What is Virtual Selling?
The sales industry is going through disruption, and the pandemic has aided the disruption. Several virtual selling platforms have emerged and are doing quite well. However, before we understand the benefits of virtual selling, let’s understand what virtual selling is. Any facet of the sales process where internet technologies have supplanted the traditional in-person selling is referred to as virtual selling. So, instead of traveling salespeople, we now have inventions that eliminate the need for any travel at all.
It goes by many names, including ‘remote selling,’ but the essence of virtual sales is simply the instruments created for the modern online world. Tools originally meant for social or family gatherings are now being used in the workplace. Virtual selling is being preferred by salespeople too. When asked how they want to work in the future, 91 percent of salespeople stated that they do not want to return to the office full-time.
Reasons why Virtual Selling is Becoming Popular
There are several reasons why virtual selling is gaining popularity. Some of the benefits that virtual selling brings along are as follows:
- Access to Global markets
By employing technology to reach more clients, effective sales professionals are establishing a broad approach to the market, given that the emerging economies’ proportion of Fortune Global 500 businesses will undoubtedly climb to about 45 percent by 2025. This approach is swiftly becoming imperative. Simply put, tomorrow’s growth will not resemble yesterday’s growth. According to the same study, emerging markets will account for almost 70% of the companies expected to attain a revenue of $1 billion or more.
This method can be implemented by sales organizations using a distance selling approach. To do so, you must go beyond conventional thinking, which aims to match the sales opportunity with the sales expert who is nearest to the customer geographically. Instead, leaders should select the salesperson with the skill set and expertise best matched to the customer’s requirements, even if that salesperson is located in a different location.
- Aligns to the Changing needs of the customer
It’s vital to keep track of the customer’s shifting needs to close the deal. It’s tough to do so when salespeople have to coordinate schedules, make travel arrangements, and deal with unanticipated customer availability changes. Many of these issues are addressed by virtual selling, which creates an environment in which meetings can occur whenever needed.
The complexity of identifying the customer’s primary concerns and goals increases as the pace of change accelerates. As a result, salespeople must have “situational fluency,” or the ability to talk about each buyer’s business concerns, what’s causing them, and what competencies are required to overcome those issues. Using the immediacy of a virtual engagement properly requires developing this fluency.
- Takes an agile approach
Rather than sticking to a single plan, an agile model emphasizes cooperation and adaptability to change. This fluidity is a fantastic fit for the customer’s dynamic purchase journey, which includes movement that starts, stops, and even reverses. Customer communications no longer follow a logical path in this situation. Questions about needs, floating ideas, and positioning values are intertwined in every client conversation. When it comes to selling, agility implies being able to flex and use a variety of abilities when and when you need them.
Because it maintains communication during the key moments between traditional in-person encounters, virtual selling matches this paradigm, and sales professionals have an opportunity to study the buying elements that influence the customer’s purchasing decisions during these crucial “in-between” periods.
- Accelerates the process of trust-building
By using the immediacy of a virtual connection to promote more encounters, virtual selling skills assist salespeople in reaching this level. Sales professionals who understand how to best use the virtual medium are always ready to jump into a debate with a group of stakeholders and become influential voices. This increasing connection frequency serves to erase the conventional divide between stakeholders and salespeople. A virtual presence enables consistent communication, essential for creating and sustaining the confidence that precedes every sale.
Conclusion
It’s safe to say that virtual selling is here to stay. Salespeople who learn to sell online will benefit both now and in the future, as current conditions are redefining what will be considered normal in the future. If you need more information on how to sell virtually, you can visit Zipteams. We can assist you with everything on virtual selling!
