REMAINING A GREAT SALES REP / KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER IN A VIRTUAL/HYBRID SETTING
By Trusted Advisors
Context and relevance
The covid-19 pandemic has transformed the dynamics of interactions with clients while encouraging the use of digital tools. It is today a necessity to adapt how we prepare, engage and follow up on client dialogues and sales opportunities.
In this regard, sales Reps and KAM (Key account managers) must be equipped to break artificial barriers that exist when selling in a virtual setting by developing and using enhanced selling skills allowing them to engage and convince their clients remotely. Virtual sales require a significant shift in the use of traditional selling skills to create a more engaging and connected customer experience.
In this regard, Trusted Advisors offers a set of iterative sessions for training and coaching sales representatives and key account managers, through presentations and workshops designed by its team to be virtually adaptable, in order to maintain and enhance their performances within a virtual/hybrid setting.
Key objectives
In order to ensure maintaining and enhancing sales Rep and KAM performances within a changing work environment, and to equip them with the adequate skills and techniques allowing to increase credibility, create connection, and build trust in virtual sales meetings; the main objectives of these training and coaching sessions are as follows:
1
Understanding the latest sales technological innovations
Learning how to build and maintain customer relationships remotely
2
Succeeding in selling and negotiating virtually
3
Using Emotional Intelligence in a virtual setting
4
Becoming virtually proficient and driving customer digital adoption
5
Analyzing customer engagement data and presenting KPIs and insights
6
Trusted Advisors approach
In order to meet the training’s objectives and prior to its deployment, Trusted advisors team will conduct a set of preparatory actions that will consist of:
Becoming familiar with the nature of interactions and the risks of reluctance of KAMs and sales representatives regarding their adoption of the digital tools at their disposal
Identifying the operational constraints that can slow down sales performance in a hybrid context
Brainstorming around the risks and reasons for the lack of adoption according to the metrics
Developing scenarios related to the performance challenges that teams will have to overcome
The training’s program will consist of a set of sequences that will, in the one hand, help sales REPs and KAM understand the limits and challenges of their current approach to virtual selling, as well as the consequences of their reluctance to the use of technology. And in the other hand, to help them develop the adequate skills and practices that will allow them to keep their performances in a hybrid setting, and become change ambassadors to convince and engage their clients in using virtual setting. In this regard, the sequencing will be as follows:
Sequence 1: Identifying the limits and challenges to the current commercial approach, and the features of new technological innovation
Sequence 2: Understanding the consequences of the lack of digital tools’ adoption on individual and collective performance
Sequence 3: Determining the strong resolutions to be undertaken by sales REPs and KAM in the new context of interactions
Sequence 4: Comprehending the collaborative and “team” practices that will strengthen individual and collective responses to client management
Sequence 5: Identifying the obstacles that prevent clients from using digital tools
Sequence 6: Being ambassadors of the new digital adoption towards clients in a win-win approach
Training schedule
Current commercial approach VS new technological innovations
The main goal of this session is for participants to understand the limits and challenges to their current approach and to learn about the latest technological innovations. Thus, participants will be able to:
Understand the limits and challenges of the current commercial tools used by Reps and KAMs
Analyze the main operational implications of digitalization: digitalization of salesperson, connected objects, geolocalization, geofencing…
Understand the difference between the current tools and the new technological innovations as well as their advantages
Use the new features and tools of virtual meetings allowing participants to engage and convince their clients
The main goal of this session is for participants to understand the limits and challenges to their current approach and to learn about the latest technological innovations. Thus, participants will be able to:
Virtual introductive Workshop:
Ice breaker – Check-in: Each participant will present himself and describe with a single adjective his feelings towards the training sessions/program.
Seminar/Presentation:
A seminar/presentation on the current commercial approach and new sales technologies that can be used to engage and convince clients.
Virtual Workshop:
Solution – Brainstorming : This workshop consists of an analysis of the different digital tools (current tools) that are available for virtual selling (their limits and their advantages as well as the challenges and fears of sales REPs).
Lack of digital tools’ adoption consequences
The main goal of this session is for participants to apprehend the importance of adopting digital tools in order to enhance individual and collective performances. Thus, participants will be able to:
Understand the consequences of the traditional approach, its constraints and its limits.
Inform on digital tools and their impact on individual and collective performance (in terms of flexibility and time saving).
Identify the requirements of distance selling and adapt to virtual advantages and constraints.
Learn about the virtual communication features and remote negotiation specificities (by phone, e-mail, videoconference…).
