is an obstacle to building rapport, that’s not the case in practice. “It is harder at first,” Magnacca concedes. “But it turns out that, once you get over a certain hump, it actually can be a better way.” In their book, Lee and Magnacca emphasize


that selling is a social transaction as much as an economic one. Zoom allows for an intimate look into people’s lives. You see their book collections, the afternoon sunlight hitting a favorite piece of art. You meet a kid looking for an after-school snack. Those interactions are all opportunities to share common interests and build rapport that you don’t have when you meet in a neutral conference room. Another advantage of the virtual meeting is


that you have more access to decision makers. That might sound counterintuitive at first. But, in the in-person meeting world, you’re unlikely to be able to drag your CEO into a meeting to ask a question or underscore a point, Lee explains. A top executive just doesn’t have that kind of time. But now a CEO can pop in for 10 minutes on a Zoom call to listen to a critical exchange, and then move on to the next meeting. That’s more opportunity for a salesperson to ask and answer questions and more meetings a CEO can attend (albeit for a shorter period of time).


PREPARATION IS KEY


When it comes to strategizing, Lee and Magnacca divide virtual selling into arenas – essentially front stage and backstage. Front stage is when you are live in front of your audience, either virtually or in person. This is synchronous collaboration. “You are helping the buyer continue on that buying journey,” says Magnacca. In many cases, this means a video interaction. Knowing the ins and outs of each platform in advance is essential for a successful session. The basics are knowing how to mute and unmute and being adept at using tools for screen sharing and other commands. But virtual selling requires the next level of proficiency. How do your slides look in Google Meet versus Zoom? Should you arrange the background for your office setup differently? Do you need to place your ring light in a different configuration? Clean your camera lens?


Backstage tasks bolster a seller’s moment “on stage” with activities before and after the


CHANGES IN THE WORLD OF SELLING


meeting, they say. Backstage is asynchronous communication – preparation and follow-up emails, for example – that supports the live conversation. Savvy sellers will use their backstage to build relationships, keep the deal moving, and stay top of mind between meetings by sharing relevant collateral, meeting notes, and videos. Magnacca notes that the Allego team recently witnessed how this worked when looking for a new 401(k) vendor. They had five finalists for their business. Three finalists had no set agenda going into the Zoom call. It made them look disorganized and unprepared, even if they weren’t. Those same teams allotted time in the 30-minute call to introductions, which Magnacca felt used up time that could have been better spent answering specific questions. “They were not on their A-game,” he remembers. The other two teams planned ahead. They sent agendas and, in one case, video introductions the Allego team could watch in advance. Even though it was asynchronous, it started the process of relationship building. Everyone felt like they knew each other even though they had never met (think about social media; this is how your Facebook “friends” can feel like actual friends). “The takeaway is that this is a skill set that


matters now. It’s not going away, even in the future as we move to a post-pandemic time,” Magnacca says. “There will be executives and other decision makers who will not be physically present, even if you are in a sales situation. Therefore, this is a critical, fundamental skill set for sellers everywhere.” 


SPECIAL EDITION 2022 SELLING POWER | MASTERINGVIRTUALSELLING.COM | 7 © 2022 SELLING POWER.


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