Virtual sales calls are becoming integral to contemporary business strategy due to the rise in remote work adoption, technological transformation, and the expansion of online media. Whether you aim to close deals with clients or build strong relationships with prospects online, you must know the best practices well.
At Airmeet, a leading virtual events platform, we realize the importance of creating seamless, professional, and engaging virtual experiences. Whether you are a business owner, a sales professional, or a team leader, optimizing your virtual sales calls is the way to higher engagement, trust, and conversion rates.
In this article, we’ll discuss the four best practices of a modern virtual sales call, which can help you improve your performance and success in virtual interactions. We’ll also discuss how Airmeet can enable impactful virtual sales.
What is a Virtual Sales Call?
A virtual sales call is a form of business communication usually offered over the Internet, through video conferencing or web meetings. Salespeople mainly use such calls to pitch their products or services to prospects, learn their pain points, and drive sales and revenue digitally. Such calls are becoming indispensable to businesses worldwide because they embrace remote working, and sales teams must adapt to new communication methods.
A modern virtual sales call must be engaging, transparent, and efficient. The challenge is making the client, team, or prospect feel connected, valued, and motivated to move forward with the sales process using virtual tools for communication and seamless experience.
Best Practice #1: Prepare Your Virtual Environment for Professionalism
Creating impact in a physical meeting is straightforward, because you can wear the proper attire, maintain a clean environment in your conference room, and minimize distractions; however, all these are tricky in a virtual space.
How you present yourself visually can make all the difference during a virtual sales call. Whether you’re conducting the call from your home office on a video conferencing tool or on a virtual platform like Airmeet, the environment should be professional and free of distractions. Your visual environment will impact the client’s first impression and determine the conversation’s value.
Why the Environment Matters
Research has shown that people develop judgments about others based on visual cues within the first few seconds of seeing someone. That judgment may come from a person’s physical appearance and the context of their online presence.
A cluttered background, poor lighting, or system glitches can make you appear careless or undependable. Conversely, a well-lit, clean, and organized space conveys professionalism and creates a positive atmosphere for your conversation.
Actionable Tips
- Ensure Proper Lighting: Natural light is best, but if unavailable, invest in a good-quality desk lamp. Position the light source in front of you, so your face is well-lit and visible to the client. Avoid backlighting, as it can make you appear as a shadow.
- Select the Right Background: Your background, whether real or virtual, should always be compatible with the brand that you promote to your clients. Airmeet provides virtual spaces that can be customized to host a clean, branded environment for your sales calls. You can even upload your company’s logo or choose professional backgrounds that resonate with your clients.
- Keep the Focus on You: Set up your camera at eye level, creating the illusion of making eye contact with your clients, while maintaining excellent body language. This helps build more connections and creates a sense of comfort. Eliminate distractions that could interrupt your call. Switch off your phone and close unwanted apps and tabs on your computer.
Best Practice #2: Engage the Client with a Clear, Focused Agenda
A virtual sales call is a business conversation; like any business meeting, it needs a format. An agenda gives you and your client a sense of the call’s objective and sets the right expectation.
It helps the conversation stay on track and addresses all the talking points that should be covered, keeping the call on track and respecting the client’s time.
Why is the Agenda Important
Having an agenda before the call helps set the tone. It communicates that you respect the client’s time and allows them to set their expectations accordingly. A well-coordinated agenda lets you introduce topics logically, leading the client through a relatively friction-free experience.
Actionable Tips
- Send out the agenda in advance: E-mail the agenda before the call so the client has enough time to prepare. Outline the key topics you will discuss, such as understanding their needs, presenting solutions, and discussing the next steps. This also signals that you are organized and professional.
- Set Clear Expectations: During the call, set clear expectations about what will be accomplished, such as a product demo, discussing the next steps, or setting up a follow-up. A defined purpose keeps everyone focused.
Best Practice #3: Use Engaging Visuals and Interactive Tools
Your physical presence, gestures, and body language can engage the client in a traditional sales meeting. However, in a virtual environment, you need to find new ways to keep the client interested, which is where visuals and interactivity come in.
The right visuals, such as product demonstrations, presentations, and infographics, would convey the idea much better. Interactive tools also make the call more enjoyable and help you assess the client’s level of interest in it.
