The business of Sales, like so many other professions in the rest of the world, has changed.
Before Covid your sales rep usually had in-person meetings. The first meeting was often lunch with a prospect. Then there were more meetings throughout the sales process, until invariably, it ended with a handshake in an office board room.
But today, the board rooms have been shuttered, and offices that were once full of water-cooler chats and ringing phones now run on a skeleton crew.
So your sales reps have to adapt, or your business is in big trouble.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Chad Banman, and I am the owner of Sandler Training Edmonton. I have been involved with either selling or leading sales teams for the past 20 years. Throughout that time I have helped many companies solve their revenue growth problems so that their businesses could thrive.
I have written this article to help your sales reps learn 6 key steps that will help them embrace the power of Hybrid Selling, so that your company can ultimately make more money in a post Covid world.
But before we get into the 6 steps, let’s get started with a definition.
What Is Hybrid Selling?
Hybrid selling begins when a sales rep uses online tools to start the selling process remotely. For example, they could put a post on LinkedIn that gets noticed by a prospect. The prospect could read the LinkedIn post and be motivated to reach out to the sales rep to have a conversation, which could then lead to an in-person meeting.
Just like the hybrid engine in your car wants to maximize fuel economy, Hybrid Selling is a method that strives to maximize efficiency for both the buyer and the seller.
If you’d like to read our full definition of what Hybrid Selling is, then check out the Ask A Business Expert Dictionary by clicking on this link.
6 Steps To Help Salespeople Get The Most Out Of Hybrid Selling
The following 6 steps will help your sales reps take advantage of Hybrid Selling.
- Grow Your Network
- Social Media Is A Tool
- Become A Thought Leader
- Email Is Alive And Well
- Embrace The Cold Call
- How To Win With Online Meetings
Click below to download your copy of the ‘6 Steps To Help Salespeople Get The Most Out Of Hybrid Selling.’
6 Steps To Help Salespeople Get The Most Out Of Hybrid Selling
Step 1: Grow Your Network
To see where we’re headed, we must understand where it all began. Your value as a salesperson is often connected to how strong your network is. To continue with the hybrid-car analogy, your network is your gas tank – and you’re not going to get very far if it’s empty.
Traditionally, your network was built upon face-to-face connections, made in a world where handshakes and lunch meetings were standard fare. But now your network is digital, built upon the reach and engagement of your online activities.
In order to translate what’s in your gas tank into any meaningful momentum, it gets run through the engine – in this case, that means reaching out to those in your network with a traditional cold call or cold email. If done properly, your sales process gains a lot of traction and you’re on your way. If not, your engine isn’t efficient enough, and your tank will run empty.
Step 2: Social Media Is A Tool
Where Hybrid Selling enters the equation is in giving your network a little boost. The use of social media in a professional setting is looked at as being a tool for the marketing team, and less necessary for the sales team.
There is no doubt that a large majority of the population in all levels of business use social media. Therefore, think of social media as the battery – there is a lot of energy to be gained if you can harness it.
Platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and yes – even TikTok, are becoming spaces to connect with lots of potential clients outside of the clutter of marketing.
However, connecting with potential clients is much more than a simple “follow” or an odd “like”. You need to become a “thought-leader”.
Step 3: Become A Thought Leader
What is a thought-leader?
Simply put, it’s an industry expert.
However, to be perceived as a thought-leader, you need to build up your brand and break through the clutter first.
Personal branding is just as important as the branding of your company, and technology gives us an opportunity to make our brands just as unique and interesting as we are. Your personal brand can convert the potential energy of the social media battery, and channel it to build momentum in your sales process.
For example, blog articles are a great way to convey important industry information to many people while weaving your voice and personality into your words.
Videos are undoubtedly becoming an important tool for the thought-leader. They are quick and easy to produce and are the best demonstration of you, your brand, and your knowledge while giving viewers an opportunity to connect with you on a much more personal level.
Giving your connections the ability to see and hear you does more for building trust and rapport than mere words.
You can use your personal brand to reach out to connect with the best fitting prospects. You can also use your personal brand to follow your current customers and interact with them.
For example, you can keep yourself top-of-mind by congratulating them on their successes and keeping them up to date with what’s new in your company or industry.
It’s important to be present, be active, and be engaging in the online world, and most of all – be authentic.
