6 min read

How remote sales teams win with voice in 2021 [+ best practices]

Our new socially distanced normal means remote selling is no longer just an option for teams, it is often a necessity.

When face-to-face connection is no longer possible, voice is the next best thing to create the trust and relationship to close or add on to sales. Teams in a remote world need tools to help them engage customers in a personalised and impactful way.

Voice platforms like Enreach (former Benemen) help deliver this. Voice connects us like no other channel. The human voice is unmistakable and when agents are empowered to communicate with a natural, open, and honest voice, success follows.

Voice solutions solve many challenges of remote selling. Let’s dive in and look in more detail.

 

Voice makes prospecting smarter

Prospecting is all about creating a relationship. Calls are a powerful sales channel because they allow you to make a human connection and rely on a more personal touch.

People have a natural preference for doing business with someone they know, like, and trust. Every company wants to increase sales volumes, and building rapport with buyers can help you achieve this goal.

“A phone call will get someone’s attention much quicker than an email, and you’re able to customise your sales pitch,” says Stuart Leung, SEO manager at Salesforce.com.

Choose a phone call over an email when you anticipate a lot of questions and have to explain something complicated. You’ll also reach more people in less time because you can answer questions in real-time and won’t get lost in an endless back and forth of messages.

 

Voice tools make it easy to create a 360° account profile

Have you ever answered a phone call from a new salesperson that has inherited your account? You can immediately tell if that person has done their homework and studied your account data or not.

Embedded Voice by Enreach is a voice platform that is designed to automatically capture all your sales team’s calls in your Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics D365 environments. It enriches your sales calls with account data for better insights. Track data from calls and inquiries to get a 360-degree customer view and a full account history.

Gather call data to influence behaviours and predict your sales team’s next steps. Thanks to the CRM integration, you can easily keep track of your leads, log the conversations you had with them, and organise every part of the sales process. It also syncs data with other tools and sales automation software your team is using.

 

With voice, agents can really respond to the emotions on a call

Michael W. Kraus from Yale University found that voice—especially when it is the only cue—can reveal more emotion than facial expressions. In other words, you may be able to sense someone’s emotional state better over the phone than in person.

Kraus asked participants to discuss a problematic work situation over Zoom using either just the microphone or the microphone and video. He found that on voice-only calls, the participants could pick up a lot more subtleties and more accurately detected each other’s emotions.

This shows just how powerful voice is to help salespeople connect and means good news for your remote sales team. Read your prospect’s emotional cues to anticipate their needs, gauge their openness and guide them with compassion.

With voice, you can hear the tone of objection and address it in real-time. Voice builds trust and trust makes closing easier.

Selling over the phone not only allows you to detect emotion but to inject your own personality into the conversation. Body language and micro-expressions still matter, even when the person on the other end can’t see you.

 

Voice enables sales automation so agents can focus on prospects

Multitasking is an essential skill for sales reps. They’re often juggling many tasks at once while talking to a prospect. A voice platform that gives you enhanced customer context for a one-to-one engagement allows you to focus on really connecting with the customer.

On top of the stress of multitasking, many sales teams still lose productivity on repetitive tasks, wasting precious time on recurring activities that could easily be automated.

Enreach's voice platform enables sales automation in the best possible way.

With the Salesforce High Velocity Sales module, Embedded Coive streamlines prospect outreach with Sales Cadences. High Velocity Sales ensures that the sales reps are getting in touch with the most probable leads. Then with one click-to-call, Voice for Salesforce places the outbound call–straight from the Salesforce User Interface.

 

Following up is friendlier with voice

80% of people say “no” four times before they say “yes”. In other words: the majority of successful deals require at least five follow-ups to close. 

Sales strategist Marc Wayshak emphasises that the phone is still your best tool in selling. 41.2% of the salespeople he surveyed said that the phone is the most effective tool at their disposal.

