Remote Selling - Can it be Done?

 Face-to-face interactions have forever been the way to meet people, build relationships, share emotions and experiences, and sell products. The Fuller Brush man has been a living example of that principle. Things have changed meaningfully over the years, and relationship building changed with them. Remote dating has become an important aspect of finding partners and mates, as has other services that used to be provided in-person only, such as medicine.

COVID changed us all along numerous dimensions, and business development has changed as well. When in-person interaction isn’t possible, we must learn how to make meaningful connections remotely. There are many inhibitors to virtual selling, and our own resistance and skepticism of the process is a major factor. But necessity is the mother of invention, and we find ourselves looking for ways to integrate remote selling into our lives for the medium-term.

A good place to start is changes you’ve made in your own life. Key relationships could not be maintained in the usual way, through in-person interactions ranging from a walk in the park to a shared drink or a meal. We found ways to handle this impediment through virtual connections, using FaceTime, Zoom, WebEx and Meetings, to name a few. As I mentioned in the personal section of this BirdsEye View issue, our family spontaneously developed new traditions to feel connected. I’m sure your family has done so as well.

There are many lessons we have learned in the past few months that can and should be translated into the business development space. One important lesson has been our concern for others, which was heightened during this period for obvious reasons. Our customers are no different, and many banks have embarked on customer care calls, simply to connect and see if there is anything we can do to help. The goodwill generated through these calls has been immeasurable. 

On the business side, we learned through the calls that customers have gone through the same phases we have during these past months. After the initial shock and fear, our customers started considering what it will take to get back to work and recover revenue as quickly as possible. Many enterprising businesses added a digital sales and delivery module to their typical delivery model. Most of your favorite restaurants have done that. Our own banks have done that. In the process, we discovered that speed matters, as do agility and adaptability. So did many of our clients. We are all modifying our business models on the fly to keep revenue coming in and customers staying in. 

Much like the banking industry, our customers transitioned from finding ways to quickly respond to the crisis rebuilding their operation with some major changes. Most are thinking short-term, trying to forecast demand in an uncertain and unprecedented environment, while making fundamental changes in their end-to-end workflow. They are rethinking how to operate the business, inserting digitization where it can add value, and discarding antediluvian processes. 

The next few months will be spent on process refinement, midcourse corrections and beginning to consider the longer-term implications of what’s occurred thus far. Again, both us and our business customers will be going through this concurrently, and – preferably – together.

Our salesforces across the enterprise, from commercial and business banking to wealth, private banking and retail, need to start modifying their own sales process to reflect the changes in the environment. This is particularly relevant as these changes become more permanent and get integrated into all of our daily lives.

Thinking about the virtual sales call bring up challenges and opportunities we haven’t had to face before. Like all introspection, that can be very productive.

Surveys from McKinsey, PwC and others indicate that businesses are rethinking their expectations from their banks. We can and should use virtual calling (through phone and digital means) to proactive offer solutions to our customers who are looking to manage their financials in this new world.

Our challenge is primarily channel- related. We now must execute many sales calls remotely, and it likely will not change for some months to come – and possibly never for some of our customers. As you contemplate the transition to virtual connectivity and sales, it’s important to realize that you are now using technology to deliver your message. What technology you use and how you use it matters. Plus, communicating through technology is also different – from the seconds lag-time when you speak to the placement of the camera to properly capture your face. These are new considerations that require planning. Last, the basics of a sales call haven’t changed, and those still must be well-executed and add value to our customers.

Have you noticed that when you WebEx with others new considerations come into play? 

- Make sure your space is well-lit

- Keep the background uncluttered

- Position the camera to fully capture your face but not so close that it distorts the shape of your face

- Wear monochromatic clothes 

Similarly, the customer needs to prepare themselves for the technological aspects of the meeting, from downloading the app to getting earphones if that’s more comfortable.

Your greatest challenge is to convey your feelings and message through the technology intermediary. It’s always helpful to be empathetic and transparent, and it’s even more so in a remote meeting. Preposition the client to the limitations of the technology, but run the sales meeting as you usually would:

- Assemble the right team

- Focus on what changed, particularly new challenges the customer is facing

- Don’t forget the personal side (home schooling, daycare, cabin fever)

- Update the customer on your own bank and your handling of the pandemic (possibly including the number of jobs you saved through PPP?)

- Close as you always do – summarize, agree on next steps. In addition, get feedback on the technology used, and ask for recommended changes

Virtual meetings, as we have experienced ourselves in the past few months, have many benefits. They are efficient, conversations are often more meaningful and focused due to the strict time limitations, decisions are made faster and subject-matter-experts (SMEs) can be brought into the conversations more easily. You can differentiate yourself from others by the way you use the technology.

At the same time, the challenges are many and the dynamics, no matter how hard we try, are different. It’s harder to build rapport online, and typically engagement is lower. There are more distractions if the client calls from home. It’s also more difficult to get the conversation going, often due to technology issues.

Altogether, though, virtual selling is no longer an optional tool. It’s time to get good at it and perfect your approach. Start role-playing, plan your virtual calls meticulously, and add whenever possible a personal touch to the call. I sometime bake cookies and send them in advance of the call. Will that make sense for you?