What’s the most embarrassing moment you’ve ever had as a virtual sales team? If it hasn’t happened yet, it will soon. Research by McKinsey recently found that 71% of revenue at the average B2B company is now driven by virtual activities, and it’s not going away. Buyers are increasingly choosing digital or remote purchasing options.
Here are five common #virtualsalesteamproblems—and how to prevent them:
1. Name (Mis)Pronunciation
Have you ever pulled in your VP of sales to help close the deal, but they made it worse by completely butchering the prospect’s name? Mispronouncing someone’s moniker can be as offensive as using the wrong pronoun. Virtual calls have opened up the sales pipeline globally in both directions. Your coworkers, prospects, and even other sellers may be coming from anywhere in the world. Nothing can turn a prospect from hot to cold faster than feeling disrespected. That’s why we added autogenerated name pronunciations from Namecoach to the Warmly Zoom App, so you can instantly learn how to say it right—before or during your meeting.
2. A Forever Silent Prospect
Your sales team logs into a meeting. You have 30 minutes to impress the buyer, but first you have to go through a round of introductions. Everyone says their name, title, how long they’ve worked at the company, and basically gives a one-minute diatribe to prove that they’re a professional. At this point, you’re six minutes into a 30-minute meeting, and the prospect hasn’t even said a word.
You’ve just wasted a third of the customer’s time on something that isn’t meaningful! With Warmly, you can start the meeting with a suggested icebreaker to help you immediately connect on a warm note. You can also just say “Hey, my name is so-and-so, and you can learn more about my teammates in their Zoom backgrounds.” Goal: save time and get down to business.
3. Sorry, Wrong Zoom Chat
Have you ever tried to send an in-meeting Zoom Chat to your coworker, then realize three seconds later that the message was sent to everyone? Maybe it was a funny joke, or even something you thought your coworker should know about the customer to help seal the deal. Don’t risk it - stick to text or Slack for internal communication to coworkers.
4. “Where r u?”
Picture this: Your teammate is running late to the virtual meeting. You need to ping them, but also want the prospect to think they have your undivided attention. Most of the time when you head to Slack to say “WTF,” you just end up seeming distracted. Not a great look for a sales call. Thankfully, Warmly has a fix for this, too. With one click in the Zoom app, you can send a “Where are you?” message to your teammate, freeing you to focus on the customer while your teammate gets it together.
5. Cat Behind Ya
Have you ever showed up to a call and realized your background is still the meme you put on to make your friends laugh? Maybe you’re trying to talk to a prospect, but your coworker’s cat is running around behind them. The last thing you want is what’s happening in the back to distract from what—or who—is in front of you. This problem is easily solved by Warmly’s matching background feature. One person can upload an image, and it will automatically populate the backgrounds of everyone on your team. Bonus: your crew instantly looks unified and more professional.
