Virtual Selling

17Be Video Ready

Winging it on video sales calls (and for that matter, all sales calls) is stupid. Wickedly stupid.

Murphy's law states, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Enter the video sales call. Here, the things that can go wrong, will. Always at the worst possible time, when you are least prepared to deal with it.

What is most important to understand about video calls is that even if what goes wrong is not your fault, you will still take the blame. For example, if your stakeholders' internet connection is slow, their computer reboots in the middle of your call, they don't understand the technology, can't get their mic to work, or it's Wednesday. No matter the situation, the stakeholders will blame you.

Then there is your own stress and anxiety about being on camera, working with videoconferencing technology, video and audio equipment glitches, and the never-ending challenge of getting consistent internet upload speeds. When there is a problem during a call, it can be embarrassing and induce panic.

Ten years ago, when I was first beginning to use videoconferencing technology, I scheduled a public webinar. After advertising it for a month, 1,000 people signed up to attend.

The webinar began without a hitch. Six hundred people joined the live presentation. About 15 minutes in, I noticed in the chat box that dozens of people were complaining that they could not hear me. I panicked. I felt a wave of embarrassment roll over me as I realized how bad I looked in front ...