The Covid-19 pandemic is still raging in most parts of the world. For more than 9 months most people work from home. At the beginning it was a new and exciting experience full of unimaginable possibilities. The way to the office was definitely shortened, from the bed to the kitchen and directly to the laptop. No more worrying about what to wear, no need for any formal outfits, but instead we find a person wearing a pyjama-like T-shirt or jumper working at a cozy kitchen table surrounded by children, pets, laundry and even television in the background. Flexible working hours, video conferences and chats have become our everyday life. It felt like the boundaries between work and personal life are disappearing and everything is seen a little more loosely.
What was new and cool in the beginning became more and more to be a burden. You can be reached at any time, your partner and children interrupt you continuously, annoying background noises are non-stop and the pressure to achieve the pre-COVID results is there. In short: Your private life and work life have merged. Focus and attention become a rare commodity.
If we want to have results we never had before, we need to start doing things we never did before! Because if we do what everybody else is doing, we will get the results everybody else is getting.
It seems that most marketers and sales professionals haven't really noticed this and continue doing what they are used to. Bombarding customers with cold calls and video conference requests, just to present far-too-long monologues about their company’s product. They don’t seem to understand that they are no longer reaching out to clients at work where they can focus and concentrate well. They are barging right into the home of their clients, into that place of retreat which was once a relatively Sales-free zone until Corona. They are entering the place where distractions are many and attention gets lost within minutes. No wonder, that new sales calls from potential suppliers are becoming increasingly unwelcome.
Here are 5 very simple and easy to implement tips to make your next video conference more impressive and more successful. The goal is to create a positive setting for the customer where they can give you maximum attention and focus on listening to you for at least 10 minutes.
1. Create a Pleasant Atmosphere -
Avoid all possible disruptions. Minimize background noise, screaming children or dogs barking. Switch your phone to mute and, above all, switch off all notifications of emails, whatsapp or anything else on your computer. Sit in a quiet room with a neutral background. In regular circumstances, Would you in real life meet your conversation partner in a noisy open-plan office instead of a meeting room, where you can close the door behind and avoid being disturbed? So why are you doing this in virtual life?
2. Pay attention to Your Background -
Avoid calls in cluttered rooms or in private spaces such as kitchens or bedrooms. It is simply a no-go and disrespectful. The same goes for too-colorful, vacation-like virtual background images which should be avoided at all costs. They degrade the transmission quality of you and your message and in most cases appear unsuitable and unprofessional. In real life, would you meet your customers in the storeroom of your office or your private bedroom? So why are you doing this in virtual life?
3. Always Speak at Eye Level -
It is important that you give your conversation partner the feeling that you are speaking to them on an equal level. Since it is impossible to look the other person in the eye during a video conference, either you look at the monitor or at the camera, try to place the camera always at eye level so that you can look straight ahead. Avoid video calls with laptops on a table because you have to fold the screen too far back. The angle of the laptop camera creates the impression that you are looking down at your viewer from above. It is also a less complementing angle in most cases. If you're using a laptop, put it on top of books or other things so the camera is on the height of your eyes and you can look straight ahead.
4. Respect the Time of The Customer -
Nothing kills the attention more than promises that are not kept. If you've scheduled a video conference at a specific time, start the connection 2-5 minutes before the scheduled time. If you've scheduled a video conference of a certain length make sure you don't extend this time. Prepare yourself for all eventualities. Every interruption in a presentation causes the customer to lose interest twice as quickly. In order not to reduce the customer's attentive curve quickly, close all programs and browser windows that you don't need. Don't try to improvise and focus only on what you planned in advance to show the customer.
5. Record Your Meetings -
Record all of your meetings, naturally only after you have asked your customer for permission. This gives you the advantage to focus 100% on your customer without missing a detail. The recording also helps you review your own presentation afterwards. You will identify a lot of small hints in the recording for things you can do better or places you lost a customer and didn’t notice in the active conversation. Save the recording in the cloud and send the link to your customers. Why? It is not a standard and you will surprise them with a special service and give them the opportunity to calmly study your words again.
Agreed? I am sure that many marketers and sales professionals may believe that these tips are redundant. After all, it's about the product and not the way it is presented, right? well, Wrong. Your first task is to convince your customer that it is really worth it having another Zoom meeting these days, no matter what you offer. Remember, before they get to know you, you are just one of many others who have something to offer.
Ask yourself: How should a customer believe I would do anything for them if I don't care how they feel during our conversation? How can a customer feel valued when I don't feel it is necessary to respect their needs and offer them a pleasant conversation? Think about it.
If you find my tips valuable but still don't know exactly how implementing them, I’m inviting you to write me an email and you will get a training session free of charge - how to take your specific challenge and form together a path to success. My email is: chris@forty-two.digital