Successfully selling in a remote or hybrid environment requires a different skill set than in-person sales calls. That means better prep and more training upfront. Lone-wolf sellers can’t go it alone any more. But the authors of a new book on the subject see long-term benefits for both buyer and seller.


It’s not about the pandemic.


Okay, it’s not just about the pandemic. Yes, the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and the changes it ushered in were significant, with the increase in remote workplaces and the limited ability to make in-person sales calls. But this was an acceleration of a long-term


trend, says Yuchun Lee, CEO and co-founder of Allego. Remote workforces were already gaining traction. And buyers were already becoming more discriminating about how they spent their time and who they welcomed to the office for in-person sales calls. The pandemic simply magnified what was already happening: Virtual selling was on the rise. And, as happened with many business


practices, as the pandemic wanes (we hope), these ways of doing things are here to stay. “A lot of people think that we’re going to be five days a week at the office and that everything’s going to go back to 2019,” says Mark Magnacca, president and co-founder of Allego. But Lee, Magnacca, and their team don’t see it that way. They believe the future includes more virtual


selling. And there’s evidence to support that assertion. A study conducted by McKinsey & Company found that three-quarters of buyers prefer digital self-serve and remote human engagement over face-to-face interactions. Just 20% of B2B buyers surveyed in 2020 said


McKinsey & Company found that three-quarters of buyers prefer digital self-serve and remote human engagement over face-to-face interactions.


they hoped to return to in-person sales when the pandemic allowed. This group included sectors with a lot of field sales in the past, such as pharma and medical products. In the past, it seemed that buyers were more comfortable with digital sales purchases for small- ticket items, but still wanted in-person face-to- time time before shelling out the big bucks. But the McKinsey research shows 70% of B2B decision makers are open to making new purchases in excess of $50,000 in a fully self-serve or remote fashion. In addition, more than one-quarter – 27% – would spend over $500,000 remotely. That doesn’t mean the world is going back to


the Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet calls of April 2020 – with poor lighting, kids attending virtual school from a shared desk, and a “business casual” wardrobe that meant a buttoned-up Oxford on top and sweatpants on the bottom. Lee and Magnacca, with co-author Tony Jeary, address what’s next in Mastering Virtual Selling: Orchestrating Sales Success. In the book, they explain that virtual selling


is a distinct process – not wholly different from the sales techniques of the past, but not entirely the same. It is supported by onboarding, training, content, and ongoing coaching, and those who want to see their teams succeed need to understand the factors that are shaping the remote-selling world, the misconceptions that are putting unprepared salespeople at a disadvantage, and ways in which nimble, training- centric teams can thrive with new


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