Being a thought-leader is more than spouting off product knowledge every chance you get.
Being a thought-leader is all about visibly interacting with a prospect’s posts by leaving purposeful comments, and starting conversations.
A thought-leader should also have their finger on the pulse of their industry and be aware of any possible regulation changes or industry trends.
Then, if done in a meaningful way, a thought-leader will become the electric motor that takes the focused energy from social media through to your personal brand, which will fuel your sales process.
Step 4: Email Is Alive And Well
Hybrid Selling is the linkage of traditional methods and new technologies to make your sales process run more efficiently, but that doesn’t mean giving up on the old methods entirely.
Effective use of emails and phone calls are great tools for the hybrid salesperson.
Cold emails to a prospect have one clear goal: get the prospect to read it and respond to it. Admittedly, this is easier said than done.
Like your personal brand, your email subject line needs to cut through the inbox clutter. The subject line needs to be short and relevant to the recipient. Subject lines that involve a question that is of interest to the recipient is best.
When they open your message, the content must be relevant. Ideally, your email should be 200 words at maximum, and explain to your prospect why they are receiving your email.
Your email should also consist of a short note about who you are and what problems you solve.
Lastly, you should ask the prospect if they are interested in connecting further.
Remember – the email should be written from the perspective of what truly interests the prospect, not the perspective of a salesperson.
What happens if your email goes unnoticed?
You should send one email a week for a minimum of four weeks to your prospect. Using different subject lines, and even embedding videos in the email to display your personality and your brand is the best way to get a response.
Step 5: Embrace The Cold Call
Cold calls are a salesperson’s most dreaded, yet common, means of connecting to potential customers.
That is why they are also the most dreaded and predictable call that someone can receive.
Like a cold email, your cold call must break through the clutter and the barriers that people have put up.
A great way to do this is to NOT SOUND LIKE A SALESPERSON.
Get permission from the prospect to talk for two minutes and use that time to explain who you are and the problems that you solve such as:
- Cost overruns
- Incomplete orders
- Damaged goods causing delays and more
Remember that these problems should be relevant to the person that you are calling.
If it makes sense for both parties, ask to set up an online video meeting in the future to talk in more detail.
It is also important to keep in mind that you are not selling the product, you are selling the next meeting!
Step 6: How To Win With Online Meetings
So, you now have a meeting – what next?
The online video meeting is a step that is often overlooked, but done poorly, it can sink your process just as easily as a bad phone call.
- The key to a good video call is all about managing your surroundings – ensuring that background noise is minimized and that your microphone is working.
- Your video should be turned on and angled to see your head and shoulders. Lighting should be appropriate, making sure that you aren’t backlit or too bright.
- Everyone involved in the meeting should have the same link, as well as any supporting material that is critical to the running of the meeting (PDF’s, product brochures, etc.).
- Video meetings should carry no surprises to anyone involved – make sure everyone knows who will be attending and what the agenda is.
- When using PowerPoint slides, it’s best practice to stop your screen share when dialoguing.
- Make your face full-screen and build that bond and rapport with your prospect.
In the end, if you follow these steps, then your online meetings will have a higher chance of success when it comes to making a sale.
Conclusion
In this article I introduced you to the concept of Hybrid Selling, and gave you 6 steps that will help your sales reps to take advantage of it.
- Grow Your Network
- Social Media Is A Tool
- Become A Thought Leader
- Email Is Alive And Well
- Embrace The Cold Call
- How To Win With Online Meetings
If you embrace these steps, then you’ll increase your odds of sales success in our post-covid sales world.
Remember, Hybrid Selling is the adoption of technology and the transition of the sales industry into the online world. It may also be your best chance of cutting through the noise.
Are you ready for it?
Chad Banman
An expert in the field of sales management and sales development, Chad has been working in the professional field of sales for the past 17 years. As a dedicated lifelong learner with a Bachelor of Education degree, and a Sandler Training Rookie of the year, Chad appreciates the value of training and has firsthand experience with the success it can bring.
His passion for taking talented people and giving them the skills they need is evident in the interactive experience he brings to his events. Using Sandler Training he brings real life solutions to real life problems that all sales people and sales managers face on a daily basis. You can get in touch with Chad by clicking on this link.