How Can You Make Your Virtual Sales Meetings More Meaningful?

When was the last time you thought about how you conduct virtual sales meetings? It’s easy to get complacent, especially as remote meetings have become standard. These types of meetings are now a common way to engage with buyers.

And they’re also what buyers want: Over 25% of B2B buyers say they prefer a video meeting when first interacting with a vendor they’re interested in buying from. That percentage jumps to 30% among Gen Zers.

But to ensure these meetings are effective, sellers need to be sure their remote meetings are high quality.

What makes virtual sales meetings different?

Obviously, the usual elements of quality meetings matter. From discussions based on pre-meeting research to asking questions and engaging in active listening, general best practices still apply.

But the virtual element requires additional considerations due to the unique challenges of remote meetings. As Anton Rius points out, those challenges include:

A distracted audience

Your audience has distractions competing for every second of their attention. Email notifications, chat messages, and open browser tabs make it easy for them to mentally drift while you're speaking.

 No in-person observation

It's harder to gauge interest from behind a screen. Without reading body language or other physical cues, you may not realize when listeners are confused, distracted or losing interest. The lack of in-person interaction limits your ability to read the room and adjust your delivery based on audience reactions.

Potential for disengagement

Presentations that rely solely on speaking, without opportunities for participation, often struggle to maintain engagement. Often, sellers get stuck in “presentation” mode when virtual, making it easy for attendees to become passive observers instead of active participants.

How to deliver the best remote meetings

Rius shares several ways that salespeople can overcome these challenges. These tweaks can impact how you run each virtual meeting and your audience’s response.

Cut down all distractions

While your audience has distractions, you do as well.

You can’t avoid every distraction caused by participants during your call,” he writes.

“But you can, at least, control whether or not you add to those distractions.”

By eliminating your own, you stay present through the meeting, which will naturally pull in attendees. Remove anything that could disrupt a meeting, such as alerts on your computer and phone.

Simplify your background; don’t give buyers anything to focus on other than yourself. Take time to evaluate what your audience will see: remove clutter, distracting decorations or anything that could pull attention away from your message.

Also, keep background movement to a minimum, as people walking by or activity happening behind you can quickly become a distraction.

SalesFuel emphasizes that if you choose to use a virtual background, make sure it looks polished and realistic. Use a green screen when possible or a basic background available through your meeting platform. Also, avoid overly creative or gimmicky images that may appear unprofessional.

Optimize lighting and sound

Want to boost attention and engagement? High-quality video is a must, which means making sure attendees can see and hear you clearly.

Good lighting is essential for quality virtual sales meetings. If your lighting is too dark, your buyers are going to get a grainy image on their screens. And if the lighting isn’t positioned properly, they may not even be able to see your face well.

Rius suggests the following:

• Position your light source in front of you.
• Prioritize bright, natural light from a window; if that isn’t possible, use a simple two-point lighting setup with one light on either side of the monitor.

Quality sound is important, otherwise, you risk your message getting lost and attendees losing interest. A computer’s built-in microphone and speakers may not always provide clear audio. This can make your voice sound distant, distorted or muffled.

Rius suggests improving sound quality by using headphones with a built-in mic to reduce background noise and prevent unwanted distractions.

For a more professional setup, a tabletop USB microphone can deliver clearer audio with a little testing and adjustment.

Encourage interaction

Just like in non-virtual sales meetings, engage your audience. It’s easier to get caught up in yourself when remotely presenting. Make sure you’re asking open-ended questions, include a Q‑and‑A session, and offer a poll if possible. This will keep attendees active throughout the meeting.

For more tips on making virtual sales meetings the best they can be, check out this additional advice.