Sales are driven by customers. Businesses must therefore devise strategies that offer a rewarding and personalized sales experience. With the move to eCommerce, however, this has become a much more complex task.
Before the 2020 pandemic, a company’s sales strategy often incorporated a variety of selling techniques. However, during COVID-19, virtual sales became the default standard. As a result, many employees were abruptly thrust into working from home, often alone, and grappling with new technology. For business and customers alike, lockdowns were a lonely experience, and many longed for the comfort of in-person connections.
As businesses have already invested in costly technology infrastructure so that operations can continue with employees working from home, and people still being cautious, it appears virtual selling is here to stay. Business owners, though, should be wary of overlooking the value of face-to-face communication, even in a post-COVID-19 world.
Striking a balance between virtual selling and field sales that suits all customer engagement preferences is likely the future for increasing sales both now and post-pandemic. Here’s why:
Establishing better customer relationships
Digitalization has revolutionized marketing and sales methodologies with Forbes reporting that 84% of companies working to improve their customer experience reporting an increase in their revenue. Face-to-face selling, however, offers important benefits that digital engagements alone cannot match.
Promoting human connections
As they engage and get to know their customers, face-to-face sales representatives afford prospects the chance to develop a connection with their brand and products. This interaction allows a sales representative to evaluate their requirements and, from there, determine their sales approach. They get better acquainted with the customers and their needs, which fosters credibility and trust, the key components in establishing a lasting connection and brand loyalty.
In-person sales representatives are also better able to display knowledge of their own products and industry, as well as cite anecdotes of customer successes and typical use cases of their brand when applicable. Body language that is only conveyed when meeting in person makes reading and resolving a customer’s reactions or confusions much easier.
Educating prospects and customers
Sales personnel connecting with customers face-to-face have the ability to distribute the latest informative brochures and materials, and quickly respond to customer questions and concerns. This limits common annoying technical issues like dropped calls, weak signals, and the varying levels of video conferencing skills that we have all endured.
Additionally, sales reps are able to demonstrate the use of more complicated products that might intimidate some customers. Instead of having to rely on how-to videos or articles, customers can have a more organic learning experience. Not only does this encourage the customer to comfortably make a purchase decision, but it also adds to the sense of trust and personal connection between the company and customer.
Presenting product demonstrations
Product demonstrations are one of the most effective methods of influencing customers.
This is because customers can see and touch your product, allowing them to better imagine the ways in which it will benefit them. During a product demonstration, sales representatives can highlight the benefits and adjust their approach to answer customers’ comments. Additionally, businesses can gain invaluable insight on how their product is perceived through immediate customer feedback.
Providing a personalized sales experience
To generate sales you need to attract the right customers, capture their attention, pique their interest, and create a satisfying personalized experience and connection. Here are some tips to guide you during face-to-face sales:
- The elevator pitch technique. This is a brief, eloquent, memorable speech introducing yourself and your brand which should take no longer than a 20 to 30-second elevator ride and be presented confidently in a smiling, friendly, but professional manner.
- Listen to your customer. Humans need to be heard. Listening to your customer displays a genuine interest in them and their needs and builds a better, trusted customer relationship.
- Create rapport. Being open and receptive to your customer’s questions, needs and issues establish a connection, and, when questioning them, using a gentle, non-threatening approach is essential in making a sale.
- Focus on your customer. Using expressions like “You’ll find” rather than “I feel” or “I think” will center the customer in the conversation.
- Upsell your products. When you have listened to your customer, established their needs, and connected with them, it is time to make the sale. When discussing those attributes of your product that will solve their problems, you can then subtly introduce other products to encourage an additional sale.
Enhancing the Personalized Sales Experience
Businesses with field sales teams should consider Skynamo, a mobile sales app, which offers an all-in-one automated solution for business owners and field sales representatives from any mobile device.
With Skynamo, a customer’s details, order history, and outstanding balances are immediately accessible. Sales representatives can show and browse through the full-color digital product catalogs with customers, find up-to-date stock levels and see the latest pricing and discounts. They can provide immediate and accurate quotes to their customers and can submit approved orders instantly from the field.
Skynamo also relieves sales representatives of mundane time-consuming admin tasks allowing more time for visiting clients and generating more sales. Sales managers and business owners can rely on the accuracy of Skynamo’s automated daily reports of the time and travel spent and orders generated by each field sales representative.
With Skynamo, everyone can enjoy a great personalized sales experience!
Having a fully-featured field sales platform is invaluable in face-to-face sales for any business. Such an automated tool eliminates the drudge-work of sales admin and gives sales representatives the time they need to attend to more customers and sales. It makes the entire sales experience quick, slick, fuss-free, and enjoyable, in addition to adding impressive and unparalleled professionalism to all customer engagements.
Skynamo is the platform of choice for face-to-face interaction in today’s sales process!
