At lunch yesterday at the InsideView Insiders Summit, amidst an interesting discussion about field vs. inside sales pros and cons, we narrowed in on the idea of whether video conferencing could approximate some of the values of being in person – body language, ensuring the prospect stays engaged, etc.
One of the downsides of video conferencing, of course, is that prospects don’t always like it. They don’t like the way they look, feel self-conscious, etc.
What Kyle does, brilliantly, is leverage video conferencing in a one-way format. Instead of requiring his prospect to get on camera, he uses his camera only. He starts a GoToMeeting or WebEx presentation with his video camera on, then eventually turns it off.
“It makes it clear that I’m a real person, and helps make an immediate personal connection with the prospect,” he said.
He further took a big white posterboard, put a high-resolution SAP logo on it, and has that behind his desk. It makes his background look extremely professional (even though he’s often calling from his home office).
Simple, smart execution.
Even without the cool background, could you leverage this for your inside sales team? Do you at least have a handful of reps who could test it?
