5 Reasons Sales Leaders Should Still Care About Virtual Meetings

Many of us reluctantly downloaded video conferencing software on our computers two years ago thinking, “Well, this won’t last long. I’ll meet my colleagues and clients again soon.” Fast forward to today, virtual meetings have completely transformed the way we work and the way we sell. The era of hybrid work is here, giving us the freedom and flexibility to work from anywhere, anytime. Although it’s now socially acceptable to meet your clients face-to-face again, here are five reasons why you should continue to meet them virtually.  

Saves time, money, and sanity

Let’s face it, commuting is time-consuming and expensive. It’s sad to know that the average salesperson loses five days a year traveling to and from client meetings. Virtual meetings give you those five days back to travel for a much-needed holiday. They erase the hassle, stress, and cost of commuting – leaving more time to focus on the job and prepare a winning sales pitch. You also don’t have to bother planning the logistics of a face-to-face meeting. Not only do virtual meetings save you money, but your company as well. A study by Global Workplace Analytics states that remote work saves businesses an estimated $11,000 per employee annually, in addition to lower turnover rate and real estate costs.   

Virtual meetings are more productive and efficient

We all are familiar with the pain of sitting in a poorly organized meeting, and 89% of professionals have named it one of the biggest workplace frustrations. As salespeople, it’s also exasperating to attend meetings only to find out that the right decision makers are not present. Virtual meetings mitigate these challenges as there is more time to plan, prepare, and send invites to the right people. According to a study by Forbes Insights, 87% of survey respondents believe that video conferencing strengthens customer relationships and improves the sales process.  

People are more likely to attend  

Who doesn’t love the feeling of relief when meetings end on time? We know that virtual meetings rarely run longer than the time allocated. This means attendees are less likely to cancel and are more willing to block their schedule for you. Therefore, it’s no surprise that 85% of sales prospects are more eager to join a 30-minute virtual meeting rather than an in-person meeting! Also, this study shows that attendees are less stressed in virtual meetings. Maybe because they’re wearing their favorite pajama bottoms or have a pet sleeping next to them. Having clients in a relaxed environment and in a good mood means only good news when you want them to hear about your product.    

Meet more people, get more leads

According to HubSpot’s 2021 Sales Enablement Report, 63% of sales leaders believe that virtual meetings are as effective or more effective than face-to-face meetings, and it’s easy to understand why. For instance, a salesperson working remotely can close deals with several international clients without having to claim a single cent of travel expenses from their company. In addition, studies show that B2B decision makers are keener on making purchases remotely, and only around 20% of them hope to go back to in-person sales (we’re shocked by this statistic too). Virtual meeting platform has made the world borderless, providing opportunities to connect with international customers seamlessly. With virtual meetings, your next customer may just be a few clicks away.  

Watch your meeting recordings

Once you get past the discomfort of hearing your own voice on video, you will find that meeting recordings are incredibly useful in several ways. For starters, they’re a good way to keep track of the progress of a particular client. Sharing those recordings with clients who may show them to other stakeholders puts your product out there without you having to present your sales pitch again. In addition, there’s a lot of valuable information in those recordings to add to your CRM platform. How many times have you wished to turn back time during face-to-face meetings to see which points you could have presented better? With virtual meetings, you can watch the recording as many times as you want, identifying areas of improvement and perfecting them, giving you the confidence to rock your next sales pitch.  

Considering their benefits, it’s crazy to think that virtual meetings were a rarity two years ago. Now, it’s hard to imagine doing business without them. We may never return to the pre-pandemic days of working, and maybe it’s for the better.