Why Interactivity is Crucial
Lack of engagement or disengagement can kill your virtual sales call. Interactive elements, live polls, Q&A, and feedback loops make participation dynamic.
The same tools that make your virtual sales call interactive and immersive allow you to sustain the client’s interest in the call.
Actionable Tips
- Make the message clear through visuals: Use slides, graphs, and images to make your message compelling. Visuals are known to improve understanding and retention, thereby making the call more effective.
- Use the interactive features of Airmeet: This is an advantage because the Airmeet platform incorporates live polls, Q&A, etc., which allows the presenter to engage with and understand the client’s responses or viewpoint immediately. Encourage them to ask questions or participate in the discussion so the conversation is two-way and more energetic.
- Share Your Screen for Product Demos: If you’re selling a product, a screen share can help you live-demo its value to your client. It’ll present an active version of how you would demonstrate your product and provide the client with a great experience.
Best Practice #4: Master Virtual Body Language and Communication Skills
Body language plays a vital role in virtual sales calls. Although you may be unable to rely on proximity, the correct virtual body language helps portray warmth, professionalism, and attentiveness. Your communication style should be clear, concise, and appropriate for the virtual format.
Why Non-Verbal Cues Matter
Body language, such as eye contact, posture, and gestures, communicates much information during physical meetings. So, adjust and communicate all those cues with the camera in a virtual meeting setting. For example, maintain eye contact, nod politely, and use your hands to give the impression of being in a face-to-face meeting.
Actionable Tips
- Eye contact: Eye contact with the camera will make you look more in tune and present in the presentation.
- Use body language: Smiling, nodding, and organic hand gestures are signs of attentive listening and thorough engagement. Small but potent cues can make the flow natural and connect you with your audience.
- Ensure clarity in communication: Since virtual communication is mainly based on clarity, speak clearly and slowly. Monitor your tone, pace, and articulation so the client can understand you.
- Technical breakdowns are bound to happen: During breakages, one should keep calm and handle the situation promptly. A secure virtual event platform like Airmeet will ensure fewer breaks and more transparent communication.
Follow some tried-and-tested best practices for engagement in virtual meetings.
Conclusion
A successful virtual sales call requires professionalism, engagement, interactivity, and effective communication. The four best practices include preparing the virtual environment, engaging clients through an agenda, using visuals and interactive tools, and mastering virtual body language. These practices make virtual sales calls compelling, engaging, and productive.
Airmeet is an enterprise-grade virtual event platform with an interactive feature set that makes every dimension of your virtual sales calls as smooth and effective as possible. You can establish more robust relationships with your clients with proper technological support.
Following such pointers and insights would position you well to turn your virtual sales calls into more profitable, engaging, and successful discussions. Airmeet is the most optimized virtual sales experience, with all the tools you need to make every call matter. Check out Airmeet for more.
FAQ
A virtual sales call will only be successful if the professional setting, agenda, and active engagement are set. Ensure your background is clean, your lighting is good, and your audio/video quality is high. Start with an agenda, use demos or visuals to keep the customer objective, and always conclude with a clear plan or strategy for what comes next.
The plan should include an introduction, a product presentation, a conversation about client needs, and future steps. It should be prepared in advance so that both parties are ready, and it should include features like demos or Q&As so that the conversation can continue.
A clean, professional background says a lot about you and saves the place from distraction. Good lighting and a quiet environment will keep one focused and give a positive, professional impression.
Interactive tools like polls, screen sharing, and Q&A sessions will keep the client engaged and provide real-time feedback, creating a dynamic conversation and enhancing interaction and engagement.
Virtual sales calls improve conversion rates because they allow for real-time interaction, such as personalized discussions or visual product displays. Thus, all client concerns are addressed as quickly as possible.
The best tools for professional calls are Airmeet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. These work well because participants can share a screen, participate in breakout rooms, and have secure connections. Choose one that best suits your needs.
Always test your equipment in advance. In case of any problem, keep calm, apologize for any inconvenience, and try switching to a parallel wifi connection or backup device. Backups and alternatives will make everything go on seamlessly.
Airmeet provides customizable virtual spaces, interactive tools such as live Q&A and polls, and excellent video/audio quality, so it’s a fantastic platform for engaging sales calls and events.
