Bringing the Human Touch Back to Sales.The Power of Face-to-Face Interaction Through Video.

BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES

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More Connectivity … Yet More Disconnect?

IN THE DIGITAL AGE, SALESPEOPLE have more tools than ever before to connect with clients and prospects and make the sales process more seamless. The tradeoff for convenience and immediacy, however, is the reduced ability to make meaningful and lasting connections with customers.

An email, a PowerPoint presentation, a link to

a website or video — all of these things can

be effective for sharing product and brand

information. But they do little to communicate

a salesperson’s expertise, experience or

personality, which can all have a significant

impact on whether that rep can win a

customer’s business.

Even a phone call has its limitations. It supports

conversation, but provides no window into a

person’s body language – the customer’s or

the rep’s.

BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES

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Relationships between salespeople and

customers have always been integral to

successful sales and to earning customer

loyalty. People naturally prefer to do busi-

ness with people they know and like – and

trust. However, in today’s global and

digital economy, it is highly likely that the

salesperson and the customer will never

be able to meet in person.

SO, HOW CAN SALES TEAMS BRING

THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO THE

SALES PROCESS? One strategy is

to blend modern technology with an

“old school” best practice for sales

success: Reps can use high-quality

videoconferencing for face-to-face

meetings with clients and prospects.

GLOBAL SURVEYIn a global survey of 2,300 Harvard Business

Review subscribers conducted by Harvard

Business Review Analytic Services:

■ 79% of respondents said that in-person meetings are the most effective way to meet new clients to sell business.

■ 89% agreed that face-to-face meetings are essential for “sealing the deal.”

■ 95% said that face-to-face meetings are a key factor in successfully building and maintaining long-term relationships.

Source: Managing Across Distance in Today’s Economic Climate: The Value of Face-to-Face Communication, Harvard Business Review Analytic Services

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BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES

21st Century Sales Success Requires a Multi-Touch Approach

THE COLD CALL, WHILE IMPERSONAL – and often viewed by customers as an unwelcome interruption to their day – remains a critical tool in the salesperson’s arsenal.

But savvy reps are upping their game

by using a multi-touch approach

that includes email, phone and

videoconferencing.

This scenario illustrates how high-

quality videoconferencing not only can

complement tried-and-true techniques

that salespeople rely on every day

to break in with potential customers,

but also can help reps to potentially

shorten the sales cycle.

BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES

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HOW DOES THAT TRANSLATE TO THE BOTTOM LINE FOR THE BUSINESS?

Research shows that a 15% decrease in the length of the sales cycle can yield a 30% increase in revenue.

BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES

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Only One Chance to Make a Good Impression? Think Again

SALESPEOPLE USUALLY HAVE ONLY SECONDS to grab a customer’s attention – and in today’s highly competitive marketplace, there is no room for error.

However, even highly experi-enced sales reps who do ample research about a prospect and deliver a polished presenta-tion can strike out. And when pitches are delivered by phone, it’s all too easy for a customer to tune out (or hang up) if mes-sages aren’t resonating.

BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES

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Videoconferencing, delivered through the right platform, can give salespeople

six distinct advantages over other sales methods – including in-person meetings.

They can:

1. Shift their sales approach mid-pitch in response to a customer’s body language.

2. Launch a live product demo to help underscore key messaging, communicate

complex concepts or features more easily, and educate the customer in an

engaging way.

3. Have a “low pressure” and more personal conversation with the customer,

which provides opportunity for storytelling – a strategy sales reps can use to

take “factual, disparate information and give it context, color and meaning.”*

4. Enable a face-to-face meeting at a moment’s notice, so they can respond as

soon as opportunity knocks and stay one step ahead of the competition.

5. Reduce the risk of cancellation of in-person meetings that are set for days or

weeks after a successful break-in with a customer.

6. Check in regularly face to face with valued clients to ensure they are satisfied

and to identify opportunities for presenting other services and products to

address evolving needs.

Another benefit for sales organizations and the businesses they help to support:

Videoconferencing reduces the need for travel, which saves time and costs. It

also keeps sales teams focused and productive because there is less downtime

due to travel.

*“Sales and Storytelling with Charles Wortmann,” by Charu Sharma, The Huffington Post, Aug. 7, 2014: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charu-sharma/sales-and-storytelling_b_5653205.html.

BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES

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Improving Sales – and Customer Retention – With Video

HIGH-QUALITY VIDEO CONFERENCING can deliver an experience that is just as engaging as an in-person sales meeting – provided the right technology is in place to enable effortless face-to-face interactions.

Sales managers can help their teams become more effective at closing deals

and shortening the sales cycle by using a platform for video, audio, and rich

content sharing that lets them:

■ Meet anywhere, at a moment’s notice: Look for a solution that is device- and

network-agnostic. Meeting is easy if you have technology that can connect

popular business communication tools into the same meeting, including

Lync, Jabber, room systems, browsers, and mobile devices.

■ Execute live demos seamlessly: Often, it’s showing, not telling, that makes

all the difference in winning a client’s business. Sales teams therefore need

a reliable videoconferencing solution that will let them easily deliver a sales

presentation on their screen or upload a video that shows customers how a

product works.

■ Worry less about security: Choose a videoconferencing solution that

provides enterprise-grade security so your sales team can be confident that

meetings and sensitive sales and customer data will be protected.

IN FOCUS: YESWARE

Face-to-face interaction is good for

sales teams, too. Find out how this

email productivity services provider is

using high-quality videoconferencing to

bridge the distance between its sales

reps working in different offices – and to

enable more productive sales meetings.

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In the digital age, a handshake between a salesperson and a customer is not always possible. But with video, the human touch in the sales process – the foundation for sales success and enduring client relationships – can be assured.

BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES

Get Into Blue Jeans:

It’s a Great Fit for Sales

Sales presentations that are high-impact and content-rich, but as engaging as a face-to-face meeting – what’s not to like about Blue Jeans?

Visit www.bluejeans.com/for/video-for-Sales to learn more about Blue Jeans, the leader in video as a service, and why some of the best and brightest sales organizations rely on us.