This comes as no surprise, as following up is more personal with voice. You’ve already established a personal connection and rapport. If you’ve earned the prospect’s trust, you can go deeper by listening and understanding what your prospect’s goals are.

Integrating your phone system with your CRM is an immense advantage when you can have your follow-up sales calls automatically logged. You have all the info at your fingertips that you need for continuing the conversation. Capture transcripts, make notes, and schedule the next follow-up.

 

A voice platform allows your sales team to work from anywhere

The COVID-19 outbreak has significantly affected the way organisations sell their products and services. Outside sales account executives can no longer travel to their clients and shake hands with colleagues.

Organisations had to transition from outside sales to inside sales at a rapid speed. Companies that focused on inside sales before the pandemic were already handling sales activities remotely. Their reps are used to using email, phone calls, and video conferencing to build and maintain relationships with prospects.

For the ones previously out in the field that’s a dramatic shift when it comes to selling. Sales leaders need to adjust how their organisations sell and think about how to best enable their teams.

Equip your remote sales team with the best technology to sell. The most important advantage of embedding telephony in your CRM is the ability to collect and store lead data. Combine that data and smart outbound capabilities to improve your win-rate.

Make the transition to inside sales easier for your agents and engage them with easy-to-use software. Speed up the process with click-to-dial directly from your CRM. Arrange and allocate your leads in a smart way for efficient outbound. Run your prospecting with clearly set KPI’s and fact-based data.

It can be difficult for a sales leader to account for a fully remote sales team. The most important factor in successfully managing a remote team is consistently making time to check in with everyone personally. With the right tools and strategies, you can support a healthy team that crushes its goals.

 

Remote sales call best practices

Virtual selling can be tricky. You have to make a good impression, keep easily distracted prospects engaged, and handle objections during online meetings.

Now, let’s take a look at our top best practices for how to do a virtual sales call.

1. Do your pre-call prep

Before you go into a virtual sales calls, make sure you’re prepared. Do your research about the company and the person you’ll be talking to. Check previous interactions in your CRM. Have an agenda ready before going on the call and be prepared to answer any questions the prospect has.

2. Up your LinkedIn Game 

Just as you do your background check on them, prospects will likely check you out. They’ll be looking at your LinkedIn profile to judge if they’d want to do business with you. So make sure your profile is up to date and reflects your expertise. Make your LinkedIn profile about your customer’s achievements and how you will enable them.

3. Choose the best call software

Picking reliable call software ensures that you will sail smoothly even through a turbulent sales call. You don’t want to have to worry about the technical side so you can fully focus on your prospect. Pick a call software that provides clear audio (and video conferencing if needed) with screen and file sharing functionality.

4. Know how to screen share

If it’s a video call, make yourself familiar with the screen share function. You can easily cast your screen to the prospect to make sure they see what’s currently being discussed. This will keep prospects engaged and ensures that everyone can follow in real time.

5. Check sound quality in advance

Before entering, ensure that your audio is correctly configured for a smooth and crystal clear sales presentation. Most call software allows you to make a test call to see how your microphone, speaker, and camera are working. You’ll get a playback and can adjust your settings accordingly. We recommend using headphones with a microphone to avoid unwanted background noise.

6. Dress the part, if it’s a video call

You should always dress professionally for virtual sales calls—no exceptions. Dressing appropriately for a video call should enhance your confidence and help your prospect to perceive you as trustworthy.  

7. Be empathetic

When salespeople exercise empathy it builds trust. Actively listen to find out which challenges your prospects are facing and think about how your tools could solve them. Be present, ask the right questions and picture yourself in their position. You’ll get a feel about how to best approach them and when to give them some space.


See what next-gen voice solutions can do for your sales team

Virtual selling can transform sales performance and accelerate growth. Sales leaders have to explore ways to equip and engage their sales teams with modern voice tools for virtual success.

Enreach's solutions enrich your team’s sales calls with 360-degree account data for better insights. Combine customer data and smart outbound capabilities to increase your sales and improve your win rate.

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