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AND HOW TO AVOID THEM DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS 13 MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE WHEN SELLING REMOTELY FIND YOUR EDGE
1. NOT HAVING A STRONG UP-
If I had to draw one conclusion from these last few months, it would be this: It’s COVID-19’s world now, and we’re just living in it. With cities on lockdown, offices closed, and people working from home, it’s necessary for businesses to adapt in order to survive. For our team, and I’m sure yours as well, that means doing a lot more sales, meetings, and other work with clients remotely via video calls. It’s tough to make that transition, particularly if your business hasn’t relied heavily on technology in the past. Odds are in the last few months you’ve scrambled to put a new system in place, and you’re probably still working out the kinks. Fortunately, here at Sandler Training, we’re experts in virtual selling and remote communications. To help you and your business weather this pandemic, I’ve put together a list of the 13 most common mistakes I see people make on video calls. Check them out and avoid them when you can! Together, we’ll get through this crisis and land on our feet.
watching cartoons and studying great performers who excel at capturing audience attention on screen.
FRONT AGREEMENT — Before you hop on a video call, make sure the client knows what to expect and is prepared to use your new technology. A good rule of thumb is to assume they aren’t tech savvy and send over a complete user guide. Even if they’re great with gadgets, they’ll appreciate the thought! 2. FAILING TO PREPARE — Don’t “show up and throw up.” Instead, create an agenda for every call, and put effort into your appearance. Body language makes up 55% of communication, and it’s diminished over video, so it’s imperative you spend time creating and following a plan. 3. FAILING TO ACT — To convey the same level of emotion over video, you need to increase your tonality, energy, and body language by roughly 15%. To learn how to do this, try
4. BEING THEMSELVES, AND COMMUNICATING IN THEIR
NATURAL STYLE — Communication is not one-size-fits-all. Find out if your clients are auditory, visual, kinesthetic, or verbal learners, and cater your communication to their preferences. 5. NOT MANAGING DISTRACTIONS ON THE CLIENT SIDE — In your upfront agreement, encourage your clients to find a quiet place to chat,
and if that’s not possible, come up with strategies for holding their attention.
6. NOT MANAGING DISTRACTIONS ON THEIR SIDE — Remember, in a video call, your background says a lot about you! Take the time to
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12. ASKING VAGUE QUESTIONS — Keep your questions straightforward and specific, and be aware of delays and buffering time. If you’re giving instructions, give them in long-form once, then summarize for clarity.
minimize background noise and create a professional “set” that projects a calm image to clients. Make sure your team does the same.
7. FAILING TO USE LOGIC AND
ENGAGING CONTENT TO MAINTAIN FOCUS — If you’re sharing your screen, make sure there is some kind of interaction to keep the client’s eye and minimize digital distractions like extra windows. 8. MONOLOGUING — Don’t talk through the whole call. Instead, ask questions, and let the client share concerns! You’ll be more successful with a conversation than a sales pitch.
13. THINKING THEY CAN DO
EVERYTHING ALONE — There is no need to reinvent the virtual
communication wheel! With so many great tools and resources out there, don’t think you need to DIY your remote communication strategy. Instead, embrace platforms designed to help you nurture your clients and stay connected. I hope these tips help you reassure your clients and maintain your sales in these tough times. For additional remote resources and sales tactics tailored to help you through this pandemic, reach out to me today. I’m here for anything you need. –Jim Stephens
10. FAILING TO USE REMOTE
TRAINING TO DRIVE TRAFFIC TO THEIR OTHER PLATFORMS — When applicable, take notes or record calls to archive on your website or post on social media. This will show you’re still active, and you can reference the calls later. 11. ISOLATING PEOPLE IN A GROUP CALL — If you have multiple people on a call, encourage them to talk to each other and form breakout groups so they stay engaged.
9. FAILING TO ENGAGE ALL
ATTENDEES — Keep in mind which clients are in a room together and which are dialing in alone. Make sure they all feel engaged and heard.
