The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way B2B selling works. Field sales teams moved inside, and most of their interactions with customers shifted to a virtual environment.
Many B2B sellers assume that inability to use traditional strategies such as onsite meetings and customer dinners has negatively impacted their sales process. However, this challenge presents a unique opportunity to learn new ways to cultivate relationships virtually and realize the full productivity potential of B2B virtual selling.
Here’s an overview of the benefits of virtual sales, and how to capitalize on this opportunity.
3 Benefits of Virtual B2B Selling
Venture Capitalist Tomasz Tunguz explored the unforeseen benefits of virtual channels for marketing teams and shared his findings in an article. Tomasz looked at the portfolio companies’ experiences with virtual events and observed the following benefits:
1. Significantly More Attendees
When virtual events are shifted to an online format, the number of registrants and attendees dramatically increases. Tunguz estimates that, relative or in-person events, attendance increases by a factor of 5-10x.
This is largely due to the accessibility of virtual interactions. Instead of having to cover the cost of travel expenses, attendees are able to participate in the event from the comfort of their homes.
2. Easier Execution, Shorter Cycle Time
Because these events are easier to plan for logistically, they take significantly less time to plan and execute. There’s no need to find an appropriate venue that’s strategically located to maximize attendance, and attendees don’t have to register months in advance in order to participate.
This reduces cycle time for sales and marketing teams, allowing them to engage more prospects and accelerate their learning.
3. New and Valuable Granular Behavior Data
One of the primary benefits of online events is the data-capturing capabilities they offer. Marketing and sales teams have the ability to capture much more granular information about customer behavior, including things like:
- Which vendors they visited
- How long they spent at each vendor
- Which talks they attended
These benefits make virtual events an incredibly viable option for lead generation.
What are the Implications for B2B Sales Teams?
B2B sellers can leverage virtual experiences with similar success to advance sales cycles. These strategies can also be leveraged at the later stages of the sales and marketing funnel.
A great way for B2B sellers to cultivate relationships is by inviting customers to shared virtual experiences. This approach will help to:
- Have informal interactions with stakeholders
- Engage more members of a buying committee
- Better understand the strength of your connection
- Learn more about people and develop trust
- Differentiate from the competition
Teamraderie’s live, virtual experiences are excellent for B2B selling. They allow you to engage customers virtually in a way that stands out in their minds and improves your relationship with them.
