These days, more and more salespeople than\never are relying on videoconferencing to move deals forward. But how many of\nthem are using this powerful communication technology effectively to interact\nwith prospective buyers? Take a look at this list of common mistakes\nsalespeople make while conducting meetings with prospects in platforms where\nvideo is an option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mistake\n#1: Not making sure you have the bandwidth. <\/strong>If you\u2019re\nworking from home (and let\u2019s face it, a lot of people are these days), prepare\nyourself for a shock: it\u2019s entirely possible that the \u201cbusiness\u201d Wi-Fi\nconnection you set up for yourself months ago is simply not going to do the\ntrick now. If five other people are in the house, three of them are each\nwatching their own movie, and one of them is on an extended Fortnite\nexpedition, you may just need to find another connection. Helpful hint: your\ncell phone may, if you have the right service plan, allow you to generate a\nprivate hotspot with a signal that\u2019s strong enough to carry the voice and image\ndata you will be using. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mistake\n#2: Not using your calendar invite, BEFORE, the videoconference begins, as a\nstrategic selling tool. <\/strong>If the text of your calendar\ninvite is boring or uninformative (example: \u201cDemo\u201d) you are putting yourself\nand your organization at a competitive disadvantage. Use this valuable digital\nreal estate to highlight a business PAIN you can address with your solution. For\ninstance: \u201cReducing turnover among key employees with XYZ Application (demo).\u201d\nTake every opportunity to show value! A side note: It\u2019s also a good idea to use\nyour calendar invite to establish the meeting\u2019s duration, topics, and\nstructure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mistake #3: Not eliminating distractions. <\/strong>Of course, you will want to shut the door and make sure kids and pets are not going to interrupt you during the call, and mute yourself when you are not talking while working in large groups. Another great way to eliminate distractions is by hitting F11 whenever you\u2019re sharing your screen. On Windows machines, hitting F11 makes tabs and bookmarks disappear; there\u2019s apparently a way of doing this on Apple machines that involves several steps, but I will leave it to the Apple experts to work that out. The point is, open tabs distract people. Meeting participants shouldn\u2019t be tempted to check out what other tabs you have been busying yourself with \u2013 so keep them focused by removing that temptation. While you\u2019re thinking of it, why not turn off all automatic calendar and email alerts that might come up on your computer during the meeting. Those are potential distractions, too…as is the ever-present problem of background noise. And no, I\u2019m not just talking about audio disruptions (although those should be minimized). I\u2019m also talking about visual<\/em> backgrounds that are unprofessional, distracting, or just plain inappropriate. If you find yourself doing a videoconference in the kitchen because that\u2019s the only quiet room \u2013 and yes, that kind of thing happens sometimes when you\u2019re working at home \u2013 choose the plain white-wall background over the close-up of last night\u2019s dinner dishes. You get the idea: Keep the look and feel of your video feed focused, accessible, and just as professional as you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mistake\n#4. Not checking your look. <\/strong>Make sure the camera is at\neye level, and that both the light source and the microphone are in front of\nyou. Frame your shoulders and head in the video area so that you fill about 75%\nof the screen. And remember: The closer your head is to the top of the video,\nthe taller you look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mistake\n#5: Not defaulting to video. <\/strong>Say you\u2019re using Skype,\nand you have the opportunity to share your face and voice with the prospect via\nvideo. Should you or shouldn\u2019t you? Most salespeople we work with tell us they\ndo whatever the other person is doing: if the prospect isn\u2019t sharing video,\nthey don\u2019t either. The smarter course of action is to default to video, even if\nthe other person isn\u2019t sharing video. Why? Because sharing a professional,\nfocused video feed of yourself humanizes you, and makes person-to-person\ncommunication far more effective. Most of the time, once you take the lead by\nsharing your own video feed, the prospective buyer will reciprocate by sharing\ntheirs; all of a sudden it\u2019s a much deeper, more engaged connection! That\u2019s\nwhat you want!<\/p>\n\n\n\n