HOW TO THRIVE IN UNCERTAIN TIMES 3 LESSONS WE LEARNED FROM THE 2008 RECESSION
2. PLAN, PREPARE, AND BE DECISIVE. Now is not the time to wait and see how things go. Now is the time to formulate a plan and activate your employees to make it happen. Work with your team to create a written action plan and a portfolio of contingency plans for every eventuality. Then, put them in motion immediately and decisively. 3. COMMUNICATE OPENLY AND FREQUENTLY. Start doing daily huddles with your team, and tell them upfront the three things you’d like them to focus on for the day. After that, stay in constant touch with them and your clients, who will want to hear from you while things are tough. When you reach out, make sure you communicate authentically and in an empathetic, nurturing tone. Don’t put on rose-colored glasses, but be matter-of-fact about the present and optimistic about the future. That’s how you inspire others! Here at Sandler Training, we have dozens of talk tracks in our arsenal specifically geared to thriving during a recession along with plenty of other tools and tricks. Email jim.stephens@sandler.com today to learn more and request your talk track copies.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on businesses and the economy. You don’t need us to tell you the details — no doubt you’re watching the news minute by minute on your smartphone screen. That said, there is a silver lining to what looks like a coming recession: We’ve been here before, and we can apply the lessons we learned in 2008 to help our businesses not just survive, but thrive in 2020. Here are three important steps to take now. 1. FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL. Author Charles R. Swindoll once said, “I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it,” and we think he was right on the money. By tamping down your emotions and focusing your efforts on what you can control right now — your attitude — you can reshape this crisis in your favor. Remember the belief wheel: Your beliefs determine your judgment, which determines your actions, which determines your results, which confirms your beliefs. You can leverage this cycle by jumping in on step three, action, and giving your team the talking tracks necessary to thrive during the recession. If you broadcast consistent, positive messaging internally and externally, you’ll get results, and when you do, you’ll start to believe in your own success.
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AUTOMATE YOUR MOBILE MARKETING WITH MANYCHAT
TAKE A BREAK
You can’t be everywhere at once — but ManyChat can. ManyChat is a marketing and sales tool designed for the mobile landscape. ManyChat is a bot chat service, but it’s far from your average web-based bot service. For one, it’s highly customizable. You can build a bot to match your specific needs, whether you’re simply selling something or you’re trying to find leads. You can use it to offer quotes to prospects or to drive traffic to a specific landing page. You can even offer automated customer support through ManyChat, and this is just scratching the surface. The company, founded in 2016, figured out how to take marketing and sales to Facebook Messenger. While many businesses market on Facebook itself, most have completely overlooked Facebook Messenger — and it’s easy to see why. Fundamentally, Facebook Messenger is a text messaging service developed by Facebook. It’s easy to write off the app as “just another messaging service.” However, Facebook Messenger is far more capable than your average text messaging app — a fact ManyChat has capitalized on — and is helping countless other businesses to do the same. ManyChat was founded on the idea of merging “automation and personal outreach.” As a small business, you still want to maintain that personal touch in your marketing and outreach, and ManyChat is a way to automate your outreach while keeping a personal touch, all while the app itself handles most of the heavy lifting. The service also works for just about any business type, which comes back the customization. You can “build” your platform yourself or you can download any of the hundreds of available templates. In short, if you want to reach more people, ManyChat can help. That said, can ManyChat really substitute for human interaction? For the most part, no. But it’s not really meant to be a substitute — it’s meant to complement the human element of your marketing outreach. It can be available 24/7 and, if you desire, direct prospects to where they need to go through your marketing funnel. To learn more about ManyChat and how it can work for your business, visit ManyChat.com.
We have 20 complimentary copies of this new book to send out. If you’d like one, email joan.stephens@sandler.com or call 208-429-9275 to request your free copy!
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
The Secret to Seamless Remote Selling
2
How to Thrive in Uncertain Times
3
Puzzle
3
Take Your Marketing Mobile
4
How Wearing Red Helps Fight Heart Disease
CHARITY SPOTLIGHT: GO RED FOR WOMEN Red is a bold, splashy color. When someone walks into a room wearing bright blood red, it always catches attention and turns heads. Now, a group of Idaho women is harnessing the color red for a good cause — specifically, to raise awareness and funds for the fight against women’s heart disease. volunteers, and other action on women’s heart health issues. On top of wearing red and sharing facts about heart health, Go Red lists four other priorities on its website : RAISING AWARENESS FOR HEART DISEASE, ONE RED DRESS AT A TIME
• Providing women with opportunities to prioritize and take charge of their own health • Building communities that support and provide access to healthy choices • Demanding equal access to health care for all women and their families • Increasing women in STEM in upcoming generations Go Red is a fantastic organization fighting for a great cause, and we’re proud to have one of its branches in Boise, Idaho, so close to our Meridian headquarters. We’re looking forward to more of Go Red’s events when the coronavirus pandemic passes, but in the meantime, you can find ways to volunteer, donate, and support an office of the group near you at GoRedForWomen.org.
The organization is called Go Red for Women, and it’s an initiative of the American Heart Association geared exclusively toward women and their health. According to Go Red , cardiovascular disease kills more women every year than any other health condition. Every minute, a woman dies because of heart problems, and those conditions are behind a staggering 1 in 3 deaths annually. The numbers are scary, which is why so many people have rallied around the cause to fight back. So, what does this have to do with red dresses? Well, apart from starring in the group’s logo, bright red dresses, skirts, and other apparel have become the hallmark of its events and ad campaigns. Every February during American Heart Month, Go Red for Women “ignit[es] a wave of red from coast to coast” for National Wear Red Day on Feb. 7 to inspire donations,
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