The main goal of this session is for participants to apprehend the importance of adopting digital tools in order to enhance individual and collective performances. Thus, participants will be able to:
Seminar/Presentation:
A seminar/presentation through which participants will understand the importance of using virtual/hybrid setting instead of the traditional approach, by focusing on the limits of the latter and the consequences of its adoption.
Virtual Workshop:
Solution – Brainstorming: This workshop consists of generating solutions/ideas to a problematic regarding the lack of digital adoption in a small amount of time. Participants will be asked to note their solutions quickly through virtual Post-it. The solutions will be further discussed within the group.
Strong resolutions in the new context of interactions
The main goal of this session is for participants to acquire the required skills allowing to enhance their digital adoption individually. Thus, participants will be able to:
Master the use of digital tools for an efficient sales management.
Learn to collaborate smoothly with different partners.
Take advantage of the potential of digital functionalities and features.
Learn how to face common technical problems of videoconferencing for virtual sales.
To achieve these goals, Trusted Advisors teams’ approach will be as follows:
Seminar/Presentation:
A seminar/presentation through which participants will understand the main features of digital tools and how to use them in an effective way in order to sell remotely.
Virtual Workshop:
Collective intelligence: Participants will generate solutions through collective intelligence in order to adopt the use of technological tools and to adapt to the new context of interactions.
Collaborative and “team” practices for CRM
The main goal of this session is for participants to acquire the required skills allowing to deploy effective collaborative practices in order to maintain a strong customer relationship virtually. Thus, participants will be able to:
Identify and develop emotional intelligence skills needed for selling remotely.
Learn how to communicate deliberately and carefully without face-to-face interactions.
Consider and integrate the multi-channel customer journey to improve customer experience.
Autonomously deploy collective intelligence to brainstorm effective suggestions and solutions.
Build and maintain relationships with clients using empathy.
To achieve these goals, Trusted Advisors teams’ approach will be as follows:
Seminar/Presentation:
A seminar/presentation on the different collaborative practices to enhance the adoption of digital tools from participants.
Virtual Workshop:
Prioritization (“Vote NUF”): Within a 4 columns table, generated ideas aboutthe main collaborative practices for digital use will be represented in the first column. The remaining 3 are the following criteria related to the ideas (Newness, Usefulness, Feasibility). After generating the ideas, participants will evaluate them from a scale of 1 to 10, and the results can be further discussed by the group.
Digital use obstacles for sales REPs and KAMs clients
The main goal of this session is for participants to understand the reluctance of their clients for using digital tools and new innovations. Thus, participants will be able to:
Analyze data regarding clients and their opinions about E-commerce (in order to capitalize on the information gathered).
Examine the receptivity of their interlocutor through the videoconference tools.
Identify the nature of barriers and resistance based on the rate of use of digital tools by clients.
Learn how to measure their virtual sales rate and analyze the indicators that allowed to close the deal.
To achieve these goals, Trusted Advisors teams’ approach will be as follows:
Seminar/Presentation:
A seminar/presentation to help participants understand the reasons behind resistance for adopting digital by clients, as well as analyzing these challenges in order to overcome them.
Virtual Workshop:
Brainstorming: Conduct a reflection to detect the level of complexity and usefulness of digital tools for users.
Becoming ambassador of digital change
The main goal of this session is for participants to acquire the required skills in order to analyze data related to customer behaviors and needs, as well as identify the adequate key performance indicators. Thus, participants will be able to:
Trigger the clients’ desire of differentiating by adopting digital tools.
Define how virtual appointments can be useful, effective and advantageous for clients.
Identify which messages should be prioritized and in which form of virtual channels should they be communicated.
Define the new key performance indicators in order to measure the new digital tools’ performance and convince clients to use of the most effective ones.
To achieve these goals, Trusted Advisors teams’ approach will be as follows:
Seminar/Presentation:
A seminar/presentation to help participants understand the value of customer data and to learn how to use it in order to drive their clients to adopt virtual/hybrid setting and use the new digital tools.
Virtual Workshop:
Establish an action plan: The coach/trainer will share a PowerPoint slide with an empty table representing the action plan for driving customers to adopt digital (Global objectives declined in sub-goals, actions to be undertaken, parties involved, means of deployment and expected deadlines). Brainstorming: Each participant will share a challenge that he faced while trying to convince a client to use digital, and the group will try to find an effective solution to each problem.
À Propos de Trusted Advisors
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