The One Thing That Prevents Salespeople From Exceeding Targets

A staggering statistic from HubSpot indicates only one in 25 salespeople exceed their targets. This shouldn’t surprise you. The new hybrid world of work has made things a lot more complicated for salespeople. While reduced travel may seem like a boon because it frees up more time to prospect and pitch, a mostly online sales system is anything but a boon. In fact, it creates huge barriers.

Securing an initial meeting is now even harder to achieve. With gatekeepers discovering new ways to lock the gate while calendars are getting evermore crowded with zoom commitments, even the most skilled salesperson struggles to convert a cold call into a meaningful connection.

If you’re in sales, you should assume that all of your prospects are checking out the LinkedIn profile of all salespeople before accepting meeting requests. And they’re not just looking at your profile because they’re bored: they’re looking for ways to exclude you. Once you’ve landed the appointment, breaking through to the consideration phase is an accomplishment in itself.

Securing The Sales Meeting Is Just The Beginning

Let’s assume you got past the gatekeeper and you have a virtual presentation lined up. That, in and of itself, is impressive. Bravo! You’re now a contender. But technically, what you have landed is only an invitation to present—not to be present but to present your pitch. Online.

Everything hinges on that presentation. Yet many salespeople have not tailored their approach for digital delivery. They’re still using the same tactics they used after jetting to a boardroom for a face-to-face meet and greet, and they’re wondering why their once-successful pitch now falls flat on the world of pixels.

The Special Challenges Of Online Sales Pitches

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I’ll start with a few of the most important differences. First, the intimacy of in-person meetings is diminished; it’s harder to “read your audience” and adjust. Next, images on a small screen are so much less engaging than large-format slides in a bricks-and-mortar room.

And last but not least, people just don’t take virtual meetings as seriously as the ones that occur in the conference room. In virtual meetings, you’re competing against the many distractions (email!) that pop up on your prospect’s device. In fact, here’s what people have admitted to doing during Zoom meetings according to a survey conducted by Quality Logo:

• Texting (86%)
• Shopping (56%)
• Going to the bathroom (48%)
• Doing household chores (34%)
• Watching TV (33%)
• Drinking alcohol (21%)

Most salespeople have not adjusted their meetings for the digital world and have not taken into account how truly deadly online presentations can be for the audience. And that’s great news for you. Being one of the few who takes the time to translate the message for a remote environment will give you a competitive edge.

It’s time to make that one giant leap and convert your approach. Enthralling your audience in a zoom pitch has three essential components:

Sizzle from the start

Your presentation's opening moments set the tone. It will either inspire your audience to think, “This presentation is going to be really valuable” or “This is just like every other meeting I attend—or worse because it is a sales pitch. At least I can multitask.” Less important meetings are a gold-embossed invitation to multitask. Despite common belief, effective multitasking is a myth for the most of us; only 2.5% can do it without diminishing performance.

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Keep your audience glued

You need to maintain the momentum if you’re going to keep your audience’s attention. That means you must:

• Involve them with polls, questions, word clouds, whiteboards and other video collaboration tools
• Give them value—share data and insights that will make them more successful
• Use multimedia and mix up the presentation to prevent your audience from going into autopilot

Make it memorable

Anything short of a stellar, gripping presentation will be forgotten in the tidal wave of information your audience is flooded with every day. To make it memorable:

• Narrate compelling stories that resonate on an emotional level. Stories engage both halves of our brain, creating synapses between them, leading to the formation of lasting memories. Remember to engage the audience’s heart as much as their mind.
• Repeat. People remember things that are repeated, so identify your three key messages and share them as often as possible, but do it without sounding like a broken record.
• End with something unexpected or, better yet, end with a curiosity chasm. A curiosity chasm is the space between what we know and what we want to know. Always leave them wanting more.

The digital age requires a defined and refined set of presentation skills. Commit to these new techniques and join the elite 4% of salespeople who not only meet but exceed their targets.

This article was originally published in Forbes.

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