Fundamentals of Virtual Selling on Critical Success Factors for the Virtual Sales Force
This is both an introduction and taking action seminar designed to not just “talk the talk” but “walk the walk” in changing the nature of virtual sales, direct and indirect channels and most importantly customers in the way they explore, evaluate, decide, purchase and deploy new and expanded versions of solutions in their business. This course is for new-hires, new to position, new to market and otherwise new to sales though this isn’t a fundamentals course on sales which is recommended prior to this class. There is a course in the Expert Level that addresses the personal aspects of presenting oneself – Top-10 Personal Sales Professional Criteria.
Virtual Selling Professionals (VSP) – Fundamentals – Four Sessions
Fundamentals Session 1 – Foundations ~1 Hour
This presumes attendees have a working understanding of sales fundamentals as this expands to virtual sales. Some of the 22 Foundation Fundamentals includes:
– Virtual will be harder but longer lasting
– Virtual will be the same but different
– Virtual will be very different
– Virtual will not be what we thought it would be
– Content will always remain critical
– Talking Points, Not Talking Heads
– Meeting Elements
– Audience
– Venue and Agenda
– Pace
– Speed of Talking and Reading
– Bullets
– 10 Concepts You Better Get Right
– Format – Who’s Talk, When, Why, etc.
– Starting Time
– Rehearsing – Why and Because
– Content – “a confused mind always says no”
– Q&A – why they really are there – Ending – Don’t Stop !
– Overcoming Meeting Madness
– It’s Not Fatigue, It’s Boring
– And a few more surprises
Fundamentals Session 2 – Customers Bane or Boon ~1 Hour
This session will drill in to the customers mind and not react or predict but direct them to your strategy:
– Virtual Selling and Social Media Explained – presentation to everyone on what it is, what works and what leads to failure. This is internal socialization of Virtual Selling as getting people “on the same page” is a horrendous task yet without this effort, factions often arise to derail the process.
– Core Customers – potential, fans, fence-sitters, ignored, end of life – are customers “listening to what you say on social media and are you listening to what customers are saying” – who is the real buyer and who are other key decision-makers? Explore and understand the current sales cycle.
– Build customer personas and map to social media platforms based on product/solution. In addition, an evaluation of customer buying cycles, alignments, down to the branch level. Also, what do they know, think, believe and need to know about you.
– Communications Media Channels – product/solution messaging and mediums used for current sales. Understand role of sales-marketing interfaces for specific campaigns, events and other sales activities. Specifically, evaluate how Virtual Selling would fit into the organization including support, product and other areas. In other words, is there a “black hole” that could impact Virtual Selling solutions to derail the process?
– Evaluate Sales Channels of Distribution – channels and partners are just one part of the means to an end, evaluation of “hot spots” and “dead zones” including self-service Virtual Selling and indepth analysis of CAC-customer acquisition costs and buying cycles (seasonal, annual, government, other).
Questions & Answers – Sales leader will be available to answer all questions.
Fundamental Session 3 – Building Strategic Customer Assessments ~1 Hour
Explore the following:
1 – Customer type – vertical, specialty, distribution, OEM
2 – Content – what are they saying, selling telling their customers, what do they know about you (what research are you providing them to help them evaluate you) – explore their Omnichannel purchasing processes including multi-source social content syndication news gathering
3 – Media Channels – what mainstream and other media channels are they using
4 – Channels of Distribution – build “agile” channel models adapting to known and emerging technologies
5 – Apps – are customers using app(s) for selling/supporting
6 – Technology – what Virtual Selling/media and technologies are they using – did they build or buy
7 – Organization – where is their organization going – merge, divest, domestic and international
8 – Brand – is their brand something that is important to you
9 – Random – what regulatory, political, environmental factors have on customer buying now and in the future.
10 – Vision – where are customers now and where are they going and how can you “walk in their moccasins” now and in the future
Questions & Answers – Sales leader will be available to answer all questions
Session 4 – Taking Virtual Selling Action Today ~1 Hour
Develop and building a new Virtual Selling Strategy on specific elements making each element “more social” than pure selling including:
– Start selling – build new social “cold calling” build new Virtual Selling news feeds
– Upsell – build new means to selling “dogs” and finding “happy meals”
– Pitch-sell – build new Virtual Selling “pitches”
– Re-sell – integration of Virtual Selling with resellers, VARs, channels, partners
– Cross-sell – exploring ways to Virtual Selling multi-vendor solutions
– Follow-up selling – is Virtual Selling working, “mid-course” corrections and testing multiple approaches
– Shorter selling – build ways to shorten sales cycle, integrate CAC-customer acquisition cycles and building selling cycle calendar (no point in selling Christmas trees in January)
– Outselling – not really outsourcing options for Virtual Selling but soliciting other “sources” to help in sales
– Support selling – “constant courtesy” – integration of selling and support
– Cool selling – can toys, movies, and fun be to use
– Develop funnel buying stages
Questions & Answers – Sales leader will be available to answer all questions.
Course Evaluations
Users:
“Leadership begins with great presentations, team building, collaboration and frankly being organized. The Procert gave me all these tools and much more to be a better CTO leader.” J.L
“Meetings are the bane of my business, however, nothing gets done without them. I needed skills and ideas to make meetings and business communications faster, reducing costs and frankly, much better. Virtual Pro did that – thanks.” M.G CEO
”This is the best course for better management communications – period.” K.E
Vendors:
“The class accelerates our conferencing and collaboration revenues reducing the sales cycle by demonstrating to our customers we are committed to user ‘driver training’ to help them make better presentations and use cases of our solutions.” D.T.
“I have been selling conferencing for a long time and so tired of hearing stories of the old conferencing system going unused because users aren’t really trained. That is, they try it and fail, especially C-levels, the course gives me a real competitive-edge showing we are committed to the customer now and in the future.” R.C.
Delivery methods – via webinar one-hour for Fundamentals Sections 1 and 2, approximately three-hours for Advanced Sections 1-3 and approximately five-hours for Expert Level Sections 1-4 courses if taken serially at the same time.
If taken separately, after students have attended the Fundamentals course, the Advanced (Section 3) class is approximately 60-90-minutes. Or after students have taken both Fundamentals and Advanced courses, the Expert Level (Section 4) course is approximately 60-90-minutes each (length is always is determined by student interaction and discussion), subject to change. Scheduling is extremely limited due to previously scheduled seminars. If you are ready to schedule, have special requirements or questions, call 303-594-1694 or email cross@gocross.com – classes on weekends and evenings are available.
Here is the complete curriculum: