Remote Sales by beyon
During the Covid-19 crisis in 2020 our customers faced a new reality. Even though it was legally possible to visit or invite customers, sales organisation had difficulties to actually make appointments and with that to actually generate revenue.
Together we choose to be innovative and we built Remote Sales.
Circumstances
Low Level
After reopening, the amount of actual meetings stays at a low level.
Recession
Many european countries expect a GDP reduction of 5 to 9%.
Digitalisation
Covid-19 boosts the digitalisation by three years.
Risk groups
One third is in a risk group and reduces get-togethers as much as possible.
Household income
With expectet lower household incomes, sales are getting difficult.
Obstacles to overcome
Starting that project, we had a lot of obstacles to overcome. What we realized very quickly is, that Remote Sales is neither a technical implementation, nor a learning project. As the technical issues are surprisingly low we had to focus on methodology and change.
These are the six main obstacles we had to overcome before going live.
First
55% of all face 2 face communication is nonverbal, 38% paraverbal and only 7% is verbal. This is fact, established in 1972 by Mehrabian and Ferris. And we really struggled with transmitting as much of the nonverbal and paraverbal over the digital channels as possible.
Second
Employees had issues accepting Remote Sales as a new reality in their work life. This is a massive change process within sales organisations where people are used to go out and meet people.
Third
We knew that extroverted people need interactions. What we didn't realized was, that digital interactions are not as satisfying for them as the real ones. This led to a lack of motivation and a lot of exhaustion after a full day of work.
Fourth
The technical issues are not on the consultant side, it mainly appears on the customers side where you can't manage the speaker, microphone, camera, screen or connection.
Fifth
People were used to have catch up calls over the internet but we ran into issues when we actually had to close deals only using remote channels.
Last
People had issues with sales basics, which had to be repeated again and again by providing remote training, team play, feedback loops and role plays.
Solution
For Remote Sales to work you have to master those five points.
People Processes
We didn't focus on the interaction tools, we focused on people, leadership and the change processes.
Communication
A new sales channel
leads to new kind of communication for the customers and employees.
Training and coaching
To master a new channel you have upskill your workforce with training and coaching.
Tools
We decided to choose safe and simple tools customers already use with family and friends.
CRM and Reporting
New channels need new organisations, processes and reporting possibilities.
Benefits and impact
The sales world won't be the same after Covid-19. People learned that some things can be done remotely in a more efficient way. Here are the statistics of Remote Sales. For more information, please get in touch.
Good Reviews
The average customer rated the Remote Sales Session with a 5.2, on a scale 1-6.
Bring revenue back
We were able to bring back nearly 80% of revenue compared to the year before.
Cost reductions
Remote Sales reduced the costs of operation by 35% mainly through expenses.
Reduction in time
An average sales meeting took 34 minutes, which is about 25% shorter than face2face.
Conversion rate
63% of customers who attended the Remote Sales meeting made at least one sale.