questions you are bringing to the table and the goal you are both pursuing.
  • Provide your prospect with leeway to decide on the time that is convenient for them.
2. CONTROL THE MEETING
  • Encourage everyone to identify themselves before each contribution, “This is Fred from…”
  • As host, repeat questions that are asked of you before answering. Some participants may not have heard the question.
  • Remind participants before and during the meeting to keep their microphones on mute when they are not speaking.
  • If you are bringing in additional material via screen sharing, such as PowerPoint presentations or product demos to make the conversation even more productive, send the documents to participants in advance.

3. MASTER THE ART OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Do your remote salespeople know how to listen to yield results?  Listening is key to selling. There, the secret is out. Active listening requires both ears and eyes. Ever watched a show on mute (no subtitles)? You get the idea of what is going on yes, but you miss key facts. Selling without listening is akin to watching tv with the volume down to zero.
Reading Non-verbal Behaviour
Most interpersonal communication (> 55%) is non-verbal. It may be a revealing facial expression, a particular style of body language, or the subtle yet telling flicker of an eye – these non-verbal communications are key to understanding the person in front of you and how to, in turn, effectively communicate with them. If more than half of what we communicate is non-verbal then more than half of what we are trying to say/sell is being missed if we cannot master our non-verbal styles.

4. ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
Just because you are not in a person-to-person scenario does not mean you can be lax in your line of questioning. In fact, it is even more vital in video conferencing to ask the right questions in order to engage and hold attention in a remote set up.

The difference between you and your competitor lies in the questions you ask clients.

Do you and your salespeople possess Advanced Questioning skills?

Or does your competition question better than you?

5. OBJECTION HANDLING ONLINE
Humans are humans, their environment will change much faster than their mindset and behaviour, therefore being objectionable is a trait even the strongest virus won’t diminish. But to protect your sales armour against the inevitable objections that come in sales, even remotely – preparation is key. Do you know how to handle an objection on the spot during a video conference? Can your team handle the heat on their own when selling remotely?

6. BE EXCITING!
Video conferencing is the prime platform to show off your presentation skills. Everyone is video conferencing now, so you need to stand out – add some spark to your next sales meeting.

How will you build rapport?

How will you break the ice?

What presentation skills does your team have?

These remote SALES SKILLS are just the tip of the learning pyramid and make up part of your bespoke  REAL | Remote Education Active Learning Program* developed around your sales team and delivered remotely by the KONA Group. *The recent changes in work from home situations globally has seen access to our REAL Learning Program skyrocket, so we will continue to fill the learning spots on a first in first scheduled basis. Call 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au to secure a spot.

CONTACT US: 1300 611 288

or

email info@kona.com.au

Work From Home Mojo | 5 Ways to Keep Your Team Motivated Remotely

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
Here we go again! Another lockdown, and another Work From Home set up. Yep. Work From Home (WFH). Now since the last episode of remote working, we have all progressed in our systems and processes. We have all established our own WFH routines and near mastered virtual meetings and the glitches that go with them.
But, one thing that will still test us and continue to rear its heavy head, is our motivation levels. No matter how many times we do this lockdown game, in fact the more we do it it seems, our mojo always at some point suffers.
Work From Home Mojo
You know something is set in place when it becomes an acronym – that is, WFH: Work From Home. But for some of us the trending hashtag #WFH is a bit of a WTF. Work From Home. It’s not an option nor a plea for management to gift you twice a week anymore, it is now mandatory, at least for the immediate future.
Now you have almost figured out how to manage your remote employees.
  • But have you any idea how to maintain motivation on a virtual scale?
  • How do keep your remote employees fully charged?
  • How essential is employee stimulus to the performance of your business?
Monitoring moral does not mean you need to change the entire business strategy. It just means that you need to make a little more effort to keep employees driven and feeling part of a team. The proven way of maintaining staff motivation is to show you care. Simple sounding right, but how? Care can come in the form of incentives or bonuses, awards, recognition and appraisals.

But the biggest indicator you care for your staff is what you invest in them. They will see that you care for their personal growth and success, and without batting an eye lid productivity will skyrocket – even remotely.

INVESTING IN YOUR STAFF BY UPSKILLING THEM SHOWS YOU CARE
Contact the KONA Group and we will not sell to you but help you tailor the best growth strategy for your team with focus on employee motivation and coaching the manager training. Keep your virtual team realistically motivated, focus on stimulating their ideas and maintaining their mojo. Here, we’ll get you started:
WEEKLY TEAM VIDEO CALLS

MS Teams ZOOM meetings sales training with Brickworks

Be connected by staying connected. Include everyone. Akin to a normal team office meeting, this will allow your employees to have their voices heard, literally, as well as allow space to air concerns as a network. There is a lot that can be understood from eye to eye contact.  
USE AN INSTANT MESSENGER SERVICE
It’s all well and good sending emails back and forth to one another, but even these can seem a bit too formal at times. Instead, have your employees use instant message platforms that come with video conferencing software, such MS Teams or Skype, to be able to quickly fire questions across to each other, or even just to chat, feel connected and build better working relationships with one another.  
TRUST THEM
Do you doubt your remote staff are actually working the required hours each day from the comfort of their home? It’s okay, they also wonder if you know they are working the required hours each day. It’s a two-way trust. And the key to letting go and trusting both your employee and in turn have them trust you, is belief – if you’ve hired the right people in the first place, you have to give them the autonomy to go away and get on with it. A lot of people will find that they’re more productive when working remotely for a team, as they feel they need to prove that they’re getting things done without the boss nearby to check in.  
APPRECIATE TO ACCELERATE
Ensure you’re providing incentives to help encourage your remote team members. Give plenty of recognition for the great work that they do, letting them know that it doesn’t go unnoticed, despite them not being present in the office. And, where possible, offer plenty of opportunity for learning, development and growth in their role.  
KEEP THE MENTAL STIMULATION UP
  Just like an office environment, WFH can also become stale for some staff, especially if they love to socialise and network with team mates daily. Throw a new project their way with a challenge attached. Ask them to design something completely out of their realm and see what they come up with. Set them a group task or an exercises that must be submitted in pairs.

Learn more from our Virtual Business Platform.

There is an entire day’s learning and more on how to stimulate, motivate and nourish your staff remotely – it’s just a matter of you opting to invest in your team to produce results for your business. Get motivated with KONA’s remote REAL Academy. Call 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au and we will help.  

CONTACT US: 1300 611 288

or

email info@kona.com.au