COVER STORY


tools, new skills, and a better understanding of buyers in a remote world.


DO IT DIFFERENTLY One of the clearest paths to virtual selling success is acknowledging that it requires developing new skill sets and strengthening unused muscles. In the past, an in-person salesperson was part showman, part performer. While good stage presence never hurts anyone (even on the Zoom


screen), the virtual salesperson is someone who is thinking about the information they need and when they need it. “Virtual selling is the nail in the coffin of the lone-wolf salesperson trying to solve a complex solution all by themselves, just them in front of a committee of buyers,” Magnacca says. “You are almost 100% dependent on just-


in-time learning,” Lee says. He likens it to the process of searching on YouTube to watch several videos teaching you how to fix a leak under your sink. You might not learn that “just in case” and keep it in your arsenal for when your pipes fail. Instead, when you need the information (i.e., when the sink is actively leaking), you call up the videos and figure it out. The same goes for onboarding new virtual sales reps. Five years in the future, they may be able to acquire “just in case” information, but, for now, it is “just in time.” It is important for them to know where to find the information when needed, not to commit everything to memory, and to be able to respond to buyers’ questions in the moment. In today’s world, buyers have access to a lot of information. And people like to Google things. Buyers can easily access online reviews and spec sheets. They expect salespeople to go beyond the basics, understand their business and needs, recommend solutions to their problems, and put


them in touch with the experts to solve those problems. So, the virtual salesperson who says, “I don’t know the answer to that, but let me reach out to the expert and get back to you” – and then follows up and connects the buyer with an expert – is going to close more deals than the salesperson who provides the same PDF the buyer has already downloaded on his own. The salesperson does not need to be the smartest person in the room; they need to be the person who can orchestrate success, Magnacca says. That process underscores Lee’s belief that “virtual selling doesn’t equal a Zoom call.” Instead, video phone calls are just one part of the new ways in which virtual sales teams can connect with buyers. Virtual sellers need to have exceptionally strong


listening skills, Magnacca adds – and a sense of curiosity that will lead them to intuit problems and find solutions. Those skills are trainable, he believes, as long as companies understand that the training doesn’t look like it did for the sales force of the past. “Fluency comes from coaching and training and practice,” Lee adds.


A LEG UP “Virtual selling is not inferior to face-to-face selling,” Magnacca says. In fact, there are several distinct advantages to the remote sales call (as long as, of course, you’ve heeded the other advice listed here and approached the tactic thoughtfully). “On the surface, it seems like a lose-lose, but virtually selling allows you to be fairly productive,” Lee says. “You gain a high level of efficiency. If you are meeting in person, you’ve got to travel somewhere.” With commuting time, travel time, rushing to get a plane or fuel up the car, grabbing lunch on the go, navigating traffic jams, and getting buzzed up in the elevator, a salesperson can hold a few in-person meetings a day. But a prepared salesperson can hold up to 10 virtual meetings a day. Sharing video presentations (see below) and other documentation before a meeting can help streamline calls and free up meeting time for topics for which synchronous conversation is most beneficial. While there’s a perception that virtual selling


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